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May 2020

May 13
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How To Keep Your Audience Connected To Your Message

By Blog, Communication

He had a lot of energy and he was interesting.  There were even a few moments during the 7 minute speech where he had the audience laughing.  I could hear them on the video.  Honestly, it was a good speech.

But, there was one thing I noticed.  He kept pacing back and forth the entire time.  This stood out to me because I noticed how much the camera operator had to move the camera during the video.  My screen just kept moving left to right, right to left, left to right, right to…the entire time.

If the camera person kept having to do this with his camera, what was it like for the audience?  Did they get dizzy?

The man on the stage giving the speech was me.  I was watching myself give a talk to some high-school students.  A friend of mine sat in the audience with my phone, recording the talk for me.

I was shocked at the amount of movement, not because I wasn’t supposed to move.  It was just quick, abrupt and a LOT.  I’d rush to one side of the stage, then quickly do a military pivot and move back to the other side.  It went on like this for the entire speech.  Yes, I was energetic.  But, I imagine that vocal energy added to my pacing may have made it a bit overwhelming.  I was filling up just watching the replay.

Pyschologist, Dr. Sunna Jung, shares that pacing is, “a behavioral signal to tell yourself that you’re too overwhelmed.”  She also notes it can be a “form of distraction in the moment to calm yourself down.”  As a speaker, being calm is important.  Coming across as confident is critical for the tone of your message.  However, the distraction mechanism of pacing also causes the audience to be distracted.  Remember, they are trying to connect with you.  So, constant pacing causes them to have to chase you.

Should you stand still like a robot in the middle of the stage or the room?  No, of course not.  Instead, move with purpose.

Keeping Them Connected

Here’s an example:

Let’s say that you are in the center of the stage and you say, “I’ve got three quick points, I want to share with you.”

Move to the right side of the stage (your right, their left).  Then begin, “Point number 1…”

You are now subtly anchoring that point to that side of the stage.  You might even add on by coming back to that side in a later reference to the point.

As you complete point #1, pause and let the idea sink in.  Transition to the center of the speaking area as if you are preparing to deliver the next power-packed piece of content.  Once you arrive, plant yourself and say, “The second point I’d like to share is…”

Again, as you complete point #2, pause, then transition to the left of the stage.

“The third and final point…”

You’ve done several things here.

First, you’ve physically anchored them to three areas and associated three points.

Second, you’ve honored their normal style of reading and information reception, left to right.  (Assuming this is a western audience)

Third, you given them space to separate ideas and process them.

Wrap

Speaking from a stage or from the front of a room can be unnerving.  But your job isn’t to transfer that nervousness to the audience or show them how hard it is to be up front.  Your job is to clearly and confidently connect with them, showing them you see, feel and hear their problem.  Then you can show them your solution to the problem.

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About The Author

Robert Kennedy III is a professional speaker and author. He speaks and writes mainly about leadership and communication. Connect with him on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or on his speaking website, RobertKennedy3.com

May 03
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2 Phrases That Eliminate Authority & Influence

By Blog, Communication

Your words are powerful. They mean what they mean but they also mean what you may not think. OK. That was a little confusing. Do you see what I mean?

Have you ever had a conversation where you thought you said something and the listener received it very differently than you intended? The words were the same, but in the transmission process, something got added.

The good news is you can temper this with a bit of awareness. You can add clarity and confidence to your speaking by eliminating certain phrases which tend to diminish your message.

There are many examples. However, I want to focus on two.

In my opinion…how many times have you heard this added to the beginning or the end of an argument? I was in a meeting where a discussion was taking place. One of the participants had been sitting and observing for some time. Now, he felt compelled to add something to the discussion. He opened his mouth and delivered a poignant, wise and well-thought argument. But, then he paused and added…in my opinion.

What just happened? He added a caveat. He essentially said, “I could be wrong here but…”

They hung on his words until the very end. But, he added those three words and you could see the room shift. They nodded and then went back to the discussion.

Adding “in my opinion” focuses the response on the speaker and not simply on the statement.

Leaving that out allows the listener to hear the statement without thinking about the speaker’s source. The statement becomes one of authority instead of appearing contrary. Removing “in my opinion” adds boldness to the overall delivery of the statement.

The second phrase is ‘Well, I think that…’

This phrase also subtly creates a focus on the speaker and their thought process instead of the allowing the words to stand powerfully on their own.

Say the following sentences out loud.

From what I can see, it looks like a blue sky.

Well, I think the sky is blue.

The sky is blue!

Do you hear the difference? The third sentence is authoritative. It stands. It doesn’t drive the listener into the thought process of the speaker. The sentence stands on its own as factual.

Think about two people. The first enters a room, then makes a statement. After making the statement, he begins to offer additional arguments defending the original statement. He spends 10 minutes defending himself even though no one has challenged him.

The second person enters the room, makes a statement, then simply sits quietly OR she turns and exits the room.

Which person made a stronger impact? If you were here in the room with me, I willing to bet you said the second person. Their statement stood on its own and caused you to ask in your mind, “What’s next?”

This is speaking with AUTHORITY and confidence.

As a speaker, you are a conduit. You carry a message that stands on its own. You support it with stories and ideas which bring it to life. But, you allow the audience to claim it as their own by forming their own pictures around it. While it may seem counterintuitive, if you claim the message before they do, you minimize connection as well as authority.

State the message then allow them to decide what to do with it instead of deciding what to do with you!

May 03
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5 Reasons Organizations Must Get Presentation Training

By Blog, Communication

It was an important roll-out.  The team had spent weeks putting together the timelines, the assets, and answering all the questions they could think of.  Now, the only thing left was presenting it to senior management.  The team chose Sarah, the person who knew the most about the proposed system, to present the idea.

There was one problem, however.  Sarah was scared out of her mind.  And when she went into the room to present, it showed.  She fumbled with her clicker and her papers.  Her sentences rambled.  The red showed clearly on her face.
When she left the room, she broke down in tears because she had blown it.

Maybe every presentation isn’t high stakes or this dramatically terrible.  But, this is a true scenario more often than most companies would admit.  Whether it’s a high stakes sales presentation, new business pitch, or laying out a new strategy, the success of the business is dependent upon influence.  This means confident, clear and credible presentations.

So, why do many companies fail at this?  In some cases, training exists.  But, rather than interactive, performance-based training designed for muscle memory, the participants sit in a room answering questions and taking notes.  While this may fill the quota, it doesn’t improve the skill set or give better results.   Employees need to know how to present more than just information.  They also need to know how to access their innate abilities to tell stories, influence and connect effectively.

There are many reasons why training in public speaking and presentation skills is important for any organization. But, I will share 5 top considerations:

1. It makes them better at selling.
Your company sells a product or a service.  While you hire salespeople hired to win new business, internally, teams need to influence each other and/or management to create more efficiency. Ironically, many salespeople lack training on HOW to present.  Rather, they are told WHAT to present. Customers connect to the WHO and the WHY first before they will connect to the product.  In an article on redesigning the auto industry, Jamie LaReau, predicts we will need product presenters rather than salespeople.

While the outcome may be sales and revenue related, in order to get there, presenters must have the ability and skill to connect.

2. Finding a hidden company/department spokesperson.
The person who presents is quite often the person who knows the most or the person who is the least scared. Not very good criteria.  Is everyone equally skilled at presenting?  Is that even possible?  Maybe not.  But, with the right training, you will find a diamond or two in the rough.

I presented for a company recently and one participant mentioned she rarely presented because she was always told how soft-spoken she was.  She believed this was a hindrance to her presentation.  But, when we began working on what she could do to connect with her audience using her already built in superpower, she came to life.  Her thoughts were crystal, and she became animated about her content.  Soon after the workshop, I received an email from her team proclaiming her the official department presenter.  Her ‘soft-spokenness’ was an asset used to help her audience lean in.  And she actually learned to project better because she was now more confident in her skills.

3. Improve employee confidence.
More confident employees are more decisive employees.  Decisive employees are willing to take more risks and in an age where innovation is a must, risk-taking is a leadership mandate.  But when employees are not sure whether their voices can be heard, the confidence factor decreases.  So, when an organization says, “Hey there, here is a way you can increase the likelihood of your voice being heard and also upgrade your influence,”, employees tend to listen.

Public speaking and presentations give immediate feedback from a captive audience.  While much of the immediate feedback is non-verbal, it is still impactful enough to make a difference.  Imagine an employee who feels like she can communicate effectively with c-suite and entry-level alike.  This is a confident employee who knows that her words and how she presents them can make a difference.

4. Establish authority, improve reputation and credibility.
A well-prepared presenter can establish rapport, authority, and expertise with an audience, large or small.  But, a company with well-prepared presenters, plural, establishes itself as a company who identifies great talent and also equips its people to be passionate about its products.

As a child, I remember vacuum cleaner salesmen coming through my house quite a bit.  The products were always good, and they seemed to do amazing things. However, we never purchased…until the 3rd time a specific company came to us.  We’d seen the presentation twice before but we took special note of how the company armed its presenters.  My dad was a pastor and so he had a special affinity for well-presented messages.  This company was consistent with the excellence of presentation and we paid nearly $1000 in the 80’s for a vacuum cleaner.

Did my parents buy only because the presenters spoke well?  Maybe not.  But, they gave us a glimpse of the product quality by showing us the care they took in their presentations.

5. Increase retention.
Employees need…no, they EXPECT their organizations to invest in their development.  If their development needs are not being met, expect them to look elsewhere.  Recently, I trained a department of an organization. Of the 10-12 people in the room, 4 confided they were secretly looking elsewhere because the company didn’t provide them any training.  Until my workshop, some hadn’t received any training in the 2 years they had been employed.  One mentioned how much he enjoyed the presentation and communication training.  However, he wanted to make sure the managerial staff and the executives were also registered to take it.

His words were, “I know I’m getting better because of this.  It says something if your workers are getting better but you’re not doing it as well.”

OUCH!

People want to get better and organizations benefit when they help their people get better.  But, as Jim Collins mentions, organizations should go past good to great.  A great organization which employs the right training will produce great employees and great results.

Learn more about 3C Presentation Training for your organization.  Help your team present their ideas with confidence, clarity, and credibility.