Author: Guila

  • Four Lessons from the Open Water

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    How is Public Speaking Like Open Water Swimming?
    (more…)

  • The Power of the HOOK

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    Capturing Your Audience in the First 30 Seconds

    What’s wrong with these pictures?

    1. Helen begins her presentation by introducing herself and telling the participants at some length how happy she is to be with them. She then launches into her content.

    2. Bill kicks off his training session by explaining where the bathrooms and telephones are. He then asks people to go around the room and introduce themselves.

    If you said the problem in each example is “They aren’t using a ‘Hook!’” you are correct! Both Helen and Bill have squandered their one-time-only opportunity to immediately get their participants involved. Inadvertently, they have both weakened the power of their presentations.

    What is a Hook?

    In the literature on learning and presenting, hooks have many names. These include “opening gambits,” “advance organizers”, “ideational scaffolding” and “motivational sets.” (Weissman, 2003, Shulman, 1986, Bruning, 1995.) A hook is “an umbrella statement, activity or question that provides a conceptual link between the learner’s existing knowledge and the new learning.” (Ausubel, 1968.) By using a hook, the trainer or presenter gives participants the opportunity to use their brains immediately-and when their brains are engaged, so are they.

    In any training or presentation, the hook should precede introductions, course overview, and even the statement of learning objectives.

    Essential Guidelines for a Great Hook

    Great hooks are not “fluff.” When you use a hook, you must desire more than just getting an easy laugh. To design a good hook, you must ensure that it:

    • Has a clear relationship to your topic;
    • Elicits the past knowledge, emotions, and/or experiences of most people in your audience. (This demands, of course, that you have done your homework and know some basics about the participants.)

    Developing a hook that imbeds both criteria takes careful preparation on your part. However, if either criterion above is left out, your hook will suffer, and so will your audience’s interest and involvement.

    Three “Never-Fail” Hook Types

    Question
    Questions are perhaps the easiest type of hook to create. Just make sure that your questions imbed both of the criteria above.

    Examples:
    “Would you be willing to…
    “Raise your hand if you’ve ever…
    “How many of you have ever…”

    Note that asking participants to raise their hands forces an immediate response. Asking several questions in a row can work well.

    Provocative Fact or Statistic
    An effective hook often combines a question with a follow-up piece of data that shocks or moves participants in some way.

    Example:
    “Raise your hand if you hate cancer.
    “It’s shocking to think that, statistically, (%) of the (#) of us in this room today will die from cancer in the next five years.”

    Think-Back
    Ask the participants to recall an experience that had emotional meaning for them and that is relevant to the topic. You can request that they close their eyes for an even more evocative experience.

    Example:
    “Remember your first day on the job…your thoughts and feelings as you met the people in your office for the first time. What worries did you carry in the door with you? What did you feel confident about? What did you want to know? (Please open your eyes…”)

    “Your new employees are experiencing those same emotions as they arrive. Let’s focus on some ways to orient and train them effectively.”

    In Conclusion

    Developing a great hook is a creative act that may take time and careful thought. Yet you can use almost anything as a source for an effective hook.

    Here is a short list to get you going:

    • Newspaper articles, trivia pages and cartoons
    • Publications both related and unrelated to your field
    • Riddles, proverbs, myths and stories
    • Experiences gleaned from the group itself, gathered in pre-meetings.

    The bottom line: All great presenters and trainers use hooks. (Just watch them!) If you are truly serious about your audience “getting” your message, you must take the time to develop and use a hook every time you train or present. Creating hooks stretches your mind and enhances your delivery. Have fun!

    Read more articles about Training Development. Learn about Guila Muir’s Trainer Development Workshops.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © Guila Muir.

  • The “Tuned-In” Facilitator: When and How to Intervene

    Picture this: You’re running a regular, non-eventful meeting when…

    Scenario One: Suddenly, as if some invisible button has been pushed, unexpected emotion erupts from the group.

    Or…Scenario Two: You suddenly sense a strong feeling of resistance from the group. No one says anything about it, but you can’t shake your own awareness of “push-back.”

    Or…Scenario Three: You notice that Bill has his arms crossed over his chest and is rolling his eyes as others talk.

    Have you been there? Is there a “right” thing to do in these instances, and if so, what is it?

    Three Stages of Tuned–In Facilitation

    Stage One: Practice Internal Awareness
    Great facilitators acknowledge the tangible and intangible aspects of the facilitation environment. How does it “feel?” (Is the room set up in a way that adds or detracts from a feeling of open collaboration? What attempts have been made to “de-institutionalize” a sterile environment?) What hints about their emotional states do the participants give as they walk in? What do you see, hear, and feel throughout the meeting?

    Stage Two: Diagnose
    As you notice behavioral shifts, changes in the “feeling” of the meeting, or verbal hints, ask yourself: “What’s going on?” It is this internal, ongoing acknowledgement of dynamics that enables the facilitator to make the right choice: to intervene or not to intervene.

    An example: Susan notices that Pat and John, who are sitting next to each other in a meeting, often speak to each other in low tones. Susan asks herself “What’s going on?” Pat and John could be laughing at her or at the meeting itself, they could be processing information to understand better, they could be discussing last night’s episode of “America’s Next Top Model…”

    Susan realizes that Pat and John will play unique roles in the changes under discussion, so when she thinks, “I bet they’re talking about THAT…” she feels she may have gotten it right. The sense (call it a guess) of “I believe THIS is going on…” is all there is to Stage Two.

    Three essential reminders at Stage Two, the Diagnosis Stage:

    • Your diagnosis is yours alone. It may be off the mark.
    • Your diagnosis guides your actions. Your actions impact the group.
    • You are not obligated to go to the next stage.

    Stage Three: Intervene

    In the example above, Susan will only intervene if she gets the feeling that “Something needs to change.” When the facilitator intervenes, s/he holds up a mirror to the participants so that they can see their own process.

    Here are some questions to ask yourself while deciding whether to intervene:

    • Could this situation go away on its own?
    • Is it necessary to stop the action? Why?
    • What impact will intervening have on the flow of the meeting? The environment?
    • What will happen if I do nothing?

    Here is some helpful language when intervening:

    • I’m noticing that…
    • Let’s stop for a moment and look at what’s going on.
    • It strikes me that…
    • I’d like to suggest…

    A tuned-in facilitator is a good facilitator. And a good facilitator continually decides if and when to intervene in the group’s process.

     

     

    Read more articles about Facilitation Skills. Learn about Guila Muir’s Facilitation Skills Workshop.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills.

  • How to Help Adults Learn Best

    Three Keys to Help Them Stretch!

    Here’s something for you to try. (C’mon, I’ll wait for you to get out of your chair!)

    Stand up and stretch your right arm out behind you, as far as it will go. (You may turn your body as you do so.) Now, come back to center and relax your arm.

    Next, visualize doing this again. Think about taking your arm further back. Then do it again, but really “stretch” your eyes back as far as you can as you do it.

    Did you notice this time that you could take your arm back much further?
    To many, this exercise illustrates the powerful force that our intent exerts over perceived reality. (It can change or “stretch” our limits.) To me, as a teacher of adults, it serves as a metaphor for adults and learning. As learners, we thrive on challenges that are slightly beyond our reach, but reachable. In fact, research is clear that adults learn best when provided with learning tasks that really make them stretch. (Thank you, Dee Dickinson, for this exercise.)

    Here are three ways trainers can help adult learners stretch.

    Make it challenging, but present it simply. One of the biggest challenges we have as trainers is to present complex subjects simply. Strive to say things in the simplest possible way. This involves real practice for trainers, not just a quickie “run-through.” One way to challenge learners is to periodically “shut up” during the training. Provide opportunities for learners to discover things themselves. Don’t feel compelled to explain everything. Act as a facilitator to their process.

    The excuse trainers often give for lecturing is “I have to cover the material!” Interestingly, this phrase can be taken in two ways. One of the meanings of “cover,” after all, is to “cover up”, or obfuscate. By trying to cover everything, we confuse, muddy and even lose the core, “must-know” content elements.

    I encourage you to use the Acid Test when developing a workshop: When time limitations and a desire for simplicity mean you can only include the “must know” elements of a topic, first figure out what those are. Then identify the “nice to know” elements. Strip them out. Leave them behind. You can inject meaningful small-group activities into the class time you gain.

    Make it fun. A great trainer once said: “I make ’em laugh, and when their mouths are open, I throw something in for them to chew on!” Humor and creativity come from, and create, the same chemicals in the brain. People are much more open to learning when they’re having a good time.

    How to ensure the learning process is fun? Part of the answer is to have a good time yourself. If you consistently don’t enjoy what’s happening in the classroom, something’s wrong. When you provide engaging, relevant learning activities (NOT “fluff”) students have more fun. You will, too.

    Organize chunks of material into one larger chunk. Research shows that people’s brains can only hold on to a maximum of nine items at a time. So trainers need to create meaningful chunks of training that condense several pieces of information into one. In their excellent book, “Telling Ain’t Training,” Stolovitch and Keeps provide this example:

    • The four cardinal points of a compass are north (N), east (E), west, (W), and south (S). (four items to store in memory.)
    • Remember this acronym: NEWS (one item to store in memory, so it’s easier to retain.)

    Identify which parts of your training your can “clump together” to make easily-managed, larger chunks.

    Helping adult learners successfully stretch directly correlates to the amount of preparation we do. How willing are you to truly think things out, develop helpful metaphors, and ensure your own thinking is clear and logical? If you experience any “fog” about any portion of your topic, your learners will, too. One of Malcolm Knowles’s essential principles for adult learning is “Respect.” We trainers respect learners by truly being prepared–not only to “cover the material,” but also to help them stretch their limits.

    Read more articles about Training Development. Learn about Guila Muir’s Trainer Development Workshops.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © Guila Muir.

  • Games, Simulations, and Roleplays: Do Differences Matter?

    Which would you choose…and when?

    Long ago, I discovered I loved experiential learning and wanted to learn more about simulations. As a trainer in 1981 Thailand, I experienced the famous “Ba-Fa-Ba-Fa” cultural simulation. It blew me away! Years later, with great hopes, I attended an ASTD-sponsored workshop called Experience Simulations. To my disappointment, the workshop centered on board games a vendor was highlighting. I walked out–I can’t stand board games!

    Since then, I’ve often heard professionals use the words “game,” “simulation” and “roleplay” interchangeably. It wasn’t until I read Ken Jones’ “Simulations: A Handbook for Teachers and Trainers” (Nichols Publishing Company, 1995) that I felt I could really verbalize the difference between these three very different activities.

    I’ve created the chart below to compare and contrast these varieties of experiential learning. The different role that ethics play intrigues me.

    Characteristics of Games, Simulations, and Roleplays

     

    Games Simulations Roleplays
    Participants try to win within a set of rules. No “real-world” ethics are involved except the spirit of fair play. Participants keep their own personalities and try to behave professionally in a situation where they have functional roles. Participants’ skills and emotions are real. The environment is simulated. Real-world ethics apply. The aim is to give a good performance or imitation. Often, emotions, personalities, and ethical motives are supplied.

     

     

    CBS Survivor: What is It?

    No matter what your feelings about this show, it’s interesting to examine it through the lenses this chart provides. Overall, no matter how often the participants say, “It’s only a game!” (which they tend to do whenever they model some particularly nefarious behavior,) “Survivor” seems to me to be a classic simulation. The participants’ own ethics guide their actions. Periodic physical and mental competitions are the only real games being played. These games are discrete. They begin and end. The participants actually live and work within an extended simulation.

    What About Roleplay?

    Les Lauber, board member of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA,) presented a stimulating workshop on roleplay at NASAGA’s 2002 conference. Lauber explained that roleplays are actually “a discrete form of simulation,” falling mid-continuum between case study and total virtual reality:

    Case study Roleplay Virtual Reality

    Lauber says roleplays work best to:

    • Reinforce new skills
    • Sensitize participants to others’ feelings or concerns,
    • Test problem solutions from social or cultural arenas.

    Effective roleplays involve everyone in the room. Even the “observers” have a role and should be briefed as carefully as the players. The fact that observers are present and active actually helps differentiate roleplays from simulations, where observers (if any) do not play an overtly active role. (Of course, the mere presence of observers impacts participant behavior, as any anthropologist knows and Heisenberg postulates.) Would “Survivor” participants act exactly the same without the presence of TV cameras?)

    Test Yourself!

    Mark which activity you’d choose to reinforce the following skills. Why?

    Skill Game Simulation Roleplay Combination
    (which)
    • Flying an airplane
    • Matching terms with the correct definition
    • Commanding the Starship Enterprise
    • Diapering a baby
    • Giving behavioral feedback
    • Resolving workplace conflict
    • Perfecting your firearm aim
    • Writing a grant proposal
    • Establishing rapport with a potential customer

    Resources for Those Who Are “Hooked”

    I have been lucky to discover two wonderful sources for all sorts of experiential learning activities, including simulations and roleplays. One is NASAGA (www.nasaga.org.) The other is Sivasailam Thiagarajan, otherwise known as Thiagi, the master of creative learning. (www.thiagi.com.) I invite you to explore their web sites.

     

    Read more articles about Training Development. Learn about Guila Muir’s Trainer Development Workshops. Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com© Guila Muir.

  • All Presenting is Persuasive

    Don’t Do a Data Dump!

    After stumbling a bit, most presenters are able to name the purpose of any presentation they might give. However, most really stumble when asked if their presentations are meant to persuade anyone of anything.The answer, 99% of the time, is YES. And yet most presenters don’t realize it. As a result, the world is full of “information-only” presentations that do NOT achieve the presenters’ or the audience’s expectations or needs. Information in itself does not lead people to understand, believe, or act. Information alone is a “data-dump,” not a presentation.

    Think about it. Why give a presentation at all if you are not attempting to change the audience’s behaviors or attitudes?

    Persuasion versus Coercion

    “Thaw with her gentle persuasion is more powerful than Thor with his hammer. The one melts, the other breaks into pieces.”
    — Henry David Thoreau

    The term “persuasion” can turn presenters off. Many subconsciously equate it with coercion. And in fact both do share the same continuum of strategies that seek compliance from the listener. Yet persuasion, when done well, answers the audience’s questions, address its concerns, and fulfills its needs…while achieving the presenter’s goals.

    Persuasion is nonadversarial in nature. Because it does not command, negotiate, or coerce, those who are persuaded almost always feel comfortable and satisfied with the outcomes. Why do they feel satisfied? Because the speaker has done her homework. She KNOWS what the audience needs and cares about. The presentation moves out of being a data dump and into the realm of dialogue, even if no formal “Q & A” takes place.

    Credibility as Persuasion

    “Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.” — Aristotle

    Persuasion is more than strategy or technique. Your credibility factor underlies all persuasion. All the charisma in the world falls flat if the audience doesn’t perceive you as being credible.

    Empirical research (McCroskey, Holdrige & Toomb, 1974) describes five dimensions that must be evident in order for a speaker to be credible:

    • Competence: the degree to which you are perceived to be an expert.
    • Character: the degree to which you are perceived as a reliable, essentially trustworthy message source.
    • Composure: the degree to which you are perceived as being able to maintain emotional control.
    • Extroversion: the degree to which you are perceived as bold, outgoing, and dynamic.
    • Sociability: the degree to which the audience perceives you as someone with whom they could be friends.

    Remember that the effectiveness of your presentation is really about building a relationship with the audience. These five dimensions of credibility are far more effective tools than PowerPoint or any other technology. People are “buying” (or not buying) you.

    What’s in it for Them?

    Jerry Weissman, in his book “Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story” calls persuasion audience advocacy. By that, he means the ability to view yourself, your company, your story, and your presentation through your audience’s eyes. You must be able to answer the question “What’s in it for them?” at every juncture of your presentation.

    If you want to move the uninformed, dubious, or resistant audience to understand, believe, and act, (and what speaker doesn’t?) you must:

    1. Know your audience.Do your homework. Find out what your audience cares about, what it wants to know, what its concerns are.
    2. Link every piece of information to your audience’s needs.

    Here’s a helpful test.

    1. First, determine your next presentation’s purpose. Write it down. Reflect on it. Change it if necessary.
    2. Then, compose the first draft of your presentation. Focus on the purpose as you write.
    3. Go through your presentation. Every time you provide a piece of data, STOP. Then ask and answerthese questions:
      • “This is important to them because…” (answer it!)
      • “So what?” (explain how it benefits the audience.)
    4. When you discover information for which you cannot answer these questions, ask yourself: Does this data help the audience understand, believe, or act? Remove the data if it does not.

    You’re On!

    Once you’ve gotten through the test and integrated the answers into your presentation, be ready to put on your Audience Advocacy hat once again. Select at least three of the phrases below and insert them into your presentation at the appropriate times:

    “This is important to you because…”

    “What does this mean to you?”

    “Why am I telling you this?”

    “Who cares? (“You should care, because…”)

    “So what?” (“Here’s what!”)

    You are Credible; You Meet Your Audience’s Needs

    Develop and practice the five dimensions of credibility. They are an innate and natural part of you. A higher awareness of them will increase your effectiveness as a speaker. Remember to “see, taste, and hear” your presentation as if you are a member of your own audience. And always ask yourself: What’s in it for them?

    Far from being coercive, you are proving yourself to be powerfully aligned with your audience. Your message will benefit, motivate and move them!

    Read more articles about Presentation Skills. Learn about Guila Muir’s Presentation Skills Workshops.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © Guila Muir.

  • Five Tips to Present Like a Pro

    How to Rise Above the Crowd

    Over the last five years, I’ve noticed a dramatic change in the field of presentation skills. Increasingly, experts support the idea that being a “good enough” speaker is no longer “good enough.” Mere competency as a speaker is no longer enough to sell your ideas, bring communities together, or move clients to action.

    What are the reasons for this change? I believe it results from a unique confluence between popular and business cultures. The private sphere has become more public, reality shows rule, PowerPoint is the norm, and the idea of individual “performance” is key. Whatever the reasons, the expectations of ordinary audiences have risen. It’s no longer good enough to be good enough.

    How can presenters overcome these new challenges?

    Here are five essential tips to ensure you are better than “just good enough.”

    1. Ensure that you have a good design.

    More presentations fail because of poor design than because of poor delivery. In fact, high quality design actually improves delivery.

    Here are the three factors most likely to cause poor design:

    • Composing your presentation without an “end in mind.”
    • Using PowerPoint to compose your presentation.
    • Overlooking your audience’s needs, wants, anxieties, biases, “personality…”

    How to avoid these pitfalls:

    Always ask yourself: “What do I want to this presentation to achieve?” Many speakers who want to persuade their audiences compose “information-only” speeches. Guess what? The audience, in most cases, will NOT fill in the blanks. They will NOT be moved to action. Learn how to construct the right speech for the job. (I can help – drop me a line at guila@guilamuir.com.)

    PowerPoint is meant to support your message, not to be used as a composing tool. You must identify your desired outcome(s) and design your presentation to achieve those. The best tools to do this are a pen and paper, (or Word if you are so inclined.) Composing on PowerPoint increases the chance that you will deliver an unfocused, rambling “data-dump.”

    Know your audience. Design your presentation to answer the question, “What’s in it for THEM?”

    2. Be fit.

    The best presenters, even the “low-key” ones, use a lot of personal energy. If you feel out of shape, find an activity that strengthens you, speeds up your metabolism, and gives you stamina. It doesn’t matter what “size” you are. It does matter how fit you are.

    3. Remember that presenting is a relationship event, not a performance event.

    Above all, effective presenters connect with their audiences. The presentation becomes a large conversation. Everyone feels more comfortable, even when the topic is thorny.

    How to connect? Greet people individually as they come in the door. Hob-nob at the refreshment table. Learn people’s names. Make eye contact. Ask questions. Show empathy.

    4. Breathe. Be yourself. Have fun!

    This tip is integrally attached to point #3. When we are authentic, we connect authentically with people. They are more apt to listen to us and receive our message. When we have enough oxygen to fuel our brains, we don’t forget our material. We are energized. When we’re having fun, the audience is more receptive.

    5. Remember that your internal voice never tells the whole truth.

    You’re done with the presentation. You’re privately debriefing the experience inside your brain. Some presenters will hear mean-spirited comments—crueler by far than any comment they might dream of giving someone else. Other presenters hear overly grandiose feedback, telling them that they did much better than they actually did.

    Many presenters don’t hear much self-feedback at all, since they became oblivious of their actions and words once they began their presentations (not a good thing.)

    How do we discover how effective we actually were?

    Elicit feedback from people you trust will tell you the truth. Take their comments seriously, and then decide what, if any, changes you want to make. Don’t depend totally on your internal voice.

    Approximately 50 million presentations are given every day across the United States. Since you sometimes give one of those presentations, why not rise beyond being “just good enough?” Integrate these tips and you’ll present like a pro!

    © 2007 Guila Muir .

    Does improving your presentation skills interest you? Find related reading here.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © 2007 Guila Muir. www.guilamuir.com All rights reserved.

  • So You’ve Been Selected

    6 Tips for Conference Presenters

    “Someone’s got to do something, and it’s just incredibly pitiful that it has to be us.” — Jerry Garcia

    Some are chosen, some are forced…but in the end, most business professionals present at industry conferences, annual meetings, or other events during the course of their careers. Please allow me to be the first to congratulate you if you have been recently selected to present! You were chosen out of many, and are now charged with a fantastic opportunity to enhance your reputation as a credible expert in your field.

    These TIPS will help you give the best presentation possible, while fulfilling your responsibility to your audience. Use them, and you’ll come off like a pro!

    TIP #1: Get off the WHAT. Tell them HOW.

    The sad truth is that no one really wants to know how great your program, discovery, or event is. But everyone wants to know HOW it got to be that way! Be ready to provide at least 3 specific, tangible HOW-TO’s that others can use in their own businesses, organizations, or communities.

    Examples of tangible HOW TO’s:

    • How did we get 2,500 people to participate in our annual fund drive? (What specific actions did we take?)
    • What were the most important 5 steps we took to accomplish…
    • Mistakes we made–things NOT to do…

    TIP #2: Do what you said you would do in your session proposal

    Most conferences have a Program Committee, which selected your session based on your session objectives. Re-visit those objectives. Did you say participants would…

    • Identify methods to develop corporate-community partnerships?
    • Develop next steps to connect to technology resources?
    • Learn at least 3 new business development techniques?

    Don’t b.s. your audience…Make sure you give them what you promised. That is your primary responsibility to the people who will sit through your session.

    TIP #3: PREPARE

    Do you really want to come off like an unprepared buffoon at a professional conference? Demonstrate your respect for the audience and for yourself by spending quality time preparing and practicing your presentation. Run it by your spouse and friends, and take their feedback to heart. Your presentation should never be “last-minute.”

    If you’re on a panel, make a solid plan with your co-presenters about what specific aspects each will address. Talk with ALL of them at least twice before the conference. Make sure you are all clear on time limits. Put your plan in writing, and meet once more before your session to make sure everyone’s clear on what’s going to happen. Don’t “assume” anything.

    TIP #4: Make it active

    As an audience member, do YOU really like sitting there like a lump on a log? On the other hand, few of us enjoy participating in meaningless “fluff.” Here are some easy strategies to bring your content alive while keeping your group energized:® INTEGRATE Q-A throughout your presentation. DON”T wait until the last 5 minutes to ask “Are there any questions?” But always bring the conversation back on track. (That’s when your preparation will really help you!)

    • ASK the audience questions. They can either answer you or talk with their neighbor about the issue. Be ready to pull them back to order.
    • MINIMIZE your PowerPoint slides or transparencies. A good rule of thumb is to use only 3-6 slides for a 75-minute presentation. Use your time to look at and discuss relevant handouts, materials, case studies, financial reports, etc.
    • BREAK THE GROUP INTO SMALL GROUPS to discuss and solve a problem. Don’t ask for reports from each group–5 top responses from the entire group may suffice. Remember, people can often learn as much by talking to each other as they can by listening to you.

    TIP # 5: Begin and end ON TIME

    Tough luck if people are late! You are responsible to those who got to your session on time. Maintain your awareness of time throughout the session. True professionals never “run out of time,” because they have practiced thoroughly beforehand.

    PLAN the last five minutes for an overall summary, written evaluations and last-minute questions.

    TIP #6: Relax and Have Fun

    If you’ve followed the preceding tips, this one will be much easier to achieve. Remember that your presentation is really not “about you,” it’s about your audience. Give them what you promised and what you practiced. The audience wants you to succeed!

    When you’re done, give yourself a pat on the back. Think about what went right and what you might change next time. Find a friend, buy a coffee, and enjoy the rest of the conference!

    Read more articles about Presentation Skills. Learn about Guila Muir’s Presentation Skills Workshops.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © Guila Muir.

  • Speakers’ Top 3 Fears… and How to Prevent Them!

    Avoid the worst-feared pitfalls of public speaking.

    Will you be giving a presentation or seminar soon? Many professionals choke up when they begin picturing all that “could go wrong!”

    To avoid the worst-feared pitfalls of public speaking, you must start with oxygen. Fritz Perls said, “Fear is excitement without the breath.” Breathe! Then, accept and enjoy the “rush” you get before presenting, not as fear, but as motivating and sustaining energy.

    How to Prevent the Worst!

    Here are the three typical concerns that high-ranking executives have shared with me, with “fail-safe” solutions:

    What happens if I…

    1. …“Blank out?”

    “Blanking out,” or suddenly forgetting what one is going to say, is perhaps the speaker’s worst fear. Blanking out is caused by

    • lack of enough oxygen to the brain,
    • not knowing your stuff, and
    • too much focus on performance (focus on me) instead of connection (focus on them.)

    To prevent “blanking out,” you must relax. You can only relax by getting oxygen zipping through your body. If you’re relaxed throughout the presentation, you’ll be able to handle small lapses in memory while still making the points you need.Obviously, you need to really know your stuff to be able to handle small lapses in memory. Don’t go into any speaking situation unprepared.

    Right before getting to the podium or front of the room, remember to think of the presentation as an opportunity to build relationships with those in the audience, not as a performance. Focus on connecting, not on yourself.

    2. …Lose my place and look stupid?

    You’ll only feel comfortable (and look natural) if you practice, practice, practice. Practice at home until you can look UP from your notes while dealing with distractions. Practice talking to yourself in front of the mirror. Encourage your spouse, kids and dogs to make a ruckus while you maintain your focus.

    Make notes and don’t be afraid to hold onto them. Capture the highlights of each section of your speech in 1-5 words. Don’t write it out like a script, and don’t try to memorize it word–for-word. Consider your notes your “safety net.” Once you establish a relationship with your audience, you’ll be surprised how little you actually use them—so long as you’ve practiced.

    3. …Screw up my PowerPoint or my microphone or my overhead projector or…

    Fumbling with mechanics will not only undermine your confidence, it will reduce your image as an expert. The only way to prevent mechanical problems is to practice in the room you’ll be presenting in, on the equipment you’ll be using. Never attempt PowerPoint in an untested environment. Because not all computers and projectors are compatible, especially where cables are concerned, it’s best to use your own computer and projector. Be familiar with all the computer settings you’ll need.

    Familiarize yourself with the on-off and volume switches of every machine you will use (including your microphone) before you begin, even if that means coming in early that morning or even the previous night. Ensure you know how to deal with the remote for lights, video, screen and everything else that plays a part in your presentation.

    Two Final Tips to Ensure Success

    Center yourself. This is not an “New-Age-style” recommendation. Centering yourself means becoming aware of your body (getting out of your head) and assuming a strong, focused stance. Feel your weight in your feet so that your head doesn’t get light. Maintain slightly bouncy knees. Keep your sternum (breastbone) up so that your chest opens. Shake your hands to release energy. Get that oxygen flowing!

    Relax and Have Fun. Acknowledge that you’re excited and allow yourself to feel that way. Remind yourself you know your stuff. You’re going to enjoy the connections you make with the audience and let your expertise shine.

    If you follow these tips, your audience will be engaged, connected and impressed—and you’ll actually enjoy the experience of speaking in public.

    Read more articles about Training Development and Presentation Skills. Learn about Guila Muir’s Trainer Development Workshops.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © Guila Muir.

  • Presentation is Not Training

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

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