All posts by geminderh

07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation, storyline structure

Title Watch

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Interesting titles are paramount for speeches for just as good housekeeping. Starting off on a good foot is paramount and titles are your first contact with your audience.

Avoid Cliches like well.. pretty much every other posts I have made for example. Look for originality and something fresh that will get people curious. Use titles that are active like “A Walk with Giants” or “Jumping into Equities”.   Try something original with humor. For example take a title like “Cars should yield to Joggers” and rename it something like “Don’t Stop for me”. Look for inspirations from recent books movies or even to topics in recent news articles.

Alexandra Watkins, ALB, a member of San Francisco Toastmasters, is founder and chief innovation officer of the naming and branding company Eat My Words. She says, “You have to catch someone’s interest with something unexpected, irresistible, fun or colorful — or with a clever twist on a familiar word or phrase.” She gives two examples on the subject of photography: “How to Shoot People” and “Confessions of a Sharp Shooter.”

 

http://magazines.toastmasters.org/display_article.php?id=1140173

07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation, questions, storyline structure

Masters of Storytelling

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Master Storytellers are known to utilize the three I’s of Storytelling: Invitation, Imagination and Impact

Invite people to think outside of the box. Make them curious by asking them a question like “Do you want to make a change ____?”.

Use people’s imagination to paint a picture of a better tomorrow. Guide them to thinking about how this improved future will impact them more specifically.

People desire for impact. Everyone wants to see that their work has a meaning. Every so often during your presentation take a slight pause to see how your presentation is affecting the group.

 

Some more exact pointers for storytelling using the three I’s of storytelling include:

–       Don’t dump facts and numbers on your audience, be investigative of sorts and ask your audience

–       Do not jump from point to point without making sure your audience is absorbing your content

–       Practice timing, do not rush through your presentation

–       Think of certain images for your audience, say things like: “Imagine this…” or “Picture that…” People respond well to imagery.

–       Do not forget to keep a pulse on the people in the room to see how you are effecting them.

 

Anyone out there a good storyteller? Is there anything you consistently do that heightens your ability to tell a story?

The inspiration for this blog post:

http://magazines.toastmasters.org/display_article.php?id=1140160

07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 07d-Delivering a presentation, questions, storyline structure

Dealing with a Distracted Audience

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Whether it be a cell phone, laptop, tablet or phablet, people are finding themselves more and more self consumed with technology than ever before.  Do not be alarmed or offended when this happens, as it happens to everyone. You want to have a casual atmosphere when presenting and you don’t want to start the presentation banning technology use, who knows someone may be posting something positive on social media about your presentation and your voice could be reaching an even larger audience than you think.

Presenters should not judge their audience based on their attention and body language as you have to earn their attention by developing a connection with people. Here is a novel idea on attaining their attention, force it. Force your audience to participate. Instead of being more concerned with being the sole speaker be the guide of the presentation. Just like when we have our MBA classes, students are encouraged to bring the group through a conversational journey to an ultimate goal of learning certain topics. Student engagement is vital to keep our attention after a long day at work, at 9:00 at night.

Ask your audience questions throughout your presentation. By doing this you force people to be on their toes and concentrate less on being distracted and more on the topic at hand. You might even toy with the idea of asking your audience to have a 2 minute conversation with their neighbor about their experiences on an idea you are speaking about. This discussion encourages engagement that would otherwise potentially not be there.

 

For a more in depth read on keeping your audience’s attention check out the original articles I learned these concepts from.

http://www.inc.com/guides/how-to-improve-your-presentation-skills.html

http://magazines.toastmasters.org/display_article.php?id=1108437

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation

An Introduction into Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

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Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) was created in the 1970s by Richard Bandler whom is a computer scientist and Gestalt therapist as well as Dr. John Grinder whom is a linguist and therapist. NLP is a concept utilized to help with communication and is beneficial in many ways however is particularly useful if used for self development. Largely what NLP does is enable a heightened awareness and control of oneself, it improves a persons ability to appreciate another persons feelings and behaviors which results in more empathy and better cooperation.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a very in depth concept and can not be simply explained in a blog as there have been many books as well as training courses that teach the concept. Below are some of the Operational Basics of how the Programming works, I believe they can be utilized in not only presentations but also in how to be persuasive.

1)   Know what outcome you want to achieve

2)   Have a clear understanding of if you are pushing forward or away from your desired outcome

3)   Practice being flexible with your behavior to get your desired outcome

4)   Take action now

Largely the idea is you need to have a detailed understanding of exactly what you are looking to achieve and having the emotional intelligence to know if you are moving forward or not and changing your behaviors to try a different approach.

There are distinct presumptions you must understand the concept which is a backdrop or of what NLP is based on. Some of the most important as I see it are below:

1)   The meaning of communication is the response you get

2)   Language is a secondary representation of experience

3)   The mind and body are parts of the same cybernetic system and affect each other

4)   Behavior is geared towards adaptation

5)   Present behavior represents the very best choice currently available to a person

6)   “Possibility in the World” or “’Possible for me” is only a matter of how

7)   There is no such thing as failure; only feedback

If you are further interested in the concept read the original article attached for some additional introduction into the subject.

http://www.businessballs.com/nlpneuro-linguisticprogramming.htm

Has anyone out there ever used Neuro-Linguistic Programming in their life? Please share if you have had either positive or negative results from utilizing the concept!

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation, questions, storyline structure

What not to do while Presenting

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We have all attended presentations where glaring errors have been made and we are just irking to exit the room, out of either pain or embarrassment. Surprisingly they are quite easy to make and with a little practice, easy to avoid.

 

1)   Failing to engage emotionally.

Explicitly speaking about facts will lose your audience. Incorporate an intriguing storyline that makes the presentation more meaningful. Ask yourself “Why is this important?” and speak to how the effects will hopefully help a process or employees.

2) Asking too much of your slides.

Keep your slides succinct. Nobody wants to be constantly reading and digesting your slides. Try to keep expansive bullet points to a minimum. Additionally keep your teleprompter text hidden from the audience’s view.

3) Trotting out Tired Visuals

Think of visuals you can present that are original. People can almost always predict what visuals you are going to present, so include some that are a bit different. Avoid Cliché visuals.

4) Speaking in Jargon

All businesses and departments have their own jargon, however you really need to avoid this highly technical or industry specific jargon. If people can’t follow your train of thought they aren’t going to be following your ideas any time soon.

5) Going over your allotted time.

One of my biggest pet peeves; nobody appreciates presentations going over the planned amount of time. You will start losing your audience to shuffling and IPhone use and realistically they will not absorb the information you are presenting.. People in general have the attention span for presentations of 30-40 minutes; if you can try to keep no more than that you will stand a chance of holding your audience’s attention.

 

View the original article below:

http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/12/avoid-these-five-mistakes-in-y/

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation

Public Speaking Tips from Susan Cain

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 Susan Cain is a writer and lecturer, her most recent book is called “Quiet” from 2012. The book is about “The Power of introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking”, she describes how all introverts need to realize the power of stepping outside of their safe zone to be an extrovert every now and again.

She is a well known presenter who is currently delivering speeches on this book. Her style of presenting is intriguing in that she has strong story telling abilities, uses props, humor, strong facial expressions and hand expressions.

She has the ability to remain animated and interesting, as she takes a personal approach and shares her views and funny stories about her life as an introvert.

Several keys to her successes as a speaker that she uses to present her material are below:

1)   Preparation is key- Practicing out loud, and video taping yourself are all helpful things as most people are uncomfortable with the idea of how you come across.

2)   Feed the audience what they want to hear. Is your audience looking to solve a problem or looking for any information in particular?

3)   Watch videos taken from different speakers vantage points. While you are watching take note of all the eyes on you and get used to it.

4)   Practice standing in the place you will be speaking at while looking over the room of empty seats.

5)   Get a hold of a great speakers written version of their speech and see how the speaker engages, inspires, and educates the audience.

6)   Utilize your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker. If you are funny, be funny; if you are great at telling stories, tell one.

7)   Create a persona of sorts. You are on stage and this is a performance, you need to keep the audience entertained and engaged.

8)   Smile at the audience, it will keep you relaxed as well as keep the audience connected.

 

Are there any introverts out there that struggle presenting that have any tips for pushing through a presentation? Please share!

 

Below is a link to her original article on tips for presenting:

http://www.readitforward.com/susan-cains-public-speaking-tips-for-introverts/

 

Below is a link to her speech on the book “Quiet”

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation, storyline structure

11 Techniques Steve Jobs’s used to Present Apple’s

Steve Jobs was known for a slick product presentation with a seemingly casual delivery. His visionary products he pitched through his keynote presentations created hype and buzz in the industry that will be timeless. He was a fantastic presenter however not a natural, which gives hope to all of us that need improvement!

He used many different techniques to perfect his art of presenting and many articles can be found that explain his effective use of these techniques.

I have attached an article which describes 11 different techniques that Steve Jobs practiced. Teaser alert; my favorite recommendation is Practice & Have Fun.

 

1) Express your passion

2) Create a Twitter-friendly headline

3) Stick to the rule of three

4) Introduce a villain

5) Sell the benefit

6) Build simple, visual slides

7) Tell stories

8) Prepare and practice excessively

9) Avoid reading from notes

10) Have fun

11) Inspire your audience

If you have any good tips on presenting you utilize, please share!

Attached below is the original article:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2012/10/04/11-presentation-lessons-you-can-still-learn-from-steve-jobs/

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