While coaching a top executive on presentation skills, I commented that the enthusiasm he exhibits in one-to-one conversations was not being conveyed in his presentations to the group. His response: “as a company leader, I need to be taken seriously; so I tend to tone it down when speaking to my group.”
Of course, if a presenter is delivering bad news, such as layoffs, a subdued style is appropriate. In general, however, is the assumption that when one speaks with enthusiasm he or she appears less serious or businesslike? Does a more animated speaker seem any less credible to you? Take our poll and leave a comment below:
After weighing in, then check out this related blog entry on the cartoon factor.
Discover the secret to impressing and connecting with your audience.
Attendees at my pubic speaking trainings often say that they have taken “similar” courses on presentations by the big-name companies, and that my techniques are more thorough and insightful. This is because we all cover the same basics, but I also add a plethora of techniques that I developed as a professional sleight-of-hand performer. I learned far more about effective presenting in the entertainment industry than I did in the corporate arena.
I’ll share with you one major discovery I uncovered through magic. In my circle of professional magicians, we often discuss what is the “best” trick for an audience. At a show, I might throw your signed card through a window, bend your signed coin in your own hand, and turn singles into hundred dollar bills. Solid magic. My peers accomplish similar effects. We unanimously agree on what impresses an audience the most, and it’s a trick YOU can do… remember their names.
Clearly, this “trick” has limitations. It is unlikely to work with a full auditorium, but it is quite effective at meetings and classroom-size presentations. If you can remember the names of your audience members and use those names through your presentation and Q&A, you are golden. I have already written about some great strategies to remembering names here but I want to include a new technique I’ve been using that makes it even easier.
When you arrive early, you have an opportunity to meet attendees as they trickle in. My secret is upon introduction, I create a visual that I associate with the person’s name. Here are some examples:
Mike: I will visualize him talking into a mic while we chat.
Sarah: Piece of cake on her shoulder (Sara Lee brand of course)
Wendy: Burger
Karen: Carrot
Bob: Apple (corny but it works for me)
You can make these up on the spot. Some will only make sense to you. Burn that image into your mind so when you see them a bit later, you have your memory hook that enables you to recall their name. It works like a charm. When you are done with your presentation and Q&A be prepared to have many people remark, “you are amazing. How do you remember all of our names?” You might want to send them a link to this blog.
If you are among the 95% of people who “um” and “ah” when they present, then you will benefit from this blog.
As a public speaking trainer, I am appalled by the throng of “experts” who suggest that when making a presentation, the speaker should concentrate on not saying “um” and “ah”. Wrong.
I recall watching a high school student making a presentation. He was using “ums and “ahs” in some moderation, when a peer hollered, “Greg, ease up on the “ums and ahs”. It’s easy to predict what happened: Greg’s reliance on the filler words doubled. Now that he was aware, he became more nervous, and actually focused on the words he was trying to avoid.
In addition, when I was a member of BNI, I counted the number of “ums” and “ahs” each person said in their 60-second commercials, and it averaged five incidences. The next week, I “educated” them on how much filler detracts from their message. I asked them to endeavor to omit the filler from their commercials. What happened? Despite their sincere efforts, the average rocketed to nine occurrences.
Why does this happen?
I learned the secret at Ananda Yoga Studio where Tish Roy shared a story about an instructor who told his student, “Whatever you do, do not think of a monkey while meditating.” After sometime the instructor asked the student how he was doing. The student replied, “All I could do was think of that Monkey!”
Case in point: The worst thing you could do when you are about to present is concern yourself with filler. If you use fillers, no worries, just focus on your message, and you will be better off.
That said, it is important to note that “ums” and “ahs” drastically undermine your credibility and impact. The time to fix the problem, however, is not right before you present. It is in your everyday speaking.
1. Stop saying “um” and “ah” in your everyday conversation with friends and family. Offer them a dollar whenever they catch you.
2. Pause when you think. While it may make you feel awkward and insecure, others will perceive you as very confident and thoughtful.
3. Listen to the voice mails you leave to others by pressing the star or pound key. See how many times you “um” and “ah”. Keep leaving the message until there are none.
Here is the bonus:
Stop the filler and you will speak with authority and confidence in both your presentations and in your personal conversations. You will always appear in control even when you don’t feel it. What a great return for such a small effort.
Are you intimidated by hostile audiences? Public speaking can be daunting enough, but when you are faced with a tough or hostile audience, it can be petrifying. Below are some techniques to set the battlefield in your favor. By employing these, you will gain the upper ground and successfully stave off much of the attack.
1) Stop the attack before it starts.
If you are afraid of being knocked off track with difficult questions, avoid them up front by saying: “I have 30 minutes with you, and I will keep within that time. During the presentation I’ll probably answer many of the questions you have, so please make a mental note of questions and save them until the end. I’ve budgeted 10 minutes at the end; so we can address them.”
2) Don’t give them a chance to pre-empt you.
If you have handouts, wait until your presentation is over to distribute them; otherwise people will read ahead, find mistakes and formulate tougher questions.
3) Stop the monopolizer before he starts.
At the beginning of Q&A say, “we have 10 minutes for all Q&A and I want to make sure that everyone who has a question gets a chance, who would like to go first?” If nobody raises their hand, you start things off by saying, “A question I’m often asked is . . .”
4) No dead time.
Moving briskly and purposefully is a magician’s trick to keep the questioners quiet. When you are on course and in control, it feels awkward for the heckler to chime in. Once there is a break in your flow, he’ll jump right in.
5) Give them no fuel to attack by being likeable.
Be there early and greet attendees as they arrive. Chat with them and make it personal.
Look and act confidently but speak humbly.
Mention in the beginning that you will be sure to keep within your allocated time: “I have thirty minutes to update you, and I’ll be sure to stay within that time period.” They can’t help but to like that.
If you feel you know less than your audience and you are going to be fielding many tough questions: “I may not have all the answers, but I’ll tap into our experts in the audience during Q&A.”
Caveat: Many times you want open discussion and probing questions. This vlog is not about fostering that environment. On the contrary it is for those who seek to avoid a challenging or hostile environment. Not all techniques are universally applicable. Use your judgment.
Recently, I attended one of the famous Highland March Professional Development Series featuring master networker Jason Kallio, President of ExpoVantage. Did he have great content? Yes. Was he prepared and organized? Yes. But that’s only part of the reason he won the crowd. He was funny, entertaining, and engaging. He made us laugh and he talked with us, not at us. He was in the moment and built on the comments that people shared.
As a public speaking expert, anytime I’m in the audience, I spend up to half the time looking at the audience to see how effective the presenter is. The answer lies in their focus. If their eyes are glued to the presenter, that’s great; otherwise there is a problem. All eyes were glued to Jason throughout the entire presentation. I have seen other prepared, organized, and structured presenters in that same room lose the audience. Why the difference? Content is a commodity; delivery is everything.
Jason is also a professional magician; so he adheres to the philosophy that every presentation is a performance. He realizes that excellent content that is well prepared is NOT enough to earn the audience’s attention. Great content must be delivered in a performance. Here are some of the reasons people loved him:
1) He opened with a magic trick that conveyed a major point about networking.
2) He invited participation and wove that participation into his presentation.
3) He was very much in the “here and now”. He used appropriate humor to respond to audience remarks, and got to know the members of his audience as he went along.
4) He spoke to each member individually, focusing his eye contact on one person at a time instead of doing the common superficial scanning.
5) He was excited because he knew he had prepared for a performance, rather than a presentation.
After watching and analyzing thousands of presentations, here is something I’ve learned: presenters who think their only responsibility is to disseminate information are usually painfully boring – irrespective of their content. Presenters who understand that their presentation is a performance usually win the crowd.
My college roommate, Sean Cusick, was an English major, and he enlightened me about the rule of three. Your writing will have more impact when you use three nouns, adjectives or adverbs together. For example, it is more compelling to say, “this course will give you the skills, confidence and motivation to catapult your speaking career,” rather than saying “this course will give you the skills and confidence to catapult your speaking career.”
Little did I know, however, that I was only scratching the surface with respect to this amazing rule of three in public speaking. Here is a fascinating, in-depth look at the RULE OF THREE by Andrew Dlugan and how to apply it. Enjoy!
This is the second time I’ve witnessed a speaker ditch the notes and speak from the heart. Once again, it was a huge success.
In a previous public speaking blog entry, I recounted how a presenter’s computer quit, and she was forced to complete the rest of her presentation without her Powerpoint notes. It proved to be the best thing that happened to her, as she recaptured and maintained the audience’s attention.
Recently, I witnessed a best-man toast. As is typical, he unfolded a piece of paper and began reading – boring. After a few sentences, he paused, looked up at the guests and said, “I’m going to just speak from the heart, how about that?” The audience applauded, he folded the paper, and placed it in his pocket. There was a small pause, and you could feel how every person was eagerly anticipating his next words.
He went on to speak in a conversational tone about the groom. He earned a ton of laughs and many “aawwws” from the guests. His speech moved everyone in attendance. It was one of the best I’ve seen, and I know he wouldn’t have had nearly that reaction had he simply read his notes.
Once again, case-in-point, when you choose to “talk with” instead of “read to” an audience, you will make a connection, and they will remember you and your message. You might think that it’s a daunting task not to read from your slides and notes, but the beauty is that your audience gives you tons of leeway when you are speaking from the heart. They will simply like you more, and likeability is one of the six pillars of persuasion.
Clearly, when you are giving a training or a much longer presentation, you may need to refer to your notes or slides to make sure you are on track. That’s okay, as long as you are using them as a guide, and not for the verbiage of the presentation itself.
Last week, I presented magic at the historic Vienna. I started entertaining a few people, but in ten minutes I was completely surrounded, and the room was packed. Then, I looked for my Sharpie marker, which I needed for my next effect. I realized it was in my bag sitting about ten feet away; so I wended my way through the crowd, fished for my marker, and finally handed it to the spectator. This took about twenty seconds. But, when I launched back into my presentation, the crowd had dissipated, and small conversations were flourishing. Now I needed to WORK HARD at rebuilding my crowd and recapturing attention. In short, I had to revive my presentation from the dead.
Shame on me! I teach executives and managers that they must have everything they need at their fingertips BEFORE beginning a presentation. Why? Because DEAD TIME KILLS. It devours your effectiveness because without the audience’s rapt attention, you are wasting your time and theirs.
What I witnessed physically at a magic performance (people talking and walking) is a caricature of what happens in a business presentation. While it is unlikely that your audience will bolt for the door or launch into small private chats at your presentation, people will “check out” mentally, and they will launch into internal dialogue about something more important or more amusing than you. It’s that simple.
The solution is simple as well:
1) While rehearsing make a checklist of everything you need, use, or refer to.
2) Setup: on the big day, go through your checklist and physically touch every item you need.
3) Handouts: have them at each seat before you begin. If this is not possible, have somebody else deliver the handouts for you while you continue to present.
4) Index cards: If you rely on index cards for notes, be sure to number them to avoid excessive fumbling should you drop them. If you rely on powerpoint for notes see here.
5) Do you refer to a manual, text or report? Use Post-it notes as book marks. Flipping around for even five seconds creates enough dead-time to start the bleeding.
6) Avoid or limit conversation that is administrative and directed at only one person. For example, you are presenting on a new accounting policy, and your tech guru asks about systems integration. Even though this is not technically dead time, the conversation acts as white noise for everyone else in the room who is far removed from these details. Unless the issue is urgent, use this response: “excellent question, and you and I need to discuss it in detail after this presentation. Thanks for bringing it up Jim.”
7) Be very aware of any time that ticks where nothing is happening, and understand that it is causing a slow drain of your audience’s attention.
Please do not confuse dead time with the power of the pause. A purposeful pause drastically increases your effectiveness. I’m talking about me fumbling for my Sharpie or you flipping through your 10-Q report trying to find the change in retained earnings while your boss begins to daydream about whether it’s chicken fajita or tuna salad for lunch. Personally, I’d take the chicken fajita with ranch dressing.
There are some presentations you do where applause is desirable and appropriate. We’ve already discussed optimal audience seating that will facilitate audience reaction and applause. In this entry you will discover the nuances and lines the presenter can employ to increase audience applause. Much of what I’ve learned about earning applause comes from my performance in entertaining rather than strictly business presentations. Nevertheless the lesson lends itself to many types of public speaking.
Keep in mind, audiences need a cue to applaud because they subconsciously fear applauding at the wrong time, or being the only person clapping.
Here are both subtle (for business) and bold (for entertainment) methods to encourage applause.
During your presentation at an “applause moment”:
1) Ask audience to give a round of applause to someone who helped you.
2) “Thank you for your enthusiasm”
3) If it’s silent: “Save your applause till the end – I have a weak finish.”
4) When only one person applauds: “I think you just woke up the others” OR “Are the rest of you saving it for the big finish?” OR “I will wow you one person at a time” OR “Special thanks to my fan club” (pointing to the one person)
5) “Oh, I forgot to tell you, your applause will be recorded”
6) “There are two ways we can do this (show,demo) like we’re doing it now, or with applause.”
7) “Hey, I know you’re out there, I can hear you breathing”
”Instead of applauding, why don’t we all hold hands and try to join with the LIVING”
To get applause at the end of your presentation
“Thank you” Take a slight bow with a light clap of the hands and take a small step back.
While the best way to earn applause is to do an excellent job, these nuances and lines make all the difference with respect to creating the right atmosphere conducive to applause. Remember to use your judgement when tossing a quip into the mix.
What one mistake do even the best public speakers tend to make?
Clearly, they don’t pace, fidget or say “uhmm”, and they do project their voice, make meaningful eye contact and use purposeful movement. They’ve mastered the basics; so how can they improve?
In my experience even the best public speakers make this minor mistake: connectors. When they finish a statement, they start the next with one of the following words: so, now, or okay. While there is nothing wrong with an occasional use of these connectors, most speakers use them almost every time after a pause.
It’s a nuance that I learned from a top Toastmaster who analyzed my speaking. She pointed out that I had overused these connectors. Before this enlightenment, I had no idea I was doing this. Are you? If you’re just becoming comfortable with public speaking, don’t worry too much about this. If you are an advanced speaker, chances are this is one area in which you may be able to improve. The only way to know whether you use connectors is to record your presentation, or ask someone in the audience to take note of them for you.
How to stop? The same way you stopped umming and ahhing. Avoid using connectors in your everyday conversation and they will automatically disappear from your more formal presentations.
Advanced tips for public speakers are always welcome here. Please share yours.
Recently, I attended one of the famous 
My college roommate, Sean Cusick, was an English major, and he enlightened me about the rule of three. Your writing will have more impact when you use three nouns, adjectives or adverbs together. For example, it is more compelling to say, “this course will give you the skills, confidence and motivation to catapult your speaking career,” rather than saying “this course will give you the skills and confidence to catapult your speaking career.”
This is the second time I’ve witnessed a speaker ditch the notes and speak from the heart. Once again, it was a huge success.
Last week, I presented magic at the 
There are some presentations you do where applause is desirable and appropriate. We’ve already discussed 
”Instead of applauding, why don’t we all hold hands and try to join with the LIVING”
