Introvert and Extrovert Misconceptions

When you think of an amazing public speaker, you probably picture a charismatic, charming, engaging individual who can drive their point across with ease and finesse.

Although you’d identify this person as super extroverted, somewhere along the way, you misclassified the differences between an introvert and an extrovert.

Align Your Types of Communication

Any time you engage with another person, there are two types of communication at play: your voice, which is sending a verbal message, and your body language, which is conveying the majority of information through your physical behavior.

Speak From The Heart, Right From the Beginning

You know that the first few minutes of your talk are crucial. It’s in this small window of time that you’ll either captivate your audience and convince them to keep listening, or lose their attention and struggle throughout your presentation to regain it.

Think back to the last presentation you heard that used PowerPoint. Was there anything memorable about it? How was PowerPoint used, and did it add value to the presentation?

Too many times we see PowerPoint used as a crutch. Instead of delivering a strong presentation that’s augmented by PowerPoint, the presenter hobbles through his presentation, reading his PowerPoint slides to the audience. Bo-ring.

Practice, Practice, Practice

When was the last time you practiced on your elevator speech? What happened the last time you actually put it to use?

If you’re staring blankly at the screen right now, wondering what an elevator speech is and why in the world you would ever possibly need one, here’s a crash course.

When we talk about effective presentation skills, it’s the ‘speaking’ part that comes to mind first. And it only makes sense: it’s not much of a presentation if you don’t say anything! But did you know that aside from your voice, it’s your eyes that are your most powerful communication tool?

Dealing With the Media

So you have to do a media interview and you sense the crowd may be hostile.

Understanding that you may be asked some tough, pointed questions has you a bit on edge.

Certainly you’d like to control the situation and get out of there with your hide still intact while at the same time appearing genuine and open with the press.

How To Have Effective Gestures

We talk a lot about verbal and non-verbal communication in our public speaking workshops, but what exactly is non-verbal communication? To put it simply, it’s the way you communicate through body language or gestures, and it’s a critical component of presentation skills training.

To make a gesture is to move your body in a way that reinforces a verbal message you are trying to get across. People often gesture with their head and shoulders (nodding and shrugging are both examples of gestures), but when it comes to presentations and public speaking, it’s typically the hands and arms that do the bulk of the gesturing.

Using PowerPoint Effectively

Who hasn’t attended a meeting or presentation where the speaker overused their PowerPoint Presentation and created a slow death for their audience?

You know; the one that had 125 slides and went through them in 20 minutes. Or the presenter that had to read each slide because the font was too small.

Believe it or not, power points do have a set of best practices that if followed will position you as a PowerPoint expert. You’ll begin using your PowerPoint to add value to your presentation rather than being the presentation.

Here are some common PowerPoint mistakes and how to avoid them:

How to Prepare For a Presentation

So you’ve been called on by a senior manager to deliver a presentation to the company’s Board of Directors at their next meeting. You’re no stranger to public speaking; you frequently lead team meetings and make presentations to senior staff several times a year. But we’re talking about the Board of Directors here! The last thing you want is to look like anything but a seasoned pro.

Here’s something you might not realize: The one thing every good speaker does to prepare for any presentation is… Practice. Yes, even the pros. There’s no greater tool for improving your public speaking skills than practicing them out loud, and the reason is simple—no two speaking engagements are exactly the same. Even if you are delivering the same presentation over and over again, there are variables that will always change, the single biggest one being your audience.

Aside from ensuring you are well versed on the material you are delivering, practicing ahead of time can iron out other issues that may potentially crop up unexpectedly. Here are a few things you should pay attention to (and perfect!) while you’re practicing:

The Power of Charisma

Have you ever noticed how some speakers seem to have a special power to draw others in? Their presence is engaging, comforting, and their passion makes you want to listen to what they have to say. They are compelling, and you spontaneously gravitate toward them and want to follow their lead. This quality has been called many things, from the “it” factor to a magnetic personality, but can be summed up in a word – Charisma.

Being charismatic requires a collection of traits such as being warm and friendly, while at the same time being confident and compelling, without being arrogant. When giving a presentation a charismatic speaker inspires the audience, and their message motivates the listeners to action and leaves a lasting impression.

Many people are naturally charismatic – they were born that way. So what if you weren’t so lucky? One can also learn to become charismatic. If you did not inherit the charismatic gene, you can boost your charismatic factor by focusing on certain characteristics.

Effective Presenters Always Tell a Story

Effective presenters all have one thing in common. They are excellent storytellers!  Connecting with your audience on an emotional level can be accomplished by the art of storytelling, which makes it easier to pull them in and keep them engaged.

The question I am asked most often by participants in our Effective Presentation Skills workshop is, “How do I engage an audience?” If you’ve ever felt the need to grab an audience and move them to take action, nothing will get their attention like a well-told story.  To become a truly effective presenter, you need to master the art of storytelling.

In classrooms, boardrooms and at the feet of parents around the world, stories are used to sell ideas, educate and communicate ideas more effectively. So, how do you become a great storyteller? How do you take an ordinary idea or concept and bring it to life with a story that moves people to take action? The following ideas will help you to become an effective and exceptional presenter though the art of storytelling.

Passion Engages the Audience

Passion is the key to really being able to engage your audience!

There is no shortage of rules that relate to public speaking. Stand up straight. Speak clearly and with enough volume. Make eye contact if you want to engage the room and on and on and on. All of these areas are important to be effective as a public speaker, but they seem to miss the mark on the most important of all presentation tips.

If you really want to engage your audience, stick to the topics that you are deeply passionate about. The greatest thrill for an audience is to buy in to a speaker’s enthusiasm.  If you are simply delivering a book report and don’t feel passion for the topic, you can forget about engaging your audience.

Presentation Skills and Customer Service

Companies large and small are all coming to the same conclusion, customer service is their lifeblood. As profit margins are squeezed and customer acquisition costs continue to rise, what can business owners do to stay competitive?  Simply differentiating your product or service is becoming less and less effective – in fact, futile.  And focusing on price alone will most certainly doom your efforts.

Organizations from every industry acknowledge exceptional customer service as the differentiator, and they also recognize that communication skills are of paramount importance.  And effective presentation skills are critical not just in strengthening relationships with current customers, but perhaps more importantly in presenting your product or service and driving market share.  Just ask many failed businesses found that this out the hard way!

Fear of Public Speaking

What is it that causes so much fear and trepidation when it comes to speaking in front of other people? Why do we always become so nervous and jittery when giving presentations? Essentially, we are concerned about what people will think of us. This fear has become so embedded that it was etched into Chinese culture by way of the phrase “tiu lien”, or “to lose face.”  And for speakers, the risk of performing badly, of losing face, becomes huge.

Impact the Audience With Storytelling

Successfully presenting your thoughts and ideas, and effectively impacting others with your message, can be a gateway to better relationships, more productivity and an enhanced bottom line.  Delivering a successful presentation requires that you truly connect with your the audience, and storytelling can quickly establish that connection.

Most presentations promote a concept, or an idea you wish to convey.  Your hope is to persuade the audience to a certain manner of thinking, and the use of an appropriate story, if practiced and perfected, can easily drive your point home.  Storytelling is entertaining, informative and perhaps the best way to captivate your audience, provided the listener can directly relate to the story.  There are many important considerations, the first imperative is to know your audience, the second to narrate the story in such a way that they are able to quickly identify with it.

Use of Humor in Presentations Makes Them Memorable

One thing the National Republican debates have reminded us of, is the importance of humor in presentations.  The candidates are obviously not aware to the extent that their comments will be twisted into late night fodder. They certainly do not give us these valuable nuggets for this purpose, but the comical statements and wisecracks played over and over again on late night television comedy routines reminds us that our audience is listening and they do take note of what we say and how we say it.

Leadership and Communication Skills

Great leaders are great communicators. Great communicators are great leaders. The ability to confidently and persuasively communicate are critical to great leadership, and those who rise to the top are the ones who can stand up and speak effectively. When was the last time you watched a CEO of a Fortune 500 company deliver a lousy presentation and fall flat on his face? It doesn’t happen often—if ever! Most fortune 500 CEOs will tell you that the secret to their success is strong communication and presentation skills.

Effective communication skills are increasingly viewed as essential to the success of organizations and their leaders. Furthermore, the skills required to be an effective communicator are changing rapidly and continuously. For today’s leaders it is mandatory to communicate in “real time” via a host of communication channels. Leaders are evaluated by their candor and transparency, and are required to be constantly present, responsive and accessible.