Archive for presentation

"No Sweat PUblic Speaking" - Spare Tire

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Murphy, of Murphy’s Law, 

always seems to be lurking around the corner, waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting victim.  That casualty could be you!

Always be prepared for anything and everything you can control.

If the computer crashes, projector dies, or sound system goes silent, you must still present your material!  There are people in the audience who came to learn something.  It’s your presentation and your responsibility they don’t leave disappointed.

Be sure your “trunk” is well equipped for all contingencies.
If I’m using slides, I backup my presentation on a USB flash drive.  Because I use a mac, my slideshows are made with iWork Keynote software.  I export copies to PowerPoint and convert, also, to PDFs.  The PDF conversion is done because they work when versions of PowerPoint and Keynote are not the versions on a backup computer.

I also print a copy of my slideshow in Light Table view, which allows Read More→

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It’s That Time of the Year!
Here are My 2012 Resolutions.
What are Yours?

#1.  Prepare and Practice for each Presentation
even if I’ve given it 100+ times.

  • It might be the umpteenth time I’ve delivered it, but it’s the first time most of the audience have heard it.
  • The size of the audience doesn’t matter.  I should always give my best.
  • “Practice makes perfect.”  No!
  • “Perfect Practice makes Perfect.” – No such thing!
  • The one I subscribe to is: “The road to perfection never ends!”

#2.  Regularly Refresh and Update my Content and Delivery.

  • The only constant is Change.  I’ll continue to practice Kaizen, the Japanese word that means continuous improvement.

#3.  Get Out of my Comfort Zone with Content and Delivery.

  • When we Get Out of our Comfort Zone – our Comfort Zone becomes Larger!

#4.  Study, Study, and Study more about my subject of Expertise,
the Art & Science of Public Speaking/Presenting.

  • I always learn new things from the blogs, articles, books and videos I seek out on public speaking/presentations.

#5.  Continue to regularly Write a New Post with great Content
and to place the Audio in each Post.

  • The combination of Written Post + Audio Post has made me a better writer and a better speaker.

#6.  Take just about every opportunity I can to Speak.  Paid and Fee Waived. Read More→

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Verbal Communication

Have you ever watched a Professional Mime? They speak no words, but communicate very well, don’t they!

If they were to use their voice, their NonVerbal Communication: eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture, and body movements, would outweigh their spoken words.

Our NonVerbal Communication carries more weight than the words we say and how we say them.

Example: The speaker on the podium says, “I’m very excited to be speaking to this group today.”  At the same time, he is yawning, not giving eye contact to anyone in the audience, and continually looking at his watch.  What’s the message he’s sending?

Everything in the Delivery of our presentation must be in sync, else the audience will believe what they “See.”

While we can consciously use our NonVerbal Communication Skills to emphasize parts of our presentation, it’s important to remember that we exhibit involuntary NonVerbal Communication, also. Read More→

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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→

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Read them – Study them – Don’t do them!

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 If you’re a speaker there are certain things you should do, and should not do.  Here are 11 Definite Don’ts!

  1. Don’t  ”Wing it.”
  1. Your non-effort will show.
  2. You’ll embarrass yourself and waste the time of your audience.  They came to learn something from your talk.
  3. It is your responsibility they leave the room knowing more about your subject than they did when they entered.
  4. Prepare and practice your presentation as if it were very important – because it is!
  • Don’t think the speech is about You.  It’s not.
    1. It is, and always should be, about the Audience!
    1. Being Audience Centered is one of the
      Laws of Presentation.
  • Focusing on the Audience, and not you, will raise the quality of your presentation and lower your anxiety.
  • Don’t give the same speech to all audiences. Read More→
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    Oct
    27

    The Five Laws of Presentation

    Posted by: | Comments (4)

     To 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!

    1. Know your “Stuff!”
    1. Really know your material.
    2. Continually study and keep abreast of the latest information.
    1. Read books and blogs on the subject.
    2. Set up google alerts for specifics that will help you stay up to date.
  • Strive to be the expert on the subject.
  • Know how to Present.
    1. Be proficient with all the Components, Parts and Elements of a great presentation.
    2. Have great content and use all the verbal and nonverbal communication skills available to deliver your presentation.
    1. Remember: Delivery trumps Content – NonVerbal Communication trumps Verbal Communication and Everything must be in sync!
  • If you use slides, Read More→
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    Being Audience Centered is a mandate for speakers.  Great presenters know: It’s all about the audience, and not about them.  When a speaker takes their focus off the audience the presentation suffers and the odds of them GETTING IT! lessen.

    In most cases, the audience came to learn something, not to see or hear the speaker.

    We speakers are the messengers.  It’s incumbent upon us to deliver information in a manner that educates, entertains and simply explains it.

    However, it’s a Two-Way Street.  We speakers need things from the audience to do our job to the best of our ability.  We need the Audience to be Speaker Centered.  They should be focusing on the Speaker!

    Here are some of those things that will help us Deliver Better to You:

    • Give us your undivided attention – Please! Read More→
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    Every Audience Doesn’t Need to See All your Slides.  

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    "No Sweat Public Speaking!" Slide Deck

    Fred's Master Deck: 9 of 138 Slides

    Audiences have different wants and needs. Most presentations have time restraints.  Not recognizing either of these can result in a less than stellar performance.

    properly customized presentation connects better with audiences than a one-size-fits-all one. Connecting with an audience increases the odds they’ll GET IT!

    A large Master Deck of slides makes this customization easy. Read More→

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    No Sweat Public Speaking - Text SlideText and Bullet Points
    Do Not reinforce the message!

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    Have you ever sat through a presentation where the speaker read, word for word, the bullet pointed text that was on the screen?  Terrible, wasn’t it?

    Why do speakers do this?

    If they want to use notes for their presentation, those details should be placed in the ‘Notes Section’ of the slides, visible only to the presenter using Keynote or PowerPoint in ‘Presenter Mode.’

    Placing Text on the screen does not reinforce the presenter’s message with the audience and help them GET IT!

    On the contrary, Text and Bullet Points: Read More→

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    Glossophobia:
    The Fear of Public Speaking

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    It’s a Word, not a disease.  It can be controlled.

    • You are not alone. There is comfort in numbers.  75% of the population have this fear.
    • Don’t tell the audience! Do that, and it could become a self-fulfilling  prophecy. They want you to be successful and are glad you are delivering the presentation and not them. Read More→
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