| Thankful Observations to Consider and Presenting Persuasively |
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On a Personal Note... It's just about Thanksgiving and a time to reflect on what I have to be thankful for. Well, it happened today. Our 9 year old daughter, who is convinced that her parents are total idiots (I admit to idiocy, but my husband is bright), finally realized that what I do for a living may have some value. You see, she had to give a presentation to her class and yesterday, I had her practice, videotaped her, and coached her on her content and delivery. Much as I do with thousands of clients, only she is shorter than most of them. Anyway, she came home today effusively reporting that her class gave her the loudest applause and that her teacher heaped kudos on her performance. This was HUGE for her self confidence in class.
So what is it that I'm thankful for? Not only do I have a daughter who performed well, she may actually get the job of her dreams one day because she'll know how to conduct herself from the front of the room; instead of shying away from the platform like many people in business today. How are your presentation skills? Read on for a note from a client that I received today, as well as some tips and techniques for polishing YOUR public speaking expertise.  Delivering Impromptu Presentations in Meetings Recently I ran a Powerful Persuasive Presentation skills class and after going through the process of organizing, delivering, and presenting a persuasive presentation, the participants begged me to show them how to present during a meeting. You know, when the boss says, "Joey. Share with us all you know in the next one and a third minutes." Stunned, the person freezes, and starts rambling; while the boss and everyone else rolls their eyes in boredom. Well, there is a formula to presenting extemporaneously and it is a foolproof method to get your message across succinctly AND professionally. One of the participants, using the technique I taught them, sent me this email. Read it and see how the formula works: "I hope things are going well for you. So, I bet you would like to know what successes I have had since your class? Well there were three main things that I accomplished: 1. For the first time in many years I felt totally confident as I opened and closed my session. I made great eye contact and sold my ideas by transferring thoughts through sentences. 2. My wife just happened to need to give a presentation and was flipping out because see wasn't sure how to handle it. I taught her the hamburger approach and we put together a neat presentation. I helped her with a shocking opening that she said won her audience right away and made the rest of the presentation easy following your process. She felt she did a great job delivering her presentation. I really scored points at home for helping her with that. Thanks Renee!!!! 3. The technique you gave me for getting people involved worked just like you showed me. I asked the group "What questions do you have about delivering a "Superior Customer Experience"? The group was totally silent. My new boss was sitting in the back of the room and felt I was bombing in front of her. I waited for a moment that seemed like an hour. I turned to one of the students to my right and said "Richard, what was the most valuable thing you learned about delivering a Superior Customer Experience?" He paused and gave a great answer. I went to the next person and asked the same question. We talked for the next 30 minutes about the topic. My new boss came to me afterwards and told me that I was great and she was so proud to be working with me. Well, those are three accomplishments I feel great about since I went through your class. Thanks again for your time and attention in class. I promise I won't keep you a secret." So here is the technique, as outlined to my class: 1. Restate the assignment (i.e. "You asked me about the Murphy account...") 2. Outline that there are THREE main points you want to share about the Murphy account. 3. Describe the three ideas in a succinct and well-thought out manner. 4. Close with a final statement. This formula should take you approximately one to two minutes to communicate and you'll look like a well-organized professional every time. Try it and let me know how it goes! (c)Renee Walkup, www.salespeak.com 678 587-9911 |
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