If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

This post was promopted by a comment made by my wife Lyn after an early morning walk today.

It was a beautiful morning here in the South of Hampshire. The sky was just starting to colour up as the sun rose and the air was crisp and fresh. After a few minutes of silent contemplation we started to chat about anything and everything. In particular we gravitated towards talking about what it is that allows people to have the confidence to do amazing things such as present with confidence and conviction.

Self belief kept coming up in our conversation and then Lyn asked “How can we have more belief?”

My first answer surprised me when I said, “Maybe it’s not so much about doing something to havemore belief, but rather its about stopping doing things that erode our self beleif.”

As an example, a colleague I met at a networking event recently said, “the problem with me is that I don’t have sparkle” and so my talks are dull. This sounded to me like a limiting belief and when I asked them how they knew they didn’t have “sparkle” they replied “Somebody told me once, after a talk.”

So, based on the opinion of one person commenting on once example, they had generalised that comment to encompass every possible speaking situation across their whole life. How crazy is that?

Thankfully a few minutes after my response to their answer they suddenly said, “Well actually, I’ve just remembered that the speech I gave when I got married was really good and I got lots of praise for it afterwards.” When I asked them ” Did you sparkle on that occasion?” They said “Yes!” and I could see from the light in their eyes and the change in their expression that they had realised something very valuable.

So next time you put yourself down about your speaking abilities (or anything else for that matter!) remember my friend and his sparkle story. Do a reality check and see if you are really as bad as you think you are? Have you ever had good feedback? Have you ever been pleased with your own performance?

If you want to nurture your confidence one key step is to stop dwelling on your failures and putting yourself down.

I thought that rather than assuming you would want to read about the topics that I decide to blog about, I might put myself in the firing line today.

Have you got a questions, burning issues or comments that would like me to blog about?

If so all you have to do is either post a comment below or email me at blog@inter-activ.co.uk and I’ll respond via this blog!

In my book there is no such thing as a stupid question and, if you ask the question, there will be hundreds if not thousands of other readers around the glob who will be eternally grateful to you for having had the courage to ask the question.

Go on, I dare you!

I came across a post from Eric Zeman who drew my attention to a recent additional feature in Google’s Online Software offering Google Docs.   I looked at their alternative to PowerPoint when it was first Launched last September and was not impressed.  Now however it looks like it has moved on considerably and now includes online collaboration where two or more people can work on the same presentation online without having to email copies back and forward.   I’ll certainly be checking it out further and so should you.

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/04/google_docs_add.html

This morning I was chatting to a friend called Bob Jury whom I met at a breakfast networking meeting in the lovely little town of Hartley Wintney in North Hampshire.   Despite the early hour, Bob was on top form as usual.  We were discussing how people “sell” themselves at networking events and in particular the impact they make by the way the say their “elevator  pitch”

Bob is in the business of website design and produces easily update-able websites however he explained that he has also worked in the world of entertainment for many years.  “As a performer, If you start of with a bang and finish with a bang then it doesn’t really matter what you say in the middle!” said his words hold a lot of truth for me.  

I don’t mean that your content isn’t important but, if you don’t hook your audience’s attention quickly, your message is unlikely to stick no matter how well crafted it is.   Also, if your presentation fizzles out at the end like a faulty firework, guess what your audience will remember!

How do we start with a bang? Here are some ideas to get you going:

• Establish relevance - clearly establish how your audience will benefit from the content of your presentation.
• Identify a relevant problem that your content will solve.
• Tell a short and relevant story that set’s the scene and arouses their curiosity. 
• Pose a question.
• Say something controversial.

How do we finish with a bang?

• Restate the problem and summarise your solution.
• Tell a punchy story or anecdote that sums up your key messages in a memorable and interesting manner.
• Tell your audience what you want them to do next and ask for a commitment from them to do it.
• Be passionate and enthusiastic.

 By the way you can find out more about my friend Bob by visiting his website www.fullmac.co.uk