Every so often I watch a film that proves to be a fantastic source of learning and inspiration as well as entertainment.
Recently I saw the Kings speech and it really moved me. Afterwards I started to wonder what it was that made it so powerful.
The acting was superb and believable. The Prince’s frustration with his inability to speak fluently in public was palpable, and this made a wonderful contrast with the closing sequences where he clearly demonstrated to himself and the world that he had mastered his stammer. The filming was tight and the period references felt accurate and relevant.
For me there were three powerful lessons that came out of this film:
That even the most intractable things can be changed with a combination of determination and the right support network.
That a quick fix is rarely the solution and that hard work and effort does pay huge dividends.
That ones ability to speak clearly and confidently in public can have a huge positive impact on yourself as well as your audience.
Interstingly I then did a search to see what other people had written about this superb film in relation to presenting and I came across this excellent slideshare presentation by Jessedee. I thought you might like it too:
There is one thing that is absolutely essential to any effective communicator. The ability to be fully present in the moment. By present I mean to have one’s awareness fully engaged in each moment of the conversation or presentation rather than being “away” somewhere else thinking about the past or the future.
This seems like such an obvious thing to say but when you recall a past conversation, how much of the time was spent fully “present”.
Here is an example. I was just typing this post when my wife Lyn called into the office and asked me to check an email she had written. In that moment, my consciousness jumped out of the present and went to the future and I imagined myself doing her job rather than finishing this post. Immediately I felt a little frustrated and annoyed. Thankfully, because I was aware of what was happening, I was able to take a breath and bring my awareness back into my body in the moment. Immediately my frustration disappeared and I was able to continue writing this post, having agreed to take a look at her email when I was finished.
Another example might be in the middle a presentation on a familiar subject when you find yourself thinking about what you have to do later that afternoon. Your body is in the room but your mind is jumping ahead.
Being present has a number of benefits:
Allows us to make better decisions in the moment
Allows us to notice our emotional triggers and choose a better response
Allows us to easily and quickly dissolve nervous tension. Most of our fears come only when we are thinking about the future. Bring yourself back into the moment and this evaporate like the morning mist on the fields
Improves our listening skills – When we are fully present we can take in all relevant information before responding
Being present is an extremely simple concept, but it isn’t easy.
How do you increase your ability to be present?
Awareness: If you are not consciously aware of a behaviour you cannot change it.
Acceptance: becoming aware of an unwanted behaviour can trigger a self criticism reflex. Instead, praise yourself for noticing.
Adjust: Take a deep breath and bring your attention back to the here and now
Practice this simple skill and it will transform your communication and your life!
The most engaging presenters are those who are both knowledgeable and passionate about their content. We can tell that they are passionate because of things like their animation, energy, vocal variety, eye contact and enthusiasm.
But what about when you have to present information that you are not passionate about? Well in an ideal world I would be tempted to say don’t present it at all. Of course this may be unrealistic, especially the presentation is part of your job.
The secret in these situations is to become passionate about the content. I know it may sound like an impossibility but it isn’t.
Start by asking yourself ”Why you are presenting this information? and “What do you want people to do as a result of hearing it?”
The next step is to familiarise yourself with the material and ask yourself some more questions like:
What’s important about this information?
What is it telling us?
What is it really telling us?
How can understanding this information help us?
What would happen if my audience really bought into the messages I am going to present?
The third step is visualise someone who was really passionate about this material. How would they present it?
How would they stand?
How would they sound?
How would they move?
And finally the last step is to imagine that you could step into their body and deliver the material in the same way as them.
Start by seeing yourself giving the presentation, sounding and looking enthusiastic, passionate and engaged. Then imagine being in your body as you give the presentation, hearing your own voice, feeling the confidence and energy and enthusiasm coursing through your veins.
Imagine the impact that you could have if you could learn to control your energy and deliver with passion whenever you wanted to. What would that ability do for your career? How much more influential would you be? How much more fulfilled could you be?
A recent comment to one of my earlier posts by Stephen Hendren prompted me to review some of the research on positivity and performance.
Thanks to his post, I found a great video interview by Positivity researcher Barbara Fredrickson. I thought you might like it so I have included it in this post. Dr Fredrickson’s key message is that there is a proven 3:1 “positivity ratio” needed to generate the positive emotions required to enhance self esteem and personal performance.
When I ask the people who attend my workshops what is the difference that makes the difference between and average speaker and a great speaker they often come up “presence”.
When I go on to ask them to be a bit more specific about what they mean by presence, they tend to struggle.
So what exactly is presence? And more importantly how can anyone develop this quality in themselves? Well I am not sure I know all the answers but I have some ideas to get you thinking.
Presence is the label we give to someone who displays a number of distinct qualities:
Confidence in themselves
Being comfortable in their own skin and in the location
Charisma
A sense of deep connection with thier audience
A relaxed but focused approach
Being fully present I.e. Grounded in the present moment
The ability to flow with whatever is happening
I am sure you could add your own labels.
Presence is undoubtedly very important but is it something that can be learned? I think it can and in the next article I will be exploring some initial thoughts on how to cultivate it. I would also love to hear from you.
What does presence mean to you?
What behaviours create a perception of presence?
What sort of mind set is needed to allow someone to demonstrate presence?
Go on, don’t be shy, your opinions and ideas are valid and other people would love to read them so post your comments below.
I do a lot of networking and one thing I have noticed recently is how many small businesses are starting to expect the worst from the current economic situation. Their heads are going down and they are in danger of creating a self fulfilling prophecy.
We can’t avoid it given the amount of negativity around in the media but we can do something about it. And I don;t just mean stopping buying doom laden newspapers and listening to less news (although that is not a bad start and is a philosophy I practice myself). One of the great things about being human is the gift of free will that allows us to choose our response to a given stimuli.
Jim Rohn, the American personal development guru once said that the most important lesson he learned when he was a young struggling buisnessman was that it was not the economy that was holding him back it was his philosophy!
Our thinking patterns and approach are the key to our survival in these challenging times. The good news is that you can do something about them. It’s a simpler three step process!
Step 1: Notice when you are thoughts are holding you back
Step 2: Re-tune your mental radio to a different, more empowering station.
Step 3: Take action from this more resourceful mindeset.
It is that simple but I didn’t say it was easy! It takes time and effort but it can be done. I guess the question is do you want to put in the effort and take control of the wheel or are you happy to followthe masses. I know what I am going to do and I invite you to join me.
Why is it that so many business presentations are dry, dull and innefective? Well it could be the presenter’s delivery style or it could be the tedious and wordy powerpoint slides they insist on using but I think there is an even more dangerous principle at work here.
I think that most business presenters think that emotions are left at the door when one walks into the office. People want facts right? Disspassionate, rational arguements supported by lots of data right?
NO! No! No!
It is impossible for us to check our emotions in at the door. Human beings are by definition emotional and therefore no matter how logical we like to think we are, emotions are at the heart of our decision making strategies. If you want to “motivate” your audience to do something as a result of your presentation then you have to engage their “emotional brain”.as well as their logical and analytical side.
Sometimes these emotions will be positive and you can have them imagine what it will feel like when they are experiencing the benefits of your recommended course of action.
And, as I have commented before in earlier posts, sometimes you need to arouse negative emotions such as fear or discomfort. “Imagine what will happen to the company if we don’t adapt to the recent technological changes sweeping our specialism?” “Will we still have a business in two years time if we don’t act now?”
So, realting all this to your own presentations in the future. Think how great you will feel when you can clearly see that your audience are following your arguments and you can tell from the smiles on their faces and the nooding heads, that they are ready and indeed eager to implement your suggestions as soon as they get back to their desks.
Of course you could just keep on doing things the way you have always done them, relying on cold hard facts to do the job on their own. But can you afford the failure rate that such a one sided strategy will inevitably bring? Sure it will work sometimes but is that really good enough in todays tough business climate? Only you can make the call.
I have just returned from a camping holiday in Dorset and whilst away I had the delight of lighting and then tending a camp fire every evening. As I was gazing into the embers one evening it suddenly struck me that there are a number of similarities between lighting a camp fire and developing someone’s presentation or public speaking confidence.
As anyone who has tried to light a fire will know it is not always an easy job. If the sticks are to thick or too damp, it is difficult to get the fire to take hold. One has to look for a glowing ember and then feed and nurture it so that it glows brighter and brighter until it eventually bursts into flame.
Bringing out the confidence to speak in front of an audience requires the same approach. Constructive criticism at too early a stage can have the same effect as putting damp wood on the fire – it puts it out! Positive reinforcement and praise, on the other hand, fans the embers and causes them to glow brighter.
As a public speaking and presentation skills trainer I have often had to spend time undoing all the “good work” done by others who sought to help by telling their colleagues what they were doing wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that there is a place for constructive criticism but not in the early stages of the novice speakers career.
Today I was phoned by a guy who I have met on a couple of occasions at local networking events. he works for a company called the disc directory, a local on-line business directory covering Portsmouth and Southampton.
Now I’m pretty hard on tele-sales people but his approach was so refreshing that I just had to post on it. He called me up, started by saying something like ” Remember the good looking guy who’s been bumping into you around the local networking scene regularly> – Well that’s not me! I’m the ugly one and I promised to call you” – So far so good, he made me laugh and his tone and delivery were congruent.
Then he said” I’m going to be really direct, it’s Friday afternoon and I’ve got my targets to hit so I am prepared to offer you a great deal. Three categories for half price? How does that sound?”
I paused and he said ” I know you are just wondering which of my arms you are going to bite off to take this great deal. Well I can tell you that they are both equally tender so it doesn’t have to be difficult. What do you say?”
Again he made me laugh and I was hooked and after a bit more discussion I agreed.
Now I am not saying that this irreverent and cheeky approach is the one to use all the time but it has it’s place. He had ready my right and decided to give it ago and it paid off!
What’s the cheekiest sales pitch you have used or had used on you that has worked?
Every so often I watch a film that proves to be a fantastic source of learning and inspiration as well as entertainment.
I do a lot of networking and one thing I have noticed recently is how many small businesses are starting to expect the worst from the current economic situation. Their heads are going down and they are in danger of creating a self fulfilling prophecy.
I have just returned from a camping holiday in Dorset and whilst away I had the delight of lighting and then tending a camp fire every evening. As I was gazing into the embers one evening it suddenly struck me that there are a number of similarities between lighting a camp fire and developing someone’s presentation or public speaking confidence.
