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Timing your ending is critical in speeches and presentations

Seth Godin says …

I’m sorry, we’re out of time

What do you do when the deadline looms?

I often hear blowhards on the radio, wrecking the entire interview because they don’t know how to call it quits when the host tells them they have thirty seconds to wrap up. They try to say one more thing, one more thing, one more thing and they get hung up on and the message is lost.

I often hear presenters who always manage to need just two more minutes than the time allows.

Read more … http://adjix.com/3i6h

 

Use Professional Acting Skills for Oscar-Level Presentations

with Barbara Niven
Barbara NivenSpeaking is a performance. No news here. However, few speakers fully integrate key acting skills and perspective into their presentations. Actors know the importance of setting the stage, using vocal nuances, creating characters through body language and facial expressions, and eliciting the desired emotions in their audience. By using simple acting skills you will dramatically increase your effectiveness and make yourself memorable.

Barbara Niven, a professional film and television actor for nearly three decades, will share acting techniques that speakers can immediately apply to their speeches. Barbara straddles both worlds, as she gives professional speeches in between her busy filming engagements.

You will learn how to:

  • Understand your “role” and the “character” you want to project
  • Identify the emotions you want to evoke in your audience and how best to accomplish this
  • Scrutinize the podium as a director would, and avoid common pitfalls
  • Get your mind, voice and body in the right frame off stage
  • Begin with a dramatic bang to start the “show”
  • Portray characters in your stories to make them memorable
  • Use improv to be in the moment and connect with your audience

Register or order the CD or MP3 recording. Note our new policy: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free.

Date: Tuesday, February 17
Time: 7:00 pm Eastern, 6 pm Central, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific
Length: 60 minutes
Cost: $25

Special Limited-Time Offer:
If you want more information on adding more drama to your presentations, we suggest the MP3 recordings of two earlier programs to complement Barbara’s program:

  • “Get Standing Ovations Using Broadway and Film Performance Techniques” with Lou Heckler, CSP, CPAE
  • “Add Oomph to Your Stories by Bringing the Characters Alive” with Jon Schwartz, a.k.a. Vinny Verelli

With your order of Barbara’s teleseminar, CD or MP3, at checkout you will be offered these recordings.

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Putting value on your audience’s time

A strong post from Rowan on Powerpoint.  He makes excellent points with extremely valuable supports. 

If your presentation consists of a PowerPoint and the File Properties tell you that the audience will be spending more than half of your allotted time reading your slides, I would recommend staying home and sending an email.

http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com/2009/02/putting-value-on-your-audiences-time.html

Reading out loud

Reading or interpreting text out loud is easier than it sounds. I’m going to highlight some of the pitfalls that I have come across and try to provide appropriate solutions too.

http://prohumorist.com/?p=222

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DIY Stock Photograph

Have you run into a situation where you need a photo for a slide and you either can’t find one that works and looks just right on services such as iStockPhoto or for a shot like this, you can’t justify paying for a photo of some Sharpies?  You can try the Creative Commons route at flickr, but even then it’s a crap-shoot whether you’ll find something worthy of being included among your slides.

Well, a lot of us presenting slide design bloggers have suggested using your own photos in place of stock photos when you can.  Not only can it be cheaper, but you’re guaranteed to be the first to use that particular photo.

Read more as Mike provides some useful tips on creating the photos

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Presentation tools

Michael Hyatt has compiled a list of the tools he uses.  It is practical and very useful.

Read his blog post here.

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The Top 6 fallacies about powerpoint

Just for grins, let’s cover some examples of logical fallacies that we often hear about PowerPoint — the tool many love to hate.

http://www.maniactive.com/states/2009/01/top-6-fallacies-about-powerpoint.html

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You will never fit everything in

 

Here is a secret for all speakers:

“You will never fit everything in”

I have seen many presentations where the speaker says “I have three points to share”, and then about five minutes before the end, he says, “Ok, and now my second point…”. This inevitably ends up in his presentation going overtime, or on him rushing through the last two points of his presentation.
This usually happen because the speaker is desperately trying to fit everything in!

The  trick is to realise that you will not fit everything into your speech.

http://www.craigstrachan.com/blog/2009/01/you-will-never-fit-everything-in.html

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Audio Visual Presentations

 

Even the best messages can be ruined by a bad presentation. To get your information across effectively and to generate the right response from your audience, you need to know how to use audiovisual technology to your advantage.

Interested in how to improve your presentation? Read on for some audiovisual presentation dos and don’ts.

… more

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Obama needs Powerpoint?

[From Boing Boing]

So many of the epic problems that Obama is going to be wrestling with over the next four years involve systems of great complexity and scale: the bailouts and stimulus programs, our national energy use, the immense expenditures involved in fighting two wars, the global scope of climate change. Tufte would be the first person to argue that complex systems like these are not easily explained using sentences and statistics, particularly when we’re talking about such vast numbers. I can imagine a White House address on the stimulus package, or his long-term plan for energy independence, where instead of sitting at a desk reading from a teleprompter, he’s actually walking us through the problem and his proposed solution with a backdrop of visually arresting and memorable slides. That would actually make for more stimulating television, and at the same time do a better job of communicating the issues.

 http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/19/the-case-for-powerpo.html

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The case of “I” vs “we” in inspirational rhetoric

The most memorable speeches are observations about the world at large, and remarks that unify, not observations about the speaker and his or her accomplishments and goals. To identify a speech given at a higher level, one that is not self-centered, simply count the number of times the word “I” is used vs. the number of times “we” occurs.

http://www.socializedpr.com/i-vs-we-in-presidential-rhetoric/

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Obama’s inauguration speech.

Read Bert Decker’s succinct review here …

 http://www.bertdecker.com/experience/2009/01/the-inauguration-speech-pro-and-yes-con.html

Ian Griffin looks at it from a rhetorical standpoint. http://www.exec-comms.com/blog/2009/01/20/obama-the-lion-in-winter/

Read the speech here http://www.pivotalpublicpeaking.com/obama_inauguration.htm

Watch it here  http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=PFU2opNwgZU&annotation_id=annotation_760255&feature=iv

and check out this fascinating tool   Obama Inauguration Speech Word Tree  http://adjix.com/kr43

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How to create a presentation for your speaker

By Christine Kent

Streamline the process of creating slides for your speaker
Not all of us who work in communications are blessed with a strong design sense—we’re usually good with words, and we leave the design and image creation to the experts. But communications people are eventually called on to create smart, informative and eye-catching slides for an executive presentation—usually under some insanely tight deadline.

For those times when you are pressed into the “slide jockey” role, Nancy Duarte, presentation design maven, offers some advice. Duarte says the task of creating a presentation for someone else is made tougher by the fact that executives believe they are defined by their presentation style.

http://adjix.com/29nd

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Presentation styles, trends and trendsetters

Recently, I’ve become aware of some emerging trends regarding presentation styles and have recognized some individuals who seem to be at the forefront of these trends.  Stylistically, these trends often involve rapid, compact presentations spoken over carefully chosen words and imagery to punctuate the points being made. These ‘cut the crap’ style presentations can be surprisingly informational and quite entertaining if delivered well. It’s something that personally gets me motivated to attend events and makes me hopeful for the future of visual storytelling.

As humankind has evolved from telling stories on cave walls to seeing world leaders use PowerPoint (for better or worse) we’ve also evolved how narrative takes place. Here are some emerging trends I’ve been able to identify:    http://adjix.com/428

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Pechu Kucha, an Alternative Format for Presentations

by Joanna C. Dunlap, CPT, PhD

I attend numerous conferences, symposia, and workshops each year—both as a participant and a contributor. I am increasingly frustrated with my colleagues’ and my own performance. In general, the issue is our misuse and overuse of the standard presentation format: bulleted slide after bulleted slide.

… more

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Using maps in presentations

…. dedicated to uncovering innovative mapping solutions and fresh design ideas. … the best maps are capable of displaying a stunning depth of geographic information, quickly and easily, in a way no other infographic can match. http://adjix.com/6j65

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Underdressing For Public Speaking

Has a guy ever told you something, and you just had to go, “Really?  That’s what you thought.  Really?”

I had one of those thoughts when reading Guy Kawasaki’s Reality Check.  (a must read for every entrepreneur and marketer)

Guy gives tips about public speaking, and one of the tips was to overdress – never dress beneath the level of the audience.  I totally agree.   But it was Guy’s reason not to underdress that made me go, “Really?  That’s the signal it sends?”

http://marketingtowomenonline.typepad.com/blog/2008/12/underdressing-for-public-speaking.html

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7 Tips For The Master Of Ceremonies

MC’ing events and conferences at the top professional level is a real blast. The fundamental key is to make everyone else look like stars…then you’ll shine along with them.

http://publicspeakingtipsguides.com/speaking/speaking-tools-and-resources/7-tips-for-the-master-of-ceremonies-116

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How to make sure your speech flows

It’s very important that your speech have an intrinsic rhythm or “flow”; otherwise, it may come across to listeners as staccato, dull and/or uninspiring. But how do you ensure that your next presentation has a natural cadence that adds to the clarity and energy of the information being conveyed?

Though some people do have a natural gift for writing and delivering speeches that keep audience members spellbound from beginning to end, it’s absolutely fine if you didn’t receive that talent at birth. The ability to create a “flowing” presentation can be learned, and it’s probably much easier than you think.

To begin, try these top seven suggestions for maximum results during your next public speaking engagement:

http://www.publicspeakingexpert.co.uk/how-make-sure-your-speech-flows.html

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Why I love speaking and what I think about the subject

Out of all the things I do these days it is SPEAKING that gets me “off” more then anything else.
Gary Vaynerchuk has captured national attention as a businessman and Internet celebrity. Gary’s fame can be attributed to his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business building.

A Guide to Public Speaking

Delivering an effective presentation is difficult. With the Internet, listeners have access to more information that ever before and have higher expectations for content from speakers today. In addition, because most people are saturated with entertainment, audiences want a presentation that is entertaining.

Here is a quick guide to giving an effective and interesting presentation:

Read the guide here … It’s basic but comprehensive and sometimes we need a reminder to pay attention to a particular aspect of our presentations.

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How to say More Than Words

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The study of vocalics or paralanguage deals with the non-verbal qualities of speech. These qualities include pitch, amplitude, rate, and voice quality. Linguists argue that the way in which a person says something often means more than the actual words being spoken. Paralanguage instantaneously conveys information such as gender, education, origin, mood, and our relationship with the person being spoken to.(… more)

Learn Public Speaking By Picking Up Women

 

From Dean Hunt

I had a wacky thought recently… can you learn the skills required to be a good public speaker by picking up women?

Sounds crazy doesn’t it… but according to experts, the key areas to pickup up women are things like:

  • Body language,
  • Humour,
  • Voice tonality,
  • Inner and Outer Confidence (and a good mindset)

Which is also a similar set of skills required to be a good public speaker.

(… more)

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Get More Memorable to Get More Business

with W Mitchell, CSP, CPAE

MitchellHow many professional speakers have you heard speak in the past 10-20 years? A lot, we’ll bet.
How many of their presentations have stood out to you as truly memorable? Probably just a few.
Do you think that if your presentations were more memorable, you’d be asked to speak more often?
We have a treat for you. If you’ve ever heard W Mitchell, CSP, CPAE speak, you know his extraordinary personal story and his ability to command a room. Like people used to say about E.F. Hutton, when Mitchell talks, people listen. And they remember.
Come hear Mitchell’s wisdom about how to be a more memorable speaker.
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Three Reasons Why You’re Cheating Yourself by NOT Improving Your Speaking Skills

More so than any other professional skill, improving your public speaking skills will give you the most benefit in your career whether you’re employed, self-employed or unemployed. Even if you don’t regularly speak to groups, the skills that it takes to communicate effectively to groups and the confidence that you’ll gain will automatically help you in interpersonal situations. So here are the top three reasons why you should improve your speaking skills.

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Public Speaking: The Power Of Words

Words hurt, heal, motivate, and aggravate. They are powerful. They control emotions and can even control a person physically.
(…more)

25 Essential Skills every Public Speaker Should Have

Puzzle PiecesInspired by 25 Skills Every Man Should Know, I pondered a list of the 25 essential skills every public speaker should have. How did I do?

Every public speaker should be able to:

… the article continues here – great reading (as usual)

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PowerPoint Bullets Bye Bye

  • Designing presentations without bullets is easy, but involves layout, thinking about your content and the processes you’re describing, working with images that function as metaphors, and more.

  • I recommend Cliff Atkinson’s book, Beyond Bullet Points. It’s a complete system for designing and organizing presentations without bullet points.

 

Now for the shortcut….

 

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Effective Public Speaking: Audience Contact

Effective Public Speaking: Audience Contact

Although speaking in public is really a monologue of sorts, this monologue is addressed to a ready, able and receptive audience who wants to learn from you as much as you want to learn from them.

Speaking in public would be more effective if it is listened to. The following are effective tips to maintain that necessary contact with the audience.
(…more)

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Why Use Humour in Your Presentations?

 

Why should I bother using humour in my presentations?

Can’t I just deliver my information and sit down?

You sure can! That’s what most people do. The problem is that most people are not effective presenters. They are nighty-nite, snooze-inducing, say-your-prayers, hit-the-sack, unlicensed hypnotists. They are ZZZZZs presenters. They might be experts in their field and able to recite hours and hours of information on their topic, but is that effective?

( more …)

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Sandra Schrift – On Speaking Points

If you speak for a living, whether you are part time, full time or BIG time, you need to be guided by strategies that get you the bookings. Here is what my 20 plus years booking and coaching speakers has taught me.   (… more)

Seated Presentations – don’t be a sitting duck

At one time or another, your boss has probably said to you, “Don’t get caught sitting down on this one.” The problem is, many sales presentations are made while you’re doing exactly that – sitting down.

It’s more difficult to be impressive and in control when making a seated presentation than when standing, say Judy Stein and Marya Holcombe, principals of Strategic Communications, Inc., a consulting firm in New Haven, Conn. They believe sales people who don’t adjust their delivery style inadvertently put themselves in the hot seat.

Fortunately, the problem is easily remedied with a few simple modifications. Here’s what Stein and Holcombe suggest:

( … more)

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Confident Public Speaking: Check This “Avoid At All Costs” List

In the pursuit of confident public speaking skills, it is important to accept that nervousness may never be completely eliminated in some public speakers. This is not necessarily bad. A certain amount of nervousness can be positively channeled to enhance performance.

Nevertheless, confident public speaking does involve learning not to betray one’s nervousness through obvious body signals

Familiarize yourself with the items in the list below and either check yourself through a video playback of your next presentation or have a close friend or colleague critique your presentation by looking out for these indicators that betray a lack of confidence in public speaking.

http://mitm-la.blogspot.com/2008/07/confident-public-speaking-check-this.html

Help I Have to Give a Speech!

Patricia Fripp Help I have to give a speechPatricia Fripp simplifies and demystifies the process of designing your presentation…fast!

You will learn:

The one sentence you must clarify to start your speech
An easy-to-adapt formula to design your presentation
How to speak to be remembered and repeated
The secrets to connecting with every audience
What makes you and your presentation persuasive

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Audio Visual Presentations

Even the best messages can be ruined by a bad presentation. To get your information across effectively and to generate the right response from your audience, you need to know how to use audiovisual technology to your advantage.

Interested in how to improve your presentation? Read on for some audiovisual presentation dos and don’ts.

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Insert a Youtube Video in Your Powerpoint Presentation

In fact there are two tricks; the first is a very simple way to download a YouTube Video and how to convert this YouTube video in all kinds of formats and the second real PowerPoint Tip and Trick is how you can insert this YouTube video download into your PowerPoint presentation

read on …

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Connecting with the audience

Tim Wilson makes a short but very valid point about the questions to ask while speaking so that you can connect with the audience.

http://speakingquicktips.blogspot.com/2008/07/power-of-moment.html

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We’re in an Epidemic and it’s called PowerPoint!

Everyone uses it, but is it the best way to present your information?

Most people who use PowerPoint of give Presentations have not had much, if any, public speaking or presentation skills training.  However, we tend to copy what others are doing.  I would like to suggest stop doing what everyone else is doing and do it right.  The following steps will help you stand out above the rest.

read more …

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The Importance of Public Speaking

Public speaking is one spoke on the marketing and PR wheel, but is a very powerful medium to get your name, your company’s name out there and to brand yourself and your organization as thought leaders.

This is an excellent article on getting yourself out to speak, either for yourself or your company (or both!). 

Read the whole article here.

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Wake me when it’s over : A guide to no-nap presentations

 
 It’s 9:30 in the morning and you’ve made it to the third presentation of today’s marketing meeting. The presenter is pretty much reading word for word from a deck of 40 slides, which are mostly densely worded, bulleted items with an occasional chart or graph thrown in.


  You have no interest in the topic, and to keep from falling asleep during the next 30 minutes, you are taking this opportunity to proofread some documents for a pressing deadline.

Read on …

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Loneliness – a business proposal

Via Lisa’s blog (who can embed videos – a skill I keep putting off, so I’ve put a link to the page on my website) – a video of a nine-year old from whom many or us could learn the value of self-possession, dignity, naturalness; oh and the value of a smile and excellent body-language ….

Loneliness

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PowerPoint – Rearranging shapes in Organization Chart

You can insert an Organization Chart by clicking Insert > Diagram > Organization Chart.

You will though realize that if the shapes are in incorrect order, you cannot reposition or reorder the shapes in the organization chart while AutoLayout is on. Here’s one simple and neat trick to reorder the shapes.

Read on …

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Add Oomph to Your Stories by Bringing the Characters Alive

June 10


with Jon Schwartz, a.k.a. Vinny Verelli
Jon SchwartzYou tell stories in your presentations about your stern father, wise grandmother, bawdy aunt or clueless ex-boss. But what if you illustrated the character of their personality through your voice tone, accent, facial expression and/or body language? It would make your presentation much more powerful and the point of the story more memorable.

If you don’t incorporate memorable characters into your stories, you’re missing an opportunity to make a stronger impact on your audience. The more you can do to bring your stories to life the better chance you have of making a difference.

Jon is a master at characterization. His most memorable character is Vinny Verelli, The Goomba Guru of Negativity Management(R). Why does Vinny stand out? For one thing, he’s quite a character, literally one of dozens created by Jon.

You will learn:

  • simple tools that you can start using immediately, to add a new dimension to your presentations
  • tips on how to do accents and dialects
  • why less is more and the importance of doing nothing
  • how to explore character development on your own with tools and resources to help you
  • how to avoid common performance pitfalls

Register or order the CD or MP3 recording

Date: Tuesday, June 10
Time: 7:00 pm Eastern, 6 pm Central, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific
Length: 60 minutes
Cost: $25

Special Limited-Time Offer:

If you want more information on ways to add different dimensions to your presentations, we’re offering a special discount — only $10 each (while quantities last) — on the audiotapes (note: not CDs or MP3s) of two earlier programs to complement Jon’s program:

  • “Breakthrough Customization Techniques: 85 Ways to Modify Your Presentation to Your Client’s Needs” with Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC
  • “Facilitating for Profit: Building Client Value with Facilitation” with Charlie Hawkins, MBA

With your order of Jon’s teleseminar, CD or MP3, at checkout you will be offered these tapes and transcripts at a special discounted price of $10/each. This offer expires June 30.

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Are You Making These Mistakes in Your Sales Presentations?

 
– SUPER STAR SALES PRESENTATIONS WEBINAR:
  Tuesday, June 3 at 5:30 PM Eastern Time
  With Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

How many more sales could you make if you gave totally awesome sales presentations?
Remember, every sales presentation is a captured or a missed opportunity.
 
Sign up for the Tuesday, June 3 Webinar. You are guaranteed to learn how to:
 
– Properly structure your sales presentation
– Emotionally and intellectually connect with every prospect
– Effectively create third person endorsements
– Take your satisfied clients with you
– Be remembered and repeated
– Stand out as your prospects BEST choice!
 
Click through for information and sign up.
 
Tuesday, June 3rd at 5:30 PM Eastern Time:
Superstar Sales Presentations: The Inside Secrets
This is (2:30 Pacific Standard Time)
 http://www.consultpivotal.com/Afripp.htm

 
Are You Making These Mistakes in Your Sales Presentations?
By Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
 
Whenever you open your mouth to a prospect or committee your have to get a specific message across. Do you make these mistakes?
 
UNCLEAR THINKING. If you can’t describe what you are talking about in one sentence, and why the prospects are better off by doing business with you and have a clear presentation structure, you may be guilty of fuzzy focus or trying to cover too many topics. Make it easy for your prospects to follow what you are saying. Your goal is to speak to be remembered and repeated. This is especially important if you have strong competitors.

NO MEMORABLE STORIES. Propsects rarely remember your exact words. Instead, they remember the mental images that your examples inspire. Support your key benefits with vivid, relevant examples of satisfied clients.

NO EMOTIONAL CONNECTION. The most powerful communication combines both intellectual and emotional connections. Intellectual means appealing to educated self-interest with data and reasoned arguments. Emotional comes engaging the listeners’ imaginations, involving them in your illustrative stories and by speaking from their point of view. It must be obvious to them…”What’s in this for us?”
 
NO PAUSES. Good music and good communication both contain changes of pace and pauses. When you pause your prospects reflect what they have heard.

IRRITATING NON-WORDS. Hmm–ah–er–you know what I mean–. When you are comfortable with silence many of these irritations will be eliminated.

NOT HAVING A STRONG OPENING AND CLOSING. Engage your prospect or committee immediately with a powerful, relevant opening. “My name is….” does not fit the bill. Don’t close with questions. Ask for them,
then deliver your dynamic closing. Your last words linger.

Remember, every sales presentation is a captured or a missed opportunity.
 
Sign up for the Tuesday, June 3 Webinar, or visit patricia Frip’s web pages to learn more from this talented trainer

http://www.consultpivotal.com/Afripp.htm

 

Looking for a good topic?

Try this list ….  It also includes tips on public speaking

“Free speech topics lists with more than 5,250 persuasive, informative and other speech ideas, speech writing tips, how to guides, tutorials and information on outlining your speech topic for public speaking. With just one goal: to help you to develop the best topic for a speech for all types of public speaking and speech writing assignments. This reference guide with instant topic ideas, public speaking speech tips and education resources ”

http://www.speech-topics-help.com/

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Use Public Speaking to Get More Clients

Use Speaking to Get More Clients

Speaking and making presentations that form memorable experiences, entertain and convey a high impact message can be a very profitable way to grow your business. In fact, public speaking is very comfortable for most lawyers. Like opera singers, many of us love to hear the sound of our voice. Whether it’s summing up to a jury or arguing a case before the Supreme Court, many lawyers are born speakers. Not only will speaking demonstrate your knowledge and expertise, but it will also allow you to develop an emotional bond with your audience. Speaking offers prestige, credibility, visibility, and can be a lot of fun.

Listen to Steve Markman tell you how to do it…Download steve_markman.mp3

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Public Speaking skills are important

Especially when you’re trying to rob a bank.

Watch the video here. 

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Make Numbers Work for You.

Speakers can use numbers to support key points. But too often, speakers use their data in place of key points, piling on number after number and, in the end, driving their audience to despair. Here are a few tips on how to use numbers to good effect.

Read on …