The Successful Speaker

August 2009

Contents This Month

·         Brevity, Levity, and Repetition

·         Refer Madness

·         The Backwards “S”

·         Blog or Brog

·         Rehearsing Like an Athlete

·         Quotations

·         Update Your Email Address

Brevity, Levity, and Repetition

In my Making Your Gray Matter newsletter last month, I mentioned a presentation I really enjoyed watching (http://www.tmea.org/2009keynote/). The speaker is Daniel Pink, author of “Á Whole New Mind.” During the presentation, Pink cites his three keys for an effective presentation. Pink’s tips are right on target.

  1. Brevity. If you are speaking about a topic with which you are very familiar, it’s tempting to go on and on. President Lyndon Johnson said, “Blessed are the brief, for they are invited again.” Brevity makes a much more positive impression on your audience than long-windedness. When you rehearse your presentation time it out at 20% less than your allotted time frame.
  2. Levity. This doesn’t mean that you have to be a comedian. Jokes too easily fall flat. My favorite joke is, “So this baby seal walks in to a club…” Once you got the joke, you probably groaned. In fact, when you look up “levity” in the dictionary, the first definition is “lightness of mind.” In other words, deliver your presentation with a light touch. Be willing and able to have a laugh and smile frequently.
  3. Repetition. Repetition is the soul of memory. Let me say that again, repetition is the soul of memory. My sons love the TV show Jonas (kind of based on the lives of the Jonas Brothers). They’ve watched the show so much that they often idly sing the theme song. By extension, I often find myself humming the song too. It’s all because of repetition.

Refer Madness

Is the economy taking all your spending money? Want to get some of it back? If you give me a referral that leads to me getting business, I’ll give you $300*. So who would be grateful that you connected me to them?

Do you know of a group, company, or person that’s missing opportunities because of…

·        Boring, uninteresting presentations?
Presentations delivered to co-workers or corporate executives need to capture and keep audience attention. Through skill-building workshops, interactive seminars and presentations, or one-to-one coaching, I help people to infuse their presentations with professional passion.

·        A lack of creativity?
Brainstorming or creativity sessions often generate very few new or innovative ideas. My workshops, seminars, and presentations give participants the opportunity to become familiar with and practice many techniques that are proven to free up individual and group creativity.

·        Forgotten details or disorganization?
Most of us learned to take and make notes in a very linear, left-brained only manner. Unfortunately, notes taken that way are often easily forgotten, are disorganized, don’t enable communication, or creativity! Idea Mapping can help anyone to take notes from an outside source or make notes of their own thoughts that do meet those objectives. Participants who attend one of my Idea Mapping workshops or seminars will learn how to use this accelerated learning technique and use more of their brain’s abilities.

Have your contact get in touch with me at 972.378.0937 (office), 214.457.0937 (mobile) or dgunby@mindimensions.com or go to www.mindimensions.com for more information.

*If the engagement is less than a full fee, I’ll give you a percentage of my fee.

The Backwards “S”

I read a book on presentation skills several years ago that recommended an eye contact technique that made me roll my eyes! The technique was for use when speaking to a large audience; make a backwards “s” pattern around the room.

I can’t tell you who wrote the book or its title because I threw it away shortly after reading that odd recommendation. People will quickly pick up on this (consciously or subconsciously) and may start tuning you out when they know you won’t be looking in their direction.

Your eye contact should be random. This will keep your audience more attentive and will relieve you of the added stress of drawing letters with your eyes.

Blog or Brog

After prompting from many of you, I’ve finally entered the world of blogging. I’m at http://mindimensions.ideamappingsuccess.com/IdeaMappingBlogs/. I’ll write something about once a week and will generally stay on my favorite topics of presentation/communication skills, creativity, and Idea Mapping. There may be times when I veer off of that track, but I’ll try to relate back to my areas of interest. I won’t ever brog – which is defined as a “soup-like amalgam consisting mostly of barley and molten cheese.” Sounds yummy.

Rehearsing Like an Athlete

The athlete has just been given the trophy for winning a significant championship he or she has never won before. They say something like, “As a kid you play those little games with yourself. You’re standing over the three-foot putt and saying to yourself, ‘This is for the US Open Championship.’”

Many of the most successful athletes in history played those mental games as a child and repeat them as adults when preparing for that big event. When it comes to preparing for that big presentation, why don’t we do that too? Instead, we do something of a mental walk-through; in our minds we go over what we’re going to talk about and which slides we’re thinking about using. Yuck!

You could take that approach if you wish. Unfortunately, you’ll probably perform like the speaker you saw a couple of weeks ago who apparently delivered a presentation based on Brahm’s “Lullaby.” A realistic, mind-game rehearsal will have you performing more like Michael Phelps (choice of suit is up to you!).

Quotations

“The learner always begins by finding fault, but the scholar sees the positive merit in everything.” – Georg Hegel (German philosopher)

“Little progress can be made by merely avoiding what is evil; our great hope lies in developing what is good.” – Calvin Coolidge (U.S. President)

Update Your Email Address

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