Blog

Presenting Without Notes – Part 2

2012-05-16T06:52:47Z

Use some props or visual items that you have prepared

Props can be used to remind you of the points that you are going to talk about. As you plan your speech, choose what props will remind you of what you are going to talk about. Each prop will trigger your memory and you will be able to relate the importance and the meaning of the item you are holding up. And once agin the story around the prop relates directly to your point and your core message.

You don’t have to physically hold the prop up for the audience to see, but just have them laid out in front of you in sequence. Another way is to lay out 3 books, with each book title serving to trigger your memory on the content of that point you will talk about.

When I speak about the importance of getting feedback every time you speak, as you try to improve your public speaking, I talk about 3 ways to gain good feedback. Each of these ways can be demonstrated by a prop. For example

Watch yourself in a mirror and see what your gestures and facila expressions look like. Prop – I hold up a small mirror
Video record your presentation or your practise session and view that to look for opportunities to improve. You can view the video to see what you do well and waht you could change. Prop – hold up a small video camera
Have a friend or colleague in the audience give you verbal feedback at the end of your presentation. You need to give them permission and tell them specificaly what you want them to look for and the feedback should be immediate. Prop – a small figurine or photo of a colleague

So what propos or visual cues can you use to help you present without notes?

Your Elevator Speech

2012-03-20T08:38:46Z

One of the most common times that you will have to speak in front of group is when you have to introduce yourself. This may be at a meeting, a networking event a social event or just when you bump into someone. The questions can include:

· So what do you do
· Tell us a little about yourself
· Let’s do self introductions
· I will start the meeting with introductions
· We will go around the table one by one

And while many people don’t like to do this, or feel put on the spot as they have not had time to prepare, or they were not expecting it, it is something that you can and should prepare for. Everyone should have one or two introductory speeches. They are called your elevator speech or your elevator pitch. If you have 30 to 60 seconds to say what you do and influence the listener, what would you say.

Wikepedia defines an elevator speech as “An elevator pitch (or elevator speech or elevator statement) is a short summary used to quickly and simply define a product, service, or organization and its value proposition. The name "elevator pitch" reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes”

I enclose 4 simple questions that you can answer and at the end of that process you will have an effective and powerful elevator pitch and all you need to do is practise.

1. Say what it is that you do

2. Say what problem or difficulty that you solve

3. Say how you are different or unique – this is your unique selling proposition

4. And it should appeal to my “why should I care” as a listener – this is the so what or what’s in it for me section – from the listeners point of view.

The elevator speech should be learnt and practiced and it should be 30 to 60 seconds long and it should be targeted to your audience.

Negative Self Talk – The Wolf Dressed in Sheep’s Clothes

2012-03-11T10:50:32Z

When taking on public speaking and presentation tasks that are new, different or take us out of our comfort zones, many of us feel anxious and nervous and sometimes even avoid the task. Much of our anxiety and nerves around these speaking tasks comes from our own self talk and much of this self talk is negative. We say things like:

· What if I make a mistake
· What if they don’t like me
· What if they don’t agree with me
· What if I forget what I am going to say
· I don’t really need to do this task and it won’t affect my career if I say no
· Someone else can do this
· Everyone will be judging me on the basis if this presentation
· It’s easier to say no and safer to say no
· Be careful it is not safe to take this task on

Research has shown that we have approximately 65,000 thoughts per day and between 65% and 70% of these thoughts are negative. I have also heard that 90% of what we worry about never happens yet we invest so much time and energy in worrying about these things that don’t happen.

Now as you can see many of the thoughts that you will have will appear to be good advice, precautionary advice, safety advice; but in reality it is a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothes, appearing to be friendly but in reality being negative and unhelpful. In reality this negative and cautionary voice of the wolf is stopping you from maximizing your potential, advancing yourself and taking up opportunities that you should.

So the next time you have an opportunity to speak in public and are feeling a little anxious, listen closely to your self talk – and just check if it is negative or positive. Is it reality or is it the wolf speaking in disguise just appearing to be friendly and helpful. If so, change those thoughts to positive and say yes to the opportunity.

Presenting Without Notes – Part 1

2011-06-23T23:48:22Z

Everyone recognizes the limitations and loss off effectiveness when you simply stand up and read your speech or read from your workshop handouts. But many people are afraid that if they don’t use their script or their workbook, they will forget what they wanted to say or lose track of what they wanted to say. So how can you learn to present a 1 hour seminar or a 1 day workshop without needing to constantly rely on your notes. In this series of blogs, I am going to give 4 tips or 4 strategies that will help you become less reliant on your notes and your script.

1. Use personal stories

Develop 3 or 4 key points that are the backbone of your presentation. Around each of your key points tell personal stories, examples, anecdotes or case studies that you are very familiar with and have been directly involved with. This then means that you do not have to learn a script, or read from notes, as you are telling a story, your story, that you know well and can recount without notes. And if the order of the story, the exact details change each time you tell it, that does not matter as the crux of the story, the essence remains the same and illustrates the point that you are trying to emphasise.

Build your bank of stories around each point that you speak on. And as you build you these you have more to call upon when you are speaking. You will have both sides of the story with a positive example and a negative example. If your mind goes blank and you forget that particular story which you usually tell to illustrate that point, then you calmly call upon the other example that you have in your story bank. As you build your story bank, you will have different stories that then become more appropriate for different audiences. The stories that I use when speaking to health professionals are different to the stories that I use when speaking to financial advisors.

Your stories need to be short, they need to have a point and the point needs to link to your core message. Build your bank of stories.

Speak With Conviction

2011-06-21T23:16:17Z

One of the keys to being a successful speaker and ensuring that your message is heard, understood and acted upon by the audience, is to ensure you use the right emotion. You need to be genuine, authentic, and honest and you need to be aligned with your message.

The easiest way to do this is to have conviction, absolute conviction in your own message and what you are saying. That is an unwavering belief that your message, your service, your product will really help people in their lives. Your message will help transform people’s lives by addressing some of the issues, pain or problems they are experiencing. Or alternatively your message will help people achieve some success or goal which is important to them and will help them in their lives.

In marketing terms, they say that "the first sale must be to yourself". This simply means that you buy 100% what you are saying. You believe in your message wholeheartedly and you know that it is a message that will help your target audience one way or the other. To not believe your own message lends you to being seen as not honest, not genuine and similar to a snake oil or magic remedy salesperson.

If you don’t speak with conviction, then most audiences will detect this and they won’t buy your message. Have conviction every time you speak, because if you don’t believe what you are saying is important and valuable, why are you saying it.

Use the most common questions to guide your presentation

2011-04-26T07:48:29Z

Use the most common questions to guide your presentation

Regardless of what you speak on, or your area of expertise, there will always be those 3 or 4 common questions that are frequently asked. And of course as an expert or knowledgeable person in that area, you know the answers, solutions and ways to overcome these problems. Use these 3 or 4 common questions as the 3 or 4 anchor points for your speech and then give the answers and the information needed around each question.

For example, if I was going to give a speech on the 4 most important things that you can do to increase your effectiveness as a presenter, I would say.

Learn to speak with confidence and reduce any nerves

Use a simple and effective structure

Design your core message to meet the needs of your audience

Build rapport and connect with your audience

I know these 4 questions off by heart and I know the answers, as I have been teaching them for many years. There is speech structure all organised and simple to remember.

The Importance Of Eye Contact

2011-03-22T06:35:31Z

Eye contact is one of the most important aspects of public speaking and can really make or break your presentation. In my public speaking training and coaching, poor eye contact is one of the common problems I see in my students. Many people are just not comfortable using genuine and effective eye contact, and they are unsure how they can best use eye contact - and I am not talking about cultural differences where sometimes eye contact may not be appropriate.

Lack of good eye contact can mean several things and this includes

A sign of nerves
Lack of confidence and uncertainty
Lack of honesty or conviction around what you are saying – if you don’t know the answer – then don’t try and answer it.
Thinking about the future (eyes to the roof) or searching the past (eyes to the floor)
Lack of interest or engagement with your audience.

Eye contact is important as it allows you to

Share yourself openly with the audience- the eyes are the windows to your sole
Demonstrate sincerity and honesty in your message
Attend to the audience and read the audience. You will see if they are flagging or going to sleep, or shaking their head in disagreement. This allows you to change tack to reengage the audience.

My philosophy on eye contact is that my lips should never move unless I am looking at 1 person. I encourage you to look at 1 person at a time and spend a few milliseconds and speak to them and then move to another person. Do this in a random but inclusive pattern around the room, remembering that in a big audience, if you look at 1 person, the 10 people sitting directly around that person will think that you are looking at them. If you want use a model to ensure that you cover the room fully, you can use a Z pattern or an X pattern, which enables you to track and ensure that you are covering all parts of the room.

Common errors regarding eye contact include

Speaking with you back to the audience
Looking to the back of the room - over the tops of everyone’s heads
Looking at the ceiling or the floor while speaking
Scanning the room with a vacant gaze, not actually looking at an individual
Lighthouse eye contact, where you move systematically, like a lighthouse, from left to right of the room, without actually stopping to look at individuals as you go.

Use your eye contact when presenting, develop your confidence with eye contact, get feedback on how well you use your eye contact, after all it is one of the keys to building rapport and connecting to your audience.

Learn From Others

2011-02-27T03:09:27Z

Some of the best sources of information and lessons in public speaking come from watching and listening to others. As a public speaking trainer and coach I attend as many seminars and presentations as I can, mostly so I can observe and learn from other presenters.

In my public speaking workshops, I get each person to do mini speeches and I get the other participants to analyse and critique the mini speech. I also analyse the speech and give feedback and comments and I coach for speaking improvement. This way everyone adds to the learning environment, and the student speakers become the teachers, at the same time receiving valuable feedback from myself and the other participants.

I have just conducted a half day workshop in Bunbury and over the 3 mini speeches each person did, people saw amazing growth and learning take place, just by being open to analyzing and watching other students speak.

You have probably watched Anna Bligh speak over the past weeks in relation to the Queensalnd Floods and cyclone. You would have noticed her honesty, authenticity and emotion that she put into her regulat updates to the people of Queensland and Australia. She was realy able to connect and build rapport and trust with the audience. By watching Anna Blight you can learn so much about effective communication and public speaking.

You have probably watched Barack Obamma speak on TV and noticed how he speaks very fast, but has great use of pause and pacing, which makes him very easy to listen too. By watching Barack Obama you can learn the power of using pause and pacing to create interest and impact. If you do speak fast, take a lesson from Barack Obama.

So take the opportunity whenever you can to observe other speakers, either in person or on TV and look for the lessons. There are plenty to be learned.

The Value Of Feedback

2011-02-10T11:40:25Z

In all of my public speaking workshops I emphasise the value and the importance of getting feedback, one way or the other, on your performance. One of my favorite quotes states that "Feedback is the food of champions" and it is the way we learn and grow. Feedback is important for several reasons. Feedback:-

lets you know of areas where you may be able to improve
can identify any problems or distracting behavior
gives you an idea of how you are going from the audiences perspective, which is usually a lot better than you give yourself credit for

For feedback to be useful, it needs to be

Specific
Immediate
Honest
Actionable

There are many ways that you can get feedback including, video record yourself and watch it later, practice in front of a mirror and observe yourself and have a friend or audience member that you have briefed before your presentation to give you feedback.

Regardless of how you obtain the feedback, ensure it is specific, immediate, honest and actionable. It is no good asking someone "how was that", or "what did you think". You need to ask them before you speak to give you feedback on 1 or 2 particular aspects of your presentation that you wish to work on. Give them permission to be honest and let them know that you are aware of this problem and ask them for the feedback immediately after your presentation.

Every time you present or undertake some public speaking, use as an opportunity to grow and improve; use it as an opportunity to get open and honest feedback

Connect With Your Audience; Build Rapport

2011-02-07T06:12:54Z

One of the keys to effective public speaking and presenting is the ability to connect with your audience. You will all have experienced workshops and seminars where the speaker really connected with you and had a massive influence over your thinking. And there will be other presenters who may have been quite confident and eloquent, but they failed to have the same type of impact on you. The difference between the two was simply that one speaker connected and built rapport with you, while the other failed to make this connection.

There is a famous marketing quote that states, “People buy from people they know, like, and trust.” I am unsure of the author, but it is in much of the marketing literature. I have slightly adapted this quote to say “People listen and learn from people they know, like, and trust.” As a speaker and presenter, you are selling knowledge, information, your experience, a new way of thinking and you are doing this to help the audience in one way or another. Generally you are helping your audience to solve a problem, overcome adversity, alleviate some pain, achieve a goal or reach some dream in their lives. Before selling these messages to your audience, first take the time to build rapport and connect.

Some tips for rapport building and audience connecting presentations include:

· Know what you are talking about
· Do what you say “Walk The Talk”
· Have some credentials and experience
· Reveal you vulnerability or your journey
· Share your struggle
· Be humble and open to the audience ideas
· Build trust
· Remain behind at the end of your presentation – be the last to leave
· Give them extra value by providing bonuses, newsletters and other free stuff
· Follow up on what you agreed to do – find the answers to those difficult questions

Next time you speak, take the time to connect and build rapport before you move into the teaching, selling, persuasive or information stage of your presentation. Earn the right to “sell” your message first.