Friday, May 31, 2013

Presentations

To quote Mark Twain: “If you want me to give you a two-hour presentation, I am ready today. If you want only a five-minute speech, it will take me two weeks to prepare.”

The communicator's job is to make the important, interesting. John Howze

Remember that accomplished speakers set themselves up to deliver high-value information, not to convey detailed, pedestrian material that is best read in written format.

The shorter a presentation, the better it needs to be organized. Use the time-tested “power of three” – introduction, body and conclusion – to structure your talk. Schedule three minutes for the introduction, 12 for the body (with four minutes for each of your three core points), and three for the conclusion.

However long you’re scheduled to speak, you simply cannot go over your allotted time. 

Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much. Robert Greenleaf

You can be a brilliant orator, but the moment you roll past your limit, your credibility begins to suffer. Today’s audiences, with busy work lives, have less tolerance for speakers who lack the discipline and manners to stop at the appointed time. 

Rehearse your talk often enough so that if your presentation time is reduced for whatever reason (perhaps a technical malfunction at the venue), you can still deliver your material with confidence and clarity. It’s not about how long you speak. It’s about how well you connect

Jim Gray
Jim Gray is a speaker and communication skills coach in Toronto author of How Leaders Speak: Essential Rules for Engaging and Inspiring Others. Website: jimgray.ca.

Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)

To your speaking success!!

Fran Watson



Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Assertive Communication


Communication is fundamental in our lives. We communicate our thoughts and our feelings to family, friends, co-workers and strangers every day. Effective communication allows us to build healthy relationships in our private lives and healthy partnerships in our business lives. Ineffective interaction leads to frustration, dysfunctional personal relationships, stagnant organizations, and even war between countries.
 
Assertive communication requires the effective use of all aspects of communication from body language and symbols to persuasion and listening.  Assertiveness is being able to state your viewpoint without provoking another person.

Think about assertive communication as a two-way flow, an exchange of information.  It is open, honest, direct, shows mutual respect, values the thoughts, ideas, opinions and feelings of the other person(s) and strives for a winning outcome for everyone involved.

When you communicate assertively, you are expressing both positive and negative feelings – honestly and directly.  You are acknowledging that you have the right to be listened to and taken seriously, to say no without feeling guilty, to ask for what you want, and to make mistakes.  You also recognize and acknowledge that the other person has identical rights.  The result is that your relationships will become much more genuine, because you are communicating honestly and openly. 

What holds many people back from communicating assertively is the fear of displeasing others and of not being liked.  By not speaking up for yourself, you may avoid some immediate unpleasantness, however, you could also jeopardize the relationship in the long run if you refuse to assert yourself and then feel taken advantage of over and over again.  When this happens you become frustrated and unhappy with yourself, which reinforces a poor self-image and makes it difficult to command respect from others.

Awareness of yourself is a key part of learning to be assertive.  You can start by asking yourself questions such as:  What do I want to change?” and “How do I tell the other person without blaming or attacking him or her?”

Assertive communication uses a special technique known as “I-message”s to say how it is for you. When you use an “I-message”, you state what you need clearly, directly and specifically.  You let others know what you feel and think while being polite and firm. 

For example, “I would like to discuss the options in detail” instead of “Maybe there should be some discussion about the options.” Or “I understand the Tuesday deadline is really important.  However, as a result of the computer problems we’ve had today, I won’t have it completed on schedule unless I have some help.  Which other staff would be able to work on it with me?”  It is helpful if you can plan what you want to say before you say it.  That way, you can avoid saying something you might regret later.

Tips for Positive Communication

The key to communicating assertively is to express yourself clearly, without blaming or judging the other person.  One of the ways to learn how to do this is to sign up with a local Toastmasters Club. As a club member you will learn how to make your messages clear, complete and specific.  You will learn how to plan what you want to say before you say it.  You will learn how to ask the questions that will gain you the answers you need to make effective decisions.  You will learn how to listen so that you can become genuinely interested in discussions and give listeners or speakers your full attention without interrupting them.  You will learn how to give effective evaluations to demonstrate your comprehension of what has been said. 

You will learn how to give feedback, by being tactful, firm, and sensitive.  You will learn to focus on the behaviour or the specific task rather than on the person. You will point out what worked well, suggest alternatives, and give any additional feedback in private.

You will learn to invite feedback about your own work and regard it as an opportunity to improve the quality of your work and not as a personal attack.  You will learn to believe in yourself and value what you have to say.  Your insights could benefit others.

 Respect yourself, communicate assertively with those around you, and they will respect you too!
 
To your communication success
 
Fran Watson
 
P.S. For more information click here
 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Face Your Fears


"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES."
-, Nike ad
 
Do you "feel the fear" when asked to do some Public Speaking?
 
Public Speaking is still one of our greatest fears and it turns grown men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere thought of it turns our tongue to cotton wool, causes our internal plumbing to act up and turns our knees to jelly.
 
Well, there's no need for all of this because help is at hand. All you need to remember are your P's and Q's.
 
Let's start with the P's
 
Preparation -
When you sit down to write what you're going to say, bear in mind who you'll be speaking to. Will they understand what you're talking about; will they understand the technical stuff and the jargon? If in doubt remember the old saying - "Keep It Simple Stupid".  
 
Make sure that what you say has a beginning, middle and a conclusion. Think of some anecdotes that help reinforce your story. People think visually so paint verbal pictures for your audience. And always remember, people want to know what's in it for them - so make sure you tell them!
 
Place -
Have a look at the venue before the event if you can. It's not always possible, however, even if you get there half an hour before, you can check out where you'll be speaking.  Stand at the point where you will deliver from, imagine where the audience will be and check that they can see and hear you. You may even wish to place a glass of water where you'll be able to find it.
 
Personal Preparation -
Before any Public Speaking event, think about what you are going to wear; when in doubt dress up rather than down. You can always take things off for a more casual look. Men could remove their jacket and their tie. Women could remove items of jewellery.
 
Part of your personal preparation should include some mouth and breathing exercises. Practise saying some tongue twisters to give your speaking muscles a good work out. Take a deep breath and expand your diaphragm. Then breathe out, counting at the same time; try and get up to fifty and not pass out.
 
As part of your personal preparation, write your own introduction. Write out exactly what you want someone to say about you, large font, double-spaced and ask the person introducing you to read it. Believe me they won't object and will probably be pleased and impressed.
 
Poise and Posture -
Whenever you're called to speak, stand up or walk to the front quickly and purposefully. Pull yourself up to your full height, stand tall and look like you own the place. Before you start to speak, pause, look round your audience and smile. You may even have to wait until the applause dies down.  Remember, you want the audience to like you, so look likeable.
 
Pretend -
I'm suggesting you pretend you're not nervous because no doubt you will be. Nervousness is vital for speaking in public, it boosts your adrenaline, which makes your mind sharper and gives you energy.  The trick is to keep your nerves to yourself. On no account tell your audience your nervous; you'll only scare the living daylights out of them if they think you're going to faint.
 
Some tricks for dealing with nerves are: Before you're called to speak, get lots of oxygen into your system, run on the spot and wave your arms about like a lunatic. It burns off the stress chemicals.  Speak to members of your audience as they come in or at some time before you stand up. That tricks your brain into thinking you're talking to some friends.
 
Have a glass of water handy for that dry mouth. One word of warning - do not drink alcohol. It might give you "Dutch courage" but your audience will end up thinking you're speaking Dutch.
 
The Presentation -
Right from the start your delivery needs to grab their attention. Don't start by saying - "Good morning, my name is Fred Smith and I'm from Smith Associates." Even if your name is Smith, it's a real boring way to start a presentation.  Far better to start with some interesting facts or an anecdote that's relevant to your presentation. 
 
Look at the audience as individuals; it grabs their attention if they think you're talking to them personally and talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get the message. Funnily enough, it's also good for your nerves.
 
PowerPoint -
And for those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a software programme that's used to design stunning graphics and text for projection onto a screen. As a professional speaker, I'm not that struck on PowerPoint. I feel that too many speakers rely on it and it takes over the presentation.  After all, you're the important factor here. If an audience is going to accept what you say then they need to see the whites of your eyes. There needs to be a big focus on you, not on the technology.
 
Use PowerPoint if you want but keep it to a minimum and make sure you're not just the person pushing the buttons.  Why not get a bit clever at using the faithful old Flip Chart, lots of professionals do.
 
Passion -
This is what stops the audience in their tracks. This is what makes them want to employ you or to accept what you're proposing. Couple this with some energy, enthusiasm and emotion and you have the makings of a great public speaker.
 
Give your presentation a bit of oomph and don't start telling me - "I'm not that kind of person." There's no need to go over the top but you're doing a presentation to move people to action, not having a cosy little chat in your front room.
 
That's the P's finished, so let's look at the Q's.
 
Questions -
Decide when you're going to take them and tell people at the start. In a short speech it's best to take questions at the end. If you take them as you go then you may get waylaid and your timing will get knocked out.
 
Never - never - never finish with questions; far better to ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end. Deal with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat.
 
When you're asked a question, repeat it to the whole audience and thank the questioner. It keeps everyone involved, it gives you time to think and it makes you look so clever and in control.
 
Quit -
Quit when you're ahead. Stick to the agreed time; if you're asked to speak for twenty minutes, speak for nineteen and the audience will love you for it. Remember, quality is not quantity. One of the most famous speeches ever - "The Gettysburg Address", by President Lincoln, was just over two minutes long.
 
Right, that's my cue to quit when I'm ahead. Now that you're armed with this information you too can minimise your fear of Public Speaking.
 
To your public speaking success
 
Fran Watson
P.S.  For more tips on public speaking, Click here