Archive for the ‘presentation skills’ Category

Origins of Fear

September 28th, 2015 |1 comment

Public speaking is a fear of many people. They let nervousness take control of their mind and body, and their message is lost. Knowing what is causing the fear is key to addressing it.

The three areas that cause nervousness are:

  • Self – the pressure we put on ourselves to perform
  • Situation – what is riding on the presentation
  • Someone else – the pressure your colleagues put on you to perform

Managing your nervousness is about managing different areas:

  • For the self, it’s about managing the physiology and psychology.
  • For the situation, it’s about managing expectations of yourself and others.
  • For the someone else, it’s about managing the relationship.

Identifying what is causing your nervousness is key to providing the right solution to the problem.

As always, I would love your thoughts on this, leave a comment below in the comments section.


Inflection Points – Presentation Skills

September 21st, 2015 |no comments

Many good leaders weaken their message by the way they deliver it. They write a strong sentence which they deliver a tentative message. The biggest culprit in this is the inflection they place at the end of the sentence. Do they finish their sentence with their voice going up, down or no change at all?


Inflection Points

  • An upward inflection is tentative – it’s asking a question.
  • No inflection is a statement – just giving information.
  • A downward inflection is a command – telling someone what to do.

If you constantly have an upward inflection, it will tell your audience you are not sure of your message. If you use a downward inflection too often you can be seen as bossy.

A powerful combination is to ask a question with a downward inflection. This gives the politeness of asking a question with the subtle command of ‘just do it.’

As always, I would love your thoughts on this, leave a comment in the comment section below.


Superannuation: Bored Members Don’t Book

September 21st, 2015 |no comments

Superannuation is one of the greatest assets anyone can have. Yet it is sold in the most boring of ways.

A highly qualified and skilled planner stands at the front of the room and reads slides to the audience. They talk of great returns and retirement lifestyle while the audience nods off. The presentation has valuable content that is hidden by an inability to engage and inspire.

In the most part, this is caused by planners having to stick to a rigid format to present. They are provided with a slide deck from the Member Services Department that Marketing has approved. The font is the right colour and size, and looks good on the corporate PowerPoint template. The legal disclaimer is comprehensive and prominent. The ensuing slides explain in detail, the average of history, so that members can walk out informed, and who will be excited to book a financial planning appointment. Unfortunately, this rarely happens.

Member disengagement with superannuation is stubbornly high. It shows no sign of abating. While the workplace presentation will always be an important part of member engagement, it needs a make-over so it is more relevant to the member.

Better Presentation Skills All Round

Having good presentation skills is not only about being nerve-free when standing at the front of the room. It is also about engaging the audience with relevant material delivered in an appealing manner that motivates the member to become involved. Only when this happens, will members be drawn to the message that your fund sells.

Being more engaging starts with these three steps:

Ditch 80% of the slides. The planner is the source of the information – not the slides. When members spend their time reading the slides the planner becomes superfluous. This detracts from their positioning as a leader within their field. If the planner is an expert in their field, why do they need to read their message?

Tell stories. Humans are hardwired for stories – every culture, religion and society is based around stories. There is a reason for this. Tap into this hardwiring and people will become engaged.

Explain today. The return that you present, is a single digit representation of the last 12 months. It’s the average of history. More-over it does not represent what could happen in the future. To become relevant to the member, explain what is happening today. Explaining why the Chinese market lost 10% in 2 days is far more relevant and exciting to TODAY than the average of the last 12 months. This engages members.

When members are engaged in your message, they are more likely to book planning appointments. They will value the insight you offer and the skills you bring. When they value this it will be easier to engage them in their superannuation.

Bored members don’t book. Engaged members do.

Would love your thoughts on this, please leave a comment in the comment section below.

Cheers

Darren


Warrior Breathing

September 17th, 2015 |no comments

People perceive your influence through the level of energy you have. If you have lots of energy, they will want to listen to you. If you’re lethargic, they will not.

We all know people who walk into a room and brighten it up. We also know people who brighten the room, when they walk out. You want to be in the first category – you want people to look at you and to see that you have good energy. When you have good energy, people become attracted to you. They see something in you. That is what we’re looking to manifest.

WHAT

Today, we’re going to draw on a yoga style of breathing. It’s a technique that’s been known for thousands of years, and when you use it, it will lift your energy and it will keep it high for four or five hours. Many people take a coffee, have a caffeine drink or whatever it is they need to boost their energy. This technique will boost your energy, and give you the high that you’re after without any of the negative consequences of using artificial stimulants.

HOW

The technique is called Pranayama Breathing. Below, you will find a link to a website that will show you how to do it. The technique is also known as Alternate Nostril Breathing.

What you do is take your right index finger and your left index finger. You’re going to be using these to regulate the nostril through which we breathe. You cover your right nostril with your right index finger and breathe in through your left nostril. You then swap nostrils – cover your left nostril and breathe out through your right nostril. Then, breathe back in through your right nostril, and out through your left. In through your left, out through your right. In through your right, and out through your left.

You don’t need to take particularly deep breaths. You don’t have to take any unusual steps when breathing. You don’t have to do anything out of the ordinary. And you can do it by using just one hand – you don’t have to use the right index finger and the left index finger. You can just use your thumb and your index finger to block the nostrils off alternatively.

Practice this technique for as long as you can. Go for at least five minutes. You will find that this will lift your energy. You will find that people will start looking at you as if to say, “What’s going on?”

This is the energy that people want. This is the energy that people are drawn to, that will make you an influential person. If you’re feeling tired, use this technique – it will lift your energy and it will make you feel better, people will see that, and it will help you become a person of greater influence.

Link to website
The Healthy Living Lounge


Book Launch: How to Write a 10-Minute Presentation in Under 2 Minutes

September 16th, 2015 |no comments

Many people spend time agonising over the preparation of their presentations. They do this because they don’t know the correct way to prepare. They write out their message on slides so they don’t forget a thing. Then they read the slides to their audiences.

Unfortunately, this bores the audience. You can see and feel this as the eyes of the audience glaze over and they start to nod off. There is a technical word for this Phenomena – it’s called ‘feedback’.

2015-09-14_0806There is a more efficient, productive and interesting way to prepare and deliver a presentation. But there are some rules to follow:

  • You have to change the way you prepare – the old way takes too long.
  • You have to change the way you deliver your presentation – the old way bores your audience
  • And, you have to change how you deliver your message – the old way made you look weak.

I’ve written the book How to Write a 10-Minute Presentation in Under 2 Minutes to help busy people prepare great messages. You can check it out here.

It covers what you need to do, and how you need to think, so you can speak without spending ages preparing.

As an introductory offer, I’m giving free shipping right across Australia.

You can check it out here.

This is a limited time offer only.

Cheers,

Darren


Superannuation: Why Members Always Seem Disappointed With Their Returns.

September 15th, 2015 |no comments

The returns you report to your members in workplace presentations, will always leave them disappointed. They will always want more.

It does not matter how well your fund performed, they could have made more money. It’s not a reflection on your investment strategies, but rather member bias to the situation.

Return Missing Meaning.001

When we see the return from the last 12 months, our first reaction is to find meaning in the result. Does it meet my expectations? Is it good or bad? How does it compare to other investment strategies within the fund? How does it compare to other funds? Without something to compare against we don’t know how to react to the situation. This is the members search for meaning.

But this search for meaning can only ever lead to a feeling of missing out. It’s not missing out from what your fund has done – it’s missing out from what could have been.

Greed Over Gratitude

Compare two different returns ~ 2% and 20%. The member reaction will always be the same – just on different levels.

If there is a 2% return, the member will compare it to other strategies. If 2% is the best return in the market, they will be glad they were with you, but disappointed that they made no money. If it’s not in the ball park for what other funds have returned they will be furious!

If they make a 20% return they will still compare – it’s the natural thing to do. If 20% was the best in the market they will be ecstatic, but they’ll still have a twinge of disappointment. They’ll be disappointed that they did not invest more – even if they didn’t have the money to invest.

This reaction is the clashing of two human traits – greed and loss. Greed is well understood – we always want more.

What is less understood is that we are more likely to mourn what we have lost before we celebrate what we have won. This forces our greed to appear before our appreciation of growth comes through. It’s a human trait that we must learn to deal with. This is the triumph of greed over gratitude.

When we compare we are always seeing what we lost.

What does this mean for Super Presentations?

If comparisons induce disappointment, be judicious in how you share them. Know that every time you share a comparison you create a sense of disappointment within your audience. This can be a good thing if you have the right strategy to engage them for a planning meeting.

However, if you are just asking people to make an appointment you will be left with an empty diary.

Would love your thoughts on this, please leave a comment in the comment section below.

Cheers

Darren


How to Write a 10-Minute Presentation in Under 2 Minutes

September 14th, 2015 |no comments

Many people spend time agonising over the preparation of their presentations. They do this because they don’t know the correct way to prepare. They write out their message on slides so they don’t forget a thing. Then they read the slides to their audiences.

2015-09-14_0806Unfortunately, this bores the audience. You can see and feel this as the eyes of the audience glaze over and they start to nod off. There is a technical word for this Phenomena – it’s called ‘feedback’.

There is a more efficient, productive and interesting way to prepare and deliver a presentation. But there are some rules to follow:

  • You have to change the way you prepare – the old way takes too long.
  • You have to change the way you deliver your presentation – the old way bores your audience.
  • And, you have to change how you deliver your message – the old way made you look weak.

I’ve written the book ‘How to Write a 10-Minute Presentation in Under 2 Minutes‘ to help busy people prepare great messages. You can check it out here.

It covers what you need to do, and how you need to think, so you can speak without spending ages preparing.

As an introductory offer, I’m giving away free shipping right across Australia.

You can check it out here.

This is a limited time offer only.

Cheers,

Darren


Your Look

September 14th, 2015 |no comments

Influencing your audience, customers or staff, is as much about how you look, as well as what you are saying. If your look is not congruent, then people will pick up on it. They may not know what it is, but they will detect something.

Body language is the first thing that we notice in a speaker. We unconsciously ask questions such as:

  • How are they carrying themselves – are they confident or are they nervous?
  • How much are they fidgeting – a lot, or not at all?
  • Are they looking at the audience or the floor, at the ceiling or out the window?

We ask these and many other questions to gauge how confident the speaker is. If a speaker is not looking at the audience, it is easy to assume that they are lacking confidence or don’t want to be there. If the speaker is fidgeting, it is fair to say that, they are uncomfortable, and would rather be somewhere else.

Controlling the way you come across is about awareness. Pay attention to what you are doing in everyday situations. Do you fidget while sitting at your desk, are your legs always bouncing or are you always twirling a pen in your fingers?

These are signs of fidgeting.

While they may not be a problem at your desk, related fidgets will emerge when you are on stage. This creates the impression that you are nervous.

When you are speaking to influence an audience these small signals will reduce your positioning as a leader in the eyes of your audience. This reduces their desire to follow your message.

As always, I would love your thoughts on this, leave a comment in the comment section below.


No Such Thing as a Benign Word

September 10th, 2015 |no comments

Every word you say either strengthens or weakens your message. If you want to have a stronger message you need to ensure that every word is helping you out. This is a small technique, but it has a massive effect on your message.

Adverbs
Today we’re looking at adverbs, and in particular, adverbs ending in -ly. Many people include adverbs ending in -ly into their message to make them more powerful, make them seem more sincere, and give themselves the emphasis and strength that they’re after. The irony is, that they reduce their strength as a leader, as someone who has authority, and someone who has influence.

Below are a number of excerpts from the media. Read them, and then read them again with the -ly adverbs taken out. You’ll see that when they are removed the message is stronger, has more focus, and is more believable. In essence, they have more influence.

What
When you’re going about your activities, pay close attention to what you are saying. When you hear yourself using –ly adverbs, just don’t say them. Don’t look to replace them – just leave them out.

This will increase your influence.

WORDS TO LEAVE OUT
• Interestingly
• Basically
• Firstly
• Secondly
• Thirdly
• Clearly
• Hopefully
• (I) personally
• Potentially
• Really
• Essentially
• Obviously

Cheers
Darren


Keep it Real

September 7th, 2015 |no comments

One of the reasons we have meetings is to look people in the eye, and see if we trust them. We get to turn our BS detector on, and assess everything about the person who is speaking. We look to see if they are fidgeting, sound confident or make sense.

We may not be able to put our finger on exact behaviours, but if something doesn’t look right we will spot it.

The three areas we focus on are your looks, how you sound and the words you use.

_Authenticity

For the Look it’s all about:

  • How you carry yourself – are you confident?
  • Fidgeting – shows level of control
  • Gaze – looking people in the eye or out the window

For sound it’s about:

  • Volume – can we hear you?
  • Speed – shows nervousness
  • Inflection – confidence in message

For words it’s about:

  • Answering the question – not avoiding the topic
  • Sticking to set lines – we can all spot them
  • Adapting message – changing your message when evidence suggests you should

If you want to be more influential when you speak, pay attention to how these elements come across in your message.

Would love your thoughts on this, leave a message below in the comment section.


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