This great information comes from Stacey Hanke, owner of 1st Impressions.  …. Thanks, Stacey, from the folks who want to speak better and connect their visual information to their audiences.  Jean

 
Several weeks ago I observed a presentation delivered by an individual whom I perceived as confident and credible. This perception quickly reverted backwards when he began to interact with PowerPoint and notes. As he turned to have a conversation/relationship with his slides and notes, his energy deflated, he disconnected with his listeners, his vocal projection was inaudible, and his rate of speech took off with record speed.

You’ve been there before, watching a speaker talk to their visual aids as if you weren’t there. Your mind wanders and you begin to think, “Gee, should I leave the two of them alone?” It’s what we call Visual Aid Madness. Have we forgotten who is more important, the visual aid or ourselves? Are we using the visual aid to hide from our listeners?

When used appropriately, a visual aid provides Impact, Control, and Emphasis for you, the listener, and your Message. 

Are you thinking to yourself, “I do not present. I do not use PowerPoint, nor do I have future plans for doing so.” When I speak of visual aids, I am referring too much more than PowerPoint. 

• Notes
• Computer, blackberry, etc.; when you speak to this items as a peer is communicating to you.
• A face-to-face conversation when you repeatedly look away from your listener in mid-sentence. They begin to get a complex wondering, “What are you looking at?” (I will talk about this in my next blog.)

Whether we’re using PowerPoint, flipchart, notes, marketing or sales aids, we’ve allowed these elements to become our message rather than support our message.

Have you ever considered not only are marketing aids, props, or PowerPoint visual aids; YOU’RE a visual? Your non-verbal behavior will positively or negatively impact the amount of information your listener remembers. When you lose eye contact with your listener or fidget with your paper, pen, etc. you’re creating distractions that will minimize the amount of information they’ll receive.

According to a study by the University of Minnesota, visual aids increase your chance of persuading your listener to accept your position by 43 percent. In addition, studies by Harvard and Columbia show that visuals improve retention by up to 38 percent. It’s critical your visuals don’t become a victim of a common mistake – losing sight of the message and becoming enamored with the visual. 

When we communicate, we need to remember who is more important, YOU are the visual aid. Avoid the Visual Aid Madness; talking frequently to the visual, using a visual too often as your “security blanket,” or using the visual as part of your gestures. (A pen in your hand will become a distraction, while you’re unaware you’re holding a pen.) The trick is remembering the visual supports your message and not to distract your message.

Interact, not to distract:

Whether you’re presenting, participating in a face-to-face conversation, sales call, or meeting start TODAY allowing your visual aid to support your message. (PowerPoint, marketing brochures, handouts, notes, props or flipcharts.)

• Only speak when you connect with a pair of eyes! The floor, ceiling, computer, or any other object you’re looking at while you’re talking will not talk back to you. Trust and credibility will be created when you connect with your listener not the visual.Subscribe to StaceyHanke Youtube - @staceyhanke

When you’re a leader, you must think about what you say.  Not only is your reputation at stake, but your words can take on an impact bigger than you thought.  

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should know that by now.  But she has egg on her face. And her communications have turned into a crisis communications case study.   Media relations experts are thrilled that she has given a fine example of what NOT to say or do.  

Want to learn from her communication no-no’s?  Here’s an article written by a media relations guru whose work I admire.

Nancy Pelosi’s Three Classic Mistakes

By Jerry Brown, APR

www.pr-impact.com

Nancy Pelosi has made three classic mistakes in telling what she knew about waterboarding and when she knew it as a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

·         She didn’t tell the whole story.  Crisis Communications 101:  When you’re in a crisis communication situation, tell the whole story at the beginning.  If you don’t, all those ugly facts you want to hide are fodder for keeping a bad story alive.  And each new forced disclosure will hurt your credibility.  Pelosi has been telling her story in stages.  And the news conference she called last week in an apparent effort to put the story to rest didn’t work because her words were so carefully parsed that she still doesn’t appear to have told all she knows.  This is a politically charged story.  So, Pelosi’s political opponents will do all they can to keep the story alive.  She’s helping them do that.

·         She’s relying on the “rules” to excuse her own behavior.  In a crisis situation, saying you met regulatory or legal requirements is a useless defense (except in court).  If your actions contributed to the problem, the rest of us don’t care whether you met whatever legal or regulatory rules applied.  We don’t trust the rules to protect us.  In Pelosi’s case, she uses this defense to explain why she didn’t complain about waterboarding of prisoners even after a member of her staff told her the CIA had told him they were doing it.

·         She picked a fight while trying to shut down the story.  Pelosi accused the CIA of routinely lying to members of Congress.  That kind of accusation wasn’t going to go unanswered.  Not a good strategy when you want a story to go away.

None of us like to own up to mistakes or misdeeds.  That’s why so many companies make the same classic mistakes Pelosi has made with her current predicament.

It’s not easy to come clean when you’ve screwed up and the world is watching.  But, if you want the story to go away quickly, it’s the only chance you have at making that happen.

That’s my two cents’ worth.  What’s yours?

What does speaking well in public have to do with leadership?  Everything!  This weekend I was interviewed by leadership coach Judy Nelson about good and bad speeches and things that leaders can learn to make their communications better.   Here’s the link.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/CoachJudyNelson/2009/05/16/Jean-Palmer-Heck-

What makes a good sound-bite? A short concise phrase or sentence that is repeatable. John Lechleiter, CEO of Eli Lilly and Company  (NYSE: LLY), used this very good sound-bite in a speech today to the U S Chamber of Commerce :

“Encouraging innovation needs to be the purpose of U.S. health care reform – not its victim.”

In one sentence, he summed up what his concern is about President Obama’s health care reform principles. The words “innovation,” “purpose,” and “victim” are particularly powerful. 

He explained the result of innovation in simple to understand statistics: that  innovation has helped boost the average American’s life expectancy from 47 to 78 years, a rise of 66 percent over the past century.  He called that “unprecedented in human history.”

HINT:  When you give a speech, make sure you create sound-bites that are repeatable.  Can your audiences retell your main point?  Give them a sound-bite and they’ll be able to propagate your message.

Need help crafting your sound-bites?  Drop me an email:  Jean@Real-Impact.com.

I heard a very good speaker at a luncheon a few weeks ago, who gave us insights into the economy.  CNBC pundit, Joe Battipaglia, was the speaker.  A large man with a large personality, his energetic approach, even with the grim news, kept the audience interested.  Despite that positive assessment of his speaking style, I still have some comments that could improve his presentation … tips that you can put into use in your speeches, also.

He started his presentation with a  joke.  I really don’t like speeches that begin with jokes.  They can put an audience ill at ease.  You never know whether it will be funny, edgy, offensive, or delivered poorly. And, unlike Jay Leno, David Letterman and Joe Battipaglia, not everyone can deliver jokes well.  

Your own stories are better than a canned joke.  Later in his presentation he told about some interactions he had with his family about the economy.  They were much funnier and captured the audience attention better than his opening remarks.  

The other public speaking tip that applies to everyone relates to the use of audio visuals. He did not use any, but I wished he would have, especially because of the topic.  Joe dealt with very heady issues about the economy.  Those in the audience with financial backgrounds were fine with his information, but those in the crowd who did not have that expertise got lost a few times.  Some visual aids would have helped the audience retain the information much more easily.

And the audience is what public speaking is all about.