Tag Archive for 'one minute presenter'

You don’t need to be a King to work on your speech!

The highly acclaimed King’s Speech has been attracting a lot of attention recently. It was an entertaining film, especially for some of the bizarre treatments used to treat stutterers in the 1930s. It reminded me of the elocution lessons I took when I was about five years old to fix a slight problem I had in speaking certain words. Luckily I didn’t need to fill my mouth with marbles.

I was thinking whether this was a good film for my profession or not. Certainly, by showing a sometimes moving story of a person who worked incredibly hard at improving his skills for the new era of radio and public speeches, it is certainly a good role model for how we should all learn.  On the flip side, the eccentric nature of the practitioners (speech therapists) in the film gave me mixed feelings. From their bizarre suggestions that smoking is good for your lungs to the amateur dramatics actors lurking beneath the surface, they seemed to fall into the usual clichés of how public speakers are regarded.

In today’s busy, distracted and short attention span world, I think we do need to be not only great speakers, but also engaging storytellers.

Being an effective presenter is less about the mechanics of public speaking and more about the engagement skills you need to connect with your audiences. So while breathing and measuring the distance to the microphone are nice touches, they are the cherries on the cake.  They are useful only after a solid foundation has been put in place. Business professionals need to engage in so many different ways that most of their presentations are of the informal nature. Conference calls, one-on-one meetings, quick pep talks with their team, business events with regulators. Often they need to be just as persuasive without taking the stage.

So should we all have a speech coach? While I don’t think we need a speech therapist as depicted in the film, there is certainly a need for upgrading of business presentation skills across the board. Visit any company and speak with executives and you will pick up the frustration of long, dull meetings with long, dull data-heavy presentation slides. Or how long it takes to persuade a team that change is needed. Or inability to connect with younger colleagues. Or senior executives from a different country.

Most presentations are forgettable, do not have a clear message, are not delivered with passion, avoid all techniques that might make a message memorable (like story-telling and metaphor creation). Added to this most executives underestimate the amount of preparation that is needed for presenting a message.

A recent coaching engagement brought this out. A senior finance executive was frustrating his direct managers: the country CEO and also a global CFO based overseas. They had frequently asked the executive to be briefer and more concise in their one-on-one meetings which often over-ran by 30 or 60 minutes on a regular basis. Only after two or three coaching sessions where we worked on how to form a concise message, how to use structure to arrange ideas and how to think through the material by using scanning and drilling questions did the executive realise that “ this takes a long time to prepare” .  At first, like any new skill, it will take longer. But with practice, various techniques can be learned that dramatically reduce the time taken by the executive to prepare and deliver his points. When you think about how much it costs your organisation to have three or four senior level people in a meeting, this added productivity is a cost saver. In addition, the improvement in the relations between the executives helps enormously get things done in future projects.

So if you haven’t seen The King’s Speech yet, it is an entertaining view and if it does inspire you to think about improving your public speaking or presentation skills, then please do contact us. We specialise in executive communication and have specific coaching packages to help senior executives become more productive through their communication and also for particular events like conference speaking.

How engaging is your presenting?
Here are a few questions to check before you deliver:

  1. Do you have an overall message for your speech which you could express in under 10 words?
  2. Do you have a good metaphor for your presentation?  (A quest, a battle, an exploration)
  3. Could you create a single visual image that would express your main idea?
  4. Will anyone remember your presentation? On a scale from 1 to 10, how memorable do you think your presentation will be? Will anyone remember it in a month’s time? Three months?
  5. Have you drawn your key points into catchy sound-bites, questions, powerful statements or eye-catching visuals that will help the audience engage with your main message?

If you can answer “yes!” to all five questions then you are well on your way to creating a great presentation. Make sure you then spend as much time as you can in rehearsal. For a 20 minute presentation, you should be spending 2 -3 hours in stand-up, speak-out-aloud rehearsal.

List of famous stutterers here.

So what now?

If you are ready to take a step up in your career, and want to learn how to be a more powerful communicator, then visit our web site below and download a free chapter on how The One Minute Presenter system works to help you develop more executive presence.

Warwick John Fahy works with high-potential senior finance executives who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive gain respect by quickly and powerfully expressing their opinions. Clients hire Warwick for his highly practical approach. For free executive speaking tips http://www.oneminutepresenter.com/blog

To arrange presentation skills coaching visit http://www.warwickjohnfahy.com. For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Up to 90% of business presenters talk at their audience instead of interacting with them.

Learn what type of presenter you are and five methods to hold your audience’s attention throughout your presentation.

Work pressure contributes to a total lack of preparation for important presentations
Business presenters are under a lot of pressure today. Workloads have increased as companies implemented hiring freezes during the global economic slowdown and with Blackberrys ubiquitous, executives are always “on” and subjected to a constant stream of information. While they may have to chair weekly meetings, participate in global conference calls or provide regular updates to senior managers, very rarely are these frequent communication requirements fully prepared or rehearsed.

This means many executives fall into the trap of just getting by and filling up their presentation time with a stream of data that may or not be relevant to their listeners. Executives without adequate rehearsal and preparation have to focus so much on their content – to the extent that they have to think about each sentence before delivering it – that they completely ignore the fact that an audience is listening.

When their audience is peers or juniors then no comment is made on their lacklustre performance. However, when facing senior mangers – often located in different countries – the executive can face a grilling in the question and answer section, or a hostile reception with frequent interruptions. If they don’t face such direct confrontations, then word gets back to their line manager or HR that they do not possess the communication skills to progress in the organisation.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Instead of being focused on content, executives should understand the benefits of being audience-centric in their preparation.

Moving away from data dumping improves marketability of the executive
While work pressure and the inevitable time squeeze is unavoidable for most executives, with some preparation they can greatly improve how their message is received. This has obvious benefits for senior managers. Being known as an executive who has mastered communication skills means that you feel satisfied when you are able to influence important decisions that affect the future of the company. You are more likely to be called upon when key projects and high profile pressure situation emerge. These can greatly enhance the marketability of the executive inside the company, as well as being immensely rewarding in terms of personal fulfilment.

So if you feel that you are stuck for time and believe that you could benefit from learning how to adjust your presentation from being too content focused, don’t worry, you are not alone.

Your audience is in the same boat as you…too much information
If any of the above sounds familiar, don’t worry, you are not alone. In fact, you are in good company. Many executives have similar issues. Today’s increasingly global work day means that work never finishes and many executives feel overwhelmed by the pressure and information that they need to absorb. You don’t need a scientific study to convince yourself that executives have to digest an immense amount of information compared with ten or even five years ago.

Of course this means your audiences are often in the same boat. They have too much information and usually not much patience for data dumps or irrelevant presentations.
Executives can’t be expected to automatically know what it takes to interact with their audiences. The good news is that help is here and you can learn these skills.

Move from content to audience focus with advice from The One Minute Presenter
To take a step away from data dumping and giving irrelevant presentations that focus too much on content and adjust more to your audiences, you first need to understand what type of presenter you are.

What type of presenter are you?
You’re audience blocked if you deliver a presentation without any idea of what the audience is doing, thinking, or feeling. You don’t see potential interruptions like pen banging or mobile message checking. You don’t hear sighs of exhaustion. You don’t feel when the audience is lost or doesn’t understand your message. In short, you give the same presentation whether the audience is present or not. Many experienced presenters and trainers still have this problem. In my train-the-trainer workshops, I am frequently amazed at how blocked many ‘experienced trainers’ are when it comes to the audience. They love their content and would deliver it to an empty room.  Many technical presenters fall into this trap as they fall back on process when they are nervous.

You’re audience reliant when you constantly need the audience’s reassurance that you’re doing a good job. You’re aware of every move from the audience. If one member of the audience looks unhappy, you’re willing to stop everything and solve their issues. You’re not sure whether you did a good job unless the audience tells you that you’re great. In short, the focus is on you, and the audience is there to make you feel better.
This type of presenter often gets side-tracked and is prone to stopping the presentation if even one person in the audience is breaking a ground rule, like mobile phone checking. While admirable, this often leads to confrontations which do not move the presentation forward or put the presenter in a favourable light. Many novice presenters and under-confident presenters fall into this category.

You’re audience connected when you’re aware of the feeling in the room. You can see how individual members are reacting and although you don’t stop every time you get a negative response (like a yawn or sigh), you do course-correct. You might stop and do a quick recap or ask checking questions. You’re aware that the audience only has a limited attention span. You vary the delivery pace, and you insert activities or interactive exercises every 15 or 20 minutes. You share experiences and appropriate stories, and you’re willing to have the audience give their input into the presentation. You see the presentation as a shared experience, and actively create the connection with the audience so they give their input. The One Minute Presenter is always audience connected.

How do you interact with your audience?
Actively involve the audience
For larger presentations or trainings, adopt strategies such as games, role plays or other hands-on methods to get your audience involved with the material or subject matter. For conference calls or smaller executive meetings, use the check back method below.

Mix up your approach
To better reinforce messages and allow for individual differences in learning styles, use a variety of methods in presenting material. When in doubt, use something visual that represents your message. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is worth a million pictures. Do I have to mention that the visual should be relevant to your message?  Other techniques include shortening your presentation (wow what a nice surprise!) and for larger groups using different learning formats, like mini-discussion groups.

Use appropriate humor
Maintain interest by using a small amount of humor (but not too much to be distracting). Always test this out before your presentation. Ask three to five people you trust and if they agree that it’s funny – try it out. Never cross the bounds of taste and if in doubt don’t use it. Again all humour should be related to the point you wish to convey – and not just a video clip of your pet cat on a skateboard.

Always give relevant and specific examples
The more anecdotes and personal stories you can weave into your presentation, the more likely your audience is to understand and remember your message. With clients and senior managers, open with the phrase, “In my experience, ..” which sets you up as an authority in your area of expertise which is exactly what they want from you. If you don’t have any of your own stories, you can reference other people’s stories by acknowledging them. This is not as powerful as something that comes directly from you.

Probe and check back with your audience
Never assume your audience understands your message just because they are not interrupting you. Many Asian cultures do not have a habit of directly challenging a presenter but that doesn’t mean they are listening either! Get into the habit of asking questions frequently and being aware of their response. Simple checking questions – like “Does that make sense to you?”, “Can you see how this relates to the problem at hand?” – lets you see how the audience is digesting your messages and also gives permission for questions to be raised. With larger groups you can lead into problems for the audience to solve, e.g. group work or case studies. The poorest technique I have seen is to deliver your presentation and then only ask one question at the end: “Are there any questions?” Invariably there are none because the audience switched off ages ago. Insert questions every two to four minutes in your presentations.

Many executive have benefited from The One Minute Presenter coaching
I work with many senior executives from multinationals around Greater China. Just recently, after helping one senior executive to become more aware about what type of presenter he was (audience blocked) and to practise some of the techniques mentioned above, he was able to interact more effectively with his audience which meant that his presentations were more enjoyable as issues surfaced during the delivery rather than a week or two afterwards. He adjusted his interaction skills to become much more connected with his audience. He now tends to seek more audience participation as a way to test and strengthen his ideas which has made him a more effective (and liked) executive.

So what now?
If you are ready to take a step up in your career, and want to learn how to be a more powerful communicator, then visit us below and download a free chapter on how The One Minute Presenter system works to help you develop more executive presence.

About Warwick J Fahy
Warwick works with high-potential senior executives who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive gain respect by quickly and powerfully expressing their opinions – even when under pressure.
Warwick is the author of The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. Warwick can be reached on  +86 21 6101 0486.

Senior Finance Executives: Are you struggling to convince your boss in your presentations?

Learn how to turn your technical presentations into engaging message-based presentations that get your boss’ attention and will cut your presentation time in half

Technical ability alone will not help senior finance executive’s get promoted
Many senior finance executives in China have risen the corporate ladder on the back of their solid technical ability and operational skills. They have been able to ride the massive growth in China over the past decade by combining a strong technical grasp and an aptitude to understand their client’s needs in compliance and financing.

These senior executives are often held up as future country or regional Chief Financial Officers (CFOs). However, one significant obstacle awaits many finances executives – their strength in technical issues. Many senior finance executives are too focused on the details, the process and procedures. So when presenting to CEOs, board of directors or  overseas directors, they are frustrated by their inability to get their point across without being bombarded by direct questions, interrupted constantly in their presentation and feeling of being harassed by senior management.  While technical skills got them to where they are today, they can’t take them any further in their careers.

It doesn’t have to be that way. They don’t need to be stuck here forever.

Senior finance executives who can present effectively are highly marketable
Presentations to senior management often cause nerves and tension in any presenter. Many technical presenters – especially in finance – are naturally introverted and when faced with A-type personalities they are often talked-over or easily interrupted. However, by learning some important skills in presentation creation and delivery, even shy and quiet presenters can learn how to get their point across to their CEO in a concise, crisp and engaging way. Importantly, their presentations can be delivered in a much shorter time – which both the senior finance executive and the CEO and directors appreciate! Having a reputation as a CFO who both understands the business and can deliver sharp presentations is a great asset to career promotion. Once learned, these skills deliver a fantastic return-on-investment year-in, year-out.

So if you are currently stuck by delivering overly detailed technical presentations to a group of frustrated senior managers, you are not alone.

Too much information often kills the effectiveness of your presentation
If any of the above sounds familiar, don’t worry, you are not alone. In fact, you are in good company. Most senior finance people have similar issues. Being technical experts means you are focused on process, procedure, the small nitty gritty details of data. All of which is essential – and desirable – in finance executives. However, when you reach the C-level, these technical skills become less important as the core task of an executive is to make decisions and communicate them throughout the organisation. All highly effective executives are superb communicators and presenters. Today, when hiring decisions are made  on the CFO or CEO role -the ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders is one of the most important competencies.

However, as a finance expert, you can’t be expected to automatically know what it takes to create message based presentations that engage your audience in the shortest possible time – you are not an advertising company. The good news is that help is here and you can learn these skills.

Advice from The One Minute Presenter
To take a step away from being a technical expert and learning the craft of an effective executive communicator, you first need to understand taglines.

What is a tagline?
Taglines are short catchy marketing phrases which sum up the promise of a brand (or product or movie), and are designed to be memorable and easily passed through a target audience. A good tagline can stand the test of time and become synonymous with a company or product. The 1975-2005 “Don’t leave home without it” from American Express and the 1988 “Just do it” from Nike taglines show how the power of taglines can carry over into building the world’s most valuable brands.

What is your tagline?
Take a look at your next presentation. Use these steps to form your tagline:

1. Write down your happy ending in 25-50 words. In other words what do you want to achieve at the end of the presentation. What do you want the audience to think, feel and do. Be as specific as you can.

2. Take a break and come back to this paragraph.  Highlight key words or phrases. Now imagine you only had time to deliver one sentence to your audience. Keep the value and meaning of your message. Rewrite it in 10 words or less.

3. Put this aside for several hours or longer. Come back and see which words really sum up the essence of your message. Pick out your key words or phrases.

For The One Minute Presenter, our nine word tagline is “successful business presentations for a short attention span world”.  We use two key phrases: successful business presentations and short attention spans.

You now have focus in your presentation. This will help you structure your presentation framework. You can check your supporting points, and choice of visuals (charts, graphs, statistics) against your key words. Ask yourself, “How does this support my key words?”
With practice, you will be able to quickly get to your key words(s) in a shorter time. It will be a challenge the first few times you try this exercise. Stick with it. You need the focus to capture and engage today’s audiences. The clearer your message, the more effective your presentations.

Be aware when you present your ideas
Make your message tangible. Don’t make your audience work it out. If you make them think during a presentation, then while they are thinking, they cannot be listening to your subsequent words. Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules, vividly demonstrates how the human brain is ill equipped to handle two processing tasks simultaneously. “Driving while talking on a cell phone is worse than driving drunk.” This is because the human brain uses something called the attentional spotlight. The attentional spotlight, according to Dr. Medina, cannot multitask which means cellphone-talking car drivers have the same reaction time (when stopping) as a drunk driver. So don’t make your audiences think! Do the thinking for them.  Know where you want to take them, shape a clear concept of your overall message, use stories to engage and bite-size your content with slogans, soundbites and taglines. Puzzles are great for long train and plane journeys, but not for successful business presentations.

Many CFOs have benefited from The One Minute Presenter coaching
I work with many CFOs from multinationals around Greater China. Just recently, after helping one senior executive  to understand how to create a message-based presentation from their technical data, she told me that her presentation to the board of directors went much more smoothly and took less time than previous years. Importantly, she was interrupted much less with sharp questions. She is now able to apply these skills in other areas of her work, such as conference calls, client meetings and internal senior manager briefings.

So what now?
If you are ready to take a step up in your career, and want to learn how to be a more powerful communicator, then visit www.oneminutepresenter.com and download a free chapter on how The One Minute Presenter system works to help you develop more executive presence.

About Warwick J Fahy
Warwick works with high-potential senior finance executives who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive gain respect by quickly and powerfully expressing their opinions – even when under pressure.

Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. Warwick can be reached on  +86 21 6101 0486.

How concise can a story be?

Have you tried to express yourself in just a few words. It can be difficult especially with complex issues. Today’s best communicators do it well. Obama captured the spirit of a nation with his “Yes, we can change”.

How well can you summarise your thoughts? A good web site for inspiration is “Six Word Stories’ .

Working to made your speech even more concise not only helps the audience understand and retain your messages. It’s fun. Think more like an advertiser. Yes, you can!