Your Speaking Nerves: They're Not About You

Phil and Michael preparing for next year

Phil and I have just returned from the National Speakers annual convention.

Phil was emcee in many of the breakout rooms and it was my first convention in the role of  National President.

My first engagement was to give the welcome speech on opening night; a high stakes presentation in front of industry peers and heavyweights. In short, there was much riding on that speech.

Later that night a new speaker, Mark, asked me if I still got nervous. In a word, yes. Especially at high stakes events like these.

Judging from the most often asked questions from our clients, many of us experience nerves in our work, our own business, and in the wider community.

As Phil and I say in workshops, webinars and coaching, the only thing more concerning than getting nervous is not being nervous. Why? Nerves are your friend; there to remind you that this matters.

Three simple steps for conquering nerves.

1. Adjust your mindset. Sir Anthony Hopkins says, 'get over yourself.' We say 'adopt a winning mindset from the moment you choose to present.' Keep working to put that mindset in action by getting to know your message and your audience, then writing your content well in advance, and getting feedback from people you trust; people who also understand your target market. One of the first people that saw my speech the other night was Phil, and the tweaks he suggested made a true difference.

2. Look for opportunities to exceed their expectations. Whether that's in the way you structure your content, give your delivery. Give them what they want with your unique twist. That way, you've not only given them what they want, but also built into your presentation ways to delight them. Better for your audience's experience, and definitely better for you.

3. Rehearse, rehearse, adjust. Last week during my presentation there was a technical glitch with my slides right at the beginning of the presentation that was beyond my control. Slides were pivotal to this presentation, and I thought we might have to go on without them.

Technology can take a while to catch up with us sometimes.

We need to make decisions on the fly and not let nerves get in the way of the audience's experience. I made the call to go on without those slides, then saw the technicians had fixed them and away we went. What made the difference was rehearsing right up until an hour beforehand, taking the opportunity to get on stage in the room and with the equipment. It gave me familiarity with room, technicians and the technology. Then, if even the best laid plans do go awry, you can trust your preparation, and adjust when and where you need to.

The key message here is to recognise nerves, but not  indulge them. Know they're there, but keep focused on the task at hand, trust your preparation, keep rehearsing and refining, but most of all, remember that this is not just about you and what you have to convey, your presentation is about serving your audience and giving them the best experience possible.

To find out more about the ways in which we can support you simply contact support@presentability.com.au. 

Until next time, keep practicing your presentability, 

Phil Preston & Michael Neaylon
FOUNDERS & DIRECTORS

On behalf of the presentability team

presentability.com.au

What To Do When Your Technology Fails You

Welcome to your latest edition of Presentability Matters.

Recently, we’ve experienced some technological challenges that were out of our control on both webinars and face to face presentations.

We thought it would be helpful to give you some simple ways to keep your cool, keep your message heard, and make sure your presentation is remembered...for all the right reasons. 
 

So...What To Do?  

1. Be prepared: Effective preparation means knowing exactly what you want to say with your message, and why. It’s not about your slides or music or video clips, they’re simply mechanics to support your main message and key points. Learning the essential points, ideas, and key take-aways you want your audience to absorb are always the most important priorities for preparing – and learning – your presentation.

2. Rehearse your key points at regular intervals before the presentation. The main reason for doing this? So the presentation becomes second nature to you to deliver it, PowerPoint or no PowerPoint. The more you rehearse with this audience and this event in mind, the more grounded the presentation is in the present also.

3. Give yourself a solid back up plan. Have the slides on a USB stick in case your laptop doesn’t speak with the other technology in the room. Take an extra printout of your key points or have the slides and notes accessible on your Smartphone. Design some additional activities to increase engagement and reinforce key points. All of these simple back up strategies will help you stay on track.

Remember...

They’re here to see you and hear what you’ve got to say, and most importantly, what’s in this presentation for them. They’re not here to hear how everything went belly up with your technology. Simply let them know there’s been a glitch without drawing unnecessary attention to it and solider on with purpose, so they get the experience they deserve to have.

Making sure you send out slides, videos, links and any other information can also help you flip a less than ideal experience around, and have them admiring - rather than admonishing - you. 

To find out more about the ways in which we can support you simply contact support@presentability.com.au
 

Until next time, keep practicing your presentability, 

Phil Preston & Michael Neaylon
FOUNDERS & DIRECTORS

On behalf of the presentability team

presentability.com.au

5 Essential Ways to Engage Your Audience

Welcome to the first edition of Presentability Matters for 2013. This year will see much debate over presentation content, delivery and style being a national election year, and how effectively our political leaders can engage us with their vision for the nation. 2013 also heralds the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King’s infamous, influential and inspirational ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. We’ll be taking a closer look at the content of this groundbreaking presentation in a future edition of Presentability Matters. Today though, we give five essential ways to engage your audience before, during and after you speak.   Before Your Presentation  There are many ways to engage your audience before you speak to gain a greater understanding of ‘what’s in this for them.’ Here are two: 1. Survey them. Use a free tool such as www.surveymonkey.com to send out a brief survey by email. Give people a time frame to respond by to give yourself enough time to digest and integrate the answers, then refer to their answers in your presentation. 2. Make some phone calls to attendees beforehand. Ask them questions about what they’re looking for from the presentation and why. This gives you the added benefit of creating a personal connection with an audience member to easily establish rapport on the day. Make a point of seeking them out just before the presentation (at the venue) to further the connection. As long as you keep mindful of their time and space you’re bound to impress with your genuine interest in them. If appropriate, you can also refer to that person in the presentation to let others know there’s a connection to this group beyond simply showing up.  During Your Presentation  3. Think Pink. That is, think like a rock star or pop icon at an event. They localise at least one or two points or current topics of interest. Lookout for daily news and local views on the way to the presentation. See if there’s something you can tie into your presentation that proves or supports a point and is, ideally, relevant to your audience – such as a quirky billboard driving into town or something you’ve noticed in the foyer. This gives you great opportunity for humour without being forced because the joke can be shared purely to break the ice, without resorting to making a forced joke at the beginning of the presentation. 4. Be Your Own Warm Up Guy (or Woman). Meet and greet them on arrival to give yourself a warm audience to speak to. This way you’re building rapport before the event as opposed to spending precious presentation time doing so.   After Your Presentation  5. Have handouts for them with at least two to three actions or follow up resources to take away and put in action. Make sure your contact details are on there, and any other relevant info or links to further position you as a trusted source. If you’re selling to your audience, you’ll want to have a clear marketing piece with a compelling call to action. BONUS TIP: Give email reminders to further the engagement (either through the event organiser or directly from yourself). You’ll need to make sure you gain permission to collect email addresses to do this, however it’s an ideal way to build your database and further the conversation. To find out more about the ways in which we can support you simply contact support@presentability.com.au   Until next time, keep practicing your presentability,  Phil Preston & Michael Neaylon FOUNDERS & DIRECTORS On behalf of the presentability team

_________________ Workshops & Webinars Tailored specifically for your company, industry or association presentability workshops and webinars give you accelerated learning for you and your people at a time and place that suits you.  In-House Workshops Delivered on-site or in a venue to suit you’ll receive: > Proven presentability training adapted to your people, brand and industry > Tailored follow up resources and e-course to embed the learning > Highly productive return on your investment with your people sharing and communicating a common language for greater consistency in enrolling both your internal and external stakeholders   Tailored Webinars  Given as one time webinars or a complete series, our webinars have the flexibility to be given on your existing platform or ours. Apart from many of the benefits of the face to face presentability programs you’ll also gain: > Tailored learning modules at a time to suit you and your people > Even greater productivity as they learn from their desk or laptop > Recordings for your people to review the material Contact us at support@presentability.com.au to find out more.   'The course was a great way of sharpening my focus around presentation skills – particularly content structure and delivery skills.' - Ben Robinson, Head of People and Purpose, CHOICE 'A very well structured, practical approach, and much learning experienced, drawing on lots of ‘real case studies’ and experiences.' - Mark Lyster, Director, Net Balance Management Group Friend on Facebook  Follow Us Forward to a Friend

Deepening Your Influence

This is an example of deepening your influence we highlighted in a recent webinar for ACHSM.

Picture This Scenario in Your Workplace

You have some team members who have to do presentations to the rest of the department in order to try and influence change, but they are falling way short.

Essentially, you want to influence your team to get on board with the idea that they improve their presenting skills. 

How could you introduce the layers of consequence in a way that has impact but does not insult the people in question?

“In the departmental presentations…

1. I’ve noticed that some of the important departmental staff have a tendency to be distracted or switch off [Immediate issue]
2. As a result we are not making the most of our opportunity which, as we know, affects all of us in various ways [Bigger consequence]
3. In fact, there’s a lot of pressure on our presenters because their batting for us all, and after a couple of bad experiences I bet they’re losing sleep or feeling stressed before, during and afterwards. [Personal implication]

Therefore we should ask 'why this is happening?'

'What could we achieve if our presentations had more impact?'

'How good would we and our presenters feel if we nailed them every time?'

And from there, you set the scene for the people with the problem to be much more engaged in your discussion about a proposed solution.

Finally, here is a link to the ‘Quit Now’ advertisement copy we mentioned in the same recent webinar for ACHSM. This gives a succinct, creative example of how to influence your audience with few words, well placed images and a powerful scenario. 

Parents TVC Copy

Phil Preston & Michael Neaylon

Founders, presentability

On behalf of the presentability team

5 Quick Lessons from the Presidential Debate

- by Nick Morgan

The received wisdom is that President Obama lost the debate and former Governor Romney won; 2/3rds of Americans polled thought so, and the commentators certainly did.

So what follows is a contrarian view.

My belief watching the debate was that all 3 participants lost, heavily – including Jim Lehrer, who was unable to function very well as a moderator and should not be asked back.

Read more >

Book Review: Become a Key Person of Influence

Daniel Priestley's book is a call to arms for entrepreneurs to distinguish their space and claim their micro-niche by becoming a KPI - a key person of influence.memorable.

Read more > 

Define Your Own “Style” to Become a Memorable Speaker

As we have found when delivering our public programs, there is always healthy enthusiasm for the style elements we focus on. Content and delivery are both important for structuring a clear message, making that relevant for your audience and engaging them, however it’s introducing your own style that will make you truly memorable. 

 

Why? You are unique. The more you acknowledge and emphasise your personal speaking and communication style, the more you stand out in meetings, board rooms, and your presentations in general.
 

To develop your style, here are five simple, effective tips to become even more memorable: 

1. Get feedback: Ask people who see you communicate professionally for feedback on what engages them most about you and your personal style. Make sure you get a mix of people whose opinion you respect to make the best decision on what works for you.
    
2. Grow the good: when we’re coaching people we like to emphasise what’s working for them - in all aspects, including style – more than what’s not. Perhaps it’s your well-placed humour, natural enthusiasm, or charismatic stillness and authority that work for you the most.
    
3. Discover other styles: once you’ve found the qualities that work for you, avoid resting on those alone, as you’ll limit, rather than expand, your communication style. It’s not unlike going to the gym and only doing the same routine for months or years on end. You’ll end up developing only one muscle, rather than making the most of your own physique by mixing up your routine from time to time.
    
4. Avoid imitation. Phil and I are both members of the National Speakers Association of Australia. A well-regarded and highly paid fellow speaker recently said that he never watches his competitors. We want to concentrate more on our audience and the authentic connection we make with them rather than our competitors or colleagues. By all means watch other speakers for their techniques and their skills, but avoid too much comparison and imitation.
    
5. Bring more of you to the room than you think you need to. Now that you’ve mined your points of difference, bring as many aspects of those parts of yourself and the way in which you communicate to the situation as you possibly can. Most people – in a diligent effort to be professional, or sometimes out of nerves or fear – bring only one aspect of their personality to a presentation. We’ll remember more about you and your material, the more we feel we’ve got to know you. 

There are many people wanting to be heard in meeting rooms, and in the marketplace. Make yourself one of the ones whose are not only heard, but remembered.
 

 

Coaching for even greater presentability

To fast track the definition of your own style and be more memorable in the boardroom, your next meeting or an upcoming presentation, contact us for coaching or details of our upcoming courses. 

Click here to find out more.

Video - presentability Capabilities

Phil Preston & Michael Neaylon give you an overview of presentability capabilities for greater presenting influence: Click here to view video

 

Until next time, keep practicing your presentability, 

Phil Preston & Michael Neaylon
FOUNDERS & DIRECTORS

On behalf of the presentability team