If you are one of the dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions of people who dread public speaking, you know that knot-in-your-stomach, sweat-soaked feeling is nothing you can wish away. The more you speak in public, the easier it gets. To speed up your learning curve and overcome your fear of speaking, there are specific techniques you can use. Here is a video highlighting public speaking tips that can be used in your next presentation.
I’m always on the lookout for good presentation styles. It doesn’t have to be public speaking in front of a large audience. It could be a customer service representative, a sales person, someone or some organization I come into contact with in every day occurrences. I note what impresses me. The good, the bad and the ugly of communication styles. Recently, I was in Connecticut and had a few extra hours and decided to explore. I came across The Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York. It was wonderful. Great exhibits, no crowds, unbelievably cheap admission fees. For 2-3 hours, I was captivated. All for $5. I thought about how this experience relates to giving speeches. Here’s what I observed that you can put into practice for your next presentation: Surprise your audience by being great. I didn’t expect this out of the way place to be so over-the-top interesting. Your audience may expect a standard presentation from you. (That’s the way most business presentations are viewed.) Make sure your presentation is over-the-top interesting/valuable/insightful. Put your creativity to work when you develop your speech or PowerPoint. One of the most creative exhibits was Red Grooms: The Bookstore. http://www.hrm.org/collections/installations.html Make your audience glad they are there. I was thrilled at the “find.” Give the people who hear your presentation something they can remember and talk about after you are done. I’ve been telling lots of people about the Hudson River Museum since I returned and recommending it to people who live […]
If you are one of the dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions of people who dread public speaking, you know that knot-in-your-stomach, sweat-soaked feeling is nothing you can wish away. The more you speak in public, the easier it gets. To speed up your learning curve and overcome your fear of speaking, there are specific techniques you can use. Here is a video highlighting public speaking tips that can be used in your next presentation.
Is there a possibility that someone in the news media might interview you in the future? If so, here’s a look at what you can expect from media training. This is a repost of an article from one of my international colleagues, Alan Stevens, whose company is called “The Media Coach.” He outlines his process for getting someone ready for an interview. FIVE MINUTES ON AIR, FIVE HOURS PREP There tend to be two different ways that people look at media interviews, Some people feel that since they know their topic inside out, they barely need to prepare, since they will able to deal with any question. Other people are so terrified of being interrogated by a reporter that they spend days analyzing the worst questions, and practicing avoidance tactics. I advocate a different approach. Your five minutes of airtime is a golden opportunity to deliver a simple, effective, relevant message. When I’m preparing a client for a media encounter, we spend a lot of the time preparing the message, and then practicing ways to deliver it in an answer to any question. That doesn’t mean avoiding the question altogether, but it does mean focusing on your message rather than trying to figure out what the journalist wants to know. Preparing for a five-minute interview on national radio or TV, I generally split the time up roughly this way: An hour deciding what message to deliver An hour refining the message An hour practicing delivery of the message An hour […]
Ever wondered what it’s like to work with a speaking coach? The Oscar winning movie, The King’s Speech, is an excellent example of how a person with serious presentation skill problems can overcome difficulties with the help of a communications expert. Although the king had a stuttering problem, many of the techniques his speech coach used with him are the same as those I use with executives in one-on-one coaching. Here is an analysis of one speech technique exercise in the movie. You can do it on your own to improve your presentation skills. Abdominal breathing exercises for speakers …or “Sit on him, Queen Mum.” Most people breathe shallowly, expanding only the upper regions of their lungs. Long sentences are almost impossible to get through without sounding winded. A good speaking technique is to breathe diaphragmatically. In simple terms, your waistline should expand when you inhale. When you exhale, your waistline should be its smallest. It’s much easier to illustrate this if the person learning this presentation skill technique lies down on the floor. The “breather” (speaker) can better see the movement of the diaphragm by watching his or her abdomen rise and fall. Inhale and your stomach rises. Exhale and it falls. It’s almost impossible to breathe the wrong way in this position. In The King’s Speech, the presentations skill coach had the future Queen Mum sit on the monarch’s stomach while the king practiced breathing more deeply. Since I don’t have access to Queen Mums when I work […]
Here are 5 strategies to use if you want to be noticed for your expertise: If you have one comment to make, summarize your point in one sentence and then go into detail for 30 seconds. This keeps you on track and shows your colleagues you can be focused and succinct. If you have several comments to make, start off by saying, “I’d like to address 3 points: point A, point B and point C. In terms of point A, …. ” When you list the points, they should be phrases only. This will set the stage for expressing comments on each of the 3 points at some time in the meeting, even if you only speak about point A before there is open discussion. Later on, you can chime in with, “I’d like to go back to point B. We might want to consider…..” Inhale deeply and then project your voice by speaking from the diaphragm (abdominal breathing). This is essential for those who are shy, because it gives more power to your words and persona and can eliminate any shakiness in your voice. Listen to others. All too often, people who are shy about speaking up at meetings spend too much time rehearsing what they will say and miss what others are contributing. When you can tie your comments into something someone else said, it shows you are a team player. Start your entry into the discussion by saying, “I’d like to follow up on what Joe said […]
Do you keep quiet at meetings because you lack confidence speaking about the topic? If so, you might want to read this article on CNN’s website. I was quoted in the article about how to speak up with confidence at a meeting. I offered the hint about abdominal breathing. Here’s an excerpt. 3. Belly breathe: Public speaking can be nerve-wracking, but you don’t have to let it show. Abdominal breathing will make you sound confident by giving strength to your voice. To use this technique: “Inhale deeply and then project your voice by speaking from the diaphragm,” says Jean Palmer Heck, president of Real-Impact, Inc. “This is essential for those who are shy, because it gives more power to your words and persona and can eliminate any shakiness in your voice.” Here’s the full article with “5 tips for speaking up confidently at meetings.”
When a small business owner asks me how he or she can get more PR or publicity for their companies, I often suggest getting out on the speaking circuit. Local service clubs are always looking for someone to speak to their group. That doesn’t mean it’s just a free advertisement. It means that if you have an entertaining, educational, relevant material, they’d like to meet you and hear what you have to say.
Continue reading "PR Tips for small businesses: Get busy speaking"
When I conduct presentation skills training sessions for businesses and organizations, I always ask the attendees to share with me key points that they will work on after the session. I’m only with them for a short period. My sessions range from half-day training to four-day sessions spread over several months. So when I’m gone, they need to make sure they put into practice what they have learned about standing up in front of a group and making an effective presentation. Here are some of the things that they have told me: 1. Enjoy the process and look the part. 2. Speak more loudly. 3. Make the visuals much larger. 4. Breathe abdominally to relax. 5. Make better eye contact. 6. Use more stories and analogies. 7. Drink lots of water. 8. Don’t be afraid to be creative. 9. Get out from behind the lectern. I’ll go into more depth on these issues in future blogs.
Continue reading "What Business Speakers Say They Must Practice"
Here’s a great article by Jerry Brown, who is a guru on crisis communication. Take heed: Tiger Woods Makes a Predictable Mistake By Jerry Brown, APR www.pr-impact.com Some stories feel incomplete the first time you hear them. They leave you feeling like there’s a lot being left unsaid. And, of course, the part that’s being left out is the juicy part – the stuff you really want to hear. That’s the kind of story that makes reporters dig deeper. And the kind of story the rest of us are likely to follow as it unfolds. Tiger Woods’ weekend car wreck was one of those stories. Where was he going at 2:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving night? How did he manage to get going fast enough right out of his driveway to knock himself silly? What about that tabloid rumor he’s been fooling around with another woman? Was he trying to get away because his wife was attacking him? In his only comment so far, Woods refers to such speculation as “false, unfounded and malicious rumors.” That may be true. And you could argue it’s nobody’s business anyway. After all, there’s no apparent crime and he didn’t hurt anyone but himself. But Woods is a celebrity. He’s canceled at least three appointments to discuss the wreck with the police. And he’s being extremely secretive about what happened during an incident that should be easy to explain in detail. If Woods’ version is true, the story goes away as soon as he fully […]
Here’s a great tip from communications guru Dianna Booher about answering questions after a speech or presentation. Never Announce a Certain Amount of Time or a Specific Number of Questions To do so limits your flexibility and creates dangers along the way. If you announce that you will take questions for half an hour and you get only two questions, the audience walks away with the impression that you gave a disappointing presentation that did not generate the expected interest. If you say that you will take another three questions and the third question is a hostile one, you may be forced to end on a negative note from which it will be difficult to recover. Stay flexible simply by making a general statement that you will take a few questions before you wrap up. Then, if there are none or only a few, you are safe to go directly into your prepared close. And if you get a challenging question or if a negative issue surfaces, you can prolong the discussion until you can find an opportunity to bridge to a more positive closing note.
Continue reading "Answering Questions–Don’t Announce Limits"
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. […]
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 […]
Continue reading "When Communication turns into Crisis Communication"
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.
There’s been a lot of talk regarding Barack Obama’s use of TelePrompTers. Many are surprised that he actually uses them in places where it seems like he should be speaking off the cuff. I’m not here to debate that. The purpose of this blog is to give you tips for how you can improve your presentations. And there are times when you might use a TelePrompter. So how can you do it with style? Here are some hints: 1. Reading a teleprompter is like reading a book in many ways, but completely different in others. When you read a book, you occasionally laugh or smile at what you’re reading silently, but most often your face has no expression. When you read a TelePrompTer, you must use expression. It will help your voice and your comfort level. You might pretend you are reading something of interest to a friend of yours. That mental image will help. 2. You set the speed at which the TelePrompTer copy is moved. You do, not the operator. It’s a mistake of amateurs to speed up as the copy speeds up. That results in the operator concurring that you want it to go faster, so they speed up even more. It’s a never-ending process. If the copy is moving too quickly for you, slow down. The operator will adjust accordingly. 3. How do you handle it when a podium has 2 or more TelePrompTers? You should keep your eyes on the first one for an adequate amount of time before […]
Fear of speaking is monumental. You’ve probably read the statistics about how public speaking is dreaded more than death and snakes. A professional colleague of mine has written many blogs on the topic. Some of the experiences I’ve had as a speech coach with clients who were afraid of public speaking are discussed in this blog of SpeakAssured, called Fear of Public Speaking. And if you have a problem with getting up before a group and delivering a presentation, maybe a professional speech coach would have some help for you. I’d love to help. Send me an email at jean@real-impact.com.
Are you better with a scripted speech in front of a large group or in a question and answer session with a small group? Some people think that the communication skills required are the same. They are not. All you have to do is watch two political leaders today to see the difference. As I write this, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has just finished a live video chat with the editorial board of the Indianapolis Star. It was a question and answer session that also included questions sent in from participants via the Internet. Mayor Ballard’s communication strength is speaking one-on-one or in small group settings. Unlike others in the political arena, he keeps his answers short and allots time for many different questions and questioners. He does not drone on and on as we see with many public servants who hold office. His short answers allow for give and take and follow up questions. We will see another communication skill set demonstrated tonight when President Barack Obama addresses the nation. He is a brilliant public speaker and is particularly good in front of large crowds or when working from a script. But his answers in press conferences are too long. They turn into mini speeches, which can turn off audiences as their minds begin to wander. What is your speaking skill set? Have you perfected what it takes to address a large group? Can you read well from a script? Can you handle question and answer sessions with brevity […]
If you’re so good at what you do that your peers, bosses, employees or benefactors honor you with a prestigious award, you may want to think about what you’ll say. The Academy Award winners have been center stage with their Oscars for years…but most still don’t know how to handle the acceptance speech. Here’s some advice that was in the Washington Post. Speech 101: Make It a Class Act. I agree. It applies to all business people as well, whether you’re in the entertainment field or not.
Indianapolis Star columnist Matthew Tully has an article in today’s newspaper focusing on the oratorical skills of the Indianapolis mayor. Politicians are often the subject of critiques—on everything from policy to polish. For city bosses, and all elected officials, it’s part of the territory. Constituents are vocal. And their comments can be damaging. But there is another group whose communication skills are also critiqued—bosses in the business world. Their constituents (employees) are also vocal. Maybe not voiced in a newspaper with a circulation of 250,000, but critiqued just the same. And these corporate constituent comments can be just as damaging. People judge their bosses on just about everything. And that includes the way they communicate. Employee comments may come over coffee, during the car pool ride home, in a discussion over the back yard fence, on Face Book, or in a blog. Business leaders–you MUST pay attention to how well you communicate. If you want your company to succeed, you must know how to deliver your message with transparency, polish, honesty & inspiration. Just because no one has dared to tell you to your face what they think of your communication skills, it doesn’t mean you don’t need help in this arena. Matt Tulley recommended that the mayor hire a speech coach. I think business executives would do well to follow the same advice.
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