Think Before You Speak ~ Paul M Johnstone

A few days ago I read a story about a man who cleaned a fan with bleach, it was the one the family used in the living room. Then to his surprise, when he turned on the fan, bleach sprayed all over the room.  The result was white bleach spots on the curtains, upholstery, carpets, in fact everything in the room.  So what was he thinking about when he the fan on, quite clearly not the process.

Sometimes we make mistakes when we present, simply because we aren't thinking. Over the years, I have left my notes and props at home simply because I wasn’t thinking. I failed with the first part of the process, a check list.  More often than not this when I was attending a networking breakfast, too early and my brain was in neutral.  However if you are public speaking your thought process should be fully tuned in. One way to insure your success when you are speaking is to think ahead about what you need for the speaking occasion.  Back to your check list.

A good place to start is by thinking about the people you will meet. Go through in your notes the names of the important people for you should talk to.  Who do you need to speak to with when you arrive. If you are unsure of some people and positions their, check their websites.

Always, always check pronunciation of unusual names , a good tip is call the company and ask how they pronounce it.

Ok simple stuff, how are you going to get there? Train, Car, how? When you’re speaking in-house, check you have the right room specified in your notes. Consider rush hour traffic important for roads like the M6, M1 and M25, do you have to cross a large city? Never book the last flight so if there is a hold up or cancelation, you have a fall back position.  

Think about material that you may have struggled with in your preparation and review it again. It’s a good idea to check you have the latest set of data especially if it has been some time since you spoke on that topic.

Take a moment to think about questions audience members may ask you. Follow the three P’s on that one Plan, Prepare, Practice.  (There will be a blog just on that subject later in the year)  You may check internet sources to see if there is a new piece of research that will support your presentation.

What do you want from your presentation?  What do your audience expect? What take away have you prepared?  If you have any doubts about the first two call the organiser and ask questions.

Remember the process of one thought delivered to one person then one pause.  This allows you all the time you need to process your next thought. And remember Mt Franklin, who gave all speakers the best piece of information ever.  “Be sincere, be brief, be seated”

About the Author

Paul M Johnstone is a Professional Communicator, Speaker, Executive Coach and PowerPoint Guru!  He works with companies, organisations and individuals.  Helping people to speak and present more effectively, and to improve their personal and professional success. 

Paul can be reached at +44 (0)7711 324362 or through either of his websites at http://www.pmjohnstone.co.uk/ or http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/
For quick speaking tips take a look at this Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ParadigmShakers

A quick Guide to Effective Public Speaking~ Paul M Johnstone

Why do so many of us feel awkward when we get up to address a group?  

And I use the word feel on purpose, because we do feel nervous. Is it the fear of public speaking or something else?

So, delivering an effective presentation to a small or large group can be difficult. One of the reasons may be. Because your audience may have access to all sorts of information thought the internet.  

It’s now a fact that audiences expect even more from speakers today. 

In addition, because of celebrity speakers, audiences are looking for entertainment.  They want a presentation delivered with animation, humour, celebrity stories and glitz.

There are lots of books out there, specialising in how to speak in public, but I thought I would write this condensed version for you.  This comes from my 12 years speaking to audiences on a regular basis

Start with a Bang!  

Many years ago I saw a speaker walk onto a dark stage and fire a starting pistol to get our attention.  You may prefer by opening with a contentious statement, a headline grabber, or your own story. 

Audiences are known to pay close attention when a speech begins with, "Last week as I was walking through the town on my lunch break, I witnessed a robbery!..." 

This is a great technique for grabbing your audience’s attention.  You may say something contentious, such as Global Warming is nonsense, or I think sex offenders get a bad press!

However you start your presentation you will get a better reaction, when you grab the attention of the audience from the start.

You have tons of natural energy, so use it!  

Speak with variety in your voice. Slow down for a dramatic point and pick up pace to show excitement. And pause……… This allows your audience to digest what you have just said.   

Don't just stand behind the lectern! OK I know once your hands touch it, the super glue effect kicks in and you find you are welded to it! It’s best to move a step away to make a point. When you are encouraging your audience, take a step toward them. Gesture to show how big or wide or tall or small an object is that you are describing. Whatever your movements, they should have purpose.

If you don’t have a plan you don’t have a speech.

There are lots of people giving lots of advice about the plan and structure for a speech.  Over the years I have tried most and the one that works for me is this.  

Pick up to Five main points from your speech and set them out on cards.  Under these headings use between three to five supporting points. Now you should have three, four or five cards, with up to five points on each card.  The supporting points can be personal examples, definitions, testimony, or statistics. PowerPoint is a great way to support these points These are there to act as a trigger to your delivery.  You now have the plan and running order in place.

A quick design tip ~ Bar Charts are best for comparisons and pie graphs are best for showing distribution of percentages.  I will share more on this in later blogs

How to build a bridge!

You often hear people speaking and you may hear a random fact that just pops out of nowhere. What’s happened is there was no link, or no signpost indicating this was going to happen.  One of the best ways is to build a bridge between the two parts.  

These could be signposts such as "First," "Second," or "Finally." Use an internal summary by simply including the point you just made and telling what you plan to talk about next. "Now that we have talked about structure, let's move on to the use of stories," would be an example. When you have an introduction, two or three main points with support for each, appropriate transitions, and a conclusion, you will have your speech organized in a way that the audience can follow you easily.

Put ‘YOU’ into your speech, at least once.

The ‘you’ factor is so important in a technical presentation. Use personal experience that connects to your speech content, and your audience.  Then they will connect with you.

You want to help the audience link emotionally with what you are talking about, and the personal experience does that. With almost any topic you might choose, you have at least one "war story" to relate to the topic. When you tell the story, simply start at the beginning and move chronologically through the narrative, including answers to the "W" questions: "Who," What, "When," "Why," and "Where."

Grab A Graphic. 

To add interest and understanding to your speech use graphics. A visual aid could be an object, a flip chart, a PowerPoint presentation, overhead projector slides, or a dry erase board. If you are using pictures please use good quality ones.  Nothing makes your presentation look cheap and nasty quicker than cheap images.   

And PowerPoint tip, when adding words to your slide, ALWAYS be sure it is 30 point or BIGGER.  That way everyone in your audience will be able to read it. And its just the way, that the person at the back who can’t read your slide, will be the one with the power over your sale!  

And never allow the visual to become a silent demonstration. Keep talking as you show the visual. You are still the main event and your visual is there to support you. Do what your mum told you to do, don’t turn your back on people when you are talking to them!  

The Experts tell us that  

If you are delivering a persuasive, possibly a technical speech, it helps if you use and include testimony of experts.  It’s best if these experts are known to and respected by the audience.  Add key statistics when possible to show the seriousness of what you are discussing. 

For example, if I were discussing how best to use PowerPoint to support your presentation I would tell you about the educational psychologists who tell us there are 8 principles that help you to take in the information better if it’s presented differently. By using stories, testimony, and statistics in your speech, you add depth to your evidence.

The eyes have it!

Eye contact is the most misunderstood part of public speaking.  You may have been told to slice the room into sectors and look in that sector, then move to the next, and so on.

I wish I could find the person who stared this as I would *******       Well best not go there! The problem is we know that people who look us in the eye are truthful. So people who avoid eye contact with us are? 

Small audiences pose different challenges than large audiences.  But one thing is common.  Both are more likely to engage with you if you can look them in the eye.   Then hold eye contact with one person, speak to them for 4 or 5 seconds and move on to the next person. 

With practice you will start to see a whole different reaction from your audience and the feedback you get will be amazing.  Because you will be doing what 99% of business people don’t do.  That’s talk to your audience.  What they do is talk at their audience. 

Make is a "wow" with something they don’t know

Something in your speech should make your audience think, "Wow!" It could be a story, a dramatic point, an unusual statistic, or an effective visual that helps the audience understand immediately. With a "wow" factor, you then have something to look forward to in the speech that you know will have an impact on your audience. You'll become a more enthusiastic speaker because the "wow" factor will get you as well as your audience pumped for the speech.

Oh and as Benjamin Franklin said of public speaking, “Be sincere, Be brief, Be seated.”

Use a touch of humour but make it appropriate.

No not a stand up, so no panic.    But a great technique is to lightening up a serious speech so that people will find it easier to be interested in your ideas. 

Audiences today want some entertainment in a speech, I believe the word is edutainment!  Humour will help you to be seen as amiable and it is hard for people to disagree if they are smiling at you. 

Yogi Berra said a lot of funny things. "You can observe a lot just by watching" for example. Tell a short embarrassing moment in your life that you might have thought not funny at the time. Now that you can laugh at the experience, you understand the old adage, "Humour is simply tragedy separated by time and space." 

And a couple of No-No’s, don't poke fun at your audience.  It should be you as the object of any shortcoming.  People seeing that you can laugh at yourself, is a good technique.  Don’t swear, use jargon or inappropriate language, phew glad that’s over. 

End with a bang: 

People remember best what you say last. And if you can give them something you know or believe will make a difference.  And a big gesture helps to emphasise the point you are making.  

You might summarize your main points, or you might complete the statement, "What I want you to do as a result of this presentation is...." But beyond that, make your last words a thought to ponder. For example, I might end a speech on becoming a better speaker with "As Cicero said centuries ago, 'The skill to do comes with the doing.'"

Becoming a good speaker comes with practice, oh and practice, and again more practice.  No not at home in front of a mirror, more of that later.  No the best way is to be in front of an audience with a message to deliver

Comments please!  The only way I can improve the quality of my posts is if you folks tell me what you think, so please do.

Paul M Johnstone is a Professional Communicator, Speaker, Executive Coach and PowerPoint Guru!  He works with companies, organisations and individuals.  Paul helps people who want to speak and present more effectively, and works with them to improve their personal and professional success. Paul can be reached at +44 (0)7711 324362or through his website at http://www.pmjohnstone.co.uk/ and http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk

Top Presentation Techniques - Paul M Johnstone

Presentations are something that we’re all familiar with. Unfortunately there are estimated to be over 50% of the 1.3 Million presentations delivered every day, are rubbish (conservative estimate).    

To help you get the best from your presentations here are just a few tips that will help you achieve the goal of any presentation. The effective transfer of information from you the presenter to the audience in a way they understand and use your information. 

Don’t abuse your visuals – Always, always use quality images.  Avoid clip art go for quality.  If you want to use a cartoon get a cartoonist to draw one for you!   Whatever your visuals may be, keep them simple and try to use three or four words only. The audience isn’t there to read your slides, they are there to listen to your presentation.

Eye to eye with the audience – A fantastic technique for engaging the audience 

is……….Look them in the eye.  Don’t spray your eyes round the room look at one person, deliver a sentence then move on to the next person.  If no one is looking at you, stop talking.  When they look up, look the next person in the eye, deliver a sentence and move on.

Show your personality – It doesn’t matter if you are presenting to a corporate crowd or to senior citizens, you need to show some of your character when presenting. When you just stand and deliver you become wooden and any enthusiasm you have for the topic is lost.  Be yourself, be natural and you will deliver better presentations.

Make them laugh – Although you want to educate your audience, humour will help your presentation be better remembered.   No this doe not mean you have to become a stand up.  Tel your story and lighten it up with humour or an anecdote.  This keeps the audience alert and they’ll learn more from you than someone who just educates.

Talk to your audience, not at them – Don’t you just hate it when people talk at, so don’t do it. You need to interact with your audience and create a conversation. An easy way to do this is to ask them questions as well as letting them ask you questions.  I know someone who asks one person in his audience “What do you expect to achieve from this presentation”?

Honesty is your best Policy – A lot of people present to the audience what they want to hear, instead of what they need to hear. Make sure you tell the truth even if they don’t want to hear it.  There are lots of words you can use to prepare your audience for bad news. It will help you if you collect a library of these words and phrases for when you need them. Oh and if you don't know the answer to a question, tell them you don't but you will get back to them with an answer.

Please Don’t over prepare – If you rehearse your presentation too much it will sound like it (in a bad way). Granted, you need to be prepared enough to know what you are going to talk about but make sure your presentation flows naturally instead of sounding memorized. Usually if you ask experienced speakers what you shouldn’t do, they’ll tell you not to rehearse your presentation too much because then it won’t sound natural.

Get out of the Grow Bag– You probably know it’s good to move when you are presenting.  The phrase motion comes from emotion is key here. Don’t stand in one spot, like you are trying to take root, (in your grow bag) a little movement and encouraging gestures help when making a point. People are more engaged with an animated speaker.

Watch what you say – You usually don’t notice when you say “err”, “ah”, or any other filler word frequently, but the audience does. It can get irritating; so much that some members of the audience will probably count how many times you say these filler words.

Differentiate yourself – If you don’t do something different compared to all the other presenters the audience may have heard.  You are branding yourself when you speak, so make sure you do something memorable.  I find your own enthusiasm for your subject is a great place to start.

Catch up with you again soon!

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

Public Speaking, what a great sales tool! Paul M Johnstone

Humour and tales with a humorous punch line can help you get the sales presentation. They are great for helping you stay upbeat and on the ball.   

Here is a story of a friend of mine and how humour helped him.

One of the ways professional speakers get business is if you have to deliver free demonstrations, always make sure you get a tangible return.  My colleague was presenting for an advertising company in London. After the presentation, a lady came approached him and asked him to call her. She then went on to tell him, his information would be perfect for the employees at her place.

So he called three times that week, guess what no return call. Called three times the next week and did not get a return call. And on to the third week, no return calls.   Finally, he decided to sent a humorous fax.

Guess What?  She called back within the hour.  And as a result he got a large contract for a years work  When asked why she replied to he fax, her reply, She said the fax really made her laugh in the midst of all the pressure she was under and that's why she called.

Oh and it was a government department! 

You might be wondering how he could call someone 12 times in a month and not be considered a pest. Well she asked him to call. To me that means I'm going to call her the rest of her life until she tells me to stop.

Secondly, he knew she was a fun and lively sort of person, because he saw her enjoying the presentation where they first met.

So use humour words and phrase like I know your in box resembles Everest or I'll bet people are camping outside your office just to get to see you.

If you can use humour as an aid to your selling, try lots of things like these. 

You could sing on a prospect's voicemail (not if you’re tone deaf), send humorous post cards.    E-mail that makes people smile, make your mailers unforgettable. Why not send a packet of grass seed to help them grow their business, biscuits for their much needed coffee break.  Chewing gum for those sticky situations, in fact anything that will make you stand out. To stand out you need to be different from the crowd. Prospects are much more likely to remember you when they want something you do.  

Make your reminders witty, humorous, and different, as this  will help you get the call when they have a need.  For more tips like this please vist either www.pmjohnstone.co.uk 
Or the Paradigm Shakers who's link is at the end of this page

Catch up with you again soon!

Paul Johnstone is the founder of

The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

Delivered by Subject Matter Experts

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

Shy at Parties? HNS to save your blushes! by Paul M Johnstone

Here is a quick pointer for you.

According to the Daily Telegraph that is what the NHS are up to, curing shyness at parties!

Now I know there are to be changes being made to the NHS but shyness courses?????

Check Out The article 

Catch up with you again soon!

 

Paul Johnstone is the founder of

The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

Delivered by Subject Matter Experts

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

Invest in Time it will repay you many times over - Paul M Johnstone

When you have the opportunity to speak at a Networking event, it’s best if you Invest in that time opportunity wisely.  Time spent preparing will repay you many fold.

From the forthcoming book The A - Z of Networkig

Sixty Seconds Part 1

Given that we all deliver a 60 second commercial in our networking club meetings, it often astounds me how little thought some people put in to it. In fact I was asked yesterday for tips on making an impact during a 60 second commercial. I use the word commercial as that is what a 60 seconds is your commercial, your advertisement to the world.

Now think to the memorable commercials you have seen and they all have one thing in common – Clarity.

I hear lots of 60 seconds, and a trap that many people fall into is telling the audience about their skill and not what they can do.

For example I had been listening to a personal therapist for about two years not fully understanding what it was they did. Then one day he stood up and said how would we like to kiss an ex smoker today?

Instantly everyone got it.

He told them what he could do for you. Do you do that?

Here is an anatomy of a 60 seconds:

·         Opening including who you are and what you do 5 – 10 seconds

·         Description of your product or services 10- 15 seconds

·         Your experience 5 – 10 seconds

·         Why people should advocate for you 10 – 15 seconds

·         Repeat who you are, what you do and a strap line 10 – 15 seconds

If you stick to that format you should get everything across to the audience in 60 seconds. Providing you are clear in your message, to be sure try it out on a friend or family member, if they understand so should your audience.

I used to write my 60 seconds and then call up the clock on my PC and read aloud my 60 seconds.  It is the reading it aloud that helps you time it correctly. It also lets you know if you have over-run

  

NETWORK GOLD  100 words equals 60 seconds delivery, use the word count feature on your PC and stay under 100 words rather than over.

Clarity is your key to being understood

Catch up with you again soon!

 

Paul Johnstone is the founder of

The Paradigm Shakers

Providers of Thought Provoking Training

Delivered by Subject Matter Experts

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

Get into the Press: Deck the Halls with Story Ideas at Christmas and other times - Paul Johnstone

There are some times in the year August, and December up to New Year which can be painfully slow at newspapers, magazines.   

It’s the same with TV and radio stations because news is not happening as people who usually make the news are doing things other.

Take the talk show as an example, Talk show guests are in short supply. Reporters often find it difficult to track down the people they need to comment on a particular story. 

And because newspapers sell more ads in December, that means more news pages to fill.  Radio, TV Newspapers and on-line media are looking for guests.

Here are ways your publicity effort can capitalize on the holidays:

SO how do you exploit this gap in the market? · Tie your story idea to Christmas, Yom Kippur or New Year's.  Any Holiday time newspapers and media stations are on the look out for timely news or News In Brief (NIB’s)

· Write letters to the editor and opinion columns for publication during the weeks immediately before and after Christmas, when submissions usually drop off.

Call your local newspapers now to see what special sections they have planned during December. Your story idea might be a perfect fit. Pitch your idea immediately because these sections are sometimes done weeks in advance.

Stay alert for breaking news stories on which you can provide expert opinion, even if the topic doesn't have anything to do with the holidays. If a story breaks, call newspapers and TV stations and offer to comment.

Write or call magazine editors, who usually work six months ahead, with story ideas for late spring and early summer. Mark your calendar now to set aside some time before and after Christmas to pitch.

Catch up with you again soon!

  

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

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Public Speaking: Audience Humour - Paul Johnstone

Audience Humour is it just a gag?

Audience humour is offbeat asides and jokes that occur unexpectedly during a presentation. 

An old stand by often used be Dr. Joel Goodman, is where a telephone rings during his presentation. He answers the phone that was hidden in the lectern and pretends to talk to his mother. The same joke would be called a running gag if the phone rang at several other times during the program.    

I believe the two Ronies used a similar technique in their long running series on the BBC.

Graveyard Wakeup

This is great if you have drawn the short straw and have to present imediatly after lunch, the graveyard slot.  It’s another tried and tested piece of humour, which is lots of fun and takes almost no time to set up.  

Before the presentation, pick out about 10 willing audience members to help you. All you do is give them simple that they share with no one else. This instruction leads them to a course of action that is carried out on a certain cue during the presentation. To start the gag, have an assistant interrupt the seminar to give you an important note. 

The note read (for effect it helps if you use a serious expression):

"It appears that someone is in attendance today with another man's wife. There is a large and irate man on his way here right now. If you want to get out quickly, there is a backstage door you can use to disappear through."

At this point, 10 men jumped up out of their seats and ran crazily out the door. Once they realized what was happening, several women jumped up and ran out too. It was great fun and wakes up everyone who had just lunch and were feeling a little snoozy. 

Your turn now to tell me is humour in presentations just a gag?  

Or you could share with others your experiences of humour in presentations - Good or Bad - but please keep it appropriate!

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

Paradigm SHakers - Providers of Thought Provoking Training

Check out other free speaking tips:

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

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

©Paul Johnstone

How to Conquer Public Speaking Fear- Part 5

Welcome to the final part in this report on Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking

Public speaking is a common source of stress for most people. 

So how do we overcome this irrational fear? 

In this final section of overcoming the fear of public speaking you’ll learn about over practicing and why the audience want you to succeed. 

We’ll review the previous four sections and give you some of the hidden causes of Glossophobia (the fear of public speaking)

Key 9--The More You Practice, the Worse You Get

Preparation falls into two areas, one marked good and the other marked bad.   Lets start with the bad one first.  This is something I used to do when I started out networking.  I had 60 seconds to fill every week and I took advice and wrote my 60 seconds every week.  Then I tried to learn them off by heart, spending hours rehearsing my speech.  Getting tongue tied and the moment I stood up I forgot what I had spent hours trying to remember.   

You are not trained actors so why try and learn your lines?  And because you are not trained to memorise scripts you get it wrong.  So stop trying.  

Now to the good preparation:  Usually I read a lot about my subject, or the subject I am speaking about.  This is not in the days before I present, I do it weeks in advance so the general information has time to sink in.  That’s all you need.

Understand your subject, and you can speak about your subject.

Many people believe you can over prepare your presentation.  All that does is send you back into the bad old habits – you know the ones we are working with you to eliminate.   

Much of what we have shared over the past four instalments can reappear.  You can end up focusing on the wrong part of your presentation, trying to get everyone to like you, memorising it line by line and packing too much into your allotted time. 

I’m sure there is a law about the more you worry over something the more likely it is to happen.  

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 prepare sufficiently. 

The main point here is that you know your subject.  As a subject matter expert you should know all about printing if you are a printer. You’ll know all about plants if you are a gardener, or all about video cameras if you are a videographer.  All you might need is to remind yourself of the three key points you want to make, along with some good examples and supporting facts and: Lights, Camera Action – You’re ready for the spotlight

Now I spend enough time working on the topic especially when it’s one that is associated with what I do, teaching people to speak, so I know and understand as much as I can.  What I never do is Practice, practice and practice the speech.  

As we have covered earlier it is detrimental more often than it is beneficial. Also if you are word perfect through constant practice, and you are not a trained actor.  You forget where to place the emphasise and it can all get a bit monotone and dull.   

Over preparation usually means you either don't know your subject or you do, but you don’t have confident in your ability to talk about it in public. 

If you don’t know your subject you’ll need to do some research.  If its your lack of confidence you need to learn to let your  natural ability to speak come through.   The only way to do this is to put yourself in the spotlight, and do it.  Remember what we said earlier in this series.  Once you have learned how to present properly, every opportunity you get top speak in public you get better.

Go out and grab every opportunity you can to speak.  Speak on your subject in public, to small groups to colleagues. Offer to speak free, just to get the experience.  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 get all the confidence you ever dreamed of.

Key 10--Your Audience Wants You to Succeed

The last Key to remember is that your audience wants you to succeed. 

They do it’s not a myth people really want you to succeed. 

This is mainly due to the fact your audience has a fear of public speaking, and they admire you for getting up there and doing it. They know the risks they believe you are taking every time you present yourself in public. They feel for you. They will be on your side, no matter what happens.

What does this mean for you the speaker?  Well most audiences are in forgiving mode all the time. While a slip of the tongue might feel like a catastrophe to you, most of the time it goes completely unnoticed by your audience.  

Because they want you to succeed, their judgement of you will be much kinder and far more lenient than yours will ever be. Remember to remind yourself of this point, every time you think you've  not done well.

You know one of the great things about learning to speak in public.  Once you have mastered the skill, every time you have an opportunity to speak in public, you just get better.  So keep at it and you will soon be seen as the expert people want to pay to listen to, Enjoy the journey.

Review Of the Hidden Causes Of Public Speaking Stress

Here I have listed for you in one place all the hidden causes of stress in speaking in public.  

A.   Thinking that public speaking is inherently stressful (it's not).

B.   Believing you have to be brilliant to succeed (you don't).

C.  Packing too much information or having too many points in a presentation.(please don’t)

D.  Presenting the wrong purpose (give before you receive).

E.   Trying to please all the people all the time(get real – you can’t).

F.    Trying to be someone else rather than simply being yourself (the first part is hard the second real simple).

G.  Forgetting humility.( do what it says on the tin)

H.  Having fear of negative outcomes (they almost never happen - when they do, turn them to your advantage).

I.     Focusing on others behaviour (if you can’t control in why focus on it?).

J.     Over practicing (work on your own confidence and trust in your own ability to succeed).

K.  Believing your audience are your harshest critic.(they never are)

By eliminating these hidden causes you another step closer to banishing the fear of public speaking

And here once more are the headlines for the 10 keys that will unlock your door to becoming a presenter and public speaker.

Review of the 10 Keys Please Keep Them In Mind

Key 1--Speaking in Public is not Inherently Stressful

Key 2--You don’t have to be perfect to Succeed

Key 3--All You Need are the Main Points

Key 4—Have a Purpose a real purpose

Key 5—You succeed when you’re not a Public Speaker!

Key 6--Humility and Humour Go a Long Way

Key 7--Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen!

Key 8—Tips on managing your Audience

Key 9--The More You Practice, the Worse You get

Key 10--Your Audience Wants You to Succeed

Review of 10 Keys - Keep these in Mind

That's all there is to it. Just look for these eleven hidden causes and keep the ten corresponding principles in mind.

Of course, you will need to practice. It's extremely easy to forget the ten keys. So keep reviewing them.   

What is the best way to practice? Go out and speak in public. Join a local Speakers Club, http://www.the-asc.org.uk/  Or try a Toastmasters Group http://www.toastmasters.org/.  I have a preference tor the association of speakers clubs format, and the fact they are based in the UK, but there may not be one near you.

You can visit my own web site  www.PMJohnstone.co.uk where you can access my public speaking tips which are delivered to your in-box every working day. 

Just keep seizing the speaking opportunities and in no time at all, your skill, confidence, and natural ability will shine through.

Please take a look at  www.paradigmshakers.co.uk for a newsletter on business tips which has a large section on presenting and public speaking.  

Finally, if you get up in front of a group and find this stressful, it only means you forgot what public speaking is all about. At that time go back and review this series.  Check out where you went wrong or what you didn't remember. Then armed with the knowledge people want you to succeed, go back out and speak again.  As people we all learn by our mistakes and I made lots without this information so you should be far better prepared than I ever was.  It may take a while , but the long-term rewards will be impressive.

I hope you have enjoyed this series of tips and techniques for overcoming the fear of public speaking.  Please feel free to comment on this blog.  If you have any questions please mail them to me at

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

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 and new followers!

©Paul Johnstone