A presentation can succeed or fail depending on whether your audinece stays with you or not.
Get this free set of tips on “Writing your presentation to keep audience attention”, and improve YOUR chances of success!
As always just let me know if you want to receive the tips
From a Commentary post at Meetingsnet …
Don’t Let a Speaker’s Style Defeat Substance
A keynote speaker at Meeting Professionals International’s MeetDifferent 2010 has been generating sparks from bloggers who followed the conference, not because of his message, but for the way he delivered it.
The speaker was branding specialist Marty Neumeier, who preached a philosophy of radical simplicity for organizations in search of products that are both good and different. The message was strong, but for much of the audience, Neumeier’s style was his undoing.
Read the rest of the post … and what do you think… should a speaker be hired if his/her material is outstanding, but presentation woeful?
[From Nancy Daniels]
Color is the life, the emotion, the animation, and the passion you express in speaking. Whether you are in conversation, holding a conference call, or giving a speech or presentation, not expressing color when you talk is referred to as speaking in monotone. Another way of saying it is boring.
I have found a distinct relationship between dressing colorfully and speaking with expression. While I am generalizing, it has been interesting to see how those who dress with color usually speak with color as well; whereas, those who do tend to be staid in their appearance often speak in a monotone.
One of my clients came to her sessions every week dressed in black with long straight black hair and no makeup. Trying to get her to put some life into her delivery was like pulling teeth. Her appearance was bland as well as her voice. She resisted change because it meant that she would have to allow for some emotion and that was her stumbling block.
Again I am generalizing, but I have found that accountants, research scientists, and professional athletes are often lacking in expressive delivery. If you look at the human dynamics model, these people are more than likely mentally-centered or physically-centered. It does not mean they do not feel emotion: they tend to keep their emotions inside. And, this is not something found just in those three professions. A surprising number of print journalists and visual artists are indeed very expressive in the printed word or in their art, but they often will not voice those emotions in speaking.
Color is heard not just in the voice but is seen in the face as well as in one’s body language. A good example of an actor with tremendous facial expression and body language is Harrison Ford. He does not have to say one word for you to know exactly how he is feeling. Just by watching the expression on his face and the movement of his body, you know what is happening.
Do not think that keeping your emotions hidden is a strength. It is not – it is a weakness. You can have the greatest voice in the world but if you speak in a monotone, exhibiting no emotion in your face or in your body language, then you will put your audience to sleep. Being expressive, be it at the lectern or just in conversation, is a requirement if you want your message to be heard.
This is an mp3 album.
Some of the topics:
10 Tips for Speakers
6 Questions That Professionals Speakers Answer
Easy Ways to Remember Your Speech and Other Material
How to Handle Questions During a Presentation
How Free Speaking Gigs Will Help You
How to Deal With a Negative Audience
How to Market Yourself As a Professional Speaker
Successful Transitions for Your Presentation
The Real Message the Professional Speakers Send
Where to Find Professional Speaking Jobs
Get more information here or you can buy it from Amazon
Let’s talk about the marketing materials you need to develop a paid public speaking career. There are a few essentials: a DVD, a website, a book, a one-sheet. And a number of should-haves: a social media presence, a blog, a press kit, handouts, YouTube videos. And after that, the only limit is your imagination. The Carrot Principle authors sent 4-foot stuffed carrots to speakers’ bureaus to catch their attention (it worked). A speaker we know sent live goldfish to speakers’ bureaus for the same reason (the goldfish mostly died). Seth Godin reaches out to his base with promotions, seminars, special deals, unique offers – almost daily. He’s a brilliant marketer, and it shows (and it works).
But let’s talk about the essentials first.
… and you can read them here …
It was downright devious, definitely bordered on preposterous, and decidedly over the top. Maybe even a little cheesy. Yet the audience gobbled it up.
The speaker gave a brilliant performance. He courted his audience’s emotions. He pushed and pulled on their hot buttons. He pandered to the whimsical fancies of the crowd.
Effective?
Yes… if you’re looking for a temporary high.
Valuable?
No, not at all. I remembered what he did-but I didn’t get anything meaningful from his talk. In short, it seemed like he was just blowing motivational smoke down into our collective consciousness.
With his deep, thundering preacher’s voice he rhythmically concluded his speech in a poetic cadence. Then he ripped open the front of his shirt ala Hulk Hogan. The buttons danced all over the stage injecting spontaneous combustion to his ending.
And the crowd roared with abundant enthusiasm…
They chanted. They cheered. They fed off his energy. They wanted more. They rose off their seats applauding His Highness.
I discreetly shook my head in disbelief…
He gave the crowd a buzz and milked it for what its worth. He sold them their fix by shooting them in the arm with a rush of “feel good” adrenaline. I thought the days of rah-rah hype ended in the 80’s. Guess not.
You see, His Highness didn’t engage his audience at all. He pumped them up with motivational “feel good” bullet points. This type of oratory works well if you balance it with substance and meaning. Otherwise people will lose that good feeling somewhere between the time they drive off the parking lot and the time they swing open their front door.
So what’s the secret to engaging your audience at a world-class level?
1) Start with a story. But not just any story. A personal story. One that puts you right dab in the middle of it. Preferably, one that no one else in the world can tell but you. And by all means, let us know who you really are.
2) Expose the conflict. Is there a problem that needs resolving? Is there an archenemy? Can you quote facts and figures? Who are the victims if nothing is done?
3) Identify the solution. Is it a product? Maybe a program. Perhaps it’s an organization. What makes this solution unique? How does this stand out from other solutions?
4) Name the beneficiaries. Who benefits from this solution? Are they your clients? Maybe they’re your donors. Do they live overseas? And how are they benefiting?
5) Give your reason. Now answer the why question. What do you get for doing this? What caused you to get involved? Why should prospects join, buy or promote what you offer?
I know you’re smart enough to not follow in His Highness’ footsteps. You have an authentic, passionate message you want to present at a world-class level. And you realize giving genuine value through a personal story will touch, engage and affect an audience much more and much longer than chants and cheers alone.
This is a great article ….
The ideas are simple, but powerful, and they apply as much to public speaking as they do to conversation.
Some of the headings are:
Express your thoughts clearly:
The effective communicator has empathy:
Be “truly present”
.
Be a good listener:
… and more – you can read the article in the Pivotal Magazine
From one of my favourite “gurus” ….
How do you make your presentation more interesting to your audience? Perhaps the most important technique is to include them when you speak. You can choose your words to engage your listeners — or leave them out. If you leave them out, boredom is the probable result. In this article, I’ll give you some specific techniques for crafting your content in a way that grabs the attention of your audience.
Here’s the rest of the article in Pivotal Magazine
with Cliff Atkinson
Armed with laptops and smartphones, audiences are no longer sitting quietly while speakers are talking — instead they’re using Twitter and other tools to create a backchannel where they chat with one another, make comments about your presentation and broadcast their thoughts to people all over the world.
If audiences are happy, the backchannel can spread your ideas far and wide, create buzz about your ideas, and keep a conversation going long after you leave the podium. But if audiences are unhappy, the backchannel can criticize your ideas and delivery, disrupt your talk, and even derail your presentation completely. So is the backchannel yet another thing to fear when you give your next presentation? Or a great opportunity to really know what your audience is thinking?
Cliff Atkinson, author of The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever, will share his research and ideas for making the backchannel work for you.
You will learn:
• How audiences are changing the power dynamic of presentations
• Why you need a Twitter account and how to use it
• How to make your presentation Twitter-friendly
• How to avoid backchannel disasters
• How to extend your message farther than previously possible
• How to use Twitter feedback to adjust or fine-tune your ideas
Interesting article on 7 “little things that will instantly improve your public speaking dramatically.”
I really love
SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST
and undoubtedly certain people need to be told
TALK TWICE AS SLOW
TALK TWICE AS LOUD
… a very useful list to print out and read just before presenting.
7 Easy Ways To Instantly Improve Your Public Speaking
12 essential Steps to Attract Your Ideal Customers
With all due respect, love and admiration, why do you, some of our planet’s best teachers (professional speakers) think that all you have to do is throw up a website to get invitations to speak? What’s with the trend to try to build relationships only over the Internet? Can you imagine the response of a meeting planner if the author of the best-selling “how to” book actually picked up the phone and called the CEO of an organization to suggest a way in which she/he can solve at least three of the organization’s five challenges?
Yes, of course, you can imagine it. Then I’d like for you to tell yourself that the only difference between you and the high profile speaker is positioning – and OK, I’ll concede, more experience. There are so many ways to showcase your expertise to the world, and I’m going to show you the most basic, yet essential steps that you can take to keep from being on the endangered speakers list.
No cynics, please. If you’re excited about building your speaking business, this is one of the most important articles you’ll read. No matter how many different formats I use to communicate this information, these 12 Positioning Steps are critical to meeting planners taking you seriously.
These steps are based on my experiences in booking more than 2,200 paid engagements. They include simple steps that Mark Victor Hansen taught me back in 1982 and the current strategies that Internet marketing experts recommend.
Positioning Yourself Creates the Clarity You Need to GROW Your Business
I believe that it’s ideal for you to have someone represent you full time, rather than do it yourself. But since many speakers begin their speaking careers with another primary source of income, it’s a transition that can be costly unless you have thoroughly positioned yourself. Besides, when you have done what’s necessary to position yourself, you will more readily attract a commissionable salesperson (and bureaus) because you won’t be so darn hard to book! Once you have clarity about your positioning, you’ll find low cost ways of implementing the on-going strategies.
Whether you’re an emerging or active speaker, review these 12 Positioning Steps and set the stage to finalize each step. Be willing to take responsibility for not getting booked as much as you’d like to be. I’m giving you the system here and once you begin to complete each step, you’ll be ready for the next one.
Taking 100% Responsibility for Where You Are Now, Begin with #1
1.) List your core competencies. Your core competencies are the source of your competitive advantage. By combining a set of core competencies in different ways and matching them to the needs of your target market, a speaker can launch a business. Core competencies are the glue to your business model. What do you do best? What do you know the most about? What are your strengths?
2.) Make a list of facts about yourself. As a speaker, you are hired for two reasons: facts (about you) and third party endorsements (of you). Have you won any awards? Have you addressed eight of the 50 chapters of your professional association? Are you a voice in your industry? What are the results of your expertise in a particular industry? What are your professional credentials that separate you from your competition? Are you a top producer in your sales field?
Are you a published author, have you written home study guides and or recorded educational CDs that demonstrate your value in your target market? Are you a columnist in your local newspaper? By the way, if you’re a beginning or emerging speaker, one of the best things you can to to build your credibility is to get published. You don’t have to have an agent or a publisher, you can self-publish. Or you can write an ebook and sell it from your website.
3.) Make a list of third party endorsements. The first reason as stated above that you are hired is because of facts about you. The second reason is third party endorsements. You get hired more often than not because of referrals…others who believe in you and pass on the good word about you. Meeting planners will focus on the results you’ve gotten for others. The more you can focus on the results that you have provided for others, the more others will pay attention. That’s why people buy.
4.) Compose your I AM, I DO statement. The advertising term is “unique selling proposition” or USP. It’s the same thing as your “elevator speech.” I’ve created a template in one of my products called Let Me Introduce Myself where you create two sentences that succinctly describe your expertise and your value to your target market.
Choose the appropriate adjectives, adverbs and direct objects that separate you from your competitors. These two sentences reveal exactly how you will bring value to your target market. Even high profile speakers who fail to continually refresh their USPs can track their lack of bookings to fuzzy USPs, making the erroneous assumption that their celebrity is sufficient, or their past accomplishments will secure their future invitations to speak. Wrong! Too much new talent coming out to secure anyone’s future who has remained stagnant. Your clarity about your value to your target market is imperative and should be very clear in your USP. This is your marketing message.
5.) Craft your signature speech. When you’re beginning, focus on one presentation topic. This should be the one that you are most passionate about communicating. It should be no more than two paragraphs plus bulleted deliverables; in other words, the bullets are the audience takeaways. This will prevent the presentation topic from being all about you and/or your philosophy. Your prospective buyers want to know what’s in it for them, not what’s in it for you! It should reflect your ability to influence others to have more productive lives, have greater success at work, reduce stress, generate new ideas, overcome the odds, increase performance and or reduce costs, etc. The more experienced you become, the more your presentation topics can be described in ways that benefit the buyer.
6.) Identify your target market or your ideal client. Craft your ideal client profile. For instance, if you are a top producer in real estate, your target market might be the real estate industry which would include all companies and all associations in the real estate industry. Your ideal clients would be real estate agents who want to become top producing Realtors®.
Once you excel in that niche, you can broaden your outreach to include a secondary target market such as general sales. All commissioned sales individuals are seeking ways to increase production. You already have the proven systems, the daily sales activities, the marketing strategies that lead you to become a top producer, so why not expand your outreach? Ask your clients what they struggle with and figure out how to help them increase their production or decrease their losses. The more experienced you become, you may even be able to expand to other secondary markets.
7.) Create a compelling website. Your site can be simple if you have the necessary elements to describe your expertise and your value to your target market(s). The eleven (11) standard elements are:
1.) Info about you/ your biographical sketch containing facts about you
2.) Third party endorsements – These can be under a “reviews” section or these can be integrated into the site or on flash pages, or using scrolling text
3.) Your signature speech with descriptive paragraph and bullets and other presentation topics if you have more than one
4.) A DVD of you in action, speaking
5.) Articles about you or by you
6.) Meeting planner’s tools – This is a valuable meeting planner resource page such as various photos (color and black/white) of you that can be uploaded, your introduction, your pre-program questionnaire, your AV requirements
7.) Products that you offer to your client base
8.) Your shopping cart – Offer your extended learning materials here such as CDs, books, training manuals, study guides, ebooks, teleclass recordings, boot camps, continuing education courses and other products that bring value to your ideal customer. A good shopping cart tracks your customers and profits coming into your company.
9.) Create an opt-in box on your landing page. An opt-in box is the tool that makes it possible to build and track your customer base notifying them of your new products, your blog, helpful articles, etc. You’ll want to provide incentive for them to opt-in by giving away free information, reports and tips. Free information that you offer will builds your list, leverage your outreach and increase your profit if used wisely. Speakers with large databases are appealing to those experts who host boot camps and educational intensives. The opt-in box is an ideal way to grow your database.
10.)Privacy policy
11.)Site map
8.) Establish your speaking fee with options for generating a profit. Fee flexibility can be the key to making money speaking in this economy. There are 7 ways to earn money when you speak:
1.) Fee plus expenses
2.) Fee only
3.) Expenses only
4.) Fee + expenses + product sales
5.) Product sales only
6.) Product sales + expenses
7.) Pay the organization a % of your product sales
9.) Turn your expertise into products. These include CDs, manuals, workbooks, teleclasses, DVDs of you speaking, CE courses, coaching/consulting programs offering accountability systems (most people get better results when they’re in a program). Bundle various products that you’ve created. You can interview industry leaders, top producers, successful managers, community activists, radio personalities and association executives and turn your passion for speaking into an exciting educational opportunity for yourself.
10.) Identify all of the possible marketing activities that you can do to attract your ideal clients/your target market. If you do something in several of these categories on a daily basis, covering all of them in a month, you’ll begin to build a stead flow of inquiries and clients.
11. Systematize the marketing process into daily activities.
This should be a repeatable process the week days of every week. Eventually you can rely on a schedule so predictable that it can all be on auto-pilot. You can even hire virtual assistance to do many of these tasks for you. No more panic attacks in the middle of the night about how you are going to pay your bills. It’s properly positioning yourself and systematizing your marketing activities that is going to make a difference. Spend time every day working on multiple activities so that you aren’t waiting by your phone for it to ring. You’re being pro-active in evaluating the success of each step and considering new ways of implementing them. If you continue to take action steps every day, you will develop a belief system in your company, in yourself and in what your value is to your target market.
12.) Make contact with your prospective buyers. Make it a priority to contact your prospective buyers once you are positioned. Have your systems in place so that you can dedicate time each week to contacting your past clients and future clients. Do not assume that you can reach out to your customer base without picking up the telephone. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to meeting planners if you’re positioned properly. If you are, you will not get ignored. You’ll be making hot or warm calls. But if you’re not positioned properly, you’ll be making cold calls. See the difference?
The path of least resistance feeds on the natural tendency of people to fear prospecting. Cold calling has become a dirty word associated with high pressure calls and unscrupulous tactics resulting in no sales. If you’re a beginning speaker or a speaker who is not generating inquiries with your website’s SEO, if your database is still small, if your email blasts are not yet generating telephone inquiries, it’s time to complete the Positioning Steps above so that you’ll be comfortable with reaching out and actually contacting your buyer, either face to face or via telephone.
How’s Your Current Positioning Working for You?
Do you live in the world of cause and effect? It’s a great advantage if you’d like to get to the truth of why you are not booked as much as you’d like to be. When you devote the time and attention to undertake these 12 Positioning Steps, you’ll have a system. You’ll know what to do. You’ll know what to say. Your telephone will ring. Your web inquiries will increase. You’ll begin holding new dates on your calendar. Stand back and watch how big your voice becomes in your target market.
Mary McKay, speaker marketing specialist, is the founder of the Turnkey Speaker Booking System, where you learn to position your expertise for more paid speaking engagements. To get your F.R.E.E. weekly tips, relevant articles and coaching on positioning and marketing your expertise and attracting more clients, visit http://www.TurnkeySpeaker.com.
Robert Graham has written a great post based on the value of simplicity.
He makes a powerful point.
The theme also proved to be a useful hook for hanging some very basic but vital tips … on any sort of communication, not just public speaking.
You can read his post on the Henderson’s Group’s blog Speak Fearlessly.
Guest post by Janet Hilts
Is your fear of speaking really a fear of rejection? That’s at the bottom of public speaking anxiety for a lot of people. The way to deal with this fear is to first take a closer look. What are you afraid might be rejected? Your words?
Rejection Of Your Words
Here are a few facts to consider:
Fact A: Your words only count for 7% of the actual message that you deliver. 7%! Can you believe it? The biggest part of your message is conveyed through your body language, facial expression and tone of voice. So that seriously takes the pressure off your words, doesn’t it? When you’re speaking – whether that’s to a client or a big audience – your intention is to connect with them, isn’t it? That’s what communication is all about. And people connect at the heart. That’s where those nonverbal elements come into play. They’re watching your eyes. They’re looking to see if you’re paying attention to them. They want the feeling that you care about them and their problem.
Fact B: They want to feel positive emotions from hearing you – relief, hope, peace of mind. That experience does not come from your words. We’ve all heard words that sound empty, where the emotion doesn’t match the actual words. Picture an eye-rolling teenager saying “I’m sorry” to a scolding teacher. The words aren’t conveying their real meaning, are they? See how this reduces the pressure for you to get your words perfect? If your fear of rejection is about words, I hope your fear is shrinking.
On the positive side of things, think of the people you enjoy doing business with. They’re just regular people, right? Just like you.
Now think of their speaking styles. Do they all have perfect grammar? Are they all fabulous speech writers and award-winning orators? Is their language completely clear of “uh” and “y’know”? Of course not!
And yours doesn’t have to be either. For now, stop worrying about your words and focus on relaxing so your voice, face and body can react naturally. That’s what helps you connect to people so you can really get your message across.
Bonus:
Once you get some practice speaking naturally, you’ll find it much easier to work with improving your actual words if you want to. It’s ironic that once you let go of the fear about the words, your options for words open up. Your creative ability and willingness to experiment with new phrases totally expands once your speaking anxiety is gone.
And to get a head start with feeling calm when you speak, I invite you to get your FREE copy of 5 Simple Secrets To Stress-Free Speaking when you go to http://SpeakUpAndShine.com.
Just fill in the sign-up box on the right-hand side of the page.
From Janet Hilts at Speak Up & Shine | Clearing Pathways
Persuasiveness is one of the most important skills anyone can learn because it is useful in countless situations. At work, at home, and in your social life, the ability to be persuasive and influence others can be instrumental for achieving goals and being happy.
Learning about the tricks of persuasion can also give you insight into when they’re being used on you. The biggest benefit of this is that money will stay in your pockets as you realize just how sales people and advertisers sell you products that you don’t necessarily need.
Here are 9 of the best tricks to be persuasive and influence others:
Today’s freebie is a set of tips on public speaking ….
Keeping Audience attention.
It’s just so basic, so crucial to your success as a speaker. And particularly for beginners, it can be very nerve-wracking, wondering how to make sure your audience stays with you. What will you do if they get bored? What if they start chatting, or worse still, go to sleep, while you speak?
From the First Steps series, this set of tips will be sent by email. It will give you strategies for the planning and for the execution of your speech to make sure the audience gets you and gets your message.
Just send me an email … and I’ll send you the tips.
“Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all. ”
— Sir Winston Churchill
Well, that’s William Churchill’s thought.
My thoughts …?
Broadly speaking of course.
Keeping it simple always works in any endeavour including in public speaking, but short varied with long will have more power.
Old words – ah that appeals. There is so much less chance of misunderstanding, and people feel comfortable with the familiar.
And here is Churchill using the rule of three for great power, not to mention repetition and building to a climax.
Love it!!
Lisa Braithwaite has shared her experiences with panic attacks and anxiety on her blog. I admire her candour, and am thankful she shared her experiences, because this sort of story encourages those who feel trapped by the condition. I went through a similar time – panic attcks and anxiety, and certainly would not recommend it.
But in this particular article Lisa has given us all a new way of looking at the situation, especially as it applies to public speaking, with some incredibly powerful tools to use.
If our mind is powerful enough to create fear from “nothing,” it’s also powerful enough to reframe our thoughts to propel us forward in a positive way. There have been many books written about the power of positive thinking – the most well-known of these is Norman Vincent Peale’s, first published over 50 years ago. Recent medical research shows, for example, that a positive expectation of a medication has real measurable physical effects (not just the psychological “placebo effect”) on our health.
How does this apply to you as a public speaker? You can control the amount of fear and anxiety you experience around public speaking. You have the power to turn negative and fearful thoughts into positive ones. How do you do it?
You are invited to a training webinar.
…. presented by Ellen Finkelstein.
….Wednesday, February 24th at 11am PT, 12n MT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET
Ellen Finkelstein delivers high content in everything she does. She explains her material simply, demonstrates and provides follow-up support after the event.
At the end of this webinar, you’ll know how to:
Here’s what you’ll learn about:
If you haven’t already–as a public speaker, you should dedicate yourself to a lifetime study of adult learning principles. It will pay you colossal dividends.
And there’s a lifetime of “adult learning stuff” to learn. Today we’ll look at one such principle; Elaborative Rehearsal.
It’s more than practice. It’s a proactive approach of making the most out of past learning in order to maximize new learning.
For your audiences to make the most out of this proven learning and memory technique, you will have to teach them. Most adult learners just aren’t aware of these methods. Here are five tips you can pass along to all of your audiences.
1. Proper Note Taking. For a learner’s notes to enhance one’s memory, it is important that a learner is able to record the speaker’s ideas in their own words. And, as a presenter you need to tell them so.
2. Paraphrasing. This is like the above note taking, except that care is given to the actual words the note-taker uses. Ideally, the words the learner replaces the speaker’s with has equal or added meaning to the learner.
3. Predicting. It will help a listener to project a speakers message into the future. This “projection” allows a person to simulate the material they are learning in the theater of their mind.
4. Questioning. A good Q and A will help your audience learn your principles better. Challenge your audience to come up with creative and meaningful questions, and then dig into them together.
5. Summarizing. There much talked about the concept but it is seldom used in most learning environments. Plan a specific, “Now what did we learn here today?”
There’s a lot more to the idea of Elaborative Rehearsal than these five tips, and we’ll discuss them in future articles.
The “take-away” today is the need for the public speaker to “train” their audiences how to use elaborative rehearsal to their greatest learning benefit.
One thing that will help your audiences to be able to “practice” your message is a strong visual representation of your message. The presentation world calls these graphics by many things, Process Models, Method Maps, Matrix’s, and Hierarchy Models, etc.
Wayne Kronz
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Wayne Kronz is the host of http://MethodMap.blogspot.com. Visit it today for the best free, online information about the design and use of visual aids in public speaking. You’ll discover many actual models you can use in your next presentation plus a host of videos showing you how the top pros are using visual aids in their public speaking. And a lot more! |
Kate Mytty writes:
Like many industries, the speaking and publishing businesses have just breathed a sigh of relief that 2009 is over, and are looking forward to a better 2010. All the experts are saying that the recovery will be slow; that’s the conventional wisdom. But for a deeper, more thoughtful look ahead, we went out to some of our favorite speaker-authors and asked them what they’re thinking about right now as they ponder the year to come. And they came back in great form, with unusual insights and perspectives. Here’s a sneak peek what they’ll be telling audiences around the world this year.
with Paul O. Radde, PhD
Your normally well-received presentation isn’t going so well. You are used to people laughing, nodding, and being engaged, but this room is set with rounds of 8 and people’s backs are to you. And the last row is so far back you can’t see their eyes. Or maybe you’re a light-hearted speaker and the rigid straight-across rows don’t allow anyone to see each other, which you know is critical for humor.
What is the right setup for your presentation? How do you specify and educate meeting planners to set the room to get more engagement from the audience? Are there better designs to give the planner and the hotel staff? How can the seating setup affect back-of-the-room sales?
You will learn how to:
People are tired of worn-out power point presentations!
Does this mean we should jettison the technology and go back to the “stone age”, as one person put it, in giving our presentations?
No more than we should ban television because of the likes of Jerry Springer and Temptation Island.
The medium itself is not to blame, it is how that medium is used that falls short. Too often, presenters rely solely on their software to provide every bit of their presentation’s creativity. The problem with this approach is that the entertainment value of PowerPoint and other programs, leaves a lot to be desired.
When a speaker decides to use it as a crutch, instead of as an enhancement tool, it can give a presenter a false sense of security about a bad presentation. I’ve sat through many a bad presentation where the insecure presenter just hides behind a barrage of screen activity as a gratuitous gimmick rather than having good illustrations and attention-getting visual element to add in making their points. So how should this medium be best used?
Obviously, there are millions of reasons for a presentation, and therefore, millions of effective and creative ways to deliver it. Creativity can take several forms, from the spontaneous quip to the extravagant special effects of a Hollywood blockbuster. Keep in mind, though, that a crummy movie with very impressive special effects is still a crummy movie, and the same rule applies to presentations. Things that may work well in some presentations will not do so in others, but here are some general guidelines for successful use of electronic slides.
Add to Your Speaking Revenue
as a Professional Emcee
with Mark Standriff
Are you looking for additional sources of income in these difficult financial times? Have you ever considered being an emcee? Marketing yourself as a master of ceremonies not only provides value-added opportunities for potential clients, but also gives you access to high-profile events for which you might never be considered as a main speaker.
Emceeing is a different skill from delivering a speech. It requires different marketing, and certainly demands different preparation — there are a number of challenges you should avoid or you’ll be cleared out before the main course. But it can be a lot of fun and quite lucrative.
Mark Standriff has worked as a professional emcee for hundreds of events during his 25-year speaking career and will share his secrets on knowing how to shine without being the star attraction. If you’re open to looking at a different side of speaking, this session will open your eyes to professional opportunities you may never have known existed.
You will learn:
Lisa Braithwaite at SpeakSchmeak has highlighted a vital problem in public speaking – how to avoid distractions, althought she has turned it around and called her post “Keep your focus” – a usful way of looking at it.
Distractions don’t have to interfere with your presentation. Instead of perceiving them as problems, see them as part of the deal. Every presentation will have its distractions; they only become problems if you let them get to you.
she says, and provides some very useful tips on just how to avid those distractions and stay focussed.
Turn Their First Impression into a Lasting Impression.
If you are a successful business leader and entrepreneur today, you know how vital it is to have executive level speaking and communication skills.
You must be able to motivate or impart crucial information. You must speak clearly and directly. You must be assertive without being aggressive to strike the balance between warmth and authority. Your audience must hear and understand you.
How you sound has a tremendous impact on how your message is received. To be most effective, the quality of your voice must genuinely match the meaning and content of your presentation. Is your voice all that you want it to be?
To illustrate how important your voice is, think about a time you had a phone conversation with someone and you knew exactly how they were feeling simply from the sound. Though the effect can be subtle or it can be very obvious, voices always reflect a person’s inner state and you know if they are angry, depressed, happy, or nervous.
When someone has a nasal quality, hoarseness, or they sound monotone, it’s harder to focus on what they’re saying. The most brilliant and innovative ideas and information can be lost as a result of a voice that’s hard to listen to for some reason. This inability to be heard or understood can have serious consequences in your business.
Ask yourself how others perceive you and the words you are saying. When your voice and your content of your message match, it gives you credibility. It makes you compelling to listen to. Your listeners will intuitively trust and respond to you.
One of the best ways is to start listening to people and consciously identifying who, in your opinion, has a compelling voice. To identify the memorable qualities, ask yourself these questions while you listen.
Do they sound polished?
Are they charismatic?
Does their voice seem professional?
Are they passionate but not pushy?
Do you sense their warmth and sincerity?
Would you trust what they say?
Is their voice resonant and connected?
Do they sound truly confident?
When you’ve identified the qualities you like, evaluate your own voice by recording yourself or getting feedback from a trusted friend or colleague. Your next step might be to find a reliable self-study vocal development program or a qualified coach.
Developing a resonant balanced voice is an ongoing process and it may take several weeks or months before you or others start to notice the differences. However, continuing with the process will positively affect your communication, your presentation, and ultimately your business and career.
The author of this article, Katherine Scott of Voice of Destiny™ , is a singer, songwriter, author and professional voice coach. For over fifteen years in her private voice practice, Katherine has inspired singers and speakers to discover or uncover the strong engaging voice they were always meant to have. In her unique approach, the voice is an intersection point for connecting the sound, how they express who they are, and their personal vision of their successful career and life.
You can find insights and solutions to vocal challenges at http://www.youruniqueexpression.com. Visit http://www.vocalmapping.comfor free audio voice tips and voice exercises to use on a daily basis so your voice will sound fully present in any situation.
At the Speaking Energy: Adventures in Public Speaking blog, Bjorn had compared public speaking to ballet. He obviously enjoyed the performance, or at least appreciated the energy. He looks at performance, everyday life and art, giving us, in the process, another way of looking at public speaking. http://bit.ly/75oFP8
One of the worst mistakes you can make as a public speaker is talking too long. Not only will you send some folks to never, never land, you will make some of them downright mad. It doesn’t matter if your entire speech was brilliant and the audience came away with information that will change their lives. If you talk too long, they will leave saying, “That speaker just wouldn’t quit.” Don’t let this happen to you! Say what you have to say and sit down. Before you do, give them a well thought out closing.
Here is a site where you can download tools to add twitter to your presentations …
Ever wanted to make presentations a more interactive, Web 2.0 experience?
The PowerPoint Twitter Tools prototypes are now available.
Get ahead of the backchannel! Put in feedback slides at regular intervals throughout your presentation, so you’re not the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on!
Tempted, but worried about what people might say? No problem – the tools include the ability to include a moderated feed
In this excellent article, John Zimmer looks at the question and answer period in terms of listening. He comes up with 9 excellent ways to handle this sometimes difficult part of a presentation, and covers listening as well.
An important aspect of public speaking occurs, paradoxically, when it the speaker’s turn to stop talking and listen to questions or comments from the audience. These moments are to be welcomed. They show that the audience members are engaged and they afford the speaker an opportunity to interact more closely with them. To make the most of these moments, a speaker must listen actively.
Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Active listening means listening for the meaning and feeling of what the other person is saying. It means paying attention to what is being said and thinking carefully about how to respond. This might seem like common sense, but as Mark Twain once said, “Common sense isn’t so common.” So how we listen actively? Here are some points:
A potato? Jim writes …
Bored audiences will get up and walk out of your speeches. How would you keep the attention of 400+ engineers who were attending an industry dinner event that they didn’t really want to be at on a weekday evening? I recently had the opportunity to be the master of ceremonies at such an event – great gig, tough crowd.
OK so how was a potato of use here? Read the article for an example of how Jim used creativity and how it works so well in successful public speaking assignments
From Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson …
I often think the presenter would be more compelling if he would ditch the presentation software and just speak. Because of this, I’ve even thought of outlawing presentation software in our company. But alas, It has become a staple of corporate life. It is the ubiquitous prop that attends every presentation.
So if we can’t outlaw presentation software, at least we can regulate it and, hopefully, try to improve it. Here are my five rules for making more effective presentations.
What an interesting thought form Sarah Gerschman:
So often we begin a speech by thanking the audience or someone in the audience for asking us to speak. This small (arguably unnecessary gesture) perhaps unknowingly puts the speaker in the mindset of being a guest. The speaker subsequently must ingratiate himself to the “hosts” – the audience.What happens? … Read more >>>
with Glenna Salsbury, CSP, CPAE
Your platform effectiveness is powerfully enhanced by your clarity of unique message. Are you holding audiences in the palm of your hand? Are you experiencing repeat and referral business time after time?
One of the most practical ways to tap into your authentic message is to begin to dig out of your memory bank the most significant events, most significant people and most life-changing insights that have impacted you.
Life-changing, transformational speakers are those who are captivatingly authentic. Our challenge is to become courageously transparent, to share our own unique truth, with a thoroughly humble heart.
You will learn:
Register or order the CD or MP3 recording. Note: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free.
Date: Tuesday, November 24
Time: 7:00 pm Eastern, 6 pm Central, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific
Length: 60 minutes
Cost: $25
Special Limited-Time Offer:
If you want more information on how to mine your life for presentation content, we suggest the recordings of several earlier programs to complement Glenna’s program:
With your order of Glenna’s teleseminar, CD or MP3, at checkout you will be offered these recordings.
In this article, Ten Fatal Flaws Frequently Found from the Podium, Sandra Schrift lists 10 basics to success in public speaking. They may seem obvious, and yet in the focus on writing and delivering a speech, they can be overloooked. Well worth a look – just to be reminded!
You’ve just wrapped up your presentation, and you’re confident that you’ve conveyed your points clearly and persuasively. Now, it’s time for the Q&A.
If you’re like many speakers, you view Q&As in one of two ways: you dread them, worried about being caught off guard, or you breeze through them, thinking that the “real work” is behind you. Wrong and wrong, and here’s why Q&A is often the most valuable part of any presentation — it invites dialogue, provides feedback, and, when properly handled, allows you to conclude on an energetic and powerful note.
Q&A is definitely not something to fear; it’s an opportunity to interact with your audience, and it can teach you a lot. But don’t make the mistake of treating Q&A lightly. To take full advantage of its power, consider the following:
Olivia Mitchell has written a great post on “How to craft a memorable key message in 10 minutes”. Her post is an excellent model of how this works. It gives us 9 ways that the key message can be created – all incredibly relevant and useful. Sometimes it’s good to be reminded, like this, to stay focussed.
Nick Morgan looks at three US Presidents’ speeches in times of great tragedy. He defines what is needed at these moments and analyses the speeches in terms of those needs. The latest instance, of course, is Obama’s response to the Fort Hood events. There is much for us all to learn, though we may not be political leaders, in Nick’s analysis.
Rich Hopkins has a great new blog post that should have us all using reading aloud far more effectively …
There are times when reading during your speech is appropriate and necessary:
A. Letters, memos, and reports that must be heard in there entirety
B. Quotes, short and long
C. Poetry, lyrics, short excerpts from books
D. Manuals
E. Religious readingsReading the written word effectively can be a daunting task. We’ve spent our lives listening to others read out loud in school, church, and the workplace, and it is often so excruciatingly bad, we fear our own reading will be heard with the same critical ears.
Read the whole post here
Mitch Joel makes a great case against something that has irked me for a long time – handing out nothing but the slides from your presentation….
“Can I have your slides?” is probably the most common question a presenter gets asked. Here’s why you should never give them out…
If there is one rule of presenting that I constantly see broken, it’s the one where a presenter gives out their slides whenever they are asked. There are two very valid reasons why this is a bad idea:
Nick Morgan writing at his best …
What is the single most powerful way to increase your persuasive connection with an audience – and your charisma at the same time?
Listening.
When you listen with your whole body, using your intuition or unconscious to read the emotions of those with whom you’re communicating, the result is a connection with the other people in the room that they experience as engaging, fascinating, and indeed charismatic
There is so much more to this amazing post that you’ll want to read it all …
“What do I do with my hands when I’m speaking?” is a common question that I hear when I’m teaching public speaking. Your hands form an important part of your non-verbal communication, or body language, and can help you convey confidence and communicate more effectively to your audience.
Here are 5 tips for what to do with your hands:
Every so often we are called upon to make a difficult speech…you know the kind I mean. It might be a speech informing your employees that budgets are being cut by 25% and layoffs are required; it might be one where you communicate that the incentive trip everyone worked so hard for is canceled; it might be announcing to your faithful supporters than you are withdrawing from the campaign.
How do you deliver these kinds of messages with grace, poise and confidence?
Most everybody would agree that working with Microsoft PowerPoint software probably ranks as one of the most frustrating things anybody encounters on a daily basis. There are, of course, masters of PowerPoint in just about every organization, but for most people, working in PowerPoint is after all these years still a painstaking experience.
The only thing more painful than a person working in PowerPoint is two people trying to work on the same PowerPoint presentation. And the only thing more painful than that is three people, and so on and so on.
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/vizard/reducing-the-pain-of-powerpoint/?cs=37212#cf
There were two great orators from ancient Mediterranean: Demosthenes the Greek and Cicero the Roman.
It was said that when Cicero spoke, people exclaimed, “Great speech. Wonderful message. I couldn’t agree with you more.” And they showered him with accolades, adoration and standing ovations.
It was said that when Demosthenes spoke, people shouted, “Let Us March!”
Did you notice the difference?
Two great orators. People admired and loved the one. People were gripped and compelled to act by the other.
Cicero appealed more to logic. And reason. He carefully crafted his message to speak to the analytical and rational side of people.
Demosthenes appealed more to emotion. His message touched, tangled and transformed people’s feelings. Feelings so strong they were willing to drop what they were doing to go into battle.
Let’s travel in the time machine to the present…
Christy gave an excellent speech about her involvement with Women’s Empowerment International. They help provide small loans to the world’s poorest women, lifting them out of poverty, and creating a better future through their own hard work and ingenuity. You could say WE International is providing the dream of entrepreneurship to help poor women provide for their families, to better themselves and to live with a heightened sense of dignity.
She talked about the founder, Muhammad Yunus. She displayed a blown-up photograph of Rosario, a Mexican loan recipient who is making cheese and selling them door-to-door because her husband is no longer able to work. And she talked about what we, the audience, can do to help.
Christy had everyone’s attention. You could almost hear a pin drop throughout her talk. When she concluded, we knew she had more to share. She did a phenomenal job. Everyone loved her message.
While there were a few people who wanted to join WE International, the majority sat on the sidelines. Why is that? Why wouldn’t more people join up or donate their resources after Christy’s fine presentation?
It goes back to Cicero and Demosthenes…
While Christy’s message was technically sound, it didn’t connect on an emotional level. Her message touched minds. It lacked the ability to touch hearts. And this is huge.
Here’s the difference in a nutshell:
The audience thought WE International is a great idea. They felt good about its purpose and mission. A few donated $20 to become members.
But not one person said, “Let us march. I’m going to get involved. I’m going to pick up the WE International torch and run with it. I’m going to spread the word to everyone I know.” Not even one.
Here’s an important point…
Practice to become the best speaker you can. If your audience adores you, that’s a good thing. You’re taking up after Cicero.
But if you really want to move people to action – take up after Demosthenes. You’ll touch people on a gut-wrenching, emotional level. You’ll know by appealing to their hearts… their minds, desires and actions will follow.
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Want to include this article in your newsletter? You can if you include this blurb: If you’re a speaker, trainer, coach, or a consultant, the major challenge you face is connecting with your audience. You talk, shout, or recite your message while they are dreaming about dinner. Their eyes are glossy, their minds’ elsewhere, and their bodies ready to bolt. You don’t have a lot of time, so you’ve got to grab their attention fast. Or else, you’ll die wrestling against audience resistance. |
PowerPoint Alternatives – From Browsers to Blogs, Part II
In Part I of PowerPoint Alternatives, I talked about presenters who use HTML to display the visual portion of their presentation. Now that blogs are popular, some speakers are using blogs as presentation tools, including Steven Cohen of Library Stuff fame. Here’s a presentation he created in a blog last February and his post on the Note that he used Blogger, a tool that is free and can get you up and running with a blog in just a few minutes. Downsides of using a blog instead of PowerPoint include a busier screen that you would find on most PowerPoint presentations. Also, a blog entry is not going to fill the screen the way a PowerPoint slide will, so it could be more difficult for the audience to read. From the presenter’s standpoint, getting the slides in the proper order is cumbersome; you need to tweak the dates and times so as to get the blogs to display in the proper order, then remove the date from the blog template, since in this context, it’s irrelevant.As with HTML, the advantages of using a blog are greatest when you be presenting using a live Internet connection. You can include the links you want to visit in the blog/web page, and easily link out to web sites. The blog also makes a great “take-away.”
Use humor in presentations to make yourself more likable. Humor is a great rapport builder which knocks down audience resistance to your message. Make sure you space it throughout your presentation. You will subconsciously or consciously be tagged as trite by the audience members and out of touch if you tell a joke at the beginning and then forget humor for the rest of the presentation.
(Ref: Wake ’em Up Business Presentations Page 4)http://www.antion.com/wakebook.htm
Sometimes it can be a huge challenge to be funny.
But being funny and using humour are incredibly powerful tools in public speaking. They can make an audience relate to your message. They can provide contrast to a serious subject and lighten the mood, making the audience more receptive. They can improve your image as a speaker and as a person.
Sometimes humour can be spontaneous and that is oftentimes the most effective it will be. But sometimes it takes practice and serious attention to writing the speech to create that spontaneity – faking it till making it is one of the rules of public speaking after all!!
We can research jokes. We can copy the successful styles of speakers who use humour.
And another way is to learn from the comedians. While comedy is different in many ways from public speaking, or maybe can be seen as a specialised form of public speaking, there is much that can be learned from the comedians and implemented in your speeches.
Larry Wilde did just that. He interviewed great comedians for a book and learned much in the process. He interviewed famous comedians like Woody Allen, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Phyllis Diller, Bob Hope, and Jerry Lewis.
And now you can hear an interview with Larry Wilde about his experiences and the education in comedy that he gained. The interview is conducted by none other than Patricia Fripp, herself an award-winning speaker.
Learn the inside secrets of America’s greatest comedians. Hear the collective wisdom of the people who defined American comedy.
What the Great Comedians Teach Us About Comedy – Recorded live at the National Speakers Association of Northern California. Download here from Patricia Fripp’s website.
from “10 Days to More Confident Public Speaking”
(Chapter 5 – pages 107 – 110)
Copyright, 2001 Philip Lief Group Inc & Lenny Laskowski
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Gestures are reflections of every speaker’s individual personality. What’s right for one speaker may not be right for another; however, if you apply the following seven rules, you can become a dynamic, confident speaker who uses gestures well.
1. Respond naturally to what you think, feel and see. – It’s natural for you to gesture. If you inhibit your impulse to gesture, you’ll probably become tense.
2. Create the condition for gesturing, not the gesture. – When you speak, you should be totally involved in communicating – not thinking about your hands. Your gestures should be naturally motivated by the content of your presentation.
3. Suit the action to the word and the occasion. – Your visual and verbal messages must function as partners in communicating the same thought or feeling. Every gesture you make should be purposeful and reflective of your words so the audience will note only the effect, not the gesture itself.
4. Don’t overdo the gesturing. – You’ll draw the listener away from your message. Young audiences are usually attracted to a speaker who uses vigorous gestures, but older, more conservative groups may feel your physical actions are overwhelming or irritating.
5. Make your gestures convincing. – Your gestures need to be lively and distinct if they are to convey the intended impressions. Effective gestures are vigorous enough to be convincing yet slow enough and broad enough to be clearly visible without being overpowering. For example, if you are conveying excitement about a point or topic in your speech, show it in your face such as with a big smile. If you are excited and don’t show it, your body language sends a negative message. Your gestures need to match your words and the mood you are conveying.
6. Make your gestures smooth and well timed. – This rule is the most important but also the hardest. Why? Gestures have to be somewhat planned in advance so you can incorporate them during your speech rehearsal. In addition, practice sessions allow you to get a sense of how early you need to start your gesture so it coincides with the point you are making. Every gesture has three parts:
* The approach-Your body begins to move in anticipation.
* The stroke-The gesture itself.
* The return-This brings your body back to a balanced posture.
The flow of a gesture – the approach, the stroke, the return – must be smoothly executed so that only the stroke is evident to the audience. While it’s advisable to practice gesturing, don’t try to memorize your every move. This makes your
gesturing stilted and ineffective. For example, you’re standing on the left-hand side of the stage (the audience’s left) and you need to use the flip chart to illustrate a
point, but the flip chart is on the far right-hand side of the stage (the audience’s right). You may say to your audience. “Let’s take a look at it on the flip chart.”
As you start this statement begin walking toward the flip chart (the approach). Your goal is to start your gesture early enough so you can walk naturally toward the flip
chart. At the word “flip” place your hand on the flip chart. This combined walking and placement of your hand on the flip chart is the gesture or the stroke. After a
brief moment, place your hand on the flip chart and then take your hand and move it to one of your resting positions. This is the return or completion of the gesture.
7. Make natural, spontaneous gesturing a habit. – The first step in becoming adept at gesturing is to determine what, it anything, you are doing now. For example, pay attention to the gestures you use in everyday conversations and try to use these gestures during your presentation. If you prefer, you can videotape your practice speech. The camcorder or video camera is truthful and unforgiving. If you want to
become a more effective speaker, you need to make the camcorder your best friend. Recording yourself is a surefire way to eliminate your distracting mannerisms. Videotape yourself and identify your bad habits. Then work at eliminating them.
All of my private executive coaching sessions and seminars, use a video camera to help the participants “see” what they are doing and what changes they need to make. To improve gestures, practice – but never during a speech. Practice gesturing when speaking informally to friends, family members, and co-workers.
Simply Speaking…Selling Yourself & Your Ideas E-Zine
Published by Lenny Laskowski
Copyright LJL Seminars(tm), 2003
All Rights Reserved
