What your English Teacher forgot to tell you!

Those halcyon days of school, learning and growing up.  Fondly remembered by some loathed by others.  Whatever your view there is one fact that cannot be challenged. 

Your English teacher taught you good grammar but not how to communicate.

What do I mean by that sweeping statement?

When you present to the board or to a group of prospects it is highly unlikely you will fall back on those scholarly grammatical skills.  But there is worse to come. 

Often we all fall into bad communication habits.  We fill them with industry shorthand and jargon, just because you can.  Worse still, stuffing the presentation with meaningless errms, and ums and obviously or whatever. Or saying yes, no (it has to be one or the other, it can’t be both)

As an example lets take a look at a CV - your CV.  After all, most of us have written a CV to get a job.  When you wrote it what was your purpose?  How much thought did you put in to what the reader would be thinking?  What frame of mind is the HR person going to be in when they read it?

If you are like me, these were not issues I considered.  Hit ‘em with some facts and bowl them over with your history.  That was my modus operandi.

Now let’s look at it from the HR persons point of life. 

Ask yourself this. Are the pleased to get to their desk to find 67 CV’s in a neat pile all demanding attention. 

Are they going to get home with a bag full of entertaining reading for the evening?  

Or are they likely to be read by someone who may have had a bad journey to work and because of the weather, traffic or home issue, means they are now behind for the day?

Best you think it’s the latter.

Write your CV to get someone’s attention quickly and keep them interested and informed.  It really doesn’t matter what frame of mind they are in, your CV will be read.  

Now take the feelings of the time pressed HR person and imagine they are a time pressed business person (is there any other?).  How do you now look at your communications to them? 

Are they full of grammatically correct long sentences? Think about the last legal letter you read, factually correct, grammatically correct.  But almost unintelligible and full of long clauses using words you don’t fully understand.

Would you read communication sent to you if it resembled a legal contract?

Or do you write short interest packed statements followed up by bullet points? All written in a way the reader gets it first time.

When writing any communication message just think your reader is pressed for time and you have to get the interesting stuff up front or – chances are yours will be like the quickly flicked through CV and left on the pile.

This approach is even more important when presenting.  Death by PowerPoint anyone?

To avoid this it’s best to know what your audience expects of you.  Meet that expectation.  Keep them interested and involved and you are on your way to success.

I recently saw a biography of an industry specialist on their web site.  His message was fairly clear except he said he had done just about every job in the organisation except sales.  

What was his purpose of telling me that?  What I was after was an indication of what he could do, not what he couldn’t.

Lots of brochures, sales messages and company literature is written with little idea of what the prospect wants.  Often it’s full of what we want to TELL you. 

And sometimes all that does is make us dream for those sunny trouble free school days all over again.

Paul Johnstone is a Speaker, Trainer and Paradigm Shaker. Founder of The Paradigm Shakers and a Subject Matter Expert.

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

Delivered by Subject Matter Experts

Check out the free speaking tips at The Paradigm Shakers

http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

P.S I always appreciate feed back and comments Oh and new followers!

Presentation Handouts

Presentation- Handouts

Why do we use and often misuse handouts? Handouts can be gold for a presenter and speaker. You can involve your audience, and get them involved with the message. They can also be detrimental to you if used incorrectly

Handouts are useful tools that enhance most presentations. They are also another way to involve your audience. I provide handouts for virtually every presentation I do. One of the reasons is that audience members really enjoy being able to take something home with them.

There are a couple of great reasons why you should do this. It is a way to make sure they have easy access to my name and phone number in case they have questions or if they want to hire you. And you can give them a nugget of information that helps them remember the presentation.

PC programs make it very easy to create customized handouts for your presentations. These add value and are often prized by the participants and meeting planners. Why? Because it shows you didn't just download a generic one.

I always make a customized cover that is printed on coloured paper and use a graphic that pertains to the message. For instance, if I am speaking to local business people, I find something suitable to their locality and business. In this case I used a map of the town with an overlay of population and the image of a local business person. Don't be afraid to be creative. If it is customized to them, they will love it. I only use modules that I know are suitable to their group and many times I include quotes that I got from the attendees during my pre-presentation interviews.

I always try to put something fun in the handout. Humour sells so use it. This virtually insured that the handout would not be thrown away. Give the attendees a reason for using the handout when they got back to their offices. Brain Gym, Stress Buster so many simple humorous exercises are lots of fun and again gives my handout a longer life. Don't forget to use the footer to give them your details.

Cautionary Note: Whenever you give a hand out to an audience, you have temporarily given them control. Don't worry they only keep it until they have read your hand out, so don't even think of speaking while they are reading. But if the handout is engaging you all win.

Use it as part of their experience: Give it as a clue to an exercise you are running. Prepare an image and leave space for them to fill in the answer. They have come to listen and learn, so make it straightforward for them to succeed. Example: It takes only 4 seconds for a telephone customer to decide whether they like you or not.

Paul Johnstone is a Speaker, Trainer and Paradigm Shaker. Founder of The Paradigm Shakers and a Subject Matter Workshop Leader.

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

Delivered by Subject Matter Experts

Check out the free speaking tips at The Paradigm Shakers

http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

P.S I always appreciate feed back and comments

How would you do in the Den

How would you fare in the Den

Here is a quick one I found over Christmas

Please feel free to pass this on to your colleagues

Paul Johnstone©

Put on your Finest LACE

The recession makes us all evaluate what we do and review the success or not of our actions.  Because I believe in trained business people are successful business people training is important to me.  It is a great way of honing your skills, because knowledge is king if for no other reason that that.  So I read through some sales manuals to perk up my own selling skills. 

It was there I came across an old favourite objection handling device, LACE.  It’s funny how much we read and then forget, or let good techniques fall by the wayside.

Objections happen. If you perform the sales or persuasion process well, you will succeed in seriously reducing the number of objections, but they may still happen.

Objections can be transformed into an opportunity. For example, you can increase your understanding of the other person's circumstance and to get closer to them, building a more trusting relationship.

Here is a simple mnemonic to help you LACE

L=Listen
Before you can act on the objection, you need to understand properly, not only the objection but also the thought and emotion behind it.

Find the objection

The first rule of objection handling is to listen to it.  Ask questions that get the background and detail of the objection. Listen again, not only to the objection but to the emotion behind it. Read between the lines.

The objection may well be a cover for the real objection. Probe for more detail by using the, 'what else' and 'how come' questions.

Find remaining objections

Find out whether there are any other objections. Ask 'Is there anything else'. Tip the bucket. This can cause you more work now and it may seem that it is better to let sleeping dogs lie. But if you do not do so, then when you get towards what you hope is closure, they may easily pop up to frustrate you once again.

A=Accept
Once you have discovered the objection, the next stage is to acknowledge not only the objection but the person..

Accept the person

Accept that they have a right to object., and accept that you have not fully understood them.

You do not do this by saying 'I accept you' or anything like this. The simplest way is through your attitude. Objecting can be a scary act, and people can fear your reaction. By not reacting negatively, by accepting the objection, you also accept the person.

By accepting the person, you build both their trust and their sense of identity with you. You also set up a exchange dynamic where they feel a sense of obligation to repay your acceptance.

Accept the objection

Accepting the objection means understanding how it is reasonable, at least from their current viewpoint for them to object to what you may believe is an excellent offer.
It also means accepting the work that addressing the objection will require of you. Objections can be frustrating and if you object to the objection, you will have a mutual stalemate.

C=Commit
Now it is time to get serious. With the increased understanding and trust, you have an ideal opportunity for a trial close.

Get their commitment

Get a commitment from them such that if you can satisfactorily address their objections, they will agree with you and make the purchase.

This is also a good method of identifying further objections. If they say no, then loop back and elicit these. Eventually, they will run out of objections. If you can address these, it's in the bag.

Make your commitment

This is also the point where you may well be making a commitment to them, to resolve their objection. When you commit to this course of action you may have to negotiate or in some cases call in favours.

The decision you have here, is 'Is it worth it?' Persuasion/Negotiation is often an exchange, and you always at liberty to back out.

E=Explicit action

Now it is time to address the objections, to take explicit action on the commitments made.
There are two types of objection: real ones and accidental ones. Accidental objections are where the objection is due to a misunderstanding. Misunderstandings are usually easy to address, with an apology and an explanation.

Real objections take work, but once resolved, you've got the sale!

Persuade your way through

Persuading your way through an objection, means you’re working to change the way they view.. You can wear them down such that they no longer view the objection as being worth pursuing. You can also change the way they view them more positively such that they have a light bulb experience so the objection is no longer important.

Concede your way through

You can also concede your way through, giving in and effectively buying their commitment. If they object to the price, you can always lower it. If they don't want it now, you can come back next week.

Concession can be both a useful approach, especially if you are in a hurry. If you give them an inch, then they may want to take a mile. But this is not necessarily so, and a prepared concession strategy can pay dividends.



Thats Lace now I’m now going to revisit my sales techniques especially objection handling techniques.

Paul Johnstone is the founder of

The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

Delivered by Subject Matter Experts

Check out the free speaking tips at The Paradigm Shakres

http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

P.S I always appreciate feed back and comments

The kings Speech and The Power of your voice

Lessons from a great movie on Communication

The King’s Speech is a film relevant to anyone who speaks for a living.


Don't we all speak for a living, to colleagues, customers. friends and associates all.   
Don’t miss it. It’s an inspiring communication experience, which may win several academy awards.  However what we have here is a great advertisement for overcoming the fear of public speaking, and a primer on presenting skills.

Without detailing all the characters there are some great phrases and sayings.  The Voice Coach tell the future Kind of England “You must have faith in your voice!”  Which is absolutely true whenever you speak, it’s often the case that the voice is the message.  Developing this inner faith in our own power, ability and confidence is one of the cornerstones to great public speaking. 

Learning to speak is a process and there is great power in this process.  The film demonstrates how powerful techniques like the pause work when delivering a message.  Some of the early pauses were not planned and were a little embarrassing.  But as a stammerer it gave the character time to think, which is useful when you are speaking.

Part of the film focuses on the Coach and the way he breaks down barriers. These were social barriers, emotional and psychological barriers.  Most speaking coaches have techniques to help people overcome their apprehension. The coach in the film is part speaking coach and part speech therapist.  He possessed an unusual mix of skills, but they worked and the king went on to inspire a nation in a time of national crisis. And who could know what would have happened if he had failed, and Germany had won the war, what would the world look like today?

The last part of the King’s success was due to what many people know as faith.  Not specifically religious, although he was a practicing Christian.  You need faith in the actions of those around you, your teacher, your mentor and your supporters.    It is a fact you can be being tutored by the best in the world but if you don’t believe in them……. Just think back to your time in school, there were teaches who inspired you to do well in a subject and those who could at worst turn you away from a subject for life.  So faith in those around you is crucial for your success. 

Paul Johnstone is the founder of
The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training
Delivered by Subject Matter Experts
http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers
P.S I always appreciate feed back and comments

Useing Humour in presentations

Public Speaking - Loose the Sexist Language

 

I have been to a few events in the past where the speaker has uses inappropriate language. The use of sexist language is something you must be careful to avoid in order to be in tune with today's society.

There is an excellent section about this topic in the book Speak Like a Pro by Margaret Bedrosian. She laks about how language changes:

A salesman is now a salesperson.
A fireman is now a firefighter.
You don't look for a chairman for a meeting, you look for someone to chair the meeting or a chairperson. You must be very careful in your use of humour in these PC lead times.

Your audience may get hung up on a word or a phrase.  What usually happens is the ‘tune you out ‘ stop listening because they are offended.  Use of humour, while lifting a presentation can offend, especially political, religious and sexist humour.  These are three topics where people often have strong feeling.

I attended a sports club's formal dinner at Oxford University some time ago.  The speaker was a man in his 50’s who had been responsible for founding the club in the early 70's.   He was due to speak about the struggle he had getting the sport established.   This he did quite quickly and entertyainingly.  He then filled the rest of the time with overtly sexist student stories. As you may guess this did not please the women in the audience, how times change women at sports club dinners!!!!!   One by one the women in the audience left the room as they were offended by his humour.


This can happen and there is nothing more deflating than see you audience head for the door.   One last point.  This speaker used a phrase that unless you are a highly skilled and vastly experienced comedian, you should avoid.  As three women walked past him on their way to the door, he said “Was it something I said?”

Presenting and speaking mean you amend your behaviour and style to fit the audience.  Do whatever you want with your friends, but if you persist in any of these behaviours you will be labelled as "out-of-touch" and your chance to become an acknowledged expert has gone forever.

Paul Johnstone is the founder of

The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

Delivered by Subject Matter Experts

http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

P.S I appreciate feed back and comments

Presenting and selling - Whats the differnce?

Often when reading articles and blogs on Presentation skills and public speaking I come across a gem. For some months I have been sharing some great speaking and presenting tips.  And I read a lot of blogs, web sites, books and go to events to get a wider perspective on the way people present and speak in public.

Presenting is no different to selling.  It’s not.  What you are doing when you present is selling an idea, or selling yourself. The same rules apply.  You want your audience to like what you are saying.  You want them to have got benefit from your presentation.  It’s a great feeling when people applaud spontaneously.  Just like the feeling when you walk out of a clients office and they have bought your products.  The process and the feeling is the same, just great.

Your ‘pitch’ needs to be targeted, at the audience, it’s no good going to a business convention for florists and talking about industrial plant.  This may seem obvious but I have seen people deliver what the audience does not want to hear.  At a college dinner for the university sports team, one of the founders of the team, who now worked on the other side of the world returned to deliver the after dinner speech.    The guy had been out of the UK for over 25 years, and delivered his speech as if we were still in the 1970’s.  Unsurprisingly almost all the women in the room walked out. 

So when I came across this blog by Vivek Singh from India, I thought how good now that people all round the world are starting to sing from the same hymn sheet.  http://bit.ly/fUvb3w He makes a lot of straight forward points

Love this or hate it please leave your comments 

Paul Johnstone is the founder of

The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

A Royal fear of Public Speaking

I’m someone who can speak effectively, eloquently and with confidence, in my head. But speaking to a group I get so nervous and can be difficult for me. This is not unusual and I know I am not alone.    With the release of the film the Kings Speech this has brought the fear of public speaking to the forefront of news. Here is some footage 

You will know by now that the King overcame his stammering problem with the help of a speech therapist.  He then went on to conquer his nerves and became a polished speaker.  This was a first.  Before King George VI most monarchs were images, figure heads who did not have to speak in public and now it is common place (I wish some of them would go back to that ideal). Back then there was no Christmas message.  The most taxing was the state opening of parliament which took place behind closed doors. I found an original recording which you may appreciate

This speech has a different pace and resonance from the public speakers of today.

Love this or hate it please leave your comments 

Paul Johnstone is the founder of
The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

Death By PowerPoint more of it to come!

In her Maniactove Blog  "PowerPoint Deaths Climb in 2009: But at Slower Rate "

Laura Bergellis spots some alarming trends.

 You can read it on her Blog at

  http://bit.ly/e7iFPp

There is also a video clip on my Blog from Friday you may enjoy.


Love this or hate it please leave your comments 

 Paul Johnstone is the founder of
The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

The 5 Corner Stones of Public Speaking - Part 1 Overcome the fear of public speaking

This is the first in a series of five articles on the benefits and issues of speaking publicly. You will also discover some great tips on how to present and discover things to avoid.  I hope you like them.

No 1 Fear of public speaking

Even TV commercials are now telling us there are only two fears we are born with.  These are the fear of loud noises and the fear of falling.  All other fears, like fear of enclosed spaces, spiders, interviews, public speaking, heights and fear of clowns, are learned

This means we as a species spend time thinking about then deciding on some irrational topic to be frightened of!  And all the time we know these things are irrational.  We all now that most phobias are easy to overcome.  Fear of Public speaking is common and even the best presenters feel nervous.  Nerves are your body’s way of reminding you to take care. A butterfly feeling in your tummy is a good thing.

Glossophobia; or the fear of Public Speaking comes pretty high on the list of phobias.  And there have been several surveys done where Public Speaking comes out top of the list.  It’s often followed by a fear of walking into a room full of strangers.  In fact Andy Lopata coined the phrase ‘And Death came third’ in his book of the same name.  Fear of dying which impacts us much more than talking to people always comes lower down the list than Public Speaking.

You know that the opportunity to speak at a function, wedding, anniversary, business presentation or sales pitch, is good for you.  In fact speaking to groups such as the W I, Local Interest groups, 6th form students or at an open meeting, will elevate you in the eyes of your peers.  Speaking is the quickest way to become recognises as an expert on a topic.  That is worth saying again.  By speaking publicly, you become known as a specialist, and once you are know as a specialist people activly seek you out. 

In business today it is often common place to ask applicants for a post to make a presentation.   I first became aware of this back in the 1980’s and it’s becoming more and more common place. The improvements you can make to your personal life and your business are immense, and all by just talking to people.

So why are so many of us afraid of speaking in public?

The answer is that a lot of people turn away from things they don’t understand!  Often leaving them untried or leaving them to the so called ‘The Experts.’ ’In fact we have learned to turn fear on just like turning on a tap. 

OK we know why people can find some situations a step too far out of their comfort zone. And you must all at sometime done something you were unsure about, we all have.  So the question is how do you do something and appear successful when you are quivering just at the thought of it?

That's a simple question to answer, remember when you started to drive.  Watching your parents it all seemed so easy.  But the first time you sat behind the wheel, how different it all was.  Just think of all the activities you have to perform and then you have to do them in the right order.  Don’t know about you but I crashed the gears, and bumped the kerb as well as kangarooing at the start.  I did these a few times each plus a lot more before I learned to drive. I went through all these poor experiences because I wanted to drive.

I bet that’s the case for the vast majority of people reading this. You persevered and learned to drive because you wanted to.  You are no different to anyone else we all learned to drive.  Look how about the one thing we all learned to do without being 100% conscious about why.  How many of us learned to walk?

Look at it from the other side.   How many of us have stopped doing something because we wanted to?  I stopped smoking at the third attempt, and that time I wanted to I had a reason to. How many of you have succeeded on a diet because you had good reason to loose the weight?

All I am saying is that you can overcome phobias and fears if you want to. That 99% of your ability to overcome the fear of public speaking comes from your preparation.  Remember the saying “You know the harder I practice the luckier I get.”  That’s how to take the first step to overcome your fear.  Not by standing up in front of large groups, No.  Be prepared.  Know your subject, because once you know your subject, the rest falls into place.

Try This Be Yourself!

Many of us have heard public speakers and thought "I could never be that smart, calm, entertaining, polished, Well I’m hear to tell you -you can. 

As we grow and develop in life we gather thousands and thousands of memories, some good some not so good.  The good ones are there to help you.  And you don't have to be brilliant, witty, or perfect to succeed.

Public speaking is not about celebrities turning up with a fixed smile or quick after dinner speech.  That’s not the norm.  Oh and you can make errors, we all do I do.  You can even be deadly serious and get a standing ovation.  Let me tell you there is no feeling in the world like that, and you can experience it and present like a pro.

And perfection is nothing to do with it.  Believe me your audiences don't expect perfection. So far that is the most important key you have learned,  So lets go through it again.  “Your audiences don't expect perfection.”

You can spend hours thinking about that now you know you don’t need to bother with that wasted time.   There was a time when I used to put incredible pressure on myself to deliver a perfect performance. I worked for days to prepare a talk, and stayed up nights worrying about making mistakes.  Blimey when I think back to all the hours and hours I spent, phew what a waste of time!

Take a moment and think what it is you want to achieve with your presentation? Usually you want to pass on information in a way it can be easily understood and your audience enjoys the experience. Deliver to your audience something of value.  That’s it, nothing else. 
Even if you dry up, pass out, get tongue-tied, or say something stupid your audience won't care! As long as they get something of value, they will be happy.

They don't even need to feel good to consider you a success. If you criticize people, or if you stir them up or challenge their beliefes to ultimately benefit them, they might still appreciate you, even though you didn't make them feel good at the time.

Here are some additional ways people overcome phobias or succeed at achieving their goals.

• Hypnotherapy
• Training
• Will Power
• Self Help books and tapes

Lets look at each one:

Hypnotherapy is a great way to overcome phobias and any hypnotherapist will tell you how and why hypnotherapy works on your unconscious mind.  This helps programme or condition your thoughts in such a way that helps you achieve your target.

Will Power; can be the most impressive, but not all of us possess the persistence to succeed. I stopped smoking using will power.  But I had a pretty strong reason to want to stop.

Self Help: Are good and they work, however statistics show that over 50% of people who buy self help books, never read them.  That staggers me.  Why pay money for something, take it home, pop it onto your book case and leave it there, amazing.

Training: Helps because like hypnotherapy there is someone to help you, a real person.  Where it wins for me is this.  You schedule your training and can ask all sorts of question as you go through the training session.

However you decide to work on or improve your presentation skills there is one thing you all have to do – Practice.  In most areas there are lots and lots of speaking opportunities available to you.  Check out local information sheets, magazines, newspapers, libraries and community web sites.  All of these will have events listed so you can pop along and see how others present.  Once you have done that why not volunteer to give a talk yourself!

In the next post you will see how important it is to prepare for your talk or presentation.  How to asses your presentation, what to prepare for and some tips on the best way to prepare.

Love this or hate it please leave your comments

Paul Johnstone is the founder of

The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

Death By PowerPoint

One way to loose your audience is to confuse the life out of them. 

Your communications should be clear, to the point and easy for your audience to understand.  Remember the presentation is about the message and not the messenger.

I came across this YouTube piece over a year ago and I keep going back to it when I think I am overcomplicating presentations.

Anyway hope you enjoy this short pices “Death By PowerPoint”

Paul Johnstone is the founder of
The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training
Delivered by Subject Matter Experts

http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

In this and the following Blog I will be discussion why so many people fear public speaking.  Why is his, when the ability to speak in public open so many doors to success.  This can be success in business or success in your personal life.

According to surveys, some of the most common fears are of: ghosts, the existence of evil powers, cockroaches, spiders, snakes, heights, water, enclosed spaces, tunnels and bridges, needles, social rejection, failure, examinations and public speaking.

Glossophobia the scientific name for public speaking is a common source of stress for many people.  Lots of us would like to avoid this problem entirely, but this is hard to do. Whether we work alone or with large numbers of people, eventually we will need to speak in public just to get things done.

In a survey the top three fears were:

Number 3 Death

Number 2 Walking into a room full of strangers

Number 1 Public Speaking.

OK so this survey was conducted in New York, and we all know the supposed neurotic nature of New Yorkers.  But it is pretty well on the mark.

Presenting today is often seen a path to success, to selling opportunities, getting your message across, or being promoted.  And just look at the leaders today who we remember, one thing in common, they are all good presenters, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Duncan Banatine, and many - many more.  And we remember them because they present well.

And if we want to be leaders we will often need to speak to groups, large and small, to be successful.

The truth about public speaking, however, is “It Does Not Have To Be Stressful!“

If you correctly understand why we have this fear, and these are found in the hidden causes of public speaking stress.   All you need to do to succeed to sis keep a few key points in mind.   Then speaking in public will soon become an invigorating, rewarding and satisfying experience for you.

The 7 Keys
Key 1--Speaking in Public should not be Stressful

Look we were only born with two fears, those are fear of falling and fear of loud noise, every other fear we have had to learn.  This is why most of us believe parts of life are inherently stressful and we spend time worrying about it!

So if we have learned to fear, spiders, confined spaces and public speaking, we can learn to like them.  To deal with any type of stress effectively, you first must understand that life itself, including public speaking, is NOT inherently stressful.

Thousands of people have learned to speak in front of groups with little or no stress at all. Many successful people were initially terrified to speak in public.

They would experience shaking knees, their voices would tremble, their thoughts would become jumbled, they would sweat or feel uncomfortable, or they would develop a twitch.  Any of these sound familiar to you?  Yet they learned to eliminate their fear of public speaking completely.

The first thing you need to like speaking in public is a plan, a plan of action to make this goal a reality.

You may now be thinking “It can’t be that easy!” It is believe me.  I'm a great example of someone who conquered the fear of public speaking.  I experienced just about all the fears, sweats, ticks uncontrollable actions you can think of.  It didn’t happen overnight, there were challenges along the way, but I did it.

Key 2—To Succeed Just be Yourself

Many of us have heard public speakers and thought "Wow, I could never be that smart, calm, witty, entertaining, polished, Well I’m hear to tell you -you can.

"Have I got news for you!”

As we grow and develop in life we accumulate thousands and thousands of memories, some good some not so good.  The good ones are there to help you.  And you don't have to be brilliant, witty, or perfect to succeed.

Public speaking is not about celebrities turning up with a witticism or quick after dinner speech.  That’s not the norm.  Oh and you can make errors, we all do I do.  You can even be deadly serious and get a standing ovation.  Let me tell you there is no feeling in the world like that, and you can experience it and present like a pro.

And perfection is nothing to do with it.  Believe me your audiences don't expect perfection. So far that is the most important key you have learned,  So lets go through it again.  “Your audiences don't expect perfection.”

You can spend hours thinking about that now you know you don’t need to bother with that wasted time.   There was a time when I used to put incredible pressure on myself to deliver a perfect performance. I worked for days to prepare a talk, and stayed up nights worrying about making mistakes.  Blimey when I think back to all the hours and hours I spent, phew what a waste of time!

Can you guess what the outcome of all that worrying was?  Anxiety! Kick back, relax and prepare in a more effective way, see Key 3 for more on that.

Take a moment and think what it is you want to achieve with your presentation? Usually you want to pass on information in a way it can be easily understood and your audience enjoys the experience. Deliver to your audience something of value.  That’s it, nothing else.

Even if you dry up, pass out, get tongue-tied, or say something stupid your audience won't care! As long as they get something of value, they will be happy.

They don't even need to feel good to consider you a success. If you criticize people, or if you stir them up to ultimately benefit them, they might still appreciate you, even though you didn't make them feel good at the time.

Key 3—Preparation is vital practice is………………..


Preparation is the key to a great presentation.  Not I said preparation and not practice.  There is a good reason for that.

Whenever I get a booking I do the same thing in the same order.  I ask a series of questions

How do I get there? Can I use public transport? If the answer is yes, I will always use it, as I prefer to arrive calm and early, something that sadly cannot be guaranteed on the roads today.  There is an added benefit, if I need to polish up a quote of go through my presentation I can read my notes one last time.

I then ask who the audience are and what are their expectations?   All you need to know about your audience is why they are there.  When you have those facts you have a great start.  For example if it is an internal briefing several people may be there to learn, others may be there to skive (sad but true) and they are all there because they have been told to. A captive audience!

Or they may be members of an association and you are a guest speaker, which is so different from the previous example.  Either way to deliver value you need to know what is expected.

Some presenters think about what they want to deliver, then get up and deliver.  Others write a full presentation, take time and learn it parrot fashion. I’m not in favour of this method as it can lead to more pressure to master your lines.  That alone can add tons of pressure  and forgetting what comes next.  My preference is to write out longhand what I am going to say.  Then I take the main points and write them in single lines 3 or 4 of them.  This way all I need to remember is which point I am on at any given time.

On the other hand, if you know your subject well, or if you've spoken about it many times before, you may only need a few minutes to get into the zone and deliver a great presentation.

To summarise: All you might need is to remind yourself of the two or three key points you want to make, along with several good examples and supporting facts and away you go.

If you are asked to speak on a topic you don’t know too well research and notes are your best help. Read what you need to and include the important points.  Bulleted main points are always a great start. And don’t worry if it comes out different to how you practised, that is normal.

Go out and look for opportunities to speak on your subject.   Offer to speak free or for a small fee, enough to cover your expenses. If you have something of value to tell others, keep getting in front of people and deliver it. In no time at all, you'll gain confidence. You'll also begin to respect the natural public speaker/communicator within you.



More in the next Blog, see you then.

Paul Johnstone is the founder of
The Paradigm Shakers
Providers of Thought Provoking Training
Delivered by Subject Matter Experts
http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

Using Power point - some rules

©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers

There is no doubt, PowerPoint is a fantastic tool.  There is also no doubt it is used incorrectly so many times.

Yet with a little planning you can make fantastic presentations with PowerPoint.

So why do we all suffer death by PowerPoint so often?

Here are 10 industry standard tips to getting the best from PowerPoint in your presentation.

1) Preparation is your best insurance.  Know your audience and what they expect.  Then prepare to meet their expectations.

2) Preparations start on Paper:  There is no doubt PowerPoint has some fantastic templates but they restrict your creativity.  Use pencil and paper and sketch out your presentation, a rubber helps.

3) Tell a story: Have a start a middle and an end to your story.  Take the audience with you as you tell your tale.

4) One concept per slide:  Don’t muddy the waters with confusing messages.  Remember KISS?

5) The 30 Point Rule:  Never use a font smaller than 30 point. Not everyone in the audience has 20-20 vision and it’s just your luck those people will be sitting at the back.

6) NO BULLETS EVER:  Bullets are fantastic in a report, letter, marketing document but should never be used on a slide show EVER. Email me for all the reasons why not.

7) No Starbursts: Great in a shop window or a web site but a big No-No in your presentation.

8) Clutter.  Its easy to clutter a slide with lots of fade ins and the like.  This only detracts from your presentation.  And you have to give your audience 10 seconds every time you change something on your slide.

9) Loose the Logo: Branding gets in the way!  Branding detracts from your message, Branding ads to the clutter. Loose it

10) Less is More:  By cutting down on your slide contact, you can react more easily to changes in your audience and meet their expectations.

Most people who are recognised as good or great presenters follow these simple rules.  The one you will all know is Steve Jobs of Apple. Typically he uses 3 slides. One slide to introduce him, one with just a photograph of the product usually no copy, and one at the end wrapping up his presentation.  Richard Branson hardly ever uses visual aids of any sort.

If anyone wants to talk to me and wants a free review of their presentations please contact me through comments and leave your contact details.

Pop back soon, for more business and knowledge tips

Here’s to more success in Business

Public Speaking: Paul Johnstone's Top 10 Ways to Get Free Publicity

You may know Publicity Junkies. Well I bet you have met one.

You see them smiling back at you from colour photos that accompany their profile story in the morning paper. Tune into the radio and there they are again, chatting away on a local talk show. Some time later, they appear on the front of your trade journal. Next they're being interviewed on the 10 o'clock news. While you're buying advertising to deliver your message, they're doing it for free.

How do they do that?  Well for a start they follow the rules.  What Rules, I never knew there were rules!   Media relations are a complex business with its own etiquette, protocol and rules. Her are the top 10 easy to follow rules for getting you in front of the camera or radio mike.

Here are my Top 10 tips for free publicity:

1. Send news releases about new products and services, contests, awards, open houses, speaking engagements to the media, meetings and post them online where consumers can find them.

2. Write "how-to" articles for newspapers, magazines, trade publications and newsletters, and for online article directories, and offer lots of free advice. It helps establish you as an expert.

3. Get onto the speaking circuit. Speaking to community groups and trade associations is a wonderful way to "create the buzz" about your business.

4. Create a website chock full of free advice, articles by and about you, story ideas about your business, and an electronic media kit.

5. Write an ezine. A free electronic newsletter helps you sell your products and services to an international audience and costs almost nothing compared to expensive direct mail campaigns. With permission, you can send the ezine to reporters who cover your industry.

6. Get to know reporters. Offer yourself as someone they can call on for background, commentary and story ideas. Call and ask, "How can I help you?"

7. Start your own TV show on your local cable TV There are lots of local TV companies springing up all over the place and they need content and if you can provide it, hey another shot at the big time.
8. Look for photo opportunities. Local newspapers, TV stations, weekly shoppers, trade publications and other media are always looking for interesting photos. Call the media with ideas, or submit your own photos.

9. Blog, and post comments at other blogs. Bloggers, unlike journalists, love to link to each other, and getting in front of one influential blogger can really create a buzz online.

10. Participate in online discussion groups and offer lots of helpful advice. Reporters hang round here, and if they're impressed with your messages, they might contact you for a story. Use a signature file in your email that explains what you do and how you can help solve people's problems. Link to your web site. Above all, be patient and persistent. The key to savvy media relations understands how to dovetail your wants and needs with those of the media.

Anything is possible once you decide to do it.

For more business tips please download one of my free sales and marketing tips sheets from http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk
Paul Johnstone ©