Public speaking, media training, presentation training, crisis communications
Archive for August, 2008
What is the one big secret most people never learn about presenting?
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on August 28, 2008
Here it is: You can present to an audience and have perfect eye contact, wear a beautifully tailored suit, have perfect gestures, speak with perfect volume and pitch, never say a single “uh†or “um†and still…never communicate a thing! The sad reality is that it’s very hard to get people listening to you to remember anything you say. The following is one of very few ironclad axioms you need to learn about presenting: people will not remember anything you say if it is said in a straight forward, abstract or listing manner.
If you want somebody to remember an important message you have for them, you need to give an example, tell a story, reveal a case study, and perhaps draw a picture or show a photo. Then and only then do you have even a good chance of an audience member remembering something you have said.
What is the best way for me to start my presentation?
Posted by TJ Walker in Fear of Speaking, Presentation Skills Training, Public Speaking Skills on August 20, 2008
There is no one perfect way to start a presentation. You don’t have to tell a knee-slapping joke or start with a poignant anecdote. But you don’t want to start the way most presenters do. Why? Because most presenters start of by talking about themselves too much.
As a presenter, you have to make one fundamental choice about how you start: are you going to focus on yourself, or on your audience? If you focus on your audience, you will likely be a success. If you focus on yourself, no matter how polished you are, you will likely fail.
Here’s how most people start a presentation.
“Good morning. My name is TJ Walker (the audience already knows this because I was just introduced or my name is on the agenda).â€
How Can I get over stage fright and nervousness before I speak to people?
Posted by TJ Walker in Fear of Speaking, Keynote Speaking, Presentation Skills Training, Public Speaking Skills on August 16, 2008
I wish I could tell you to just chant positive affirmations, or picture your audience naked, or visualize a standing ovation, but none of those things will prevent you from giving a lousy presentation, so they should not help you prevent nervousness either.
I’d like to be able to tell you something comforting, like “it’s going to be fine!†or “â€you’ll do great if you just believe in yourself!†But the reality is that you should be nervous. Chances are, you are going to bomb. I don’t say this to be mean-spirited or to mess with your confidence, but here are the facts: most speakers bore their audiences. Most presenters give unmemorable data dumps. Most speakers communicate absolutely nothing, if by communication, you mean what the audience remembers, not just what comes out of the speaker’s mouth.
So, at the risk of freaking you out, I really think that you and most speakers should be MORE nervous, not less nervous when you speak. The real reason that you and most people fear speaking is that you fear the unknown—you don’t know if you look or sound stupid, you are uncertain of how you are coming across. When you think about it, this makes perfect sense. If someone forced you to get dressed in the morning in pitch black and without being able to look in the mirror once before leaving your home, would you be nervous about your appearance? Of course you would. You’d be worried that you missed shaving half of your face or that you put lipstick on crooked.
A Golden Dodge to the Hypothetical Question
Posted by TJ Walker in Crisis Communications, Media Training, Presentation Skills Training, Public Speaking Skills on August 15, 2008
Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was asked the following questions on August 14, 2008 at the Beijing Olympics:
“Are you the greatest Olympic athlete ever?â€
“Are you the greatest swimmer ever?â€
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