|
STRESS
MANAGEMENT
Signs
of Stress and Imbalance
How To Break
Through Fear in Turbulent Times
What is
Stress?
Solving
Problems in a High-Stress Environment
Break
Through Self-Doubt & Fear
Let's Get
Physical
Holiday Stress Hotspots
Make
2004 your Year of Organization
Holiday Stress Hotspots
Manage
Stress by Stopping Obsessive or Unwanted Thoughts
Meditate
Stress Away
Taking Stress for a Ride
3
Strategies to Reduce Stress
Cleaning Up
Stress; Control It, Change It or Let It Go!
Substance
Abuse
The Courage
to Feel Bad
The Challenge
of Change
Tips
for Managing Holiday Madness
Modern Day Stressors: What Stress Looks Like in the 21st Century
The Life Juggle: How to Find Lifework Balance
New Year's
Resolutions
CHANGE
The Questions Leaders Should Ask Themselves
about Change
The Top Ten Ways to Manage People through
Change
Understanding Change
The Challenge of Change
RUNNING A BUSINESS
Be Heard. Be Strong. Be Effective. How to Deliver Impressive Presentations
Getting Started in the Speaking Business: Answers to Burning Questions
What Entrepreneurs Need to Know to be Successful
How to Create and Maintain Culture as You Grow
Recruitment and
Retention of Diverse Candidates
DIVERSITY
A Passion for Diversity
Traits of a Diverse Organization
Simma's Holiday Diversity Q and
A
How to Go from Eggshell Walking
to Multicultural Festivity Making
Are You Wasting Your Money on
Diversity Training?
Interview Bias: Overcoming the
Silent Forces Working Against You
How to Help LGBT Employees Help
Your Organization Grow
How to Integrate Diversity Into
Your Business Strategy
Diversity Benefits Organizations
and Communities
Diversity Fast Facts
How to Integrate Diversity
10 PC Tips for Communicating
with a Diverse Audience
Are You Truly Successful?
Interviewing Employees Who Stay
Wage and Position Disparity
Across Gender
What Every Consultant Needs to
Know About Diversity Consulting and Training
Diversity Competency Assessment
Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Candidates
Understanding Diversity Dialogues
Dialogue as a Communication Tool Amongst Diverse Groups of People
Communicating across Generations in the Workplace
Simma & Kate's Strategies for Cross-Generational Relationship Building
Valuing Diversity during the Holidays
COMMUNICATION
Understanding Dialogue: A Q&A on
the benefits of dialogue
Dialogue as a Communication Tool
Communication with Concern
Helping Others Deal with Loss
10 PC Tips for Communicating
with a Diverse Audience
Tips for Better Communication
Between Men and Women in the Workplace
Understanding Diversity
Dialogues
Dialogue as a Communication Tool
Amongst Diverse Groups of People
Simma & Kate's Strategies for
Cross-Generational Relationship Building
Web Site Tips
GENDER
COMMUNICATION
Differences in Male and Female Communication Styles
Gender Communications Differences and Strategies
Wage and Position Disparity across Gender
Tips for Better Communication between Men and Women in the Workplace
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
Life/Work
Balance in the Real World
New Year's
Resolutions: A New Approach?
Working with Loved Ones: Leverage Potential and Avoid Pitfalls
Modern Day Stressors: What Stress Looks Like in the 21st Century
The Life Juggle: How to Find Lifework Balance
RESTAURANT & HOSPITALITY
All in the Family
Are You Truly Successful?
How to Create and Maintain the Culture of Your Restaurants
Let's Get Physical
Meditate Stress Away
Taking Stress for a Ride
The Challenge of Change
3 Strategies to Reduce Stress
Cleaning Up Substance Abuse
FEAR &
SELF-DOUBT
Break Through Self-Doubt & Fear
Substance Abuse
The Courage to Feel Bad |
Be
Heard. Be Strong. Be Effective. How to Deliver Impressive Presentations
by Simma Lieberman
and Kate Berardo
Maybe
you have the dream of delivering that impeccable presentation that
elicits nothing but wide-eyed attention and powerful, positive energy.
The same presentation that culminates with a standing ovation from that
deeply appreciative audience who's jobs or lives you've just changed.
Then, perhaps you remember that you sweat through your clothes at the
thought of presenting, unconsciously lick your lips the whole time you
are in front of a crowd, or that the "picture everyone naked" trick
leaves you stunned and speechless.
Most
presenters fall somewhere in between these extremes. Wherever you fall,
here is a quick brush up on the essential skills you need to deliver
effective presentations.
Know what you are going to say before you say it
It sounds simple enough, but you'd be surprised how many people just try
to wing presentations. They prepare their graphs, but don't think about
exactly the points that they want to make, the order they are going to
make them, and the reason they are making these points. Planning what
you are going to say is a preparation exercise that boosts confidence
and is a buffer if you do forget your line. Many speakers have some form
of notes, be it 3x5 notecards, PowerPoint presentations, or something of
the like that helps guide their thinking during the presentation.
Prepare a good opening that grabs your audience, a close that makes them
think about what you said, and a middle that makes your point.
Know your audience
Find out about your audience and their background. Know their
demographics, and common interests shared by the group, and know why
they are there listening to your presentation that day (interested in
the topic, mandatory, etc.-it makes a big difference). Then, you need to
use this knowledge to your advantage. Relate to the group by mentioning
the interest. Draw examples from experiences shared by the group.
Understand their interest level in the presentation and gauge how much
you are going to have to sell yourself to the group.
If possible, talk to people in your audience about their needs before
you make your presentation. This will make you feel comfortable
beforehand, and create more friendly faces to look at when you speak.
There is nothing like a smile or a nod from someone in the audience
while you are making your presentation to encourage you to keep going.
Be aware of any concerns they may have as a group, questions they may
have that have been unanswered while you prepare your speech.
Use a variety of audiovisual tools to aid the presentation to reach
people with different learning styles
We don't advocate using audiovisual tools like overheads, PowerPoint
presentations, videos, and the like simply for the snazzy looking end
result. These materials go back to a fundamentals in learning. It's like
back in grade school. Jane needed to see the equation written down to
understand it. Kamal needed to watch the problem being solved in order
to understand the rules before. And then there was Walter, who needed
someone to simply say the equation and he could visual it. Delivering
your material in different forms impacts all types of learners.
Use experiential knowledge to make the subject matter something that
people can relate to
Facts are dry and often boring. When you give a presentation, real life
examples juice up the presentation, adding substance to your claims and
allowing a greater understanding of the topic. Be sure to use different
types of examples in order to get your points across to a wide range of
people. Unless you are speaking on sports, or hired because you have
been a professional athlete or coach, do not only use sports stories or
metaphors. You may have the best kids in the universe, but don't limit
your stories to your kids unless you are speaking on parenting. Even
then, you might want to include stories about other peoples' kids. Make
sure your stories and experiences have a relationship to your topic and
types of audience.
Find other people to practice your material with and give you feedback
Friends are good people with whom to practice your stories. You don't
even have to tell them your are practicing. Include your stories in
casual conversation and watch their reactions. You can invite a couple
of friends over to listen to you and get ideas. Get feedback from more
than one person to hear different perspectives. You can also videotape
yourself before your event to decide what you need to change, keep or
improve. Use a good speech coach who has been recommended by someone
whose opinion you trust, and who is experienced in your type of
presentation. You can also try Toastmasters. There are toastmaster
groups all over the world, whose purpose is to help individuals become
better, more confident speakers.
Use Humor Wisely
Everyone appreciates humor. Presentations that use humor well are more
enjoyable and entertaining for the audience. Realistically, however, not
everyone can pull it off. Sure, if we were all Bill Cosby, humor would
be a strong part of our presentations. But for the Al Gores of the
world… Humor that doesn't get pulled off falls flat and hard. You might
get a couple sympathy short chuckles, but that is about it. Use humor if
you have humor to use, period. What is most important to a presenter is
to be themselves and not try to pull off some "technique" that doesn't
fit their style. This will make the presenter more comfortable and they
will appear more confident and natural as a speaker. The bottom line: we
all enjoy humor, but if we have to pick between failed humor and no
humor, most people respect the latter more. Do not use humor that is
demeaning in any way to other people or groups. Avoid humor that can be
seen as racist, homophobic or demeaning to women. The idea of humor is
to make people feel more comfortable or included. Demeaning humor only
makes people who are targeted feel excluded, and can create tension in
your audience.
When you mention anyone in your audience know how to pronounce their
names
If you are going to mention the names of anyone in your audience, make
sure you get the pronunciation of their names right. If their name is
hard for you, write it out phonetically and practice.
Relax, face your audience and get ready for the applause
Before you speak, spend time taking some deep breaths to get rid of
tension in your voice. Visualize yourself speaking before your audience
standing there relaxed and confident. This will help you feel more
prepared and make you more relaxed and confident. When you finish, bask
in your applause, and get started preparing your next presentation.
Simma Lieberman works with people and organizations to create
environments where people can do their best work. She specializes in
diversity, gender communications, life-work balance and stress, and acquiring
and retaining new customers.
www.simmalieberman.com
Kate Berardo helps
people from different cultures, backgrounds, and schools of though work
effectively together. She is the co-author of Putting Diversity to Work
and the founder of Culturosity.com.
www.culturosity.com.
You may reprint these articles free of charge, on a non-exclusive basis,
provided that the authors' name and contact information are included. Simma
and Kate would love to know that you plan to use her article(s); please
contact Simma to let us know.
Call Simma at 510.527.0700 or email
simma@simmalieberman.com.
Visit her website at www.simmalieberman.com
Back
to top
|
