FREE! E-Newsletter
Presentations Points is a free short monthly bulletin sent out by Claudyne Wilder. Every bulletin discusses two ideas for presenters and one for designers. There's also a monthly challenge for presenters and designers. Subscribe Now

August 2001

In this month's free e-news from Wilder Presentations, I'd like to discuss two ideas for presenters and one for designers. Don't forget the monthly challenge at the end.

FOR PRESENTERS:
Step 6: MOTIVATE YOUR LISTENERS
Participants in my seminars frequently ask, "How do I keep my audience interested so they don't fall asleep?" For me, the better question is, "How do I get my audience to ask questions and make comments about my subject?"

Move beyond just wanting an audience with their eyes open to an audience that engages you. Too often we just want to get the talk over with and sit down as soon as possible. That feeling comes across to your audience members and they begin to mirror your thought. They sit there passively, just waiting for it to be over.

So much of life has to do with the thoughts and intents that you think or say out loud. One wonderful book that discusses how to keep yourself thinking positive thoughts is "You Can't Afford The Luxury Of A Negative Thought," by Peter McWilliams. Presenters can't afford negative mental thoughts or comments. Eliminate your negative thought patterns and make them with clear, concise, and positive.

As we move to Step 6: Motivate Your Listeners, the first motivation must come from your thoughts, feelings, and spoken words. Remember the saying, "Be careful what you ask for, you may get it"? If all you ask for is for your talk to be over with, that may be exactly what you get back from your audience. If, however, you ask your audience to become engaged with you, interested in your talk, and open to discussing your recommendations, you will get that.

The first key to motivating your listeners is to experiment with the intentions you have as a speaker. Try a new strategy for your next several talks. Tell yourself, write out and/or speak these ideas out loud to someone:

"I intend to engage my audience."
"I believe there is a reason I'm giving this talk and will do my best to give the audience my focus, attention, and enthusiasm for the subject."
"I will only consider positive outcomes for my talk."

If you are just reading this and not really paying attention, consider a physical example. I recently went on a long hike, frequently having to walk on logs over streams. Never once did I walk across a log telling myself that I was going to fall off the log into the stream and break my leg. I always told myself, "You have good balance and can walk across this log." Which kind of person would you rather go take on a hike? The one who constantly worries about falling or the one who focuses on success and takes the steps to make that happen? This same type of question can be asked to an audience. Which type of presenter do you want: one whose intent is to engage the audience and be in the moment or one who worrying about every possible mishap that may occur?

FOR PRESENTERS:
FIND THE SILENCE WITHIN
Everyone is busy, busy, busy today-that goes without saying. Yet to be a truly effective presenter, there must be silence and stillness in your talk. Silence should mark the beginning of an important point. It can also mark the conclusion of a key idea, giving the audience a moment to digest the idea. You must learn to use silence during your talk.

How do you learn to be quiet? Try this. Set your timer for one minute, then lie on the floor and just feel the quiet and stillness of your body. Practice this enough and you will be able to find that place when you are in front of an audience. Practice for a month, and next month I'll give you another idea for finding that silence within.

FOR DESIGNERS:
SECTION PLACEHOLDER
Many presentations are divided into specific sections. Frequently, the titles on every slide include the section name with every title looking somewhat the same. For example, five slides will start with the product name. Or six slides with start with the word "Launch." To hold the audience's interest, every title should be different and informative.

How can you do this and yet retain a sense of order throughout the talk? Create a place for the section name on each slide. It can go in the upper left-hand corner above the title, or the upper right-hand corner. Or, if appropriate, include a small color block for the section name.

MONTHLY CHALLENGE:
Presenters
Sit in silence for one minute a day.

Designers
Create a section placeholder on your slides.

COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS:

Relaxing My Face
Many thanks for your recent tips. I have recently discovered a way to relax my face and put a smile on it before starting a presentation. I make funny faces at myself in the bathroom mirror. For me it's not difficult. I make sure no one else is watching, especially if he might turn out to be in my audience.

Also, your point about letting the audience do the talking is well taken. Very much part of the "Trainers in Motion" approach.

Regards, John Clements

EXERCISE ON THE ROAD: PORTABLE PILATES:
For those of you who have discovered Pilates, there is a book and CD set called Portable Pilates that you can take on the road with. It is about $35 on Amazon.com. Tribeca Bodyworks in New York City also sells the CD.

WEB INFORMATION:
My web site is now set up to accept credit cards and process orders from any country. Also, you can now easily buy several products at one time.

Presentation Points, written by Claudyne Wilder, usually comes out the first business week of each month. For more information, call 617-524-7172, e-mail claudyne@quik.com or visit my Web site, www.wilderpresentations.com.

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. It's also perfectly acceptable to post Presentation Points on your company's Intranet.

To subscribe to Presentation Points or to see the home page of my Web site, go to www.wilderpresentations.com.

Enjoy!

Copyright 2001, Claudyne Wilder. All rights reserved.