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Communication
in the Age of Show Biz:
Presentation
Skills For Women Professionals
By Julia Poulos
Women in the
professional and business world can’t usually avoid public speaking, although
many try. Think of the opportunity, “to
show your stuff”. After all, in the
world of fierce competition you can’t afford not to market yourself. It looks like everyone these days wants some
celebrity, judging from the number of reality shows.
Since 1989, I have been training people how to enhance their
presentation and public speaking skills.
I ask participants, at the start of a coaching session or a workshop, to
tell me what they consider their biggest development “need”. Nine out of ten say, “I would like to be more
confident and comfortable when speaking in front of groups”. “Comfortable and confident”, what does that
mean?
I started public speaking at the age of four, in my family’s kitchen,
improvising commercials, like those on TV. I remember reading the Gettysburg
Address for a high school assembly and I always wanted the biggest role in the
school play. So you ask, “With all this
enthusiasm for speaking you must have been a very outgoing girl! Alas, to say that would be a big lie!
I suffered and still suffer with stage fright. I speak in front of groups from 3 – 100, in
the audience, an average of eight to ten times a month and I still get nervous.
My goal is to share with you ten “tips” that I learned in the “School of Hard
Knocks”.
1) Connect with
your audience. The more technical
the data, the more important this first step becomes. Realize that you are the
value-added. Make an impact: use a
story, an anecdote, a quote or a question to begin your talk. Then breathe deep and relax. Bring out the actor in you.
I have heard some really humorous, heart-warming and energetic stories
come out of the mouths of people who assert that they are so shy. What I know is that people connect to you
when you tell a story. I ask speakers to tell business “stories” and even in
the most competitive businesses, I hear stories that make me laugh and cry.
Create the
WIIFM. Once you know who your audience is, your job
is to demonstrate how your service is the solution to their needs. Remember that they will be asking themselves,
“What’s in it for me” early on! Be explicit about what benefits your audience
will get from your proposal. Be sure to
incorporate these benefits throughout the presentation. Remind them why your business or your ideas
are the best out there!
I know an EVP of sales in the
financial services industry who says to his senior account executives,
“Basically, it all boils down to the three things that a client wants: 1) to reduce costs 2) to increase revenue and 3) to mitigate
risk. Underneath the promises about the
latest system or service you are selling, what the client wants is one and/or
all of those three results.
3) Decide your
through-line. What are you trying
to accomplish in this talk? What do you
want your audience to know or do as a result of your presentation? The
through-line gives you mental focus and enables you to concentrate your energy
on your talk and not on your nervousness.
You might say that you want your audience to write a check for the ABC
Association, if you are a speaker at their fund raising event.
You have heard that old cliché, “if you don’t know where you are going,
how you are going to know if you get there?” It is absolutely true about
presentations. Many people say to me
that they don’t need any “help” with the content. Well, my experience tells me that speakers
are unclear about how they want to impact their audience.
4)Sell your point. In
our professional lives, we are always selling our ideas and ourselves. You are
persuading people to listen to your data, your proposal, or the benefits of
your services. The art of persuasion
requires: an attention-getting opener,
reiterating your point throughout your presentation, and a “call to action”.
You may even think of it as the art of rhetoric and logical
discourse. You must make assertions and
support those assertions with appropriate evidence to persuade your audience to
your point of view.
5) Remember: It is not what you say; it is how you say
it! Be aware of the impact and the power
of your voice. Speak from the heart; and communicate to your audience how you
feel about what you’re presenting.
Deliver your talk using direct eye contact, pauses, and vocal variety;
adding energy and enthusiasm.
Eye contact is your friend. In North American business culture direct
eye contact is expected. In fact, if the
other person does not look you in the eyes, we often think they are not honest
or that they have something to hide. Direct eye contact, especially between the
genders, is not appropriate in every culture and you must adjust for that.
Speakers are often afraid to pause.
Instead, they fill the “space” with filler words like “uh”, “um”, etc.
You should try to eliminate filler words.
Pausing is good because it helps the audience follow and it allows the
speaker to emphasize key points.
6)
Listen up. Listen to the verbal and non-verbal
messages that your audience is sending.
If your audience is yawning or “shifting in their seats” they may be
bored or distracted. Remember your
presentation should be listener-centered. Keep your audience energized!
There is nothing worse than looking out into your audience and seeing
someone with their eyes closed. Keep the audience involved by using questions,
asking them to participate in an activity, etc.
Especially if you are speaking in the evening, you must energize
listeners.
7)
Cue yourself. Never read a presentation or your
PowerPoint, word for word. Use
PowerPoint or bold-font outlines (that you can see from a distance) to help you
stay on track.
Don’t make your life difficult by writing your notes in pencil, in long
hand. Use a technique that will allow
you to be as spontaneous as possible so you can look at your audience and
engage with them.
8)
Handle questions
with C.A.R.E. Many questions are
challenging. First clarify the question. Then acknowledge the questioner, by saying,
“People ask that question, it is an important one.” Always respond
with a bottom-line answer and supporting evidence. Stay on track and don’t go on “too
long”. And ensure that you have satisfied your audience, by asking: “Have I answered your question?”
Answering questions from an audience is really a mini-presentation. Some speakers are more comfortable with this
part of their presentation. Make sure
that your answers are not too long because although the questioner is
satisfied, others might “zone out” on you.
Tell your audience during the introduction whether or not you want them
to ask questions, throughout, or if you want them to wait until the question
and answer session.
9)
Rehearse, rehearse,
rehearse. Tell them what you
are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them you told them. Know you talk “cold”. Record yourself on audio or video. Ask a friend to listen to a “dry run” of your
talk.
Many speakers have said, “I don’t want to sound too rehearsed”. Well, quite frankly, I have never listened to
a speaker that I thought was too rehearsed; most of the time it is the
opposite. Being prepared means you stand
up and you do a “run-through” of the presentation.
10) Get a Coach. You can read about exercise all you want but
until you start working out at the gym you can’t get in shape. You need a
trainer to get started, to help you develop a routine, and to provide you with
feedback.
I really believe that individual coaching can be one of the most time
and cost-effective ways to improve your communication skills. It is intense working one-on-one with a
coach, but in a class you get limited attention.
Get a coach to help you start and to keep you motivated. Coaching
long-distance is now possible, with a combination of phone, email and video
conferencing.
I create a DVD so
that the person I am coaching can use that objective feedback to really see
themselves. I also ask people to work on
a “real-life” speech or presentation and see how they can improve their
skills. When they deliver that
presentation to a live audience they see the return on their investment.
You don’t have to feel that you are not confident and comfortable. Yes, there may still be some “nerves”, but
that is natural and helpful.
So, as they say in the theatre, “Break a Leg”. (It means good luck!).
PERSONAL ACTION PLAN
____________________________________________________
A. List one to three areas that you feel are areas of potential
improvement in your presentation skills.
These are developmental
areas you will want to work on to increase your effectiveness.
Area
1:__________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Area 2:__________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Area
3:__________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
B. Choose one of the above areas of potential improvement. Select one that, if you were able to improve,
would make a substantial improvement in your presentations. List below the immediate and long-term action
steps
you will take to achieve this improvement.
l. Immediate Action Steps:_________________________________________________________________
2. Long-Term Action Steps:________________________________________________________________
Comments
to: editor@leadingtoday.org
About the
author:
Julia Poulos
is president of “All the World'
s a Stage”, a business dedicated to helping corporations and individuals
master savvy presentations in the age of show business; Julia Poulos has developed “Ten Talking Points for Women
Professionals” that can help you make presentations powerful. You can learn
more about Julia and her organization at www.savvypresentations.com. Her
email address is julia.poulos@gmail.com