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Number
20
Our theme in this issue: If
You Know The Mistakes Speakers Make Then, You Can Avoid Them and
Deliver Like An Expert
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If you believe as I do that :: Great Leaders Are
Great Communicators, then it is time to place more
emphasis on speaking skills.
"As an executive reaches middle
management and beyond, or move to own their own business
the primary criteria for success are communication and
motivation skills, rather than just job
performance."
--- Roger
Ailes | |
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on to Leading Ways.... If You Know The Mistakes Speakers Make, Then You Can
Avoid Them and Deliver Like An Expert
Perhaps you already view yourself as an accomplished business
audience presenter, or an accomplished public speaker.
However, just like great singers or sportspeople if we do not
continue to practice and hone our skills, we simply will not remain
at the top of our game.
Feedback objectivity from someone qualified to render an opinion
is good starting point, but even then we should use a cross-check by
understanding the more common faults of speakers.
Far from an exhaustive checklist the following abridged
version is to provide focus for continued improvement and
polish:
- Not understanding that 55% of your audiences' interpretation
is determined non-verbally. It starts with your grooming,
continues with how you hold yourself, use facial expressions,
smile, and relate to your audience. In the first
7-seconds they will have formed an opinion about you, even
before you open your mouth.
- Make sure you analyze your audience - not only
their demographics, but also their situational
characteristics. This analysis will lead to a presentation
with more relevant content.
- Understand what you want the outcome of your presentation to
be. What do you want the audience to do as a result of
listening to you?
- Don't forget the 5 P's. Poor Planning Produces Poor
Performances. You can instantly tell if a speaker has
not really planned or rehearsed. If the speaker has
rehearsed enough their attention will be focussed on you, the
audience.
- Remember, You Are The Message. Statistics and
PowerPoint will not dazzle, it is your conversation with the
audience that counts. Do you exude professionalism and
confidence? Are you using vocal variety?
- The Enemy of Speakers is Sameness.
Although new research has shown that people learn 85% of
the time visually [probably due to our increased use of TV,
computers and text-messaging over the last two decades] not only
should your presentations take into account all learning styles,
but there should also be voice transitions. Drop into a
third-party voice from time-to-time as though you were both
parties to a conversation; and while in your own voice, vary the
pace and pitch for increased impact.
- Facts are boring! Your audience can get
those from books or the internet. What your audience wants
is your experience, judgement, successes and failures; or what the
facts have meant to you personally.
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"It is no
use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to
succeed in doing what is
necessary."
-- Winston
Churchill |
- Giving your audience an information dump. In an attempt
to establish our credibility most of us provide too much
information. A good rule-of-thumb is one key point for every
45 to 60 minutes. All sub-points should support the main
point.
- Stories are Powerful -- after 48 hours
they may be all your audience remembers from your presentation.
- Forgetting to quote other people and sources. Quoting
others lends credibility to your presentation, and is in effect a
3rd party endorsement of your message.
- Lies, lies and statistics. Again, do not bury your
audience with data. Pick a few strong facts and
simplify. Instead of saying 67.3% say things like "two out
of three people agree....."
- Joke telling -- many executives I coach want me to put a joke
at the front-end of their presentation. Why, because they
want to be entertaining. If you must tell a joke, then
perhaps tell one against yourself. The three R's.
Remember, it must be Realistic to use a joke,
Relevant to your presentation, and most of all
don't Read it.
- You need both a powerful opening, and a
powerful close. I usually do not write the
opening until I have structured my entire
speech. After the initial pause your powerful
opening must jolt your audience out of their thoughts and into
your world. If the opening doesn't excite you, it won't
excite your audience.
- Fillers -- don't overdo them.
Many would tell you never to use Ah's Um's etc, but remember this
is a conversation with your audience. We all use the
occasional one in a conversation, so you can use the occasional
one in your presentation. Just don't overdo it.
- If you must read! Sometimes
reading may be required in that there may be, for example,
medical facts or legal issues where precise wording is
necessary. In that case there is a golden rule.
Look down at the notes, gather up some words, look up and
deliver to your audience. Pause to look down again, take in
the words, look up and deliver to your audience. Practice
each day by using a newspaper. Look down, gather up part of
a story, look up and deliver in front of a mirror.
_______________________________________
NEW !! Two day public speaking workshops
now in a city near you:
- Los Angeles October 18th & 19th
- Atlanta October 23rd & 24th
- Chicago October 26th & 27th
- Houston October 30th & 31st
- Denver November 2nd & 3rd
For complete details and
registration information, email us now at:
principal@leader-success.com
In your email please include the
city and potential number of people attending ... places are limited
to ensure personal attention.
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- Making Ground Through the Q &
A -- Often when questions are asked for
there is a stony silence, and so I either [1] gather up questions
by arriving early and meeting people. In that way I
understand what is of interest to attendees and incorporate it
into my session, or alternatively [2] I lead off with "Quite
often I am asked......" I usually have two or three
prepared questions as they can be a good
ice-breaker.
A mistake speakers frequently make is to end their
presentation with the Question & Answer session. If you do
this you run the risk of the point of your presentation being
lost. From the Q & A it is imperative that you move back
in to your presentation, recap on the main points, and then leave
your audience with a powerful close and Call to Action.
By the way, what is it that you want your audience to do
as a result of your presentation? Often presenters
forget!
- The P-A-U-S-E Do not underestimate the
power of the pause. It starts with a pause, and not a
thank-you after you are introduced. When people first see
you after the introduction you have 7 seconds to make a lasting
first impression, and that may be before you even open your
mouth. After the p-a-u-s-e launch into your powerful
opening and move the audience into your world. Use pauses
throughout your presentation, with a final pause just before your
grand finale.
- Leaving a lasting impression - I
call them terminal tear-jerkers, where your final message is to
TAP INTO THE EMOTIONS by instilling Pride, Hope, Love or Fear in
order to move the audience to action.
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"They may forget what
you said, but they will never forget how you made them
feel."
- Carl
Buechner |
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Networking Magic by:
Rick Frishman & Jill Lublin
ISBN 1-59337-020-2 Adams
Media
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... from the book
"The most successful networkers build relationships with
others because they love people and the dynamics of
relationships...... You can't always be the taker;
..... .... you must be prepared to give at least two
or three items for every one you receive.... better yet,
don't count; just give." |
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______________________________
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"Good sometimes gets in the way
of us striving to be great. Perhaps it's because
we become too comfortable or complacent." -- Pastor
Kevin
Have a great week!
Denis
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