Tag: Public Speaking

  • How to Move Your Audience

    Do you believe your presentation is “information only”?

    Think again! The reason you’re presenting is to move an uninformed or dubious audience to change. In fact, 99% of all speakers want to increase their audience’s understanding, at the very least. When you want listeners to understand, believe, or act, these two strategies will help.

    1. Insert persuasive phrases.

    Choose from the following questions. After figuring out the answers yourself, insert at least two into your presentation. Answer them!

    • “What does this mean to you?”
    • “So what?” (“Here’s what!”)
    • “Why am I telling you this?”

    By answering these questions, you demonstrate your ability to view yourself, your company, your story, and your presentation through your audience’s eyes. This ability forms the bedrock of persuasion.

    2. Express “What’s in it for Them.”

    You know why you’re giving the presentation. But can you express in simple language how the information will help your listeners?

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

    Get out of your own head and try listening from your audience’s perspective. Far from being coercive, you are proving yourself to be powerfully aligned with your audience. Your message will benefit, motivate and move them.

    Learn about Guila Muir’s Presentation Skills Workshop.

  • Great Presenting: Enthusiasm or Entertainment?

    Entertaining presenter

    Should trainers and presenters strive to be more entertaining? It depends on what drives you.

    Enthusiasm or Entertainment?

    Enthusiasm is about expressing your passion for the subject. You ignite participants through showing your own zest. You may even experiment by doing things outside of your comfort zone in order to pass on your excitement.

    Entertainment is all about you. Do you want the participants to like you? Can you make them laugh? Do you treasure the feeling that you are “wowing” them with your personality and/or skills? Do you want to be remembered as a great performer?

    Three Tips to Spark Your Own Enthusiasm

    Many, but not all, trainers and presenters show a preference for modeling authentic enthusiasm over simply providing entertainment. With that in mind, here’s how to pump your enthusiasm when you train or present.

    Be Authentic, But Be “Bigger”
    Tie in pieces of your personality while pumping up your personal energy. Don’t just use your head, use your entire body when you present. (Read “Speaker Energy: Make it Work For You” for tips.)

    Re-Discover Your Own Compelling Reasons
    Why are you teaching or presenting? Create your own definition of success for what you do.

    Forget Baseball, Play Frisbee Instead
    Don’t just pitch your content to students. Instead, create a reciprocal energy flow. Toss out  “Frisbees” of content, and then encourage participants to do so as well–not only back to you, but also to each other.

    Concentrate on the Intrigue of Your Subject Matter

    As a trainer, presenter or facilitator, your enthusiasm motivates participants. Their energy rises to meet yours. Your session is memorable…authentically.

  • Can a Room Kill You? Yes!

    How to Ensure Your Physical Space Works For You

    Have you ever felt that something’s just not working right, no matter how well you know your material, how confident you came in, or how much you practiced?

    You may be experiencing an attempted “Death by Room.” This malady has knocked many a trainer and presenter to their knees—and kept them there. The disease is preventable. But to overcome it, you must take these tips to heart.

    3 Tips to Prevent “Death by Room”

    1. Ask yourself: What do I want?

    Do you want a dialogue or a monologue? Many presenters espouse one theory (for example, “participation is good,”) but everything they do communicates a different message (like “sit down, look at me, and shut up!”)

    The seating arrangement provides a strong, non-verbal statement from the minute your participants walk in the door. Make sure your room set-up is congruent with your message.

    TIP:

    If you desire interaction, you must provide a seating arrangement that allows participants to talk easily with one another, as well as with you. This may involve using round tables, a “U” shaped set-up, or rectangle tables pushed together. If you must use a “theater style” set-up, ensure that participants can move their chairs into small working groups of 3-5.

    2. Don’t make assumptions.

    Here are a few common assumptions that kill trainers/presenters:

    • “I sent a diagram—I know the room will be set up just like that.”
    • The space doesn’t matter. Content’s the thing.
    • I don’t need to see the room until it’s time for me to start.

    TIP: When possible, set up the room yourself (with help, if necessary.) View the room the night before. If this isn’t possible, arrive at least one hour early. Remember, the way your space is organized can impact your presentation as much as your content knowledge.

    By eliminating your assumptions, you’ll sleep better the night before an important event.

    3. Rehearse in the room.

    There is no way that a professional actor would work in a space in which he or she had not practiced. Professional trainers and presenters make the room their own by visiting it, testing it, and practicing in it.

    TIP: Deliver the first 3-5 minutes of your presentation. Check the acoustics. Does the room absorb your voice, or can it carry with ease? Walk around the area from which you will present. What parts of the room could be blocked from view? Remember that all participants must be able to see you at all times.

    Can a room kill you as a presenter? YES—but only if you allow it to. You can prevent “Death by Room” by attending to these three easy steps.

  • Enthusiasm in Training

    As a trainer or presenter, enthusiasm goes a long way in making you the best you can be. As your joy excites your participants, their energy rises to meet yours. People feel good. Work gets done.

    But what if your enthusiasm has taken a hit? How can you regain a sense of joy while giving a presentation or training a group?

    These five practical steps will help.

    1. Create a list of 10 positive aspects about the subject. Your brain may balk at doing this, but you’ll be forced to see the subject in a new way. Its “newness” will stimulate you in unexpected ways.

    2. Do something physical. When your blood pumps aerobically, it helps wash away your “blaahs.” Don’t wait — you can take a walk right now.

    3. Visualize yourself being enthusiastic. Take a moment to close your eyes. See yourself as you would from the outside, feeling fantastic and emanating positive energy. Seeing yourself this way can kick-start your acting this way.

    4. Smile. Research has shown that when you smile, even if that smile doesn’t come easily, your brain chemistry changes. Try smiling and feeling joyful, even if it is difficult. You’ll be surprised how it “ups” your mood.

    5. Get excited about the success of those around you. When you express authentic enthusiasm about what others are doing, your own mood improves. You start feeling excited about what you’re doing, too.

    Keep the vitality and magic of life as you train, facilitate or present. It will be your gift not only to others, but to yourself.

  • Focus on the Uncommitted in Your Audience


    Presenters, do you fear waves of animosity coming from your audience? Or have you ever believed your audience to be friendly and accepting, only to receive a terrible shock?

    One of the best “Presenter Tricks” I know is to present as if everyone in your audience is “uncommitted”. Doing so allows you to effectively deal with crosscurrents, hostility, and support–all at the same time.

    This chart identifies the needs of all the segments in your audience. By focusing on the uncommitted, you benefit everyone!

    Audience Segment What Do They Want from the Experience? Dangers of Focusing Only on This Segment? How This Segment Benefits When You Focus on the Uncommitted
    “Friendlies” Satisfaction, affinity. Perhaps a pep-talk. Too easy – you may assume too much. Their knowledge and commitment is deepened.
    “Hostiles” To see you fail. To hear you say something wrong. Increases your own nervousness and defensiveness. You may come off abrasively and unlikable. They experience human respect, openness and reason from you (and are likely to mirror the behavior.)
    “Indifferents” To be left alone and unchanged. To the exclusion of the rest of the audience, you may tie yourself up into knots trying get a response. They may get the message, while not being hammered by you.
    “Uncommitteds” To experience a reasoned, well-thought-out, good-natured exposure to the issues. NONE! They get the best of YOU: affinity and reason.You won’t cut corners by assuming support where it might not exist. You construct and present your message thoroughly, persuasively and with confidence.

    By focusing on the Uncommitted, you take great strides towards more resiliency and effectiveness as a presenter. Try doing this the next time you present.

     

  • Fake It ‘Til You Make It – Annoying Cliche or Truth?

    I occasionally surprise myself by uttering the cliché above while encouraging a shy person to improve their presentation skills and confidence. I used to secretly kick myself for using such a hackneyed phrase—until I read Richard Wiseman’s great book, “As If.” In it, he cites dozens of studies showing that if we act a certain way, we begin to think and feel that way.

    Here’s one scientific study that’s particularly relevant to presenters:

    Vanessa Bohns and her associates at the University of Toronto asked one group of volunteers to adopt a posture associated with dominance and power: these volunteers stuck out their chests and moved their arms away from their bodies. Other volunteers were instructed to curl up in a powerless-looking ball.

    Then, the experimenters placed a tourniquet on each volunteer’s arm and slowly inflated it. The band got tighter and tighter, reducing blood flow. Volunteers were asked to say when they could no longer tolerate the discomfort. Findings: those in the powerful posture were able to tolerate much tighter tourniquets that those curled up in a ball. Simply acting as if they were powerful and strong helped push away an unwanted emotion.

    So-step into that “magic circle” and fake it ‘til you make it! Roll those shoulders back, opening up your chest. Separate your arms from your body. Be BIG! No one will know you are quaking inside…go on and give it a try. Science supports you!

    Learn about Guila Muir’s Presentation Skills Workshops.

    Guila Muir is a premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters. 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

  • The “I Don’t Feel Like Me” Blues

    that's not me yowlHave you taken a presentation skills course with me (Guila) and found yourself feeling strange, even “fake” as you practice unfamiliar behaviors?

    You may remember hearing my prompts during the session. They include:

    • Use the Magic Circle!
    • Own the Real Estate!
    • Drop the Figleaf!
    • Sternum Up, Shoulders Down! and even
    • Show Your Body!

    Sometimes, my workshop participants push back. They may tell me “That’s not what I do,” or “This doesn’t feel like me!” While I empathize with their discomfort, I’m also glad they’re feeling it. Behaving in a new way SHOULD feel different, even a little scary.

    The Intensified You

    Why are you taking a presentation skills course? Presumably, it’s to improve your presentation behaviors. These behaviors can be defined as unique skills that improve your delivery of content. They are not skills to make you better at coding, supervising, engineering, making art, or any of the skills you already excel at doing.

    When you feel out of your comfort zone as you practice new presentation behaviors, give yourself a pat on the back. You are expanding your boundaries. You are stepping into your “intensified you” persona.

    “Intensified” or Fake?

    Your “intensified you” persona includes:

    • Speaking more deliberately, and probably more loudly.
    • Taking up more physical space through the use of gestures and posture.
    • Demanding attention, and thriving in it for the duration of the presentation.

    The “intensified you” persona is 100%, authentically, you. It is simply a stronger, more confident and powerful version of your everyday you.

    The New Science

    2,000 years ago, Aristotle proclaimed that acting virtuous would make one virtuous. More recently, Harvard researcher Amy Cuddy found that we become how we act. The way we use our bodies shapes who we are. We know now that change occurs from the outside in, not only from the inside out.

    By acting “as if” you belong in front of an audience, you start belonging in front of an audience. By looking powerful (even if you are quivering inside), you become more powerful.

    Embrace It

    The move from the “workaday you” to the “intensified you” might feel uncomfortable. Complain if you desire. But if you are serious about being the best presenter you can be, say “hello” to new sensations, postures, and movements. Start to enjoy a new side of yourself—the intensified you.

    “Our bodies change our minds. Our minds can change our behavior. Our behavior can change our outcomes.”

    Amy Cuddy

    Want more tips to improve your speaking self? Learn about Guila Muir’s Presentation Skills Workshop.

  • Sabotaging Yourself as a Speaker

    Recently, I had the honor to be an audience member instead of a presenter. By watching instead of doing, I got the opportunity to re-assess my beliefs about what makes speakers effective. Here’s what I noticed:

    5 Ways Speakers Sabotage Themselves

    Mechanistic Movement

    I’ll be honest here. I’ve only noticed a case of “robot-arms” this extreme a few times in the 20 years of my professional career. Every time one speaker said a certain word, he self-consciously drew a shape in the air with his hands. I counted five of these word-and-gesture-pairings. The effect was of an overly rehearsed, stilted high school actor.

    Tornado Talking

    Several presenters’ speed-talking, punctuated with very few pauses, led to audience exhaustion. Women presenters were the biggest offenders.

    Big Chest in a Tight Blouse (I couldn’t think of how to use alliteration here)

    The audience could see the lines of one presenter’s underclothes, and even what lie beneath them. Additionally, this speaker dressed more casually than most of her audience. (Do remember the rule: “Dress like your audience, but one step better.” )

    Boring Bearing

    Wearing sparkly clothes didn’t make up for one speaker’s inward-turned shoulders and powerless posture. (To learn about the Power Posture watch this great video:  http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html)

    Egregious Embellishment

    Several presenters used lots and lots of very, very, absolutely, incredible, awesome, unbelievable, excellent, top-of-the-line adjectives. It was as if these speakers didn’t believe the truth of their messages, so tried to pump them up to make us believe. The opposite occurred.

    3 Ways Speakers Increase Their Credibility

    I’m probably the audience member from hell because of my merciless observations. However, I wouldn’t want to imply that I didn’t see anything that worked. Here are three behaviors that added to the authority and credibility of several speakers.

    Purposeful Perambulation

    The (female) speaker moved toward the audience, then stopped when delivering important messages. She refrained from:

    • Pacing
    • Walking backward
    • Shifting her weight from side to side
    • Talking while walking
    • Standing like a cheerleader: (weight on one hip).

    She always included the entire audience with her body position, not just with her eye contact. As a result, her words were compelling.

    Enthusiasm Embodied

    The best presenters appeared to be enjoying themselves. They displayed passion about their subjects. Their voices were both deliberate and naturally excited. They gestured authentically to emphasize their messages. (For the best article I’ve found on exuding enthusiasm as a speaker, see: https://gm.wp.zi3.xyz/training-development/the-joy-of-training/).

    Audience Advocacy

    This term, coined by Jerry Weissman, simply means that the speaker continually let us know how his information would benefit us. Sprinkled throughout his presentation, he asked questions like:

    “Now, why is this important?”

    “Why should YOU care?” and

    “Why am I telling you this?”—and proceed to answer in ways that made it clear how his information was in OUR (the audience’s) best interest.

    Potent Presenting

    When you lose the first five behaviors listed above, you’ll stop asking yourself, “Now, why didn’t that work like I thought it would?” By integrating the last three points, your public speaking becomes more compelling, dynamic and powerful. Enjoy!

    Want more tips to improve your speaking self? Learn about Guila Muir’s Presentation Skills Workshop.

    Guila Muir is a premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you into a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

  • FEAR, Revisited: Manage Your Presentation Nerves!

    AfraidDo your hands sweat at the mere idea of public speaking? Does your stomach flip-flop, your mind go blank?

    Four guidelines from professional speaking coaches will help.

    1. Don’t hate your nerves.
    Remember that your goal is NOT to overcome fear. Your goal is to deliver an effective message. When you invest yourself fully in your message, fear takes a back seat.

    2. Be able to clearly state your presentation‘s purpose.
    Your nerves will undermine you if you’re not able to state the purpose in one short sentence, starting with “The purpose of my presentation is to…”

    In the words of Dianna Booher, an international communications skills expert: “If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.”

    3. Work That Heart.
    Cardiovascular fitness acts as an “anxiety shield.”  Whatever physical exercise you like, do it, and do it regularly. Your lowered blood pressure, heightened endurance, and increased oxygen flow will protect you against an attack of nerves.

    4. Do it over and over. The best way to feel calm and confident is to practice your presentation multiple times, OUT LOUD, both by yourself and in the “real world.”

    Use these four suggestions as you prepare for your next presentation. The antidote to nervousness is not “out there” somewhere…the keys are already inside of you.

    Want more tips to improve your speaking self? Learn about Guila Muir’s Presentation Skills Workshop.

    Guila Muir is a premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters. 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

  • Embracing “Figleaf” for Presentations

    Oh, if only I could advocate Figleaf, since it’s the go-to position of many presenters. After giving Figleaf a thumbs-up in this fantasy scenario, I could also wholeheartedly endorse the following, both online and IRL:

    • slumping shoulders forward
    • crossing arms in front of the body
    • crossing legs.

    I can only imagine how relieved my clients would be if I could promote these popular behaviors.

    Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen. If we are serious about presenting effectively, we can’t afford any of these. Let’s take a look at the worst offender. Then we’ll review our options.

    What is Figleaf?

    Figleaf occurs when you place one or more hands in front of your midsection or abdomen. Using “Figleaf”, even while sitting, closes you in and hunches you inward. It can lower others’ perception of your credibility.

    Why Does Figleaf Occur?

    Our brains are hardwired to protect us. When we feel exposed (as many feel when presenting) we react by covering up. As Malcolm Kushner says in Presentations for Dummies, “it’s like you’ve just discovered your nakedness (or lack of anything intelligent to say) and want to hide it from your audience.”

    What Are Options to Figleaf?

    The good news is that great alternatives exist. All of the following will make you look more credible:

    • Bend your elbows slightly and align your middle finger with your shoulders. Allow your hands to relax and face each other. Move your wrists slightly as you talk. OR
    • Move your hands from the shoulders instead of from the elbows. OR
    • Demonstrate with your hands:  “On the ONE hand”, or “our FIRST priority should be…” (bring your hands up for visibility if online).

    To Avoid Figleaf

    All you need is willingness…willingness to try something new, even if it makes you feel exposed at first. You will see an immediate improvement in your confidence and competence as a speaker.

    Want more tips to improve your speaking self? See our Presenting Confidently and Concisely Workshop.