January 2007

Don't miss our new feature: monthly video clips
This is going to be a very exciting year for Presentation Points! We're going to focus on motivational speaking. This year you will read less and see more. You will have fun, and learn a lot, by looking at all the ways you can enhance yourself as a presenter. Every month, starting in February, you will see a video clip, only a minute or two long, illustrating a particular verbal or nonverbal presentation behavior. The videos will be about such topics as how to sit, stand, walk, and emphasize key points. By December 2007 you'll have an invaluable video library of winning presentation behaviors, so don't miss a single month.

Second, we'll consider the emotional side of your personality, how to tap into it, and how to use the fire inside you. Yes, you do need to stand up straight and speak clearly; but we'll go beyond that, reinforcing your ability to follow your inner self, to develop the trust to be yourself in front of a group of people. I'll share ideas from other disciplines that can help you succeed as a presenter by improving your ability to become more yourself. We all have so many untapped resources inside us. This is the year to bring them forth and grow in ways you never imagined possible!

Storytelling
Also, I'll spend the year sharing with you all kinds of storytelling ideas. Let's face it: we are all subject to too many facts, most of them too disorganized to remember. What does your audience take away and share with others? Compelling stories help, and I want to entice you to tell more of them.

New and improved slides
Finally, we've all got to get better at creating PowerPoint slides. By popular request, the before-and-after feature of slide examples is back. We'll concentrate on organizing information so that you speak clearly and your audience really does understand and take action.

Each month, we'll discuss:

• Video Clips: Behaviors that keep your audience interested (beginning in February)
• Passionate Speaking: Ideas on tapping into and using the fire inside yourself
• Story Telling: How stories change your relationship to your audience
• Phrases to Use: Empower you and/or your audience
• Slide Ideas: Explaining information so people want to listen and remember

Let's begin this month with:

Show emotion [more]

Use a mini mini-story to tell your audience about yourself [more]

"I believe, not "I think" [more]

Make your opening easy for yourself [more]

Presenters: Send me a video clip of yourself talking. I'll critique it.

Designers: Send me an opening PowerPoint slide you need help with.

SHOW EMOTION

Why do presenters in business believe that they need to be monotone, without affect or emphasis? What is wrong with showing a little emotion when you are speaking? "No, no!" too many presenters respond. "Although I don't want to be monotone, I just can't get too emotional."

Being emotional does not mean becoming a drama queen (or king). It means matching your face, body, phrasing, and gestures to your words. For example, when you are telling your audience about the failure of a research project, you certainly shouldn't be walking around smiling, speaking in a loud and enthusiastic voice. If you did, your method of delivery wouldn't match your message. If, on the other hand, you are selling a product to a company that can really use it, you do need to smile, emphasize the relevant points of the product, and use phrases like, "I really believe this product will help you achieve some of your key goals."

How should you, as a presenter, convey the positive emotions that will capture your audience? Here are some suggestions:

• Excitement, enthusiasm: gleam in your eyes, gestures, faster-paced talk.
• Happiness, pleasure: smile on your lips and in your eyes, emphasis on certain words, silences between sentences so your audience can feel your happiness.
• Curiosity: questions asked with an inquisitive tone of voice, open gestures, pauses to give your audience time to think about what you are saying.
• Confidence, self-assurance: smiling, using your body as you talk.
• Empathy, understanding: leaning forward to talk, having silence between your thoughts so you audience can respond.
• Commitment: stating what you will do in a positive, upbeat voice tone.
  

USE A MINI MINI-STORY TO TELL YOUR AUDIENCE ABOUT YOURSELF

You may be delivering a scientific paper, explaining to the salespeople how the new system will change the way they place orders, or reporting on a project that no one really understands. When you stand up in front of an audience with people who have no idea who you are, you need to let them in on you as a person. Tell them a "secret" about yourself so they feel connected to you. Decide whether to tell this mini mini-story as soon as you start talking, or perhaps after you present your executive summary.

How are you, as a person, different? Find something interesting about yourself that you can share, and relate it to your topic. For example, a presenter with twin sons could say, "You think it's hard to balance the company business, well, you haven't had twins. My twins are now 10 years old and they have taught me a lot about setting priorities." Or, "Now that I am in charge of business operations, I can put to good use all that I've learned by having twins. Now that's an operation to manage!" One or two sentences say a lot about who you are and make you more human to your audience.

Here's how a scuba diver worked her passion into her presentation on a problematic new project plan that will need some hard work to resolve: "I'm a scuba diver by passion. What's really interesting in scuba diving is that the water can be very rough on the surface, but once I've gone down even 40 feet, it becomes is clear and gorgeous. I've dived in some treacherous-looking but beautiful reefs off the coast of Belize. From my experience, we have some reefs to navigate before we can move forward on implementing this plan, but it will be worth it." This tells your audience something about yourself, indicates where you think you are now in the plan, and expresses the confidence that it is totally possible to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

"I BELIEVE," NOT "I THINK"

When a presenter says, "I think," there is not much strength behind that opinion. Now listen to someone who says, "I believe." You hear more power, an increased sense of conviction.

MAKE YOUR OPENING EASY FOR YOURSELF

The opening is one of the hardest parts of a presentation to do well. Here are two ideas. While both are acceptable, the second slide will probably make it easier for you to really emphasize what you are saying.

The second slide sets you up to state an overview of your talk much more effectively than the first. Your audience will be keyed up and ready to hear all the details. These slides are compliments of Henning Gaissert, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Winning Presentations Public Seminar
February 6 - 7, 2007, Boston, MA

This seminar is open to those who both create and deliver presentations.

• Increase your presence in front of a group.
• Use opening, closings, and transitions focused on your audience's "need to know."
• Redo a presentation, including, if necessary, a new background and many slide design ideas.
• Learn how to create PowerPoint slides that enhance your presentation's objective.
• Leave with a personalized action plan and a video of the six presentations you gave during the seminar.
  
  

Visual Makeovers
Do you want your slides to be more professional looking? Do you want your slides to convey the key messages of your talk? Learn how to create slides that enhance your ability to present with confidence and enthusiasm.

Corporate Consulting: Presentation Performance Process for Your Company or Division
Save days of time creating a presentation. Put my process in place and save at least one-third of the time you used to spend putting together a talk. Guaranteed!

My clients include: The Gillette Company, Genzyme Corporation, CVS, Harvard Medical International, State Street Global Advisors, Mercury Computer Systems, Harvard Medical School, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Avid Technology.

Presentation Points may be forwarded via e-mail, printed for circulation, and quoted free of charge. No permission is required, but please mention where you got this information.  Also, it's perfectly acceptable to post Presentation Points on your company's intranet. To subscribe to Presentation Points or visit my website, go to www.wilderpresentations.com.