Archive for Practicing
Speakers: Brand Yourself with – “No Sweat!”
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“If it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.”
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This is how David Gregory, the moderator of the the longest-running television series in American broadcasting, signs off each Sunday morning.
Tim Russert, the previous host, and all hosts before him, signed off with the same words. It’s part of this weekly television news/interview program’s Branding.
Branding yourself and company in several ways, so others know who you are and what you do, should be part of your marketing strategy. Using it in your Closing can be particularly effective. This is because of the Law of Primacy and Recency which says, “The last thing the audience sees and hears will be the first thing they will remember.”
If you’re a fan of the great motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, you know his presentations always closed with his Branded Tag Line, “I will see You - At The Top!”
My good friend and internet marketing expert Russ Henneberry blogs on the site,
Tiny Business, Mighty Profits. He closes and Brands his presentations with the statement, “Starting tomorrow, do the things we worked on today, and Your Tiny Business will have - Mighty Profits!”
If you hear the phrase, “It just works!” you associate it with Steve Jobs. Another of his favorites was, “And one more thing!” Combine those statements with a black turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, and white sneakers and you have the Brand, Steve Jobs!
That Brand was, and will forever be, associated with the bigger Brand, Apple.
I’ve worked very hard on my “No Sweat!” Brand: Read More→
Speakers: The Last Thing you do, will be. . .
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The First Thing the Audience
will Remember!
will Remember!
The Law of Primacy and Recency states:
The First and Last Things your audience hears
and sees, will probably be remembered more
than anything else in your presentation.
Of the two, the Closing will be better recalled.
Knowing that Law is important for several reasons.
- It’s why speakers should have a Strong Opening
and a Strong Closing!
- The Opening should grab the attention of the audience and make them desire to hear more.
- Example:
- “Picture this! Friday is our annual Open House and the president of the company wants each department to give a fifteen minute presentation. I have you scheduled for 1:15 – right after lunch!”
Finding those Speaking Opportunities that are. . .
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Business
, Career, and
Leadership Opportunities!
One comment I regularly hear is:
“Fred, Your mantra, “Speaking Opportunities are Business, Career, and Leadership Opportunities,” gets my attention. You’ve convinced me!”
Here’s my challenge: “Where do I find those Speaking Opportunities?”
Great question!
Unless you have a topic and reputation that people must seek you out, it’s up to You
to find those valuable Speaking Opportunities.
For the most part, these will be unpaid. Take my friend, Lois Creamer’s advice, and don’t say you’ll speak for Free. Instead, say you will waive your usual fee for this particular group. That’s OK when you’re starting out and/or if you want to increase your exposure and build your reputation as a Expert. Remember: Really good speakers are perceived as Experts. Perception is reality and people like to work with Experts.
Comment, please, which ones have worked for you! Feel free to add some, also!
Here’s are some possibilities.
Speaking Opportunities can be found at:
- Rotary Clubs
- Lions Clubs
- Optimist Clubs
- Elks Clubs
- Scout Meetings – Read More→
The Five Laws of Presentation
Posted by: | CommentsTo be a Successful Speaker, these are Not Optional!
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To be successful in anything, there are Very Specific Laws that apply. These are not suggestions! The Public Speaking / Presentation World is no exception.
The following Five Laws of Presentation are essential if a high quality presentation is the goal.
Read them – Study them – Apply them!
- Know your “Stuff!”
- Really know your material.
- Continually study and keep abreast of the latest information.
- Read books and blogs on the subject.
- Set up google alerts for specifics that will help you stay up to date.
- Be proficient with all the Components, Parts and Elements of a great presentation.
- Have great content and use all the verbal and nonverbal communication skills available to deliver your presentation.
- Remember: Delivery trumps Content – NonVerbal Communication trumps Verbal Communication and Everything must be in sync!
Have a ‘Plan B’ Because When the Screen Goes. . .
Posted by: | CommentsBLANK - You’re Going to Need It! - Glad I Had Mine!
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Have you ever changed a tire? (I don’t mean calling the Auto Club and waiting for the service truck to arrive!) I know many of you haven’t. So if you had the misfortune of getting a flat in the middle of nowhere and had a properly inflated tire in your trunk, and all the tools to make that change, you might have to grab your manual and figure how to change that tire – correct?
Having a ‘Plan B’ doesn’t mean implementing it is going to be easy!
Murphy’s Law, if something can go wrong it will go wrong, applies to the world of Public Speaking and Presentations, also.
I always have a ‘Plan B’, and often a ‘Plan C’. But, like having that spare tire, I never really expect to need it.
Successful Speakers Focus on. . .
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The AUDIENCE!
Speakers: It’s not about you!
It’s all about your Audience!
Successful Companies are Customer Centered.
- They focus on the Customer; the needs and challenges their customers have.
They focus on meeting those needs and solving those challenges.
That means:
- The Medical Community is Patient Centered.
- The Educational System is Student Centered.
- The Hospitality Industry is Guest Centered.
To be successful in the Public Speaking / Presentation World we need to be
Audience Centered!
The audience didn’t come to see and hear you. They did come to learn! They came to Read More→
Slideshows Help Them SEE Your Message!
Posted by: | CommentsWhen Done Well:
PowerPoint / Keynote Slide Presentations
Help the Audience GET IT!
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- Auditory – Learn by hearing.
- Visual – Learn by seeing.
- Kinesthetic - Learn by doing.
For speakers, if more than one of these styles can be addressed to convey your message, the odds they’ll GET IT are dramatically increased. Combining high quality, universally understood images on a screen with you, the speaker providing the “text” is an excellent way to do this.
Unfortunately, the majority of slide shows are designed with lots of text, bullet points, corporate templates and logos. If they include any images, they are often cheap clip art or graphics that have the audience scratching their heads wondering what they are.
Sometimes you wonder why the presenter even showed up! They are standing at the lectern, with their back to the audience, and are reading each and every bit of text to the attendees. Yech! They could just have well emailed their powerpoint presentation to everyone!
So your audience GETS IT! here are better ways to use slides in your presentation:
Use very little text and as few bullet points as possible.
Here’s why: Read More→
The Magic of the Rule of Three
Read It – Understand It – Use It!
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Three has always been Magical!
• The Three Wise Men.
• Three Strikes You’re out!
• Rock, Paper, Scissors.
It is also one of the best techniques presenters can use for ensuring their audience GETS IT!
Andrew Dlugan sums the Rule of Three up like this:
“Using the Rule of Three allows you to express concepts more completely, emphasize your points, and increase the memorability of your message.”
In his book, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, Roy Peter Clark provides insights to the Magic of the Number Three:
- Use One for power.
- Use Two for comparison, contrast.
(right – wrong, black – white, up – down, hot – cold) - Use Three for completeness, wholeness, roundness.
- Use Four or more to list, inventory, compile, and expand.
Make use of the Rule of Three in your presentations with the proper, inflection, cadence, and pauses, and I guarantee better speaking!
I’ve taken Dugan’s and Clark’s advice to heart and incorporated it into my presentations. What follows are examples from my Keynote Presentation, “No Sweat Public Speaking!”
Read them with the Rule of Three in mind. You’ll understand and remember more than if I had written them without using the Rule of Three! Read More→
Speakers should be Bloggers. Here’s Why!
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I started Blogging almost two years ago. Here is what weekly Posting has brought Me.
It might do the same for You!
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Increased Knowledge.
I learn something every time I write a Post. Each time I pick a subject, I research it and always find information I didn’t know. My expertise on Public Speaking and Presentation Skills continues to grow.
Increased Visibility, Credibility and Brand Awareness.
As I write about the Components, Parts and Elements of a Presentation, all that text is out in the blogosphere for anyone searching those topics to find. Google sees it and my ranking in searches has increased exponentially. The more good Content I place in Posts, the more my readers learn and their perception of me as an EXPERT grows. (We like to work with EXPERTS, don’t we!)
Branding is important and large companies spend a lot of time and money to make sure people know them. “No Sweat!” is in the title of my book and the closing of each Post. It’s become my brand and is getting more recognition all the time! Read More→
Your PRESENTATION needs a MAKEOVER If. . .
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When was Your Presentation
last updated?
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If it’s been awhile - Keep reading!
Doing a Presentation Makeover
makes sense if:
The Information You Want to Convey is Important.
It should be Important!
Important to the audience and
Important to you!
If it’s not important, Why are you doing it?
“The presentation you and/or your team deliver:
directly reflects upon the presenters and those developing the presentation.”
You might need a
Presentation Makeover if you. . . Read More→
