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Do you ever have the same problem I have?   I bet you do.   There you are sitting in front of your computer  with  blank powerpoint  or word template in front of you , a deadline looming and your mind is blank!

Unlocking our creativity and escaping the bind of writers block can be easier than you think - well that has been my experience anyway.    In this post I’d like to share a  technique I use to get the creative juices flowing again.

Change your location

It never ceases to amaze me how important my physical environment can be so whenever I get stuck I change my location and see what happens.   In the summer I go sit in the park.  In the winter I prefer a warm coffee shop, for obvious reasons!   Both seem to work well.    Nature is very stimulating and just noticing the trees, birds, clouds and people passing by is guaranteed to stimulate those neurones.

Likewise I find close proximity to other people works well too.   This surprised me initially because I thought it would have the opposite effect.    I suppose I got the idea from reading about how JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter Novels in her local coffee shop.   Somehow the clatter and the chatter kick-start my brain and I am amazed at how much more creative I can be.

So I’m curious as to where the best place for you would be.   If you haven’t tried changing your space then I highly recommend you do.   And remember to share your own experiences with me and the other readers of this blog by posting a comment below.

I regularly get asked how speakers can improve their ability to engage with their audience and hold their attention.   Given the number of dull boring and apparently pointless presentations I have had to sit through this is no great surprise,  I am often complimented in my ability to quickly engage my audience so today I’ll share with you some of my secrets.

1. Set a clear intention.
2. Have a clear outcome for the presentation - Know what you want them to do as a result of your talk
3. Connect with your audience before you start to speak. Silently welcome them as you scan the room
4. Quickly establish “What’s in it for your audience” so that  they can see the relevance of your content
5. Maintain good eye contact with the whole audience -
6. Vary you energy and expression - a  monotone delivery will send your audience to sleep
7. Turn your presentation into a story or series of stories that communicate your key messages
8. Don;t overload them with too much detail - less is more!

That’s it in a nutshell.   If you want more detail on any of these steps - just send me an email or aska  question in the comments box below and I’ll be happy to expand on any one of them.

Hello
I have been experimenting with my new flip video camera and here is the first result. Its a bit rough and ready but the content is dynamite!

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.

People are always asking me how I manage my nerves and come across as confident and fluent under almost any situation. Well I am not entirely sure but I believe that part of the answer lies in being able to quickly access a resourceful internal state.  By state I mean the neurophysiological gestalt or felt sense of how I am  feeling and thinking whilst  presenting.

Now that’s a bit of a mouthful so to get it it may be easier to take a moment to ask yourself this question.  “How would I need to be, in the moment, to allow me to express myself naturally and authentically to an audience?   - How would I be feeling and what would I be thinking simultaneously that would open up my capacity to be authentic?    Stop reading and imagine what that state could be for you now.

One powerful way that I use to access this state comes from the Eastern martial arts tradition and is called centering.  This process creates a state of preparedness which is akin to that needed to be an authentic communicator.

There are two components to centering:

1. Dropping down into centre
2. Opening out and connecting with the outside world

The first, involves us taking a couple of deep breaths and deliberately shifting our conscious attention   from our intellectual mind (head) down and into to our physical centre of gravity somewhere around our belly.

So far so good but If we just stayed in this place we might feel really relaxed but it would be difficult to communicate and influence with others.   So we need to add in  the second part of the process.

Once we are in our centre we can now imagine, opening up our consciousness outwards from our belly so that we energetically connect this sense of centeredness with the wider world outside.   In a presentation sense, this means connecting wordlessly with our audience.   Connecting from this more grounded place is quite different from connecting purely on an intellectual mind level.

When you do this it has profound beneficial effects not only on how you feel yourself, but also on the quality of connection you make with those around you.   Physically things change too; typically;

• Your delivery slows down
• You are able to speak from the heart without fear of what others may think
• Your voice tone drops, becomes more resonant, and takes on a much more genuine and compelling quality
• You become more comfortable with pauses and silences

You could say that centering is the “master skill” and like any skill it takes work and practice to develop.

The reason most people don’t get it is because at first it feels completely different from the normal, head centered style of communication most business communicators are used to.

This feeling of unfamiliarity is often labelled as discomfort and so they go back to their old habits.   If you stick with it and practice it, it will become the norm and your ability to conect and influence will improve quickly ans easily.

I came across this presentation from an Analyst at Morgan Stanley and it epitomises everything that is wrong with the way most people use PowerPoint.   Honestly!   it doesn’t have to be like this.  Don’t deluge your audience with data.   These slides are so busy that after a couple you just want to give up.

I’m sure this lady means well and knows her stuff, but believe me, presenting it in this way won’t hack it!  Do yourself a favour and learn how to ditch the bullet points and simplify your slides.  Your audience will thank you for it.

For some practical tips on how do do this check out my short video presentation on how to make powerpoint work

As an unashamed NLP fan, I have always been interested in the idea that we can learn much from modelling success in others but what about ourselves?

Modelling in NLP terms is the process of identifying a model or exemplar of excellence and then seeking to identify what are the critical patterns of behaviour AND though that underpin that excellence.   We know that our behaviours are driven by our internal mental patterns so it is vital that we seek to understand the thinking strategies of our exemplars as much as their behaviours.

In this post however I’d like to encourage you to apply the principles of modelling to yourself.    You may not yet have reached the dizzying hights of eloquence displayed by  President elect Barack Obama however I’ll bet that their are some things that you already do pretty well.

I recommend that  you set aside some time to answer the question “What am I already doing well!” and then get curious about what it is that is allowing you  to display this level of excellence.

Here are some questions to get you started?

• When I am performing at my best how am I behaving?  What’s my posture like, how is my eye contact?  how am I breathing?  What’s my speed of speech like?
• When I am speaking at my best what am I thinking about?   What am I saying to myself inside my head?   What pictures or mental movies am I running?
• When I am influencing at my best what do I believe that helps to feel they way I feel and act the way I act?   What do I beleive to bve true about myself and my abilities?   What do I beleive about the people I am communicating with?
• When I am feeling at my most confident and persuasive what am I paying attention to consciously?  What am I not thinking about?

Asking yourself these and other questions will start you on a powerful process of self modelling that will inevitably lead to self improvement.    By identifying you answers to these questions you are starting to identify a “model” of how you are operating when you are in the zone.   By testing and refining this model uou will develop your awareness and be able to make finer and more accurate distinctions as to what is the difference that makes the difference when you are performing above average and so raise your game incrementally.

I’d love it if you would share your observations with the rest of the readers of this post via the comments option.  By doing this we can try out each others patterns of success and find out which bits are truly transferable.

I spent some time in George Best International airport in Belfast recently coming back from a fundraising workshop with the charity Concern Worldwide UK

When I entered the airport departure lounge I saw the usual television screens with departure and arrival information but I also saw something I had never seen before…

Normally, when your flight has not been called, the screens show the message “Please wait in lounge”  but in Belfast airport thy had a different message!   Somebody had clearly thought about the impact of words and had harnessed their knowledge to see if they could increase the amount of money people spend whilst waiting for their flight.

Can you guess what they did?

They changed the message from “Please wait in the lounge” to “Relax and shop”

To me this is a classic example of how changing the words people read can have a major impact on their behaviour.   If you want your audience to do something, then tell them what it is you want them to do!

How could you use this simple lesson to become more persuasive and influential

I’d love to hear your examples or comments!

I often get asked for tips to help people who have to deal with more senior people. One of the most common questions in this area is how do I project authority and credibility.

One powerful way to do this is to simply focus on keep your head still when you speak! Sounds crazy I know but it is true and it works. Head stillness is one of a number of key non verbal cues that effect the way we are perceived by others.

if you don’t believe me - take a look at this clip from Dirty Harry and see for yourself.