Tag: Presenting

  • 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.

  • When Leaders Train: How to Avoid the Pitfalls

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    Why don’t all leaders make great trainers? Perhaps it’s because they believe that training falls outside their (already large) job descriptions. As a result, leaders often strive to “cover the material” in order to get on with business.

    Yet the ability to facilitate learning, not just to cover the material, is an essential leadership skill.

    “Acquitting Oneself” vs. Facilitating Learning
    To acquit means “to release from duty or obligation;” or to get off the hook. Leaders most often acquit themselves by simply covering the material. They do this by lecturing, even though evidence shows that participants forget 50% of a lecture in just 20 minutes.

    For leaders who want to competently facilitate learning, I offer these tips.

    1. Hook your students.

    In the few minutes of class, you must:

    • Excite: Demonstrate your own excitement about, and commitment to, your topic.
    • Involve: Ask a relevant question to get participants’ hands up, refer to a recent critical incident, or deliver an interactive quiz.
    • Inform: State the training’s purpose clearly. Succinctly describe how the participants will benefit from the training.

    2. Make it Active.

    Include small-group work using case studies, skill practice, or other problem-solving exercises. Honor your participants by supporting interaction.

    3. Design a conscious closure.
    Always build in several minutes at the end to test participants’ knowledge and skills. This ensures accountability-both your participants’ and your own.

    Leaders, challenge yourselves to deliver vibrant, compelling learning opportunities. Forget about “acquitting yourself,” and  include great training as part of your job description.

    © Guila Muir.

  • Tips for the “Intensified You”

    Attractive Young Businesswoman

    Does this sound like you?

    “I’m a fine communicator one-on-one, but put me in front of a group and I just die!” Why is it easier for many of us to present in front of a few people than to a larger audience? Why do many of us believe that some people just “have what it takes” to present effectively, and the rest of us don’t?

    The truth is that everyone has the innate gifts to speak in public. True, few may possess the flamboyance of the professional motivational speaker. But I question the value of many of these presentation skills. They can be mechanistically learned  and often look mechanical. And although it does matter how you use your hands (avoiding the  infamous “figleaf” pose, for example) and how you pitch your voice, the real gift you have to offer is YOU.

    The Best Tool of All
    Envision for an instant the most compelling speaker you have witnessed. Chances are you felt he or she was 100% authentic, no matter what speaking “style” s/he possessed. This willingness to fully be ourselves in front of a group is both the risk and the gift of truly wonderful speakers.

    I work with many individuals who never thought of themselves as speakers–whose personalities are naturally introspective or reflective, the opposite of what is popularly thought of as “speaker material.” Yet when these presenters “unpeel” their previous expectations about what a speaker should be or do, they often become the most moving and impressive I have seen.

    Three Essential Tips

    • Connect.
      It’s important to remember that speaking publicly is, to use Lee Glickenstein’s phrase, a relationship event, NOT a performance event. Your audience remembers what you say because you connect with them, not because you are the smartest or most charismatic person in the world.
    • Don’t speak “to,” speak “with.”
      Think of the event as a dialogue or conversation. Look directly at people and share your knowledge with them.
    • Express yourself.
      Remember that your unique style is better than any set of “stage skills.” Be yourself.

    But Is “Being Yourself” Really Enough?

    All truly compelling presenters use their greatest asset–themselves–to sell their concept and get their message across. All also realize that they can intensify their authentic selves for a more dynamic effect. Don Pfarrer, author of Guerilla Persuasion: Mastering the Art of Effective and Winning Business Presentation, calls this the “Intensified You” persona. It is “a task oriented, turned-on, intensified version of yourself.”

    When I work with clients to achieve their own Intensified You personas, I notice their increased confidence and resilience as speakers. This is particularly useful when they deal with jaded or potentially hostile audiences.

    4 Elements of The Intensified You

    1. Subject Mastery
      You must know your subject thoroughly AND know the limits of your knowledge.
    2. Steadiness
      You must “keep a steady hand on the tiller”–knowing you might need to change course to avoid a hurricane, but not allowing a small squall to deflect you.
    3. Empathy
      You must remain sensitive to your audience. If you were a member of your own audience, what would you need to hear? To see?
    4. Candor
      Include in your presentation what needs to be there–don’t hide anything. Show you are aware of challenges or problems; then present solutions.

    When you remember that the authentic YOU is your most valuable speaking tool, your confidence will increase dramatically!

    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 rights reserved.