presentation

Rise Above Cattiness

2008-07-16T19:11:00.021-07:00

Cattiness is something no one ever wants to be accused of doing. But the reality is, at one time or another you've probably engaged in it, and most likely, you'll do it again. This trait can include any number of unfortunate behaviors from not saying what we really intend to say, to saying things in a harsh tone of voice. It also includes gossiping, cynical remarks, and on a grander scale, outright rudeness. Cattiness can stand in the way of marketing your business since what you say and how you say it is critical in building rapport with potential clients and customers. Think about how you come across to the people you interact with on a daily basis. Check in with your attitude and behavior to make sure you are coming from your best place at all times.

1. Always tell the truth. Your word is one of the strongest tools for building outstanding relationships with your clients and customers. It starts from the first moment that you decide to open your business and it carries forward throughout the years. Telling the truth not only about who you are, but also about your products and services, is essential to building a strong foundation for a successful business. It is through honesty that you build confidence and trust in the hearts and minds of those who do business with you. These are the qualities that help to maintain your current clients and which lead them to make referrals to you. It takes only a moment of dishonesty to destroy your reputation and credibility. Rise above the crowd - tell the truth, always, and you'll have your customers telling everyone about you!

2. Come from a place of integrity. One of the best ways to rise above catty behavior is to make integrity your central "come from" place when you deal with others. Integrity is about core honesty. When you come from a place of being fully integrated in your thoughts and actions, you are operating from a place of integrity. This gives others a sense of confidence in you - that you are predictable and consistent. After all, people like to do business with those who they know, like, and trust. By coming from a place of integrity you'll be just that person.

3. Have empathy for others. Individuals who have empathy don't have a place in their hearts to be mean-spirited towards others. They understand that life holds challenges enough for all and that they have no right to add to another person's burden. To have empathy for others, we must have it for ourselves. For those who have not learned that important life lesson, they can only give away what they have inside of themselves. For those who have empathy, there is no place for catty behavior to enter the picture. They interact with others only from a place of love and understanding.

4. Let go of the need for power. Catty behavior typically manifests when someone needs to come from a place of power. In order to feel complete, a catty person must make others feel incomplete. Rather than coming from a place of competition with others, try coming from a place of cooperation. Appreciate the gifts and talents that others have to offer. Recognize that there is plenty for all and that there is no winner or loser. Instead, everyone can be a winner. One is powerful because it is a chosen state of mind, not something gained at the expense of others.

5. Let go of the need for control. Some people engage in catty behavior when they possess a strong need for control, a behavior deeply rooted in fear. Closely aligned with the need for power, these folks want to manipulate the thoughts and actions of others for their personal gain. And, this is done by saying and doing things to intimidate or coerce. Letting go of the need for control will actually allow you to enjoy life by decreasing stress levels. The reality is that nothing can be controlled in life except for one's response to it.

6. Stop gossiping. "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." (Unknown) Gossiping is one of the most catty of behaviors. Not only is it destructive to others but it is also a complete waste of one's own lifetime. You might think you're not gossiping because you only say great things about others. The truth is that anytime you are discussing someone other than yourself, whether good news or bad, you are engaging in gossip. Why not engage in discussions about great ideas, instead? Life is made of only one thing - time. Be careful how you spend it.

7. Elevate others. One of the ways to rise above catty behavior is to hold others in the highest regard. By adopting a mindset of respecting everyone, you are showing respect for yourself as well. Want more for others than you want for yourself. Come from a place of providing service to others. Strange as it may seem, this attitude will bring more benefits to you than you could possibly imagine.

8. Re-language your life. Those who refuse to engage in catty behavior watch the thoughts they think and the words they utter. Studies have shown that negative words actually emanate a lower energy than positive words. Nasty, negative, or mean-spirited words or thoughts have no place in the heads and hearts of the highly evolved. Engage in cooperative, kind, friendly interactions that build up others and benefit all. Watch the thoughts you think and the words you utter. These things speak volumes about who you are and how others perceive you.

9. Stop competing. Catty behavior often comes shining through when one adopts a mindset of competition. Competitive people think there must always be a winner and a loser. Even a simple conversation can be converted into a competition about who knows more or who is better. Competition, nowadays, is often seen as childish and immature. Highly evolved people choose to come from a place of cooperation. They are confident in their beliefs, yet can understand and empathize with others who might disagree.

10. Own your own stuff. Catty people do not take responsibility for their life outcomes. Much of their unfortunate behavior towards others is the manifestation of anger, internal resentment and low self-esteem. The ill will they feel inside is often unleashed upon unknowing others in the form of negative comments, cynicism, and rudeness. People who rise above catty behavior own their own stuff. They take personal responsibility for their actions and understand that everyone (including themselves) is impacted by what they think, say, and do.

by Alicia Smith

Kvetching Behavior and How it Hinders Success

2008-07-16T19:11:00.019-07:00

Kvetching is the Yiddish word for complaining, hand to the forehead, why is this happening to me, complaining, griping, and mental misery. In marketing it's always time for us to take a serious look at how our attitude affects our business. Studies show that you become the words you speak, and that the difference between people who succeed and those who fail is their ATTITUDE. For just one day, try to rid yourself of kvetching.

1. Pay attention to your thoughts. Mindfulness is being highly aware of what you are thinking at all times. It's not easy to do, but with practice, you can master it. By being mindful, you will begin to notice how many of your thoughts are positive or negative. Each time you find yourself thinking something negative, you need to stop and replace it with another, higher quality thought. What you think about, you attract. Pay attention to what you're doing with your mind. If you wish to attract better, you need to think better. For one day, eradicate negative thoughts from your life.

2. Look for the positive in everything. Some people might think this Pollyanna. But, the truth is that we make our lives what they are. We are the sum total of our thoughts and actions. The wonderful thing about life is that we always have a choice - no matter how much we might not believe this or see it in the moment. We can always find the bad in things or we can live from a higher place and seek out the positive. Why pick the dark side when you can walk in the light? For one day, find the positive in everything, no matter what.

3. Avoid negative talk. What we say, flows from what we think. When we start verbalizing our negativity this is when we really start to "pollute" our life and that of others. Life is hard enough, why waste it talking about negative things. The more you do the less you'll attract people and opportunities. No one is interested in your problems as much as you are. As the saying goes, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. This way, you'll avoid re-enforcing any negative thoughts you might be having and the people around you will welcome the break from your intruding on their peace of mind. Just for one day, avoid saying anything negative. Speak only about positive things or say nothing at all.

4. Focus on productive things. Nothing can be accomplished by focusing on negative things. Negativity is all about stopping things, blockages, inaction, and being stuck. It will never lead you towards accomplishing the goals that underlie your vision. By focusing on productive things, you will be acting from a place of control, actively creating the reality you desire. Productive things are things that fulfill your goals. They are things that you can take charge of and direct. And, they are the stepping-stones that lead to accomplishment, success, and happiness. For one day, participate only in productive activities.

5. Take action. When you're in action, you just don't have the time, energy, or inclination to complain about what is going on around you. Your mind, body, and spirit are actively engaged in productive activities oriented towards achieving desired outcomes. In fact, if you find yourself in a negative frame of mind, taking any type of action is the quickest way to pull yourself out of your funk. Negative thinking tends to focus on the past, what could have been, and what you should have done. Action puts you in a more positive mode. When you take action, your mind is focused on the future, looking forward to results, accomplishment and success. For one day, take three actions towards accomplishing a selected goal.

6. Get clear. Often times, mental misery stems from chaotic thinking. Chaotic thinking is thinking that jumps all over the place, with no rhyme or reason. It often stems from having a poorly defined personal foundation or philosophy of life. When we have a clear sense of who we are, what we believe in, and what we stand for, we have a framework from which to operate our lives. With a strong foundation, the thoughts and experiences we have then have a place to "land". Based upon our framework, we are able to make sense of them and develop meaning from them. When we are without a solid personal foundation, everything in life seems chaotic and nonsensical. We don't get it, we don't understand, and frustration and anger are the results. By strengthening our inner core, we can better make sense of who we are and the world we live in. For one day, try to create a more clear understanding of something you are dealing with in your life.

7. Find resources and people, and get involved. Sometimes we find ourselves feeling miserable because we are operating from a place of isolation. We need to engage other resources and people to change how we feel. We can read interesting books. We can consult others or make new friends. We can try new ways of doing things. By engaging more fully in what life has to offer, we can get our minds off of ourselves and our problems and looking outward instead of inward. When we get engaged in life, we start appreciating how magnificent it really is. We focus our attention and intentions on service to others instead of focusing on our self and our ego. For one day, think about how you can get more involved in some aspect of your life and take one action in that direction.

8. Find better things to do. Our misery is often rooted in the activities in which we engage. We might not enjoy our commute to work, the types of work we do, doing dishes, or dealing with the same people who annoy us. If we find better things to do or different ways of doing the things we are currently engaged in, quite often we are able to change how we feel. For one day, think about how you might change one thing you do to make it more enjoyable. For example, we can take a different route to work or listen to books-on-tape to make our commuting more fun. We can use paper plates and plastic ware when we would like to avoid doing lots of dishes, or we can stand up for who we are and let the annoying people in our lives know that they need to change their attitude with us or leave the situation. We are responsible for our own happiness. We must make it happen.

9. Change your environment and you life will change. We are involved in all sorts of environments - communities, ideas, organizations, physical, mental, spiritual. If we change the types of environments in which we are involved, we will automatically change our thoughts and, thus, our life. Even simple changes in our physical environment, like filing paperwork, straightening up our desk, and aligning our books on the bookshelf can have a tremendous soothing effect on our mind. For one day, make several changes in your physical environment and notice the difference it makes in terms of your thoughts and emotions. You may then decide to tackle other environments and see what happens from there.

10. Get feedback from others. Often times we don't realize how horrible our attitude is until someone tells us. We are too close to the problem and not living from a place of higher awareness to realize that we complain about everything, look on the dark side, or never appreciate or express gratitude. If you want to know how you appear to the world, get feedback from others. Find out what you're complaining about, how often, and also how annoying that behavior is to others. Believe me, others can readily tell you how you act because they are experiencing you and your attitude first hand. Try to deal with their comments objectively. This valuable feedback can help you realize the impact that you are having on others and the environment. And, hopefully, this will empower you to make some changes to improve your attitude and, likewise, will create positive results for others as well. For one day, ask for feedback about your behavior and make an effort to improve upon it. What you do and think affects everyone; you have a responsibility to yourself and to others to do what is right and best at all times.

by Alicia Smith

Wow! Is That ME? - Creating a Powerful One-Page Bio

2008-07-16T19:11:00.017-07:00

First of all, what is a bio sheet and why do you need one? A bio sheet is a one page description of who you are--your background and achievements. Your bio is an important part of how you present yourself to potential clients. You may include it in your media kit, in proposals to clients, and anywhere you want to establish your credibility and expert reputation.

Here's where the ego boost comes in: Start by writing down all of your accomplishments. These may include:

* Education

* Experience

* Credentials

* Professional affiliations and memberships

* Leadership positions

* Relevant volunteer work

* Media appearances

* What/where you've published

* Speeches and presentations to professional groups, etc.

* Important clients

* A (brief) client testimonial

* Awards

* Relevant family or leisure activities (e.g., travel)

Now, weave these elements into a narrative, being certain to focus on the interests of your audience. Remember, the question on their minds is always, "What's in this for ME?" Include information that shows how your clients benefit from what you do.

What if you don't have any awards, or you haven't published anything? Don't worry about it. Focus on the positives you have. Likewise, if you are changing fields and don't have a lot of experience in your new field, look for transferable accomplishments from previous work, or through your life experience.

Once you've got all this written down on a single page, even you will be impressed at how good you are! Use your bio sheet every chance you get. I send it out in media kits, include it in proposals to potential clients and sponsors, give it to program chairs when I book a speaking engagement, send it with article proposals, use it on the back of handouts at seminars and speeches, etc.

Remember to keep your bio current-after all, it is a work in progress, to be continued!

By Copyright Cathy Stucker

Ten Tips on Using Flip Charts and Whiteboards

2008-07-16T19:11:00.015-07:00

Flip charts are so common that we all think we can use them. But how often have you sat in presentations wondering what all the scribble was really about? Like many people you have probably seen flip charts that make no sense, that you can't read from the back of the room and that look like a spider has crawled over them. You don't want your flip charts to look like that, do you? Just follow these ten simple steps and you will have flip charts that look truly professional.

1. Try, if you can, to prepare your flip chart pages in advance. This means your audience does not have to wait while you try to draw things on the page.

2. Leave one blank page, at least, between each prepared page. That way you can add extra detail or jot down audience comments without having to flick through several pages to reach a blank sheet.

3. If you need to draw diagrams or charts as you deliver your talk create light pencil outlines on the page in advance. The audience will not be able to see your pre-drawn illustrations - but you will and your finished drawing will look more professional as you can copy the marks.

4. Make sure you have a conclusion page at the end of the flip chart. You can then turn to this at the end of your presentation and summarise what you have said.

5. Your first page should either be blank or have a 'title page', such as the subject of your presentation. In this way, your first page of text will not distract your audience.

6. On each page that you have written some key points leave plenty of space. This means you can add in comments from the audience (in a different colour) as you go through your talk.

7. Use big letters (but not capitals) so that your audience can read your writing. Each character should be at least three inches tall.

8. Reserve bright colours for charts and diagrams. Text should be in a dark colour, such as black or blue, so it can be easily seen.

9. If you write on the flip chart as you go through your talk, stand to one side so people can see what you have written.

10. After your presentation has finished go back through your flip chart pages and prepare some notes based on what was added during the talk. You can then give this information to the people who were present so they have a record of the event.

By Graham Jones

How To Run Your Greatest Conference Ever

2008-07-16T19:11:00.013-07:00

Like most good achievements, a magnificent meeting depends on planning and preparation. These are essential to a good conference and this article explains the basics of what you need to do.

Planning
The first stage in organising any conference is planning. Your plan should start with these questions:

What do we want our audience to go home and say about the meeting, apart from the fact that they had a great time?

What is the key message we want our audience to remember?

What action do we want our audience to take after attending this conference?

In other words, start your planning with your meeting's overall objectives. Write these objectives down and ensure that everyone involved knows them - from people who hand out the coffee to the speakers themselves. The answers to these questions will be your mission statement for the meeting. You must have a clear set of simple objectives for your meeting otherwise it will fail.Having set your objectives you will need to work out how you will achieve them. Challenge all your assumptions about your proposed conference. For instance:

Do you actually need a conference to achieve your objectives? Will some other kind of meeting or even no meeting do?

Do you need one big meeting or a number of small, more intimate ones?

Does the meeting need to be a grand formal affair, or an informal get-together?

In other words, just because you have been set the task of organising a conference, does not mean you have to! If there is an alternative, superior method of achieving your objectives, choose that route instead. Do not opt for a conference just because it seems a good idea.Choose your key messages
Assuming you have set your sights on a conference, you'll now need to work out what messages you want to convey. These will arise from your mission statement. It is worthwhile noting, though, that there is plenty of research to back up the fact that your audience - no matter how expert - will only remember a handful of messages from your meeting. Typically, the average conference day can only deliver four or five main messages. Once you have set out your key messages, work out the order in which these will make most sense. Try to produce a logical sequence so that one key message clearly comes out of the previous one. This will make it much easier for your audience to remember the meeting. Do not put your messages together in some kind of internal sequence, such as by company department. Instead, put your messages together that would be seen as logical by the audience. If you do not know what would be logical to them, you need to do some audience research to find out. Indeed, finding out as much as you can about your audience is essential to any meeting.

Describe your audience
You now have a good idea as to what you want to say at your conference. But who will be listening? You need a definition of your audience that will help everyone involved. Your audience definition should describe a typical member of the audience - age, gender, job title, work interests, personal likes and dislikes, professional qualifications etc. Together with your conference mission statement and your key messages, your audience description will provide you with a very clear outline of your meeting. Together these three items will tell you:

What you will say

Why you will say it

Who will be listening

What they will do

Your audience description will also provide your speakers with a good guide as to what they need to say in order to get their message across. Knowing who they are speaking to is a tremendous boost for speakers as they can much more accurately target their talks.You have now completed all the main parts of your initial planning and your need to move on to detailed preparation.

Preparing your conference
The first stage of preparation is script writing. You need at the very least an outline script of your event. Often, people produce a conference programme that shows the timings and the list of speakers. But this is not enough. Your outline script needs to be much more than a simple programme. That's because everyone involved in the conference needs to know exactly what will happen, when it will occur and how it will take place. Otherwise, it might not be possible to ensure you meet your conference mission.

Your script should start with the logical order of your key messages you produced in the planning stage. Then allocate some timing to each message. Generally, no key message should take longer than 20-30 minutes to deliver; the human attention span is comparatively short and you'll need plenty of breaks to keep your audience 'alive' and 'fresh'. Also, at this stage, decide where to hold your long breaks, like coffee, lunch and so on. These long breaks should always come in your programme at dramatic points. You will want to leave your audience with something powerful to talk about so make sure the key message delivered before a break is controversial, emotional or surprising in some way. This will keep your audience on their toes and wanting to come back into the room for more. This means you may well need to arrange breaks at unusual timings - don't opt for coffee at 11am, for instance, because that is 'normal'. Instead, put coffee immediately after a controversial message, even if it means breaking for coffee at 10.30 or 11.30. In other words, shape your meeting around the messages, not tradition. By arranging your timing in this way, you will be helping to ensure the maximum impact of your key messages and therefore supporting your conference mission. Your conference script can now have some detail added to it. For instance, you can now put some specific times onto your programme. These would include the length of each presentation, the length of each link between talks and the timing of any music, video or other multimedia you are planning to include. In other words, your conference script that determines how long a video or a presentation will be - not the items that determine the programme timing. Essentially, you are working much like a TV producer; these people have fixed times available to them - 30 minutes, 50 minutes, an hour. What they have to do is fit all the music, the dialogue and any breaks into that time - no less and no more. That's what a professional conference script will be like - detailed timings of every item to be included. Far too many conferences decide what to include and then try to work the timings out afterwards.

Choosing your speakers
Your preparation can now move on to deciding whom you should use as speakers. You will realise that you have done a great deal of work already, and that the speakers will have to fit in with your plans if the conference is to be a success. You do not need prima donnas who say they need an hour to give their talk when your script only allows 20 minutes. Nobody, absolutely nobody, is more important than your audience. Hence, the script that has been prepared from their point of view is virtually sacrosanct. Speakers will need to be the kind of people who will fit in with your requirements; you cannot allow yourself to fit your programme around the speakers. Otherwise, you will fail to meet your conference mission. To ensure that you get the right speakers, prepare yourself a 'Speaker's Contract'. This is a list of requirements that you have of your speakers. When you invite someone to speak, you let them sign up to the contract; if they don't like it, there are plenty of other speakers around. Professional speakers never have a problem with such contracts. In fact, they like them. Suitable speakers are those that can deliver your key messages - not necessarily the most senior people in the business or an expert. Base your decision on who should speak based on their ability to communicate with your audience - not on any other measure. This means, for instance, that the best person to get a particular message across might be a senior manager, rather than the chief executive. This does not matter - what does matter is that the audience gets the message, not who they get it from. Indeed, some large multinationals use actors to get important messages across, rather then senior executives.

Speaker preparation
Having selected your speakers and got them to sign up to your contract, the next stage of preparation is working with them to write their talks. Under no circumstances should you allow a speaker to do this alone. If you do, you will lose control over your messages and your overall conference mission. In other words, speakers are going to need to work closely with you and accept their talks being edited - even written for them. In fact, many top company conferences use scriptwriters who produce all of the talks for all of the speakers. That way the delivery of key messages and the conference mission is tightly controlled. Of course, this does not mean your speakers can have no input. Their contributions are highly valuable. It just means you need to get them to work with a professional writer who can take their material and shape into something that fits with the overall conference objectives. Speakers will usually only be interested in their talk; hence they can disturb the balance of the meeting as they are not properly focused on the conference as a whole. Using a scriptwriter means that you can ensure that the meeting does not become unbalanced in any way.

Preparing audio visuals
The scripts for each talk can be the basis for the preparation of visuals for the conference. Often, speakers fall into the trap of preparing their slides and then trying to write their talk around them. This means presentations can often drift and lose the attention of the audience as they are not tightly controlled. By writing the words first, it is possible to choose visuals that are much more accurately linked to the material being said. Also, being able to read the text of a talk allows graphic artists to be more creative as they know exactly what the speaker is trying to convey. Never start a talk with visuals - always write the text first and add the visuals later.

Preparing the venue
You have now reached the stage where you have a detailed timetable of the programme, the words that will be said and the visuals that will accompany them. You now need to make sure that the environment in which all this activity will take place is set up to help you achieve your mission. You will need to visit the venue a number of times to prepare efficiently and effectively. You will need to look out for the ways in which your audience will pass through the building - gain a good idea of 'foot flow'. Make sure the building is going to help you achieve what you want. If modifications are needed, such as barriers or signage, get them organised now. You will also need to work out items like seating arrangements for the audience and the speakers, as well as lighting, acoustics and a host of other 'production' factors. If you are not experienced in this aspect of conference organisation, you will need the advice of a professional conference director or a conference production company. Don't make the mistake of getting these people in after you have made your decisions about the venue and your meeting. Get these people in early; seek their advice and their input to your preparation. These people organise many conferences and know all the problems - and more importantly can come up with solutions to any difficulties you may face. If you have already organised your mission statement for the meeting and drawn up your list of key messages, a conference producer will be so much more able to help.

Practising
Under no circumstances should you allow a conference to go ahead without rehearsal. Otherwise, the event itself will be the first rehearsal. Can you imagine seeing a play's first rehearsal? Even professional actors can improve upon their first attempts. Yet, you are likely to be using people without such skills as your presenters. Hence, their first rehearsal is almost certainly going to be quite bad, compared with the final performance. If you do not have any rehearsals, your conference will be nothing more than a bunch of amateurs trying to do their best, and probably failing. You simply must rehearse; otherwise you will be unable to meet your objectives.

Ideally, you should rehearse each speaker alone, several weeks in advance. Get a presentations coach to guide them through some key improvements and to help them learn some stage skills. If you have people who are new to speaking at conferences, get them some basic training. Then, get your speakers together so they can perform a 'run through'. In this way, everyone will know what will take place and the order of the event. They will also get a 'feel' for the detailed timetable. These kinds of rehearsals can be in any large room - a hotel, a village hall, it doesn't really matter. However, you will also want your speakers to feel comfortable with the venue, so you will need them to run through their talks on the actual stage they will be using. Do this a week or two in advance, so they can go away and think about any changes in delivery they need to make and get a chance to practice them. Finally, the day before the conference you should have a full 'dress rehearsal' - lights, cameras, visuals etc. Only then will your conference mission be achievable. To do any less is to accept second best.

Guiding your helpers
Throughout the conference planning and organising process you will doubtless have a team of assistants, from admin to graphic artists to people who hand out the badges to the audience. All of these people should know what is happening at every stage of the process. For this reason you should produce a complete guide to the conference - a manual for the team involved. This should show all the detailed times, include important information about the venue, the hotels being used and so on. Make sure all the important contact information is included and instructions are added as to what to do in all sorts of eventualities. This manual will be the 'bible' which every 'back stage' participant will need to use to ensure the event runs smoothly. In the professional theatre, such manuals are an established means of ensuring the production runs smoothly. Initially developed by the producer, these manuals eventually become the stage manager's rulebook for running the show. Your manual should do just the same.

On the day
Firstly, don't worry. Secondly, don't panic. If you have done all the planning and preparation thoroughly, any difficulties at this stage will be minor. Whatever happens 'the show must go on'. So, sit back and enjoy watching the audience have a good time. If you have planned it effectively, they will. Well done.

By Graham Jones

Dump Your Speeches For Leadership Talks

2008-07-16T19:11:00.009-07:00

The CEO of a worldwide business asked me to help him develop a talk he planned to give to several hundred of his top executives. He said, "I feel as if I'm Daniel going into the lion's den."

Indeed, it was the business equivalent of a lion's den that he was entering. Hired from a competing firm, he was a stranger to the company, a company hobbled by declining market share and bad morale caused by the arbitrary actions of the previous CEO, an isolated dictator.

"This is the first time most of them will see and hear me," he said. "I'll give a presentation on the state of the business."

"Hold on," I said. "Don't give a presentation. Give a Leadership Talk instead."

There is a difference, I explained, between a presentation/speech and a Leadership Talk. A presentation/speech communicates information, but a Leadership Talk not only communicates information but makes a deep, emotional, human connection with the audience.

Most leaders give presentations and speeches most of the time when they should be giving Leadership Talks.

"You're facing an important leadership situation," I said. "The old saying, 'You never get a second chance to make a first impression' applies here in spades. You've got a great Leadership Talk opportunity. But to have people believe in you and follow you, they must be emotionally committed to you and what you say. So understand what their emotional needs are."

I went out into the field and talked to a number of his managers and found out that they were feeling intimidated by the demands of increasingly sophisticated customers. I found out that they feared not being supported in the decisions they made in the field. I learned that they were angry at having to meet what they considered unnecessary reporting requirements. I learned that they didn't trust the top executives.

Intimidation, fear, anger, distrust . . . those emotions described the state of his audience and, in truth, the state of the business.

The CEO gave a Leadership Talk that spoke to and answered the needs of those emotions, a talk based on the single idea that he was a person that they could trust.

That Leadership Talk marked the beginning of a turnaround for that company.

The lesson: Analyze and speak to the emotion of a situation, and you can become a dramatically more effective leader.

Make that analysis happen this way:

* Know the difference between a presentation/speech and Leadership Talk then view every speaking situation you encounter as either a presentation/speech situation or a Leadership Talk situation.

* Know that you rarely give presentation/speeches and that The Leadership Talk should be your primary leadership communication tool.

* Analyze the emotions of your audience by asking what they feel at the time you speak, what they fear, what angers them, what inspires them.

* Structure your talk around emotional-talking points. For instance, list three things that angers your audience. Make those things the main headings of your talk.

* Speak to them about their emotions. Tell them, for instance, that you realize they are angry and what they are angry about. Tell them what you realize they are feeling.

Speak thus, and you are revealed in powerful motivational ways. Furthermore, they are revealed to themselves.

These revelations can create strong bonds between speakers and audiences.

Understand the speaking situation in terms of its emotional content, and you understand that situation in new ways. Understand it in new ways and you speak in new ways. And when you speak in new ways, your audience acts in new ways.

Improve Your Bottom Line with What You Say

2008-07-16T19:11:00.007-07:00

When was the last time you thought about what you were actually saying to potential clients? Are you closing the deal more often than not? Or maybe it's time to revamp your elevator speech or introduction.

Remember potential clients do not want to hear statistics about you and your company; they want to know how your product or service will benefit them and make their life easier.

Here are some guidelines to inspire a winning introduction.

1. Do your homework. What is important to your potential clients? What do they value, what are their struggles, what stresses them out and keeps them up at night?

2. I have taken countless writing and grammar seminars, the one thing that they say is to write at an 8th grade level--the TV Guide is written at a 3rd grade level. You want everyone to understand what you are trying to sell them. Jargon will only impress other people in your field

3. Keep it short and simple-less than 50 words.

4. Start with a question that you know the answer will be 'yes'. For example, "You know how business owners spend so much time doing their paperwork that they do not have time to do their actual work? I take care of your administrative tasks so you can focus on your billable hours." This gives them something to relate to.

Remember the person on the other end of this conversation is either your ideal client or knows someone who is. Giving them a clear picture of what you do so they think of you when they run into someone looking for particular talents.

By Kathy McHenry

Public Speaking Training Tips For Better Business Presentations To Culturally Diverse Audiences

2008-07-16T19:11:00.005-07:00

Audiences around the world are all different. Cultural, social and religious differences impact on how people learn, take in information and interact with presenters.

After delivering 3 presentations to 1,200 Managers and Franchisees from the largest fast food company in the Philippines, these are my thoughts on how to make an impact with culturally diverse audiences.

This is the result of extensive feedback and practical knowledge of what works and what doesn't after delivering business presentations throughout Asia.

Here are 10 Tips on Delivering Better Business Presentations to Asian Audiences.

1. Do Your Research. Find out as much as you can about the country and organisation you are working with. Read guidebooks, travel magazines, search the Internet and use the local media to gain as much knowledge as you can about the cultural background and history of the people you are working with.

2. Use local language and key phrases as an icebreaker, welcome or to highlight important points. Modify the content of your presentation to account for local differences. For example, in my work in the Philippines I used a range of local 'Tagalog' (one of the two official languages) words in both my welcome and presentation to make points and this went down really well. Former US President JFK used "Ich bin ein Berliner" to great effect in Germany during one of his speeches.

3. Use local examples. Nothing goes down better when trying to explain a new concept than using a local example. This will make your presentation more relevant.

4. Get to know the audience. It is most likely you will be a foreigner and many in the audience may not know you very well at all. Meet as many people personally before the presentation as possible. When presenting let the audience warm up to you before throwing questions at them. I've noticed light-hearted bantering with the audience at the beginning of a presentation works well.

5. Speak slowly and clearly. For many Asians, English is not their first language. Speak with less of an accent and present more slowly than you would with an Australian audience.

6. Use of Visual Aids. Again, because of language barriers back-up your verbal message with clear and easy to understand visual aids.

7. Use Humour. This tried and true method works across cultural boundaries. Use universal humour and avoid material that is country specific and not relevant. Never ever use inappropriate humour in any situation.

8. Physically involve the audience. Most audiences, no matter what cultural background, tend to switch off after 20 minutes of information from the presenter. Use a physical activity or interaction to keep the audience awake and alert. One word of warning though, don't try this at the beginning when they haven't got to know you.

9. Cut out some content. You will be speaking more slowly and spending time getting to know the audience and interacting with them. This will take time and you will need to cut out some content. Otherwise the presentation will be rushed. I find with most presenters, nearly all put too much content in their presentations.

10. Evaluate, review and continually improve. I never stop learning. Every time I speak in front of an audience, I always learn something new. Presenting to audiences outside of your comfort zone is always a challenge. Be prepared to learn, improve and be a better presenter.

By Thomas Murrell MBA CSP

Practice Makes Perfect - 7 Tips for Making the Most of Your Presentation Practice

2008-07-16T19:11:00.003-07:00

Believe it or not, preparation is a better determinant of presentation success than knowledge, experience, or even talent. The best presenter is almost always the presenter who is the most prepared. Even so, there are a lot of conflicting ideas about what constitutes thorough presentation preparation.

So what exactly is thorough preparation?

Here are seven straight forward tips to increase the effectiveness of the time you invest in your practice.

1. Practice Delivery Out Loud. Practice is NOT mentally rehearsing your presentation on the drive over to the presentation or even thinking about your presentation while tossing and turning at night. Both of these are something, but not practice. A lot can happen between thinking about what you want to say and actually getting the words to come out of your mouth coherently. If you don't actually practice speaking out loud, when the time comes, you may struggle to articulate your mentally well rehearsed thoughts. To the audience, this struggle will appear to be lack of preparation.

2. Try to Conduct Your Practice in a Situation Similar to the Real Speaking Venue. Whenever possible, conduct your practice in a situation that closely mirrors the real presentation. For example, if you will be speaking in front of a large group in an auditorium or large conference room, try to practice in a large room filled with as many audience recruits as possible. Why? Research indicates that if your practice closely mirrors your real presentation, once you are in the actual presentation your brain will think you have done this before. Besides practice, the next most important ingredient in your success is experience.

3. Practice in Front of Real People. If you can't find any audience recruits at work, ask your spouse, best friend, or if all else fails, your pet to listen to your presentation. Interacting with a live audience is an important part of your practice. It helps you not only rehearse your delivery, but gain experience reading and reacting to the silent messages your audience is sending you about their understanding, their likes, and their dislikes.

4. The Mirror is Your Friend. Even after you've practiced in front of an audience, continue to rehearse in front of the greatest critic of all, yourself in the mirror. The mirror is a WONDERFUL if underused presentation practice tool. It will allow you to see and hear your delivery live and make decisions about how to enhance your style. Remember, when it comes to practicing your presentation, the mirror really is your friend.

5. Practice From Beginning to End Without Stopping. Practice all the way through the presentation without stopping-even if you make a mistake. Most presenters have a tendency to stop their practice each time they make a mistake. Besides reinforcing this negative practice, when you continually stop and start over you get very good at the beginning of the presentation, but can't deliver an effective conclusion because you've rarely made it to the end of the presentation. As the second most remembered part of your presentation, it is important to have a strong, well-rehearsed close.

6. Practice With Your Props. If you are using visual aids such as a PowerPoint slide show, make sure you practice with your slides. Visual aids of any kind add another layer of complexity to presentation and require practice to use effectively. Practicing with your slides will help prepare you for the things that inevitably go wrong and help you avoid unprofessional behaviors such as not knowing how to advance your slide show or how to put the slide show in the proper view for display.

7. Do it One More Time. After you feel you've done it well in practice and are happy with your performance, practice one more time to make sure your success wasn't just a happy accident. All in all, depending upon you and your content, you may need to practice your presentation delivery out loud 5 to 10 times. Yes, that's right, you might have to practice out loud up to 10 times, but don't worry, your audience's thundering applause will make the effort worthwhile!

By Debbie Bailey

Trade Show Victory!

2008-07-16T19:11:00.001-07:00

So you're going to have a booth at a trade show. How exciting - or how terrifying - depending on your state of mind!

First of all - remain calm - you're not the first person to do this. There's some easy to follow tips that will ensure success at the show, and give you follow up business too.

Preparation ahead of time is important. Gather all the supplies you'll need. Brochures, business cards, product samples, entry forms for a draw, professional signs and any audio visual equipment you'll need. Be sure to ask for electricity from show organizers well in advance if you will need it. Also, do not let any piece of marketing literature leave your booth without contact information on it - people MUST know how to get in touch with you after the show.

Make your booth look GREAT! It doesn't have to cost a lot of money - ask a friend whose got a sense of style to help you create something that is eye catching but doesn't cost too much. Don't over crowd your display area because people get overwhelmed and pass by; but on the other hand, don't have so little that people think there's nothing to see. Make sure your sign is professionally printed and hung straight!

Once you've set up your booth, stand back about 20 feet and objectively take a look at it. Is it welcoming? Is your sign easy to read? Can people tell what you do BEFORE they get to your booth? These are critical issues that you need to answer before the show.

At the show be friendly - wear a name tag and smile. When people come by your booth, you've a VERY short period of time to catch their attention. This is the time you need to have something to say. Create a 15 - 20 second "speech" you can recite. For example, if you sell children's wall murals, why not try this, "Hi there, I'm Julie Lewis and I use paint to create a magical room for your child or an experience that will take you anywhere in the world with my wall murals." Sounds more exciting that "I paint wall murals", doesn't it?

Let's try another one, "Hello, I'm Alex Brown and I create marketing programs for my clients that really make them be unforgettable!"

By having something prepared in advance, you're always ready to gain a new client! If you're unprepared you will look very unprofessional.

Encourage everyone who walks by to take a brochure, sample your product or enter a free draw. ALWAYS have a free draw - give away a good prize - it doesn't have to be expensive. Use the draw entry forms to follow up on with a sales letter, or put on a mailing list for future business.

I'm always amazed at the number of business people at trade shows who don't have a draw, and then have no way to follow up with potential customers! Create your draw entry form so that it will provide you with more information than just name and address. Get the standard contact information, but also ask questions specific to your products or service. Something like: "are you planning to buy our type of product in the next six months?" or "have you heard of our product before?" - Things like that will give you a conversation starter when you call them after the show. If you worry about "bothering people" by calling them, you can add the following at the bottom of the entry: "I do not wish to be contacted." - and be sure to leave a check box next to the sentence. This allows those people who really only entered the draw just to get a prize to be easily weeded out. This way you don't waste your time isn't wasted calling them, and you don't bother people who don't wish to be called. Most people do NOT check off the box that says "I do not wish to be contacted - so don't worry that you will not have anyone to call.

After the show - call or contact all those people who stopped by your booth, and indicated an interest in one of your products or services. Try to get in touch with them within a week at the most. Keep track of those people who find you through the trade show and later buy from you. Figure out how much your expenses were to be in the show (include booth rental, your time, items for your display, gas to get there, parking, etc.) Now figure out the profit (include expenses for materials and supplies to make your product - don't forget shipping & packaging). Now you have your ROI (return on investment). THIS IS A CRITICAL number that will allow you to assess whether or not it is worth doing this trade show again.

Some trade shows prohibit direct selling at the show - they only allow you to take orders. In this case you MUST do follow up. Do NOT assume that people will call you - they WON'T! If you don't believe me - answer this: How many times have YOU called someone you met at a trade show, even if you just adored their product? If you don't like doing follow up phone calls, hire someone to do it for you. If you're not going to do the calls at all - don't even bother doing the show - you're wasting time and money.

Make sure that pick up business cards from all the other exhibitors at the trade show as well. Some may be immediate customers, while others may have the potential to become strategic partners.

Be sure to send a hand written letter of thanks to the show organizers. If the show has been successful for you, make sure you're on the list for next year. Lastly don't expect immediate results - trade shows take time to pay off (IF you do your homework after the show!)

Each trade show you do will teach you something - be open to learning. Smile, wear comfortable shoes, drink lots of water and get plenty of rest before and after the show! AND DO YOUR FOLLOW UP!

By Wendy McClelland

A Powerful Presentation Technique-Story Telling

2008-07-16T19:10:00.017-07:00

Appealing to emotions is the most powerful way to transfer learning in an information cluttered training or presentation. A compelling story woven with a lot of information in the telling with a conclusion that appeals to the emotion can permanently etch the learning in an otherwise unresponsive training or meeting fatigued audience.

Right from childhood the best learning we have had has taken place through grandma tales, or reading stories through books or stories narrated to us in schools and by friends. We remember them better than the thousands of lectures and classes we have attended.

So what are the elements of a powerful story and how does it work.

A story is woven around a situation

You need an interesting situation where the protagonist is up against seemingly insurmountable odds. The story should leave out mundane details of what our heroes dress or the chronology and focus solely on the situation he is confronted with, which throws his life out of balance. The focus should be on the emotional elements, the struggle and stratagem to overcome the adversity and how he wins in the end. Don't we all like the prince to fight the dragon and carry away the princess and live happily ever afterwards.

The situation need not always be good against evil or win vs. lose. They could be funny, humorous, tragic, situational, or just a corporate incident. It only needs to be infused with the right emotion.

Establish the situation quickly

If it takes ages for you to come to the point, you have lost the audience. The situation must be established in the first minute. Remember you are not writing for a magazine or a blockbuster novel. You are narrating to a live audience already on the borderlines of boredom. If you do not kindle their interest immediately you would have pushed them over the edge with negative consequences.

Bring emotion into your own presentation.

The story must be narrated with all emotion and drama. If you drone on in a flat monotone howsoever powerful the story might be the impact is lost. Bring variation with voice pitch, right pauses and modulation. The right pauses should make your audience hang on to every word with anticipation and excitement.

Be creative

Telling the right story to the right audience at the right moment is the key. Don't tell a story just for variation or a little diversion. Plan your presentation and design the story creatively to drive home the message. This perhaps is the difference between an excellent trainer and an average one. The top trainers plan their stories and weave it perfectly into the presentation. The average trainers know a lot of stories and tell one whenever he feels the audience is bored without creating the desired impact. The story becomes more of a filler than a powerful tool.

The Closing

The closing is the key to create impact. If you go into lengthy explanations about the morale the impact may be lost. Leave it with a dramatic end leaving the audience to come to their own inferences. Right from a child of a few years humankind is bestowed with a brilliant and interpretative mind and they come to the right conclusions. The best way to close is with a bit of mystery or a one line explanation leaving the lessons to sink in.

Here's an illustrative story with most of the elements described.

The Story of the Fierce Giant once upon a time in a land far away, there lived an enormous giant. He was at least ten feet tall, with a mop of red hair and a beard, and in his hand he carried a mighty axe.

Every year on the same day, at the same time, the giant would walk down from the mountains which were his home , to stand outside the castle walls, terrorizing the inhabitants.

'Come send me your bravest man, and I will fight him,' the giant would shout, towering over the wall and waving his axe menacingly. 'Send me someone to fight ,or I will knock down your castle walls and kill everyone with my axe.'

And every year, the gate in the castle wall would open slowly and fearfully, and one poor, valiant soul would walk out to Face the foe and certain death.

'Is this the best you can do?' the giant would laugh mockingly. The poor wretch would stand, mesmerized by the enormity of the giant and the task in hand. Not one person had even managed to draw his sword, before the giant would crush him with his mighty fist, and chop them into tiny pieces with his axe.

But then one day, a young prince arrived in the town. 'Why does everyone here look so frightened and sad?' he asked a fellow traveler.

'You haven't seen the giant yet,' replied the traveler.

'What giant?' asked the young prince, intrigued.

The traveler told him the tale.

'Every year, on this very day, the giant arrives and challenges our bravest to a duel. And every year, he slays them exactly where they stand. They don't even move or draw their swords. It's as though the giant hypnotizes them.'

'We'll see about that.' Said the young prince

When the giant arrived later that day, he was waiting for him.

'Come send me your bravest man, and I will fight him,' the giant shouted.

'I am here,' said the young prince, throwing open the gate and striding out towards him.

For a moment they stood and faced each other. Although he was still a long way from him, the young prince was instantly struck by the sheer size and shocking appearance of his opponent.

But summoning up all his courage, he started to walk towards the giant, brandishing his sword, and never taking his eyes off that dreadful face with the red hair and the red beard.

Suddenly he realized that as he was walking, the giant-rather than appearing larger - actually began to shrink before his very eyes. He stopped and stared. The giant was only five feet tall.

He walked closer to him still then stopped and stared. Now the giant was only two feet tall. He continued walking until he was face to face with the giant, and each step he took , he saw the giant shrink. By now the giant was so small, that he looked up at the young prince . He was only 12 inches tall.

The young prince took his sword, and plunged it into the giant 's heart.

As the giant lay dying on the ground , the young prince bent down and whispered to him, 'who are you ?'

With his dyeing breath , the giant replied, 'My name is Fear.'

The aim of all presentation and training is to bring about change. There is no better method of creating at least the acceptance of the idea of change than a dramatic powerful story told well.

By R.G. Srinivasan

Nonverbal Communication in Business

2008-07-16T19:10:00.015-07:00

There are five key elements that can make or break your attempt at successful nonverbal communication in business:

Eye contact

Gestures

Movement

Posture, and

Written communication

Let's examine each nonverbal element in turn to see how we can maximise your potential to communicate effectively...

Eye contact

Good eye contact helps your audience develop trust in you, thereby helping you and your message appear credible. Poor eye contact does exactly the opposite.

So what IS 'good' eye contact?

People rely on visual clues to help them decide on whether to attend to a message or not. If they find that someone isn't 'looking' at them when they are being spoken to, they feel uneasy.

So it is a wise business communicator that makes a point of attempting to engage every member of the audience by looking at them.

Now, this is of course easy if the audience is just a handful of people, but in an auditorium it can be a much harder task. So balance your time between these three areas:

slowly scanning the entire audience,

focusing on particular areas of your audience (perhaps looking at the wall between two heads if you are still intimidated by public speaking), and

looking at individual members of the audience for about five seconds per person.

Looking at individual members of a large group can be 'tricky' to get right at first.

Equally, it can be a fine balancing act if your audience comprises of just one or two members -- spend too much time looking them in the eyes and they will feel intimidated, stared at, 'hunted down'.

So here's a useful tip: break your eye-to-eye contact down to four or five second chunks.

That is, look at the other person in blocks that last four to five seconds, then look away. That way they won't feel intimidated.

Practice this timing yourself, away from others. Just look at a spot on the wall, count to five, then look away. With practice you will be able to develop a 'feel' for how long you have been looking into your audience member's eyes and intuitively know when to look away and focus on another person or object.

When focusing on individual members in a large meeting or auditorium, try and geographically spread your attention throughout the room. That is, don't just focus your personal gaze (as distinct from when you are scanning the room or looking at sections of the room) on selected individuals from just one part of the room. Unless you are specifically looking to interact with a particular person at that moment of your presentation, select your individual eye-contact audience members from the whole room.

Gestures

Most of us, when talking with our friends, use our hands and face to help us describe an event or object - powerful nonverbal aids.

We wave our arms about, turn our hands this way and that, roll our eyes, raise our eyebrows, and smile or frown.

Yet many of us also, when presenting to others in a more formal setting, 'clam up'.

Our audience of friends is no different from our business audience - they all rely on our face and hands (and sometimes legs, feet and other parts of us!) to 'see' the bigger, fuller picture.

It is totally understandable that our nervousness can cause us to 'freeze up', but is is in our and our communication's best interests if we manage that nervousness, manage our fear of public speaking, and use our body to help emphasise our point.

I found that by joining a local Toastmasters International club I was rapidly able to learn how to 'free up my body' when presenting to others.

Movement

Ever watch great presenters in action - men and women who are alone on the stage yet make us laugh, cry and be swept along by their words and enthusiasm?

Watch them carefully and you'll note that they don't stand rigidly in one spot. No, they bounce and run and stroll and glide all around the stage.

Why do they do that?

Because they know that we human beings, men in particular, are drawn to movement.

As part of man's genetic heritage we are programmed to pay attention to movement. We instantly notice it, whether we want to or not, assessing the movement for any hint of a threat to us.

This, of course, helps explain why many men are drawn to the TV and seem transfixed by it. It also helps explain why men in particular are almost 'glued' to the TV when there is any sport on. All that movement!

But to get back to the stage and you on it... ensure that any movement you make is meaningful and not just nervous fidgetting, like rocking back and forth on your heels or moving two steps forward and back, or side to side.

This is 'nervous movement' and your nervousness will transmit itself to your audience, significantly diluting the potency of your communication and message.

So move about the stage when you can - not just to keep the men in the audience happy, but to help emphasise your message!

Posture

There are two kinds of 'posture' and it is the wise communicator that manages and utilizes both.

Posture 1

The first type of 'posture' is the one we think of intuitively-the straight back versues the slumped shoulders; the feet-apart confident stance verses the feet together, hand-wringing of the nervous; the head up and smiling versus the head down and frowing.

And every one of the positions we place the various elements of our body in tells a story-a powerful, nonverbal story.

For example, stand upright, shoulders straight, head up and eyes facing the front. Wear a big smile. Notice how you 'feel' emotionally.

Now-slump your shoulders, look at the floor and slightly shuffle your feet. Again, take a not of your emotional state.

Notice the difference?

Your audience surely will, and react to you and your message accordingly.

A strong, upright, positive body posture not only helps you breath easier (good for helping to calm nerves!) but also transmits a message of authority, confidence, trust and power.

If you find yourself challenged to maintain such a posture, practice in front of a mirror, or better yet join a speaking club like Toastmasters International.

Posture 2

The second type of 'posture' comes from your internal mental and emotional states.

You can have great body posture but without internal mental and emotional posture your words will sound hollow to your audience.

For example, the used car salesman at 'Dodgy Brothers Motors' might have great body posture and greet you with a firm handshake, a steady gaze and a friendly smile. But if in his heart he is seeing you as just another sucker then sooner or later his internal conflict between what he says and what he really thinks will cause him to 'trip up'.

His body will start betraying his real, underlying intentions and you'll start to feel uncomfortable around him, even if you can't figure out why.

But, if that same used car salesman had a genuine desire to help you find the right car for you, and he puts your needs before his own, then his words and actions will remain congruent (in harmony) with his underlying intentions and you will trust him, even though you might not be able to identify why.

I have seen some supposed 'self help' gurus who don't actually practice what they preach. Consequently their words ring hollow to me and their books, cds, dvds and training materials remain unpurchased.

I have met salesmen and women who don't actually make the money they claim to make in their 'fabulous business opportunity', and while their words are practiced and polished, and their body posture is 'perfect', their words ooze like honeyed poison frm their lips and I remain unconvinced.

This second type of 'posture' is fundamentally tied to truth and honesty. It is about 'walking the talk' and being who you say you are.

It's about not trying to sell something you don't believe in or use yourself. It's about not trying to pass yourself off as an expert when all you've ever done is read a book on the subject.

It's all about making sure that your words and your intentions are underpinned by truth and honesty. Because all of us, no matter how polished a presenter we might be, are at the mercy of our body and its ability to 'tell the truth' in spite of what our lips might utter. Nonverbal clues rule!

Written communication

I could spend a lifetime writing about the art of written communication.

There is an art (and also a science) that can be learnt with diligence and practice. To write too formally; to write too informally; to write too briefly; to write too lengthily...

My first suggestion would be to avail yourself of one of the following three books, each of which is absolutely brilliant at giving you the skills and insights into effective business writing:

The Business Style Handbook: An A-to-Z Guide for Writing on the Job with Tips from Communications Experts at the Fortune 500 by Helen Cunningham and Brenda Greene

The Elements of Business Writing: A Guide to Writing Clear, Concise Letters, Memos, Reports, Proposals, and Other Business Documents by Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly

Effective Business Writing: Strategies, Suggestions and Examples by Maryann V. Piotrowski

From persuasive memos to complaint letters, sales letters to executive summaries -- these exceedingly useful guides help you to write clearly and in an appropriate format, style and tone. Each book has numerous examples that show how to overcome writer's block, organize messages for maximum impact, achieve an easy-to-read style, find an efficient writing system and much more.

In conclusion...

There are five key elements that can make or break your attempt at successful nonverbal business communication:

Eye contact

Gestures

Movement

Posture, and

Written communication

Nonverbal communication in a business setting requires not only recognition of these elements, but confidence in meeting their challenges.

Good luck and remember to communicate with passion!

How to Attract New Business Like George W. Bush Wins Elections

2008-07-16T19:10:00.013-07:00

THE LITTLE-KNOWN SPEECHWRITING SECRETS THAT WON GEORGE W. BUSH THE US ELECTION

He's been accused of "mangling the language, destroying its meaning by avoiding the use of verbs, twisting nouns into verbs, and endlessly repeating phrases until they become zombified" (Source:'Bush and Blair accused of mangling English' by Kate Kelland, Reuters.com.uk, Mon 15 November, 2004 12:50).

But despite this George W. Bush has become the first Republican president to win re-election since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

And he's been able to motivate the US public to vote in record numbers.

In a time of stress and crisis, Bush was able to connect with the masses.

Bush - who according to language experts once famously used the word "misunderestimate", romped home with a record majority receiving 3.5 million more votes than John Kerry.

Why did Bush win by so much when analysts were predicting one of the closest elections in years?

Well, the shocking truth is that Bush and his advisers are masters of modern-day speechwriting.

What would you do if you had this skill to move and motivate others?

Well, here are the little-known speechwriting secrets of how George W. Bush won the US election?

Because they are universal principles, you can apply these to your own career and personal situation:

1. Strong Self-Belief

Bush has always had a strong sense of purpose to "build a safer world" and to make a difference. He is unswerving in his belief and mission to achieve this.

One of the most memorable lines in his acceptance speech summarises his own home-grown optimism and sense of destiny.

"There is an old saying, "Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks."

What is your passion and purpose in life?

2. Certainty in an Age of Uncertainty

In times of fear and uncertainty, sitting politicians have a greater chance of being re-elected.

Bush reinforced this message in all his speeches.

For example: "To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."

Trust was Bush's central campaign message to overcome people's anxiety about the future.

What is your central theme for your next speech?

3. Visual Imagery

Visual imagery is just as important as words in a speech, especially for people who take in information through visual rather than auditory channels.

Here are some clever ways Bush and his team maximised positive visual images in an election that was staged for television.

Pictures of his family, including that wonderful election night shot of George W relaxing in the White House with three generations of the Bush family, including his daughter, father and mother. (PS - only mothers with sons could appreciate that proud look on Barbara Bush's face as she looked over to George W)

He also used his tangible evidence of power such as alighting from the Presidential helicopter and plane to reinforce the trust and security message.

The American flag he wore on his lapel helped reinforce patriotism, as did his red tie when out on the election stump.

Interestingly, Bush wore a blue tie for his acceptance speech. This was subtle and sent the message "I'm in a different phase now, I've won the battle and its time to move on".

What non-verbal signal does your appearance send to your audience?

4. The Bush Personal Brand

The Bush personal brand is very interesting. Of course it is built on stories and everyone knows the story of the hard drinking, hard working Texan wildcat oil investor who at 40 years of age gave up drinking, found God and committed himself to public office.

In his acceptance speech, Bush reinforced this personal story and his special relationship with the people of Texas where his political career started.

"On the open plains of Texas, I first learned the character of our country: sturdy and honest, and as hopeful as the break of day.

I will always be grateful to the good people of my state. And whatever the road that lies ahead, that road will take me home."

Notice the visual imagery he uses to paint a picture of Texas and the warm feelings of home in middle-America.

How can you use this technique for your next speech?

5. Relentless Discipline

Bush ran a tight, disciplined campaign and his speeches never wavered or wandered from their key message.

Even in the glory of his win, he was focused:

"Our military has brought justice to the enemy and honor to America.

Our nation has defended itself and served the freedom of all mankind."

6. Family Values

Bush campaigned on family values - a common theme in both the US and Australian elections.

In his acceptance speech this is how he articulated these values:

"There are many people to thank and my family comes first.

Laura is the love of my life.

I'm glad you love her too.

I want to thank our daughters who joined their dad for his last campaign.

I appreciate the hard work of my sister and brothers.

I especially want to thank my parents for their loving support."

7. Shared Set of Values

Bush was attuned to the values of the heartland of America, "that heartland is spiritually and geographically the Mid West, a place of small town, conservative family values," according to Tom Carver, the BBC's correspondent in Washington.

Carver adds "Bill Clinton was a fair reflection of the laissez-faire mood of the confident, prosperous 90s. And President Bush is a mirror to the darker, more nervous post-9/11 America."

For Bill Clinton's 14 Speechwriting Secrets read my new book 'Understanding Influence for Leaders at All Levels' to be released by McGraw-Hill in February 2005.

8. Staying on Message

In the US, news is about emotion and is more orientated towards entertainment than just the facts.

Bush knew this and while he may not have the charisma of Clinton and his aversion to media conferences is well-known, his media performance during the election was one of his best.

Again, Carver from the BBC provides a great example of the legendary Bush media-savvy skills:

"There was a telling moment in his press conference ... when he was asked about the "big business" image that he and his party have. He completely ignored the question and talked instead about small businesses and how they are the engine of growth in the economy. He doesn't even allow the phrase "big business" to pass his lips."

9. Ability to Read, Reflect and Relate to Issues of Concern

Analysts predicted the US election would be a referendum on the war against Iraq.

How wrong they were. The big issues for voters were about patriotism, and in particular, who do the American people trust on:

i) Moral grounds, ii) The economy, iii) Terrorism, and lastly iv) The War on Iraq.

Bush won the moral argument in a landslide and again played this card in his acceptance speech:

"America has spoken, and I'm humbled by the trust and the confidence of my fellow citizens.

With that trust comes a duty to serve all Americans. And I will do my best to fulfill that duty every day as your president."

How can you relate to the issues and concerns of your audience?

10. A Great Call to Action

I believe the purpose of every speech should be to make a difference and move people to action.

For Bush it was for people to trust him and win their vote.

The "who do you trust theme" worked well for Bush and won him the election.

In his closer to his acceptance speech, Bush articulates this trust issue well with a clear and strong call to action:

"The campaign has ended, and the United States of America goes forward with confidence and faith.

I see a great day coming for our country and I am eager for the work ahead."

What is the 'call to action' for your next speech?

By Thomas Murrell MBA CSP

Creating Your Presentation Success With a Positive "I CAN" Attitude

2008-07-16T19:10:00.011-07:00

According to the Lamalle Report on Top Executives of the 1990s, one of the most important factors in determining financial success by those earning over $250,000 is being enthusiastic and having a positive attitude (46%). Apparently, successful people never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

Why does having a positive attitude matter so much? Research solidly indicates that expectations influence behavior meaning if you expect to succeed, it is likely that you will and if you expect to fail, you are more likely to be unsuccessful. Expectations create outcomes because we work toward the outcome we expect, even if it is failure. Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't--you are right."

Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of presenters who had a negative script running through their head before each presentation. Their self-talk sounded something like this, "I should have prepared more. I wanted to do so much more but I ran out of time. I'm not a very good presenter. I don't think this is going to go very well. If I had a few more days, I could do much better." And so on and so on.

This constant mental berating of oneself is very dangerous. Not only does it increase your anxiety about presenting, it helps shape the outcome of failure. We believe we won't do well and so we manufacture that failure to confirm what we already know to be true.

How incredibly self-defeating is that?

The goal of your presentation preparation is to do EVERYTHING necessary to be prepared for your presentation and then change that negative self-talk into a more positive dialogue that increases self-esteem, reduces anxiety, and sets up the expectation of success. Before a presentation, you should be telling yourself, "I am ready. I've done everything I could to prepare. I know my stuff. I am going to do very well." This will enable you to think positively about your presentation and carry that positive attitude into your actual presentation.

What amazes me is how much more difficult it is to be kind to ourselves and believe in our success than it is to demean and berate ourselves and expect to fail.

The things we say to ourselves undoubtedly influence our feelings and our attitudes. Instead of telling yourself that you aren't ready or that you wanted to be more prepared, why not try adjusting your attitude to the positive side of life-"I am ready and I am going to give a good presentation." Then watch as your positive outlook creates a positive outcome!

by Debbie Bailey

Too Many Choices - Dont Confuse Your Customers

2008-07-16T19:10:00.009-07:00

Conventional wisdom is that the more choices customers have, the more likely they will buy. That may be true when customers have very specific wants or needs, and they know what those wants or needs are. However, often having lots of choices just confuses customers and they don't buy anything.

One company tested this idea this way: They put 26 flavors of jams and preserves on a table. Customers could taste any or all of them, and if they made a purchase they got $1 off. People circled and chatted, but they didn't buy. There were more choices than they could effectively process, so they withdrew.

Later, the company repeated the exercise with just six flavors. This time, people sampled and they bought. After all, isn't it easier to make a choice between raspberry and grape than it is to choose from among red raspberry, golden raspberry, black raspberry, golden red raspberry . . .well, you get the idea.

If you find that your customers are knowledgeable and opinionated, and they want lots of options available, you can offer choices while still making it easy for the undecideds. Offer a "standard" or basic product that meets most customers' needs. Make options available, but package some of the most popular options together. Car manufacturers do this, for example. Bundle products together so that customers don't have a lot of decisions to make, and they will appreciate how easy it is to buy from you.

Somewhere between Henry Ford's, "You can get it in any color, as long as it's black," and today's trend of too many choices, will be the level of choice your customers find comfortable. Find that level and you've found your customers.

By Copyright Cathy Stucker

Media Training 101: Mastering the Television Interview

2008-07-16T19:10:00.007-07:00

As I travel around the world I always enjoy sampling the media in different countries.

Even if I don't speak Thai, Bahasa or Mandarin, watching local news services always provides a unique insight into local culture.

I was recently watching a story on a new biotech company on Channel News Asia in Singapore. The story had interviews with both the China-based CEO and biotech venture capitalists in Singapore.

One of the visual images that struck me was how professional, persuasive and powerful the Chinese CEO looked compared to the Singapore interviewees.

The simple difference was the Chinese CEO was wearing a dark suit jacket whereas the Singpore-based talent simply had on a tie and white shirt.

Attention to detail like this can make or break your image and ability to persuade others.

Here are the Top 10 Tips for TV Interviews:

1. Avoid the phrase "I think"

This phrase weakens the impact of your message and sound bite. It adds no value and should be avoided.

2. Always wear a dark jacket for business interviews

Always have on hand a dark jacket to wear for TV interviews. This will give your body shape conveying confidence, credibility and charisma.

3. Avoid white shirts without jackets

A white shirt without a jacket is going to make your head look like a pale, washed out balloon floating around the screen. Avoid this unless you have a great tan or dark complexion.

4. Lean slightly forward towards the camera

That great Western Australian-born TV communicator, artist and inventor of the wobbleboard, Rolf Harris was a master at creating intimacy with viewers by subtle changes to the angle of his head in relation to the TV camera.

Leaning forward slightly will give you more presence and intimacy, as well as making you look thinner.

5. Avoid looking directly at the camera

Having been a TV weather presenter, looking directly at a TV camera to deliver messages is a really challenging skill.

Avoid looking directly at the camera unless you're a seasoned pro.

6. Look at the interviewer

Look directly at the journalist to avoid 'wandering eyes' syndrome. Looking around furtively will make you appear shifty and untrustworthy.

7. Always control the background visuals

Control the background of your TV interview with the message you want to convey. Your logo flashed up behind you for 7 seconds can be worth upwards of $50,000 in free branding.

8. Work on your "quotable quote"

Your media message must be succinct, memorable and to the point.

9. Avoid milk, caffeine and alcohol

Milk will clog up your mouth and caffeine and alcohol will dull your senses and make you want to go to the toilet.

Stick to water and make sure you are fully hydrated.

10. Practice

Nothing is known to improve your skills more than rehearsing, practising and then reviewing your performance.

By Thomas Murrell MBA CSP

Tips to Temper Speaking Anxiety

2008-07-16T19:10:00.005-07:00

People take it for granted that leaders have achieved some skill in public speaking. Yet anxiety persists because leaders face very challenging situations and have a great risk of embarrassment. Here are some tips for tempering those anxieties.

INTRODUCING A SPEAKER

When you introduce a speaker, answer three questions: 1) Why is this topic being addressed? 2) Why this speaker? And 3) Why now? For example, "Today the Federal Register calls for comments on proposed legislation to raise taxes on gasoline. Our guest speaker has worked in the industry for 10 years and is now legislative aide for Senator . . . ."

Most professional speakers will provide an introduction for you which will answer the second question. Simply lead into it with the answers to the other questions.

READING FROM A SCRIPT

Does reading a speech from a lectern without a TelePrompTer make you feel like you are bobbing for apples? You raise your head and quickly sweep the audience with your eyes and then plunge back into the script. You know that eye contact is essential, yet you cannot risk a misstatement.

To get rid of that feeling, have your speech typed only on the top half of the page and place the page as high up on the lectern as is comfortable. That way you need only raise your eyes and not your head to look at the audience. The distance between audience and script is shorter so there is also less risk of losing your place.

Type your speech large letters, double spaced. That way even in dim light you can easily read it. If time permits, read the speech aloud to yourself several times before you present it.

PRESENTING TO THE BOARD

Board presentations may be the most challenging public speaking you face. Usually the group is small, and you must be prepared to answer questions. You have certain advantages here: First, you have an opportunity to prepare. You may not be the expert, but you will probably know more about the topic than the audience does.

Second, you either know the members of the board or have an opportunity to learn about them in advance by reading biographies or profiles.

Third, you know the outcome you seek. It may be a favorable decision by the board or simply a better understanding of an issue.

To help focus your message, define its purpose in one sentence before beginning to develop it. As you develop the content, select key points leading to the outcome you want. Anticipate questions by putting yourself in your audience's position. Some questions can be answered in the presentation and, therefore, will not need to be asked.

Have supporting information at your fingertips to expand on a point if requested. This will raise your comfort level and enhance your credibility with the board. It is best to know the board's expectations before you finalize the presentation.

REHEARSING FOR SUCCESS

After the content and charts, if any, are to your satisfaction, rehearse your presentation a few times. Most charts will contain only key phrases and pictures or graphics, not complete sentences.

You may want to write a script to use during rehearsal but it is best not to read from a script during your presentation. Try mind-mapping, do an outline, and have only a few notes at hand to reassure yourself.

Schedule some quiet time prior to your presentation and mentally rehearse. If you are nervous, take a few deep breaths, visualize yourself at your best, then give it all you've got!

There is no need to fear public speaking. Anyone can hone their skills with a little practice and mental preparation. Understand your topic, learn all you can about your audience, decide what action you want your listeners to take, and motivate them to act!

By Jo Condrill

How Storytelling Can Grow Your Business

2008-07-16T19:10:00.003-07:00

People love stories. We love to hear about other people, and stories help us to learn, remember and put to use new concepts. Aesop knew this. His fables help us to learn life lessons through tales about others, without having to learn them the hard way.

In modern times, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen also understand the power of stories to teach, motivate, and inspire. Their "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books continue to sell in the millions of copies because they tap into our primal need to connect with others through storytelling.

What can stories do for you and your business? Stories can educate customers about a need they have and how you fill it, subtly demonstrate your expertise, create empathy, suggest new uses for your products, train new customers and employees, and motivate listeners to take action.

I recently observed several group presentations by an insurance agent. He knew many of the people in the audience, and prior to each presentation he would look for someone who had made a claim under their policy and ask them to tell the audience how the benefits had helped them through a difficult time. If there was no one in the audience to do it, he would tell about someone who had used the policy and what it had done for them. The stories the agent told were effective, but hearing the claimants themselves was incredibly powerful. Hearing someone talk about the uncertainty of illness, the expenses they faced which were not covered by other insurance, and what the benefits meant to them was moving. I'm sure he sold lots of policies!

Where will you get stories? Stories from your own experience can be effective, and they are unique. You may also get stories from customers, employees, friends and others. The media can be a source of stories. Stories that are familiar because they have been told through the media can establish a commonality between you and your audience, or among members of your audience. Stories unique to your experience provide a personal touch, and can be surprising because they are not known to the audience.

Another possibility is creating composite or fictional stories. This may not be acceptable in some circumstances. For example, several newspaper columnists have been fired for making up stories, or creating composite characters, and passing them off as absolute truth. However, if your primary purpose is to educate or entertain, and you are not presenting them as news, you may take some liberties with minor details of your stories or take bits and pieces from multiple stories and combine them into one composite. Remember that it is important to maintain credibility, so don't do anything that would deceive your audience.

Once you have your stories, where will you use them? Tell them when you are in one-on-one meetings, in group presentations, and when making speeches. Write them down and include them in articles, brochures, sales letters, on your web site and in other written communications. Record them on audio or video and use them in commercials. Use them when training new employees to teach them about your company and its culture. Publish them in your client or company newsletter to reinforce emotional ties.

Stories are a powerful tool which teach and motivate by making an emotional connection with your audience. Use them wisely and well.

By Copyright Cathy Stucker

Fading into Sameness: How Too Many Slides Can Ruin Your Presentation

2008-07-16T19:10:00.001-07:00

"I have a love/hate relationship with PowerPoint. In the right hands, it's a great presentation tool. In the wrong hands (and unfortunately, most usage falls into this category) we are cloning generations of boring slide shows narrated by speakers we barely notice." - Debbie Bailey

Ah, the good old days. For me, those were the days before PowerPoint slide shows became the norm for virtually every business presentation given in corporate America. I fondly remember the days when presenters spoke passionately about a subject near and dear to their heart without having to display every single thought on a slide. I often reminisce back to the time when 80 slides for a 20 minute presentation was NOT the standard, when presenters weren't just slide narrators, when preparing for a presentation meant more than putting together your slide show.

Now don't get me wrong, I know the advantages of using a few good slides, however, I also know that too much of a good thing is, well, BAD. I subscribe to Bill Wheless' philosophy about PowerPoint "It's like alcohol in the hands of a drunk. What we need is moderation." Somehow, we must learn to use, but not abuse, slides. If we don't, we risk looking and sounding like every other boring business presenter. Worst of all, we become forgettable.

Think about the last presenter who strongly affected you. More than likely that presenter used very few, if any, slides. The most memorable presenters rely on their delivery style to make their point, rather than a well designed slide deck.

When I first began teaching presentation skills more than 20 years ago, I struggled to convince presenters to incorporate the use of visual aids. My how the world has changed.

Today, convincing presenters to rely less on their slides and more on their dynamic communication skills is even harder. It's almost as if presenters believe that all it takes to deliver a successful presentation is a good slide deck. Unfortunately, when asked to prepare a presentation, presenters spend the vast majority of their time working on their slides, rather than on perfecting their delivery style.

Consider for a moment why political candidates and presidents DON'T use slides. My guess is, they don't want to divert any attention away from themselves. They understand what Roger Ailes, author of the famous book "You Are the Message" has known for quite some time. "For those who want to succeed, there is only one secret. YOU ARE THE MESSAGE."

Generally, here's what happens when you overuse slides:

1. Your slides lose their ability to make an impact- Essentially, slides become the white noise in the presentation, so constant that they are no longer noticeable.

2. The audience focuses on your slides, rather than on you. If 55% of your communication power comes from your body and face (based on the universally accepted research by Albert Mehrabian), than NOT having the audience focused on you diminishes about half of your POWER as a presenter. Can you really afford to cut your personal power in half?

3. You are demoted to the position of slide narrator. The slides take center stage and like the narrator of a play, you are the anonymous voice coming from somewhere in the background.

Just as too many slides can detract from your success as a presenter, having a few well designed slides can strengthen your impact. Consider these quick tips designed to help improve your use of slides:

1. Develop your presentation first, then determine where a visual might help the audience better understand your message. This is a much safer approach than developing your slides first.

2. Try to boil your presentation down to six or fewer important slides that speak to the heart of your message. Make sure that each slide you chose complies with the 6 x 6 rule-no more than six lines of text with six words on each line.

3. Better yet, make the impact of your slides visual, rather than verbal (words written on slides). The best slides arouse the audience visually so take a creative approach to translating words into meaningful pictures.

Rest assured that it's not that I am anti slides-I am pro YOU! While slides do serve an important function, even the best designed slide can't compete with the power of YOU. YOU are the greatest visual aid of all! Take the focus OFF the slides and put it back where it belongs- squarely on YOU! Invest the time you might have spent on your slides on your delivery practice and rather than fading into sameness, you will STAND APART from the rest!

By Debbie Bailey

After the Speech

2008-07-14T21:29:00.001-07:00

Usually the emphasis on making an effective speech is what you do in preparation before the presentation begins. But if you speak very much, what you do after the speech can help you become a more effective speaker. As soon as possible after the speech, write down impressions of how you felt the speech went. Answer at least two questions about the speech: What was the best part of the speech? What part of the speech can be improved the next time? Some of your best ideas will come to you as you are speaking. Write them down as soon as the speech is over so you can be prepared to use those lines or ideas the next time you speak. Think about the peaks and valleys in the speech. Consider when the audience seemed to listen best and when the audience seemed restless and disinterested. Write down your reactions while they are fresh on your mind. Talk to someone about the speech within the first day after your presentation. You'll remember best what you talked about and you might discover a better way of telling a story or making a point as you summarize your speech to a friend or colleague. Keep track of stories you tell and case studies you include so you'll not repeat yourself if ou speak to that audience again. In addition, keep records of how long you spoke, what you wore, key people you met, and anything unusual about the speaking context. Occasionally look back over your records of individual speeches and look for trends in your speaking that you are unaware of. When you speak to this group again, this information will be the basis for your audience analysis. This is especially important if you speak frequently within your company and your audience will be made up of listeners who have heard you before. You don't want to develop a reputation for telling the same stories over and over. If the group has speaker evaluations, ask that a copy of the summary be sent to you. Look for any pattern in the comments as you analyze the summary. If one person said you talked too slowly, it may be a personal preference and you don't need to give much consideration to the critique. If four or five people make that comment, however, then you might want to consider changing the pace of your speaking for the next speech. Certainly your main concern should be with your preparation before the speech. However, don't underestimate the effort of what you do in analyzing the speech after the audience has left the room.

By Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP

8 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills

2008-07-14T21:28:00.017-07:00

1. Join Toastmasters. Toastmasters is a organization where you will get a chance to work on your impromptu speaking skills, leadership skills, evaluation skills as well as opportunities to practice specific skills in prepare presentations (at your own pace). Clubs typically meet weekly and you can find clubs that meet in the morning, evening, lunchtime to meet your schedule. I highly recommend this! Find a club and attend to learn much more.

2. Consider the Dale Carnegie Course. The Dale Carnegie Course is about much more than speaking, but you will speak in each of the 14 weekly sessions. This workshop is more expensive than Toastmasters but is an excellent program to help with presentation skills, confidence and more.

3. Find opportunities at work. You might have limited opportunities to speak at work, due to the nature of your job, but that doesn't need to keep you from letting people know you desire that chance. Take even opportunities to talk in small meetings as a chance to practice the skills we learned together too!

4. Find opportunities outside of work. Step up in your church or civic group to present some information or be involved in committees or teams that might provide you a chance to hone your skills.

5. Get feedback. Every time you speak ask someone to give you feedback. Ask a trusted friend or colleague to tell you what they saw, heard and observed. Ask one of them to provide you feedback after they are in your audience.

6. Video yourself. You saw the value and power of seeing yourself on tape. Use this tool yourself. Practice a presentation at home and let the camera run - then, watch it and think about what you might do differently to make your message even more powerful.

7. One thing at a time. Choose to work on just one thing at a time. For example, if you want to work on having a stronger WIIFM, make that your major goal for the talk. Pick one thing to especially, consciously work on each time you present. Doing this will help you improve quickly and consciously. Be sure to tell those you are asking for feedback from to look for these key focus areas too!

8. Go Karaoke! A colleague of mine, Jeffrey Gitomer suggests this as a great way to work on your presentation skills. He says that if you can use your skills to get a bunch of uninterested, rowdy (drunk!) people to pay attention to you, you have learned valuable skills that translate to presenting "non-singing" material. I think he is right.

By Kevin Eikenberry.

Shamus Browns Top 5 Sales Presentation Tips

2008-07-14T21:28:00.015-07:00

When its time to give your next sales presentation, here are my favorite tips for delivering powerful, charismatic, and engaging sales presentations.

#1 - PLANT YOUR FEET SQUARELY ON THE FLOOR

How you hold your physical body during your sales pitch communicates a tremendous amount of information about you to your audience. Studies have shown a person will unconsciously interpret approximately 55% of the meaning of your message from physiological cues in your body position, stance, and facial expressions.

Deliver your presentation from a position of confidence. Stand with your feet squarely between your shoulders. Distribute your weight evenly between your legs, and plant your feet firmly on the ground. Keep your arms relaxed at your sides, until your are ready to make a gesture.

Shifting your weight from one leg to another communicates to the audience a lack of confidence. This comes across unconsciously in that if you were to ask someone, a typical response might be "he didn't seem like believed in his company" or "I not sure that I can trust her".

Try both the balanced and the unbalanced speaking postures right now, and see which one makes you feel more confident and ready for your next sales presentation.

#2 - GET PUMPED UP

It is your job to lead the audience. The reason they are there to get something from you. So you must lead them where you want them to go. If you want people to get excited about your product or to feel a sense of trust towards you and your company, you must first create this emotion within yourself.

How do you do this? Simple. Do whatever it takes to get yourself excited. Jump up and down. Clap your hands. Play your favorite music loud. High five your sales partner. You can do this where you won't be seen by the prospect (in your car, in the customer's stairwell, bathroom or outside the building). What do you think a rock star or an actor does to warm-up before going on stage?

The idea is to begin your presentation in an absolutely great state. Do this right and the audience will follow your where you want them to go.

Special tip: Use this technique before making important phone calls so that you are "on" when you make the call.

#3 - WARM-UP THE AUDIENCE

Another thing big rock stars do before coming out on stage is they have warm-up acts. The job of a warm-up act is to get the audience in a mood will be receptive of the main act's energy.

You can accomplish this same effect by simply playing music before you start your presentation. Many laptops have CD players these days, or you can use a boom-box. The type of music you play will depend on your audience, and the emotional state that you want to warm your audience up to. Just think about how this will set you apart from your competition's stale PowerPoint slide show.

#4 - BEGIN WITH AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

The more rapport you have with an individual or a group, the more receptive they will be to your message. One way to build rapport with your audience is by asking questions of your audience during your first few minutes on stage.

Ask a question or two that most people can easily answer (but don't put anyone on the spot too much). Questions such as "How far did you come to get here?" and "How long have you been working in this field?" easily get conversation going and begin creating a relationship between you and your audience.

#5 - SUSTAIN EYE CONTACT WITH INDIVIDUALS

You probably know you should do this. Now here's why and how.

The more frequently you change the location of your focus, the more new information your brain is taking in. Your eyes are the visual sensory input system for your brain. Change focus fast enough and frequently enough, and you overload your brain to the point where you forget where you are at in the presentation. Aaaaggh!

Maintain your concentration on what you want to say next by fixing your visual focus for short periods of time. Do this by completing a thought or a sentence (whichever you find easier) while sustaining eye contact with one person. Move eye contact to a new person with each new thought or sentence.

By Shamus Brown

Powerpoint Sales Presentations Are Boring - Stop It!

2008-07-14T21:28:00.013-07:00

As the meeting began, the project manager of the buying committee told me that the key decision-maker would miss the first 20 minutes or so of my presentation. This was a very competitive sale that I was working on at the time. There were about a dozen or so business-people from the prospect company that I was selling to in this meeting. The presentation was scheduled to last about 90 minutes. During the first 20 minutes I had planned to cover my "persuasive arguments" (that is my company and product benefits).

So how do you think that I felt about this wonderful news?

The fact that this decision-maker felt it to be an efficient use of his time to avoid the beginning of the sales presentation speaks volumes about the reputation of salespeople and our sales presentations. He judged that, he had better things to do than sit through a PowerPoint presentation about how many years we had been in business, how we were so customer focused, and how we were absolutely the best choice for their business. He chose instead to attend only the product demonstration part of the presentation.

The advent of presentation software like Powerpoint has allowed many people to assemble information for presentation very quickly. Unfortunately it also reinforces the all too common sales style of delivering features and benefits in the effort to persuade. Most buyers are too nice to tell us that they are bored with this approach. And so on it goes.

Engage your audience by telling stories. Begin the story even before doing introductions, agenda review, etc. Use this to get their attention and take full control. What kind of story should you tell? The best stories are ones that the prospect can relate to. How? Tell a story about one of your customers who had a big problem and how they solved it by doing business with you. Make the story engaging by describing it in vivid emotional detail - who was affected by the problem, how was it impacting them, and how did they feel, and how did the solution change all of this?

Take your feature benefit points and weave them into the story. They will have 10 times the impact and will be remembered when delivered this way. You can even say to your audience for emphasis "you might want to write that down". And what should you do with those PowerPoint slides that someone in marketing spent hours developing? Print them out as a handout, and give it to your audience at the end of your presentation.

Dont' stop with just one story. Create multiple stories for an interesting and persuasive presentation that will generate discussion about the customer's business problems and how you can solve them.

As for that decision-maker who blows off the first part of your meeting? All objections, stalls, and problems should be handled in advance. If you haven't yet secured access to the decision-maker, give your sponsor an agenda with the first items being "Customer Successes", followed by "Live Product Demonstration". Save the "Company Overview" for the end. No one cares that you have 735 employees until you have proven that you can help solve their business problems.

By Shamus Brown

Creating a Powerful Sales Presentation

2008-07-14T21:28:00.011-07:00

The quality of your sales presentation will often determine whether a prospect buys from you or one of your competitors. However, experience has taught me that most presentations lack pizzazz and are seldom compelling enough to motivate the other person to make a buying decision. Here are seven strategies that will help you create a presentation that will differentiate you from your competition.

1. Make the presentation relevant to your prospect. One of the most common mistakes people make when discussing their product or service is to use a generic presentation. They say the same thing in every presentation and hope that something in their presentation will appeal to the prospective customer. I have been victim to this approach more times than I care to remember having been subjected to many "canned" PowerPoint presentations.

The discussion of your product or service must be adapted to each person; modify it to include specific points that are unique to that particular customer. If you use PowerPoint, place the company's logo on your slides and describe how the key slides relate to their situation. Show exactly how your product or service solves their specific problem. This means that it is critical to ask your prospect probing questions before you start talking about your company.

2. Create a connection between your product/service and the prospect. In a presentation to a prospective client, I prepared a sample of the product they would eventually use in their program. After a preliminary discussion, I handed my prospect the item his team would be using on a daily basis - instead of telling him about the item I placed it in his hands. He could then see exactly what the finished product would look like and was able to examine it in detail. He was able to ask questions and see how his team would use it in their environment.

Also, remember to discuss the benefits of your products, not the features. Tell your customer what they will get by using your product versus your competitors.

3. Get to the point. Today's business people are far too busy to listen to long-winded discussions. Know what your key points are and learn how to make them quickly. I remember talking to a sales person who rambled at great length about his product. After viewing his product and learning how much it would cost I was prepared to move ahead with my purchase. Unfortunately, he continued talking and he almost talked himself out of the sale. Make sure you know what key points you want to discuss and practice verbalizing them before you meet with your prospect.

4. Be animated. The majority of sales presentations I have heard have been boring and unimaginative. If you really want to stand out from the crowd make sure you demonstrate enthusiasm and energy. Use voice more effectively and vary your modulation. A common mistake made when people talk about a product with which they are very familiar is to speak in a monotone voice. This causes the other person to quickly lose interest in your presentation. I recommend using a voice recorder to tape your presentation. This will allow you to hear exactly what you sound like as you discuss your product. I must profess to being completely humiliated when I first used this tactic. As a professional speaker, I thought all my presentations were interesting and dynamic - I soon learned that my stand-up delivery skills were much better than my telephone presentation skills.

5. Use showmanship. In the book, The Sales Advantage, an example is given how a vending sales person lays a heavy sheet of paper on the floor and asks his prospect, "If I could show you how that space could make you some money, would you be interested?" Consider the impact of this approach compared to the typical approach of saying something like, "We can help you make more money." What can you do to incorporate some form of showmanship into your presentation?

6. Use a physical demonstration. A friend of mine sells sales training and he often uses the whiteboard or flipchart in the prospect's boardroom during his presentation. Instead of telling his client what he will do, he stands up and delivers a short presentation. He writes down facts and figures, draws pictures, and records certain comments and statements from the discussion. This approach never fails to help his prospect make a decision.

7. Lastly, believe in your product/service. Without doubt, this is the most critical component of any presentation. When you discuss solutions, do you become more animated and energetic? Does your voice display excitement? Does your body language exhibit your enthusiasm? If not, you need to change your approach. After all, if you can't get excited about your product, how can you expect your customer to become motivated enough to buy?

By Kelley Robertson

Being Real From the Platform

2008-07-14T21:28:00.009-07:00

"Let it be known, no person, thing, or situation can validate you. You validate yourself by realizing who you are." Mark Tosoni

Knowing who you are is essential before you step in front of an audience. What are you knowledgeable to speak about? What are you interested in learning? What are you passionate about sharing? When you have clarity, your confidence and excitement about your topic will radiate throughout your presentation.

People see, hear, then they believe. Whatever the purpose of your speaking, it is ultimately important that the audience believes you. Your credibility is vital before they will buy your product, service, or your call to action. More than 90% of why a person "buys" from you is because they like and trust you. From the moment your audience first hears about you, sees you, or hears you present, they are making a decision about who you are and what you are saying.

Which is more important in a presentation, the message or the messenger? Both are completely dependent on the other with a cycle of the message supporting the messenger and vice versa. What is essential is congruence of what you are saying and who you are.

Credibility is created with congruence. Who are you? Are you congruent with your message? If you are talking about financial investments but your portfolio is negative, the audience will be able to detect your incongruence. If you are talking about marketing with an integrated marketing image, your audience will sit up and listen.

Authenticity and integrity are qualities that the audience will discern, the same way they will know if you are a fraud or lack integrity. Be real. Audiences love presenters who aren't afraid to show their weaknesses or laugh at themselves. Vulnerability or openness from the speaker helps people relate.

For example, during a sales seminar I shared that at the beginning of my career I had to "post-date twenty dollar checks" because my commission checks were not very big. Members of the audience nodded their heads in agreement and two came up after the program, thanking me for helping them see that success in selling was possible. One of these has kept in contact over the past decade letting me know his progress. About once a year he calls and he reminds me that my willingness to be real from the stage opened up his mind to his own potential.

This is not intended that you use the audience to bare your soul and make them feel uncomfortable. I heard a speaker talk about her divorce. She had not emotionally resolved her feelings and should not have talked about a subject that was still raw to her. Once healed, her story might have value, but not until then.

Authenticity, vulnerability, and realness simply mean that you know who you are. When you know that, you are comfortable with yourself and your audiences will be, too.

By Linda Snyder

Super Preparation - Keys to Getting a Great Start to Every Presentation

2008-07-14T21:28:00.007-07:00

Super Preparation -
Keys to Getting a Great Start to Every Presentation

Novice and expert presenters alike have had the experience of feeling a little (or may be a lot) nervous before giving a talk. In working with hundreds of people to help them improve their presentation skills, one consistent theme has emerged: once people get started, assuming things go relatively well, they begin to relax, become more natural, less self conscious, and therefore more effective.

Since the opening of any presentation is critical to the message and the presenter's credibility, and since this is often when presenters are most nervous and cautious, it makes sense to have strategies to make that opening the best it can be.

I call the strategy "Super Preparation".

How to Do It

Here are the steps to Super Preparation:

1. Design a dynamite opening. This article isn't focused on how to build the best possible opening, but that is where you need to start! Make sure your opening is clear, focused, attention getting and full of audience benefits. You want the people listening to become truly interested in what you have to say. When you have a great opening planned, your excitement and confidence will rise, already making you less apprehensive.

2. Practice the opening. You need to "own" the great opening you have developed. Practice the first 3-5 minutes of your talk thinking about everything: the words, vocal inflection, gestures, movements, pace and more. Know the flow of your words, find the best places to pause for emphasis. Your goal is to have the first few minutes so well prepared in your mind and heart that your nerves and apprehensions about getting started are greatly reduced. You won't reach that goal without practice.

3. Visualize success! Spend some time thinking about how successful the opening will be. How engaged and interested your audience will be. How confident and relaxed you will be. Visualizing those things are a big step towards making them happen.

4. Rehearse. I know, I already told you to practice. These rehearsals are the final mental run-throughs that incorporate both the practice and the visualization. These rehearsals might be in your car, the shower, as you lay in bed, whenever!

5. End with a "make." When shooting baskets after practice my basketball coach always said, "Don't leave the court on a miss. Always finish with the result you want." That is my advice to you on your mental rehearsals. Always finish with a rehearsal where the opening went great! This will solidify the result you want in your brain and add to your growing confidence and excitement.

6. Don't memorize! All this talk about practice and rehearsal may lead you to think, "I just need to memorize my opening." Nothing could be more wrong. When we memorize, we focus on the words. If we mess up the words we've lost it! Super Preparation is about preparing for a super result - and super results in presentations are always focused on the audience, not ourselves. Forget the memorization. Remember the audience. Focus on the message, your approach and your desired outcome.

Results

The results of utilizing Super Preparation include:

? Greater confidence
? Less apprehension or nerves at the start of your talk
? A much more credible first impression of you, your skills, and message by the audience
? An opening that has great impact

Aren't those reasons enough to try it?

The Rest

Will take care of itself. You will have set yourself up to succeed with greater confidence and energy, which allows you to build on the great opening, rather than trying to recover from a poor one.

Try the Super Preparation approach to your next presentation and prepare to persuade with greater effectiveness than you ever have before!

By Kevin Eikenberry

Incorporate Humor in Your Next Speech

2008-07-14T21:28:00.005-07:00

Some speakers say, "I could never use humor in my speech; I just don't feel comfortable with it." I believe that anyone can use humor and that it is a valuable tool in speaking. Appropriate humor relaxes an audience and makes it feel more comfortable with you as the speaker; humor can bring attention to the point you are making; and humor will help the audience better remember your point. It can break down barriers so that the audience is more receptive to your ideas. First, let me make it easy for you to use humor. The best and most comfortable place to find humor for a speech is from your own personal experience. Think back on an embarrassing moment that you might have thought not funny at the time. Now that you can laugh at the experience, you understand the old adage "Humor is simply tragedy separated by time and space." Or think of a conversation that was funny. Remember the punch line and use it in your speech. Probably the least risky use of humor is a cartoon. The cartoon is separate from you and if people don't laugh, you don't feel responsible. (Be sure to secure permission to use it.) You're not trying to be a comedian; you just want to make it easy for people to pay attention and to help them remember your point. Here are some suggestions on using humor to make your next speech have more impact. 1. Make sure the humor is funny to you. If you don't laugh or smile at the cartoon, joke, pun, one-liner, story, or other forms of humor, then you certainly cannot expect an audience to do so. A key to using humor is only using humor that makes you laugh or smile. 2. Before using humor in your speech, try it out with small groups of people. Do they seem to enjoy it? Even if your experimental group does not laugh or smile initially, don't give up on the humor, because the problem might be in the way you are delivering the joke or quip. I often use this line in talking about the importance of listening. "We are
geared to a talk society. Someone said, 'The only reason we listen is so we can talk next!'" When I first tried that line, people did not smile; but I worked on the timing so that I paused and smiled after "listen" and that seemed to work. I was rushing through the punch line and did not give people time to be prepared for the humorous part. It took practice to get comfortable with the piece of humor. Only use humor in a speech after you are comfortable telling it from memory and have tested it. 3. Make sure the humor relates to the point you are making. Do not use humor that is simply there to make the audience laugh. The humor should tie in with some aspect of your speech. For example, I tell about my experience of getting braces at age 46 and how difficult it was for me to get used to the wires and rubber bands in my mouth. After I tell the story I make the point that you may have not had the braces problem I had, but we all have challenges in communicating well, and what we want to look at today are ways of making it easier for us to be more effective in speaking. The audience enjoys the story but also remembers the point that I'm making. If you don't tie your humor to your presentation, the audience may like the humor, but will wonder what point you are attempting to make. 4. Begin with something short. A starting point might be to summarize a cartoon and give the caption as your humor. A thought-provoking yet clever line about a point you are making is another way to get started. For example, when I talk about creativity and getting out of your comfort zone, a line I found that worked well was, "Orville Wright did not have a pilot's license." In your reading, look for lines that make you smile; consider how they might be used in your next speech. Be careful about launching into a long humorous story--audiences are quick to forgive a single line that may not be funny, but they do not have much patience with a long anecdote that isn't worth the time. So start out with brief bits of humor. 5. When possible, choose humor that comes from people you interact with. You do not have to worry about people having heard it before, and you will feel more comfortable with what has happened to you. Find such experiences by looking for a humorous line or situation. For example, I was making a bank deposit recently at a drive-in window. When I asked to make a second deposit, the teller said solemnly, "I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to go around the bank a second time to make a second deposit." We both laughed and I may have a line to work into a speech. If you have small children, listen for something they say that might be funny to an audience as well. Art Linkletter made a great living on the notion that "Kids say the darndest things." 6. Don't preview by saying, "Let me tell you a funny story." Let the audience decide for themselves. Look pleasant and smile as you launch into your funny line, but if no one smiles or laughs then just move on as though you meant for it to be serious. This approach takes the pressure off as you relate the humor. Remember you are not a comedian entertaining the audience; you are a serious speaker seeking to help the audience remember and pay attention by using humor as a tool. Humor is simply another way of making a point with your audience, and it can help you be a more effective speaker. Look at humor as a tool in improving your speech in the manner of attention devices, smooth transitions, and solid structure. Remember, "A smile is a curve that straightens out a lot of things."

By Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP

Just Say No to PowerPoint: Enough is Enough!

2008-07-14T21:28:00.003-07:00

Have you ever been slideswiped? You walk into a meeting and once everyone has arrived, the lights are often dimmed and the show begins. The presenter clicks the mouse again and again, showing you slide after slide until you can take no more. Exasperated, you shut your eyes and doze off. You have just been slideswiped!

Or, have the training classes and presentations at your company become stale and commonplace? Do they tend to look and feel exactly the same regardless of the topic? The only difference is the words have been changed-Few presentations stand out and you begin to wonder if anyone in your company is capable of a creative thought. Maybe most of the presentations you see have started with one of the templates found in PowerPoint®. Do you need to communicate bad news? Click on the template "Communicating Bad News." Do you need to report progress or status? Click on the template "Reporting Progress or Status." Do you need to create an employee orientation training program? Click on the template "Employee Orientation." Do you need to create a company handbook? Click on the template "Company Handbook." Now, your company looks and sounds like all the others.

If you think these scenarios can't happen, think again. They already are happening in companies across the globe. PowerPoint® has become so popular it is now a synonym for a presentation. Instead of asking for a copy of the salient points in a training program or company presentation, people are now saying, "Please send me the PowerPoint® from Wednesday's class." Scott Adams is cartooning about it, too. In the first frame Dilbert is using a pointer and says, "As you can clearly see in slide 397?" In the next frame the audience is tearing their hair out and one of the employees falls over on the floor. In the final frame, Wally looks at him and exclaims, "PowerPoint® Poisoning!"

Recently, I was speaking at an off-site meeting for a software company and was scheduled to present immediately following the VP of Marketing who was talking about the possibility of downsizing. When I arrived, the room was dark and the VP was reading from the screen. I saw heads nodding and people dozing. He was on slide 23 and had 22 more to go! The audience had a handout on which each of the slides was printed and numbered and those still awake, read along with him. Why bother? There was no interaction and people were discouraged from asking questions. Just pass out the handout and go home.

Given the touchy nature of the subject matter, a "lights on," Q&A would have been much more effective. The handout could have been distributed prior to the meeting so people could prepare their questions. Instead, he simply read to a group of scared employees who were in the dark to begin with and who he ultimately left in the dark.

Many presenters and trainers have become addicted to this technology. It's like drugs are to junkies. The more it's used, the harder it is to stop using it. It becomes a crutch. And, there's a price to pay. Audiences tune out, fall asleep and dread wasting time sitting in a room where slideswiping is the norm. Productivity drops, learning doesn't happen and humans disconnect. It seems presenters and trainers have forgotten how important it is to communicate with a group rather than just read to them, and how important it is to connect with an audience rather than just dazzle them with special effects. General Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued the following order to our military bases around the world, "Enough with the bells and whistles, just get to the point." (Wall Street Journal, 4/26/00).
Remember, people process information in many ways. Some learn visually, others learn by listening, and the kinesthetic types prefer to learn through movement. It's best to provide something for everyone. Remember, visual learners do not learn from bullet points alone; they learn from pictures, graphs, and images. Auditory learners do not learn from listening to sound effects like bells ringing and typewriters clacking. Instead, they learn from listening to an engaging speaker whose voice is powerful and who captivates their curiosity. And, kinesthetic learners do not learn from the movement of words on a slide. They learn from doing, touching, and moving around. They like to be involved and participate.

Usually, people don't participate because they suffer from low self-esteem or have been humiliated sometime before. Perhaps they learned through early experience that there is a much greater chance of being embarrassed than of being rewarded when they speak up in a meeting or a class. They might be afraid that they have nothing important to contribute or that they will appear foolish in front of others. They may also be disinterested in what's going on; they may feel they don't have a "stake" in the outcome. While there is no one solution to the problem, there are several things that can be done to enhance communication. Start by changing "Are there any questions?" to "What questions do you have?" Invite participation. You just might get it.

By Nancy Stern

The Secret Language of Money

2008-07-14T21:28:00.001-07:00

At a number of business seminars and presentations, I passed out an index card and asked each person in the audience to write anonymously a single answer to each of three questions. The three questions are:

1. To me money means _________.

2. My current annual income is _______________.

3. In order to insure happiness and contentment financially, with no more money problems and worries, my annual income would need to be __________.

The answers to these three simple questions reveal how much more we attribute to money than it being a medium of exchange. Money has a range of emotional meanings hitchhiking on it: love, security, control, power, worth, freedom, success, status.

In over 90% of the hundreds of people I have polled, their annual income would need to be roughly double its current amount for them to feel happy, content, without money problems and worries. This is as true as for someone who makes $50,000 a year, and believes it would take roughly $100,000 a year in order to be financially content as it is for someone who makes $500,000 and believes that it would take roughly a million a year. And, in discussions after this brief poll, those who actually experienced their income doubling also doubled their "happy and content" amount: for someone who had made $50,000 and believed that it would take around $100,000 to be happy, when they had achieved $100,000 annually, they then thought it would take about twice that amount to be content and worry-free about money.

Money was always intended to be a symbol, so it is a ready stand-in as a screen onto which we project personal meanings of what we idealize, want, yet fear we don't have enough of, don't deserve, or can never have. Particular emotions, such as fear and greed, may predominate in the money arena. Strategies and game plans may be abandoned at times of excess stimulation - when things are going particularly bad or especially good - and bad investment decisions prevail.

Money's symbolism is uniquely subjective, though society adds metaphors of its own. Some of the meanings are outside the realm of logic, reason, and intellect. The issue of money may quickly spark ambition, insecurity, envy, fear, jealousy, complication, guilt, or any number of emotional reactions. If someone is competitive, insecure, or prone to fantasize and worry, money is always a reliable and tangible focus, a yardstick of many measures.

Many emotional and relationship issues can manifest vividly in the financial arena, focusing on money as the answer, the problem, or both. Money may be the common language of success phobia, impulsivity, and even fear of autonomy, such as creating financial crises from which to be rescued. Money symptoms include compulsions such as gambling, shopping, hoarding. Money may become the currency of addictions such as work, financial risk-taking, money acquisition, or impulsive spending. While we often make decisions on an emotional basis, the particular meanings and significance of money has a built-in readiness to be an emotional trip wire for meanings and decisions that are repetitive and limiting.

The more money represents unfulfilled needs or wants, the more promise it holds of happiness. The perpetual hope that more money will provide happiness sharply focuses what "enough" is. Someone who assumes that more money would bring more security or freedom may find that more money paradoxically brings a lessened sense of security and freedom. Or, if we could have just the right amount of money, then we could do exactly what we really want to do and have what we want. The "right amount" may be a specific figure, but if it is a floating figure defined by "more" it is perpetually elusive. But this illusion may not have to be confronted as long as the amount extends beyond the realized, and about double is a safe lead.

Understanding and changing money problems and patterns requires understanding your money story as part of a life story that you are creating each day. The beginning of evaluation of that story is to recognize that you are the author of that story. Whatever you think, feel, and do are active creations for ownership moment by moment.

Being loyal to a game plan and reaching a goal assumes having a game plan and attainable goals. First, construct a map to figure out where you are and where you want to go. Without a map, there cannot be a plan to get there; without knowing where you want to go, any map will do. Next, figure out how to get there. Primary problems with those who do not succeed include not knowing where they are, where they are going, not having a plan to get there, or getting distracted from their plan to get there. Having a map (attainable goals and measurable results) allows you to filter noise, to discern the route to where you want to go, and to recognize what is tangential or a detour in getting there.

Your life is the manifestation of your beliefs. Changing your mind changes your brain and life, as beliefs, goals, and visions drive action. Your experiences are always consistent with your assumptions: enhance the ones that work, and change the ones that don't work.

By David Krueger, M.D.