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Present Your Message with Power and Pizzazz
If you're ready to kick your career or business up to the next level, then make it a goal to become a powerful presenter. People view savvy communicators as being more capable, intelligent, and knowledgeable than those individuals who have difficulty in communicating their ideas. You can quickly gain the status of an expert in your field when you are able to present your ideas effectively. Although many things go into giving a successful talk, I'd like to focus on one area that is very easy to apply - using body movements and gestures. When you use body movements and gestures appropriately, your presentation takes on a certain sense of aliveness that is often hard to accomplish when you use words alone. Harness the Power of Gestures Gestures include your posture, the movement of your eyes, hands, face, arms and head, as well as your entire body. They help to support or reinforce a particular thought or emotion. If our gestures support our statements, we are communicating with a second sense. People tend to understand and remember messages better when more than one sense is reached. Winston Churchill was a master at using gestures to powerfully bring home his point. During World War II, Churchill rallied the citizens of Great Britain to continue their fight against overwhelming odds. He often visited the neighborhoods of London, which had been devastated by bombs and walked through them with his fingers held up in the sign of a "V". This victory sign accompanied his famous message, "Never give in. Never, never, never give in." This gesture so powerfully communicated Churchill's message that soon people gained greater resolve to continue fighting whenever they saw the victory sign. Another reason that using appropriate gestures is so critical to your presentation is that communication does not just consist of words. Less than 10% of the words we use in speaking gets through to others. On the other hand, over 55% of our body language is communicated to others very clearly. Whether you are trying to sell your product or service to a client or you are trying to persuade a group of people to change their behavior, it is critical that your words and gestures match. Many people have sabotaged their messages because their words were saying one thing, while their bodies were saying the exact opposite. Can you think of a time when someone told you that he would be able to do something while his head was shaking no? Which did you believe, the words or the gesture? When your body movements are congruent with your words, your message will have a very powerful impact on your audience. Make the Most Out of Movements People will begin to make judgments about you as soon as you stand up. The time to begin using effective body movements is when you walk to your position in front of a group. Stand up tall and walk with a strong posture. Let your body communicate that you have something important to say and the audience needs to hear it. If your posture is slouched, they will feel that you aren't convinced about your message and they will begin doubting you before you have uttered a single word. When you get to the front, take a deep breath, calmly look at your entire audience and smile. One of the biggest mistakes presenters make is to begin talking as soon as they get up to the front, or even worse, as they are walking there. When you take time to look at your audience before you speak, you begin to establish that critical connection with them. You also give the audience sufficient time to focus on you and what you are about to say. Look directly at the faces of your audience members, not over their heads. Eye contact is one of the most important aspects of speaking. An easy way to get over stage fright is to look at the faces of individual audience members and just talk to that one person instead of the entire audience. Rotate the people you talk to - someone on the left, someone towards the middle, a person on the right, someone in the front, etc. This will help you maintain rapport with the entire group, while allowing you to feel at ease. A further advantage of maintaining good eye contact is that it will help you gauge how your message is coming across to the group. If you are trying to explain something and members of the audience give you blank stares, then you need to adjust your words so they can better understand you. Use Conversational Gestures Like Winston Churchill, you should strive to incorporate gestures into your talk. People naturally use gestures in conversations. They are not on the spot, so they easily move their arms and hands and make facial expressions to illustrate the points they are trying to make. However, an amazing thing happens when people stand up in front of a group to speak. They suddenly think, "Oh no! What am I going to do with these things attached to my shoulders?" and they either don't move them at all or they move them awkwardly. Gestures should be a natural extension of who we are. Presenters should strive to be themselves. They should be as spontaneous with their movements as if they were talking to their family or friends. Practice Makes Natural A good way to be comfortable with gestures is to know your speech well. Several of the most outstanding speakers offer the same piece of advice: "The key to effectively using gestures is to know your material so well, to be so well prepared, that your gestures will flow naturally." Practice your speech and know it well so that you can enjoy sharing your message with others. Become a master at using your body to support your words. Have fun with gestures, be yourself, and you will certainly present your message with power and pizzazz. About The Author Della Menechella is a speaker, author, and trainer who inspires people to achieve greater success from the inside out. She is a contributing author to Thriving in the Midst of Change and the author of the videotape The Twelve Commandments of Goal Setting. She can be reached at della@dellamenechella.com. Subscribe to free Peak Performance Pointers e-zine - send blank e-mail to mailto:subscribe@dellamenechella.com.
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If You Want Business - Throw a Seminar! Why is throwing a seminar good for business?If you want to clean your house, you should throw a garage sale, and if you want to increase business, throw a seminar. A seminar is a way for you to contact many people all at once. Problems with the Lecture Format ALTERNATIVES TO THE LECTURE FORMAT: How often do you use lectures as your sole training technique? Nearly always? Often? It's not unusual for trainers to use the lecture technique exclusively. After all, this is what we have all seen and are familiar with. The End is the Beginning People remember best what you say last. In a presentation, what people take with them to put into action or to connect with what they already know depends to a large degree on how you end the presentations. Transitions: Building Bridges to Your Points Presenters often tell me that they fear losing their train of thought. When listening to their talks I realized that for many people, the problem is not forgetting the words or main points. Grand Opening: The Key To Great Presentations Whether you are speaking in front of a civic group or making a sales presentation, your opening can make or break the deal. Unless you grab the audience at the beginning, they'll be sleeping through your most important information. PowerPoint Presentations: How to Use This Tool More Effectively Many of us use PowerPoint to convey a message to both small and large groups. Too often we see "death by powerpoint" in the corporate environment where people don't use it effectively. Total Recall: How to Remember Your Speech Without Memorizing We all fear that moment. You look out on a sea of faces and your mind goes blank. Handling Questions with Authority At some point in your presentation you will be expected to answer questions from your audience. They might have some burning questions that need to be answered before they buy into your message. Coaching Tips for Powerful Presentations Tip #1 The purpose of your speech is to get results; to help people make changes and think or act differently. So start with the end in mind. Tech Tips: PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts for PowerPoint Slide Shows Whether you use a mouse or a remote control to navigate through a PowerPoint slide show presentation, it is also handy to use keyboard shortcuts. Here is a selection to try:? Run a slide show: [F5]. Keeping Meetings Productive KEEPING MEETINGS PRODUCTIVE: Whether participants approve or disapprove of an idea, they shouldn't be penalized or given a raise. If you start criticizing people who disapprove, then you're only making your meetings less productive. Let Me Tell You a Little Story Once upon a time there was a businessperson who had the task of convincing an audience of the need for the business to plan better for the future. Instead of starting out with a spreadsheet and a long list of numbers he started with a story we all know, "The Three Little Pigs. Be Bold, Branded, and Bespoke - Your Customers Want You to Choose I had been working on a logo idea for several weeks before I finally realized that it would take from several months to never before I came up with something that would work for me. Scanning the Internet for sites that resembled Logos 'R Us, I found one that had a portfolio that I liked. 10 Profitable Tips for Creating Better Sales Presentations No matter what your business is, you will enhance your level of success by developing a well-organized sales presentation. A good sales presentation involves two primary elements:(1) The pre-planned sales talk. Watch Out For Power Thieves "I'm not an expert on this topic, but . . Just Say No to PowerPoint: Enough is Enough! 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. Speech in Business The social skills of a small businessperson, franchisee, independent contractor or manager are all important. Speech and body language are first impressions and weigh heavily on the decision making process of a potential prospect or customer. Guidelines for Rehearsal Criticism It is both good planning and considerate to provide auditors with a guide for their criticism. It would be quite difficult for them to note everything which needs attention without some reminder of what to look for. Projector Hire - Choosing the Right One for Your Presentation Calling a projector hire company will often get you confused as they ask: What lumens do you need? (Lumens is the brightness of the projector) What resolution do you need? (Resolution is the number of pixels at which the display device does not have to expand or compress the input signal) What type: install, desktop or portable? (Install projectors tend to be larger and heavier, desktop ones are small and light and portable are somewhere in between!) What you should ask yourself are the following simple questions: How many people will need to see the projected image?A 1000 lumens projector will usually be sufficient for a smaller meeting - up to 20 people. 2000 lumens is better. How to Convert PowerPoint to Flash Manually Converting PowerPoint to Flash would be absolutely a good choice to distribute your bulky PowerPoint Presentation. You can do the whole PowerPoint-to-Flash conversion manually or by related softwares.
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