Making Powerful Presentations

Wake Up With Gratitude On Your Mind

2014-05-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Wake up with gratitude on our mind and think of one person to thank for your something they done for you and then -- thank them. Nothing could be a more power presentation than that.

It could be your wife, husband, or some other family member, friend, business associate, or other person who has taken the time to do something nice for you.

Make a habit of this and very likely what will happen. is that other persons will pop into your mind.

That is one way to keep your mind focused on the good in people and positive thoughts -- even when having a difficult day.

For best results make it a whole-hearted expression of thanks. Don't just mumble it under your breath or in a half-heard whisper. A nice warm smile at the same time, if appropriate, wouldn't hurt either.

Keep It Concise

2014-04-29T10:21:00.002-07:00

Whether your are writing or speaking remember to keep it concise -- using just enough words to make yourself clear.

And one good way to make sure you do this is to chop out any redundant expressions or words in your presentation -- such as saying: "an unfortunate problem." Are there any "fortunate" problems.

While writing such things tend to creep in unnoticed -- just like that thief sneaking in the window at night. Catch them in the act remembering to review what you have written or tend to say.

The Best Way To Overcome Fear of Public Speaking

2014-04-28T13:56:00.001-07:00

So you would like to become a public speaker -- or perhaps you just have to because of some new career opportunity that demands it?

But you have never spoken to more than a few people at a time before and never in a formal setting? What are you doing to do?

As some would say, " Just do it!" Get out there and find every opportunity to can find to practice, whether the setting is a debate, a panel discussion, or a large public meeting with a series or speakers.

That is the type of thing that Sir George Bernard Shaw, once a very timid person did and you know how well that worked for this famou playwrites.

Write It Out With a Pencil or Pen!

2014-03-03T16:52:00.001-08:00

Do you want to learn and remember material that you are going to have to read word for word? Then right it out by hand with a pen or pencil.

If your presentation involves reading large amounts of that material word for word then take the time to do this first -- perhaps numerous times before you you read it.

Experts have found that this is the best way to impress any material --especially new material on your mind and it also helps you to understand what the author of this material is talking about as well.

This will help you to read with much more confidence and enthusiasm.

Enrich Your Language

2013-11-15T13:37:00.004-08:00

Enrich your language as you read. When reading anything keep a pen and notebook handy write down sentences and phrases that strike you as particularly good or intersting.

Even if you don't use them directly they can serve as springboards for your own ideas.

Picking Just The Right Word

2013-11-13T23:25:00.000-08:00

You often hear of the need for a rich storehouse of words so you can expressive yourself clearly. This is true, but this does not mean selecting from that storehouse only important sounding, polysyllabic Latin and Greek words.

What you need to select, according to Theodore A. Rees Cheney in his book, Getting Words Right are "truly expressive words, mainly nouns and verbs."

The words you retrieve can be, "long or short, impressive sounding or simple, Latin or Saxon in origin....le mot juste could be French in origin he says, but More often it is a simple Saxon word like break, scatter, glimmer or shut, that will work best.

On the other hand, he says at times you will need the longer Latinate words.

Be careful, he warns: " If you want to move the genuinely sophisticated, highly intelligent,, and well educated, write in plain English, with only the occasionally, carefully chosen, Latinate word."

Be Alert to Potential Illustratins and Figures of Speech

2013-11-08T12:06:00.000-08:00

When not busy giving your speech or presentation stay alert for potential anecdotes, illustrations, and figures of speech to enrich your work.

Something can be as clear as a a drop of rainwater on your vehicle windshield for instance.

Or something can be as plain and easy to see as dead trees on the edge or middle or a forest.

Or....

Never Given In To High Pressure Reactions

2013-11-07T09:40:00.002-08:00

Most of your presentations will be given in peaceful situations, but should ever find yourself in touchy or even hostile situations never give in to high pressure reactions when responding to others -- like a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman recently did in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Responding to a volatile demonstration by First Nations people hostile to exploring for oil in their Province through the use of fracking, injecting a lethal chemical cocktail into the ground. search for oil in underground shale, he was provoked into shouting something like, The ground belongs to the government not....natives."

The response, through social media, brought instant, widespread condemnations for racial slurs with calls for his firing. There is just no acceptable excuse for such slurs in this day and age so never make such a mistake should find yourself in any situation like this.

Don't Wait Too Long

2013-11-05T20:17:00.001-08:00

Don't wait too long after making a joke for a response from your audience.

If your joke doesn't result in the desired laughter or chuckle from your audience within a second or so move on quickly to the rest of your presentation quickly.

Don't draw attention to the situation by lingering too long. timing is critical not only in presenting your punch line but also in minimizing its failure.

Be Prepared For Those Ideas

2013-11-04T17:17:00.001-08:00

Be prepared for those illusive ideas for presentations that seem to come to you when you are often least prepared to capture them.

One of these times is when you are doing something else like shopping or driving so make sure you have your cell phone recorder ready to use or keep that old-fashioned notebook beside you on the seat or in your pocket.

Imitate This In Your Speech Writing

2013-03-13T11:53:00.004-07:00

Although this was quoted in the on-line edition of the Accelerated Program for Six Figure Copy Writing by AWAI It is a practice you could imitate in your successful speech writing career;.

In an "Insider Tip" box the editors included a tip from Stephen Kimball, featured in their Copywriting Genius: The Master Collection Kimball said:

"I like to sit back and imagine the audience. I imagine their life, their struggles, what might might not be inclined to buy. I love to fill my mind with conversations I can use when I write."

By imagining your audience in this or similar ways can help you to write copy that will really educate, persuade, and motivate them.

Stats For Your Presentattions

2013-03-12T17:32:00.005-07:00

Following are some statistics you might be able to use in your presentations. Why not take a look?

First of all, according to PEW Research in the United States 13 percent of cell phone users are faking it -- to avoid having to interact or talk to others around them.

According to BBC News the Arctic sea ice is covering less and less of the ocean with the last five years having the least amount of summer ice on record.

There is still a fair amount of agricultural land in Africa according to the The Witness of South Africa with close to 47 percent of Africa's arable land remaining uncultivated.

The spread of legally recognized same sex couples continues to grow with the Nerthlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland and Argentina all recognizing such marital unions over the last decade reports Family Relations
in the United States.

The Key to Success

2013-03-06T08:59:00.002-08:00

I saw a very catchy tag line on a print or Web-site advertisement the other day ( I actually forget where I saw it) but it holds the key to successful communication between you and other persons.

It was: "Listen. Reflect. Act" And that is the key to effective communication between you and your audience. If you handle the first two parts properly then the success of third will be be --almost -- automatic.

A Powerful Communicator to Imitate

2013-03-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

In addition to successfully exploring and charting about four million square kilometers of North American David Thompson also had communication skills worth imitating.

Rosemary Neering, in her feature " The enigmatic explorer" in the Spring 2009 edition of British Columbia Magazine quotes author and medical officer John Bigsby on this who said:

"No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries....he has a very powerful mind and singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Ricky Mountains with you in a snow storm, so clearly and palpably that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow flakes melting on your cheeks as he talks."

To do this he had to create these images in his own mind first and then find the right words and images to recreate them for his readers and listeners making use of all of the senses.

With practice we can do the same.

Pursue Excellence Like a Tennis Player

2013-02-25T17:23:00.002-08:00

The key to success as a presenter or public speaker is the pursuit Peter Bender mentions ins his Secrets of Power Presentations where he says:

" Pursue the goal of excellence in both knowledge of your topic and your ability to present it. Halfhearted wishing will only bring disappointing results."

Good advice and that pursuit should include words as effectively as the tennis player uses his or her raquet to to put the ball exactly where she wants it.

Become an avid reader in not only your own subject area but many others and then practice, practice, practice, using new words, ideas, and illustrations you learn in your own written and oral presentations.

Avoid The Negative Power of Cliches

2013-01-30T16:50:00.002-08:00

You want your audience t to get excited about what you say -- but they won't if you use cliches to illustrate or enliven your copy.

They're used by people all the time such as: "The squeaky wheels get the oil." But they are are overused and instead of exciting our tantalizing your audience they deaden your listener's attention.

As Bat Masterson said in his Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywiring such expressions "no longer communicate profound ideas. And they don't inspire people intellectually."

He says they are killers in direct mail copy -- and they are just as big killers in live presentations. Rework them. As he says the do contain a fundamental truth but they need to be reworked.

An example of doing (although admittedly not the best) would be to take the pun about the squeaking wheels and substitute ideas to come up with something like: "The noisy hinge usually gets greased first."

The trick is to get out that big piece of paper and Mind Map or Cluster that cliche to see what new ideas your mind comes up with.
Your audience will love you for it.

AS Good Illustration from A Crow

2013-01-23T19:49:00.001-08:00

There are, of course numerous ways to begin your presentation: A clear statement of purpose; a quotation (with full attribution to your source); a question; a description of a scene or event -- that is full of sensory details that appeal to as many of our senses as possible -- or a humorous or other type of anecdote that is closely related or that can be related to your topic.

If for instance you were giving a presentation on the need to carefully examining what we read or are told you could the illustration of a little back bird that you offered a pieces of shredded wheat cereal to one winter morning.

This little guy I saw was obviously hungry and looking for something to eat so I tossed it a few pieces of shredded wheat near it on the ground thinking it would gobble them up.

But it this little bird hopped over to it, picked it up. Turned it over a few times to check it out, then after looking at me as if to say" Common do you humans really eat this stuff?" hopped up disdainfully.

You could relate something like this for us to be just as careful about accepting things we are are told or we read. We need to examine information and ideas offered to us by other carefully before accepting them.

Tying all of this into an introduction for a speech on topic could catch the interest of your audience where dry facts or other methods of introduction would no fare ass well.

See You Next Year

2012-12-19T08:34:00.003-08:00

See You Next Year. Have A Great Holiday!

Just one last thought for this year -- about a young man who suffered a major spinal injury in a car accident.

Doctors told his family he would never walk again -- something his family dared no tell him.

So unaware of his future this young man I heard about lay in a hospital bed practicing the deep breathing exercises he regularly used in combination with Tai chi before the accident to build and keep his body in excellent physical condition.

He also mentally practiced the Tai chi movements that he used to go through every day before his accident.

After about two weeks he miraculously could move a finger and some six months later was back in his Tai chi class going through the beginner's exercises which he went through very slowly.

As a result of all of this this young man,Randy, did recover. So never say something is impossible. With the right "tools" and determination you can accomplish just about anything in your professional and personal life.

Choosing Words Is Critical

2012-12-12T16:25:00.002-08:00

Words you use to express your ideas are critical; make sure you choose carefully and have strong support for every word you use.

Nothing illustrates the need for this in any type of presentation more clearly than what happened after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.

When the building owner made an insurance claim on these two destroyed towers he said there were "two" distinct attacks. But the insurance company objected to this description, saying there was only one event or attack.

The owner originally said there were two attacks because close to half an hour separated the two airplane crashes -- to which the insurance company said in effect, "No. There was only one event.

The matter is now in court because if the building owner erred and cannot support his claim they he stands to lose big time. If the insurance company can prove there was only one event then instead of paying some seven-billion dollars they will have to pay only three-billion.

Of course not everything you say will be put under this much scrutiny, but this case does make the point that for whatever you say or words you use you must have enough evidence to support them.

How Effectively Do You Plan?

2012-12-11T18:43:00.000-08:00

How effectively do you plan for your presentation, whether its before a large or small audience?

According to Arch Lustberg, in his book Winning When It Really Counts, speakers and presenters often fail miserably at this He says, "It's a pity that we rarely do the right things to get ready to give a presentation to an audience. We worry a lot. We make a lot of false starts. We go through a lot of self doubt and agony."

I know what he means but there are things you can do to eliminate all or much of this, such as using one of those portable flip charts stands -- loaded with a lot of blank sheets.

By setting one of these up in your home office you can easily plan, organize and continually update your presentation by creating your presentation or speech outline on it. You'll find it much easier to edit and revise your material as well as add new thoughts by having your outlined quickly accessible in this way.

You can use any type of outline you find works best for you, either the traditional with its linear layout complete with the hierarchy of numbers and letters and indentations for major and supporting points -- the type probably still used in many schools today -- or one of the newer techniques such as clustering and Mind Mapping.

If you have not used this outlining technique before Mind Mapping is the method that using a central main point written on a large sheet of paper with supporting material outlined on branches set off around this

I find the Mind Mapping better because its easier to see relationships between all your different ideas as well to make quick changes or additions to the outline. And it is also possible to keep an electronic version on your computer if you find it awkward to use the "ancient" flip chart method.

Using either method will help you to eliminate much of that pre-presentation agony Lustberg was was talking about not only because Mind Mapping makes it easy to continually refine and update your material but also because Mind Mapping, because of its graphic format, helps you to remember what you want to say

For more information on Mind Mapping click on: www.thinkbuzan.com or www.thorsons.com/buzan and you'll come up with a wealth of ideas that can help you get started on this.

Make Your Ideas Contagious!

2012-12-10T21:53:00.002-08:00

Make your ideas contagious. Speak with enthusiasm; such enthusiasm will not only hold the interest or your listeners it will also be more apt to motivate them.

But this enthusiasm can't be faked. The first step in this your honest belief in what you're talking about. If you have this belief and an honest conviction that your listeners really need to hear and will benefit from what you want to share with them your facial expressions, gestures, and voice will almost automatically be enthusiastic.

This enthusiasm will be almost automatic because there could still be things you have to work on more mechanically. If you're the kind of person who can speak either for or against the Mayan prophecy that it is all over for us earthlings on December 21, 2012 in a deadpan tone then you may need or make an extra effort to be more expressive ( See our or thoughts on belief and conviction above). or there might be some portions of your presentation requiring extra enthusiasm -- such as when you have to tell workers that their acceptance of a pay cut will eventually work out not only for the benefit of the company but also for them and their families -- or you might want have to inject new life into material that you might have covered numerous times before.

The way to overcome this last problem is to do continual research to come with new nuggets of information that excite you. It doesn't have to be something totally new or some that provides a fresh perspective to to the topic.

All of this will help you to make your ideas more contagious and move your audience to action

Listen to Voices That Move You

2012-12-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

Improve the quality of your own voice by listening to a library of other voices that you admire or move you. That is the advice of speech coach Lilyan Wilder.

Listen to voices you like, that draw you to them. For speech coach Lilyan Wilder it was singer/actor, Paul Robeson whose voice had an "aliveness, vibrance, trueness and honesty of tone; singer/actor Yves Montrand who to her had (among other qualities) "the sexiest sound ...ever heard"; actress Ruby Dee, whose voice has "a musical quality, a perky insinuating "listen to me' quality ...a pleasantness and authority that command and invite, a warm humanness about her sound."

If you listen attentively and repeatedly to such voices you like you'll pick up desirable qualities without effort -- by osmosis -- and gradually many of these qualities will become part of your own vocal characteristics -- without any need to try and imitate the speakers or other vocal artists you listen to -- which would be disastrous.

Vocal qualities developed in this way will reinforce or enhance your natural deep feelings for your subject -- and your audience.

Keep It Natural

2012-12-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

You wouldn't dream of getting up on the stage, wearing a mask to hide your identity (unless if that was the part you're playing of course), so don't put on a vocal mask. Don't try to be somebody else -- no matter how well-known or respected or skilled they are.

Be yourself. Be natural. Speak exactly the same way you speak to friends, associates or acquaintances.

A good way to develop this naturalness when preparing your presentation is focus on ideas you want to share -- not exact wording -- unless referring to some technical or precise name of something or some step by step process. Make your presentation as much like a conversation with your audience as possible.

Of course this naturalness is not the same as carelessness. You still want to use good grammar, good pronunciation, a clear voice, and a good word choice, using either formal or colloquial expressions depending on your subject matter and audience. In most cases avoid slang or substandard English.

Can you Whistle or Blow"Dixie"

2012-11-28T15:56:00.002-08:00

Can you whistle tunes such as "Dixie"? If you can you should have little trouble pronouncing words -- especially tricky letter combinations and the endings of words clearly.

IK now one professional speaker who made a regular practice of keeping the muscles in his lips "toned up" by practicing his whistling whenever he was alone and had a chance.

As your lips do play a key role in clear articulation it's not a bad idea to do this while driving by yourself or out for that early morning walk.

If you're really diligent at this little exercise who knows you might be able to whistle a very catchy melody before too long as well as speak even clearer.

While were on this topic there is another way to improve both your breath control as well as hone voice quality. And that is to practice playing -- or blowing?? -- tunes on your harmonica. It can be great fun and a way to add another skill at the same time.

Navigating the Age Minefield

2012-11-26T20:01:00.000-08:00

The age difference between you and your audience can be a minefield. Here's how to avoid some of those communication IEDs.

First of all don't your dress highlight your age differences. If you're older than most of your audience update your hairstyle a bit if possible. And select some of your most modern pieces of clothing.

If most of your suits, shirts, and shoes are ultra-conservative Boxing Day here in Canada (when you'll bee able to find many good bargains) is perhaps a good time to update your wardrobe a bit.

On the other hand if you're a young person addressing that older, mature audience then you might want to tone your selection down a bit --choosing more conservative styles for that presentation to the Bankers Club.

The same type of thing applies to your actual presentation. If you're an older person facing a predominately younger audience don't date yourself with personal histories or references about the way "things use to be back when" etc.

Younger speakers addressing that audience of veteran accountants or other senior management people should avoid to many expressions like: "you guys," or "you know" after every second statement you make.

It's the old story of audience familiarity. Get to know your audience and tailor both your style of dress and choice of words to suit them.