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  • Smiling, Presenting, and Chopsticks

    The car in front of me pokes along at 20 miles per hour. I clench the steering wheel as I try to push down my road rage. The concept of “steam coming out of my ears” feels very real…

    And then I suddenly, falsely, crazily, I bark out the word “JOY!” and force a grossly false smile. The smile doesn’t reach my eyes and looks more like a grimace, but I try it again: “JOY!” I croak out a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. I don’t want to laugh. I am mad! But guess what, my shoulders relax. Suddenly I realize the smile has reached my eyes. Following the poky driver in front of me no longer seems like the end of the world. My breath deepens. I relax.

    By smiling, I have just tricked my brain. And it worked!

    You Don’t Need Chopsticks

    Psychological scientists Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman of the University of Kansas researched smiles, including fake ones their subjects created by holding chopsticks between their lips. They found that even fake smiles increased the subjects’ immunity, strengthened stress responses, and lowered blood pressure. Dozens of other medical studies support the connection between smiling and stress reduction. Because the brain is a sucker for a grin, it doesn’t care whether you’re smiling because you’re joyous, or because you’re just pretending.

    So smiling reduces stress. That’s good news for trainers and presenters.

    Smile to Prepare to Knock ‘Em Dead

    I am not suggesting that trainers and presenters begin their session with a big, fake smile. However, before “going on stage”, try following these five steps:

    1. Find a bathroom stall. Enter, and close the door.
    2. Plaster a huge, ear-to-ear smile on your face while relaxing your shoulders with a big breath.
    3. Shake your body all over, as if you were a dog shaking off water. Keep smiling and breathing.
    4. Open the cubicle door while still smiling.
    5. Walk to where you will present. Chances are your face will settle into a genuine smile by the time you get there.

    By forcing that little “smile” moment, you have boosted your immunity, energy, and dynamism. Best of all, you have lowered your stress.

    Now you can be the amazing trainer or presenter you were always meant to be!

  • 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.

  • Using the “Six Limbs” of Facilitation to Make Meetings Work

    Understanding the “six limbs” of facilitation will help you juggle meeting dynamics better.

    What Are the “Six Limbs?”

    A facilitator needs to keep six avenues of awareness open to facilitate effectively. Awareness of the “six limbs” is a kind of hyper-awareness that we don’t tend to need during other parts of our lives. This hyper-awareness underlies all the specific skills (such as summarizing and paraphrasing) that a facilitator uses. Maintaining this heightened awareness is hard work, and is largely what makes facilitation such an art.

    Familiar to anyone who has ever written a term paper, the six avenues of awareness are:

    • Who
    • What
    • When
    • Why
    • How
    • What if…?

    During a meeting, you need to maintain your awareness of:

    Who is talking, who is silent, and who is expressing themselves non-verbally? Who has been heard, and who needs to be heard?

    What is going on, both on the surface and underneath? What are the “vibes?” On another level, what time is it? What needs to happen before the meeting ends?

    When is it time to break? When is it appropriate for you to intervene in the meeting’s process?

    Why do you feel you must intervene?

    How can the group’s work best be accomplished?

    What if… the meeting outcomes are not met this time around? What if a particular person hasn’t yet provided input? What if yelling occurs? What if you decided to take a whole new path to solving the problem?

    Juggling Dynamics

    If using the six limbs sounds challenging, it’s because it is. Facilitation is both an art and a set of skills. Keeping all six tracks of awareness open will help you bridge those two worlds—and make you the best facilitator you can be.

    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 you improve your meetings!

  • Mini-Van or Ferrari for Presenters?

    To go shopping, would you use a minivan or Ferrari? What if you were going to race? The choice is a no-brainer. Yet when speaking publicly, many of us want to take a minivan when we should be gearing up to drive a Ferrari.

    The Role of Adrenaline in Peak Performance

    Driving a Ferrari takes careful practice, or it will feel out of control. The same goes for making the most of your adrenaline. It’s important to rehearse your presentation in situations beyond your comfort zone. Start getting used to the extra power and “zip” that adrenaline provides.

    The research is clear. Being calm and comfortable when speaking in public does not necessarily improve performance. In fact, many speakers perform best when they feel anxious, whether they enjoy that feeling or not.

    Peak performance requires a tremendous amount of energy. Energy requires adrenaline. By embracing your shot of adrenaline, you transform it into fuel. You’ll excite others through your own total involvement, focus, and excitement.

    Centering For Your Dynamic Ride

    A Ferrari driver must be 100% present. The same goes for speaking. To be a dynamic speaker, you must center yourself. These four steps will help.

    1. Create a clear intention.

    Develop a short statement that will motor your soul during your presentation. State the intention in a positive way. (For example, avoid using the word “won’t”, as in “I won’t say ‘um’”.) Here are several examples of intentions that clients of mine have developed:

    • “I am going to speak brilliantly.”
    • “I will speak with support from my gut!”
    • “I will enjoy myself and the audience.”
    • “It’s show time!”

    Mentally state your intention immediately before you begin to speak.

    2. Shake off excess muscular tension.

    Have you seen dogs, cats, or horses shake their bodies when they are stressed? Do the same—wiggle and flap your body to shake off excess energy. Do this behind the closed door of a bathroom cubicle before taking the stage.

    3. Breathe mindfully.

    Breathing shallowly and rapidly keeps us in the “fight, flight, or freeze” mode. Try to get your breath down to your abdomen. Take at least five deep breaths as you prepare in that bathroom cubicle, and then take a couple more deep breaths before starting your presentation.

    4. Feel your center.

    Long before your presentation, practice finding your body’s center of gravity. Then, before speaking, tune into that core for a second. This focus provides strength and solidity.

    Take The Wheel

    Through centering and allowing adrenalin to fuel you, you become strong, dynamic, and in charge. So leave the mini-van at home and enjoy the ride!

    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

  • What is a Trainer? What is a Facilitator?

    A pet peeve of mine: Trainers who either lecture or simply read their slides, but who call themselves “facilitators”. Training and facilitation are very different animals.

    Different Roles, Different Skills

    A trainer absolutely must be a content expert. Surely, the best trainers integrate facilitative techniques to make learning easy, but at core they must “know their stuff” intimately.

    Great facilitators need not be content experts. In fact, sometimes those who run meetings the best are those who know least about the subject. Instead, they focus on the quality of the process itself.

    This chart shows the core differences between being a content expert and a facilitator.

    Con­tent Expert or Facil­i­ta­tor?

    Con­tent Expert (Tell)

    Facil­i­ta­tor (Ask)
    Presents Infor­ma­tion Guides Process; Ensures Multi-Directional Com­mu­ni­ca­tion
    Pro­vides the Right Answers Pro­vides the Right Questions
    Clear Purpose (and Learning Outcomes if Training) Clear Outcomes for the Group’s Process

    Are You a Trainer or a Facilitator?

    If you are a trainer, your best bet is to combine the roles shown in the chart. This will ensure you’re doing your job as a content expert while eliciting robust engagement and involvement.

    If you are facilitating a meeting but must impart information at some point, inform folks what you are doing. When you unexpectedly begin to tell instead of ask, confusion arises and engagement shuts down.

    Let’s make a pact right now to always be clear on what role we are embodying. Are we training? Or are we running a meeting? Our understanding makes the process more clear, and easier, for everyone.

    Give your training skills a lift with The Kite Workshop! Contact Guila today.

  • 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.

     

  • Elevate Your Training! Assessing Training Skills in Your Organization

    Fly your kiteI have been fascinated with the question “What makes a great trainer (or adult educator)”? for years. Through exploring research, examining my own practice, and evaluating hundreds of other trainers, I formulated a set of effective training behaviors. I used these behaviors as the basis for an assessment tool called Elevate Your Training! Assessing Training Skills in Your Organization, which will be available soon.

    This article is your “appetizer”. Enjoy!

    Four Dimensions of Effective Training

    Across diverse industries, effective adult educators consistently model a few specific behaviors. These behaviors tend to fall into four dimensions.

    Effective trainers:

    1. Carefully prepare for a successful educational experience, instead of just hoping that one will occur.
    2. Maintain abundant participation from the beginning to the end of the class.
    3. Strive to perfect their platform skills.
    4. Effectively manage their classrooms, demonstrating appropriate levels of both dominant and cooperative behavior with participants.

    Let’s take a quick look at Dimension #2, “Maintaining Abundant Participation”. I have included five behaviors within this dimension. Most adult educators might very well come up with a similar list of behaviors. But my challenge is this: Do you, and others on your team, consistently model all the behaviors that fall into this dimension?

    My bias: Only those educators who consistently perform all these skills can be considered “facilitators of learning”. (Otherwise, they are simply “presenters”.) As adult educators, we must be clear about what we do, and honest in the language we use.

    Maintaining Abundant Participation

    The trainer/adult educator:

    • Encourages class-wide participation, using words, body language, and affect.
    • Integrates individual, pair, and small group activities in which participants process training content for the majority of classroom time.
    • Responds to participants’ non-verbal cues and behaviors.
    • Elicits responses from all participants, not just the more verbal ones.
    • Integrates opportunities to plan how students will apply new information or skills to their roles outside the classroom.
    • Asks open-ended questions. Waits for a response before re-phrasing the question.
    • Finds ways to meaningfully engage participants who finish tasks first.

    Preview

    I’ll soon make the entire Elevate Your Training! Assessing Training Skills in Your Organization Tool available. It will be formatted in a way that will make it easy for you and others to assess each others’ skills in real time. My goal is for you to support each other while building a world-class training team for your organization.

    Happy training to all!

  • Presentation Disaster Zone: A True Story

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    Who wants to feel exposed and inept in front of an audience? No one! Yet recently, I observed a presenter obviously wish she could disappear…all for the lack of a sound check.

    This speaker had plenty of important content to deliver. The press was buzzing and there was excitement in the room.

    She was introduced, cleared her throat, and said “I’d like to kick off our time together with a short video. It will move you as much as it did me”.

    She clicked her remote and the video started, soundlessly. From the audience, we watched a silent video which showed people doing things we didn’t understand and saying things we couldn’t hear.

    “Oh!” the speaker gasped. Several people ran up to the stage and started clicking away. Soon we saw the computer’s desktop, then its settings, then some photos of her family members projected onto the screen. Still no sound. More helpers flocked to the stage as the room ignited with conversation and laughter. People checked their texts, wandered to the snack table, and even, in one case, began a loud phone conversation.

    As the video continued it silent display, the presenter’s face moved from bright to dark red.  I felt her pain and her sweat! “Let’s just skip the video”, she finally instructed the swarm of people onstage.  More images flashed across the screen until her PowerPoint presentation once again appeared.

    Nearly 15 minutes after she initially began, the presenter ad-libbed: “Well, what the video would have shown was…” Thanks to the lack of a sound-check, this speaker lost the powerful and dynamic opening she had intended. Her confidence was visibly diminished.

    What’s the moral of the story? There are several:

    1. Check ALL equipment on-site before you begin.
    2. Bring extra adapters, cables, connectors, and other potentially useful technical items.
    3. Be ready to give the presentation without any visual aids at all. Create and bring notes. You will find these helpful even if your equipment never lets you down.

    Don’t be taken by surprise! By being totally responsible for your presentation, you will never experience “presentation hell”.

  • The Myth of the Facilitator

    imagesHere’s a pet peeve of mine: Adult educators who call themselves “Facilitators”…and then go on to give a traditional, one-sided, PowerPoint-heavy training session. I estimate that 87.5% of trainers who call themselves “facilitators” are lying. Why? Because they model few skills of facilitation.

    Well Then, What is a Facilitator?

    A facilitator is content-neutral. Because of this, the most appropriate role for a facilitator is that of meeting leader. In this role, he or she can extract insights and enable collaboration.

    The trainer is a content expert. The trainer’s role is to elicit behavior change in participants. This behavior change is called learning. A trainer’s role is to ensure that learning of specific content takes place. (That’s why so many trainers just tell, tell, and tell!)

    So What About “Facilitator of Learning”?

    This term is less popular than plain old “facilitator”, but to me, it is the gold standard for which all trainers should strive. A trainer can be considered a “facilitator of learning” only when he or she:

    • shuts up (a lot),
    • asks meaningful, provocative, open-ended questions, remaining aware of group dynamics at all times, and
    • provides many opportunities for participants to figure things out for themselves.

    Put most simply, a facilitator of learning ASKS. Asking creates disequilibrium and curiosity in participants. Disequilibrium requires participants to adapt, to question themselves, and ultimately to change. Learning IS change!

    How to Be a Facilitator of Learning, not Just an Authority Who Spews Content?

    If you strive to see behavior change in your participants and are willing to drop the more comfortable role of constantly “telling”, and  these guidelines will help.

    1. Ask questions.

    Plan and integrate questions that will spur not-so-easy thinking and feeling.

    1. Be provocative.

    Be willing to name dynamics, factions, or hidden assumptions in the group…with the positive intention of causing disequilibrium and curiosity.

    1. Encourage experimentation.

    Balance your “Telling” role with opportunities for participants to explore, create, and make mistakes.

    When trainers facilitate learning instead of staying on the safer shore of “telling”, we often feel more vulnerable and closer in status to our participants. This unpredictability may not feel comfortable. Each of us must decide for ourselves what type of adult educators we want to be…and be honest in what we call ourselves.

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