Marion Chapsal, who has been my speaker’s coach and mentor, has a great blog at Geronimo Leadership Coaching.
The aim of this blog is to help you create your unique Leadership and Communication experience for 2010 and beyond!
What could you do NOW to make 2010 the year you deliver outstanding presentations and develop your Leadership & Communication style?
While preparing for my assignment as Speaker at Øredev 2009 I got help from Marion Chapsal who acted as speaker’s coach and mentor.
Marion switched between being a coach (encourage, challenge and support) and being a mentor (give advice, share experience and knowledge) depending on what was needed. She guided and supported me through my preparations which helped me get it all done and to feel confident when it was time for my presentation.
If you shall make an important presentation and want to improve your presentation skills then I suggest that you get in touch with Marion Chapsal.
Marion Chapsal sent me a link to Be a Starfish Speaker which gives this interesting suggestion:
Visualize your presentation as a starfish. Your central message is the middle and your main points radiate our from there. If you get off track, just return back to the center.
Sarah Gershman points out that a speak needs a central message. She writes that:
Next time you prepare your content and each and every time you practice your speech, first review the central message of your presentation. You should be able to state this in no more than one sentence.
If you can create one sentence that sums up your core message it will be much easier for your audience to remember.
I like the starfish as a symbol for a speech. There is a central part, your core message, and the arms represent a handful of points you want to make.
Credit: Photo Starfish on the Beach.
I have read How to develop self confidence and influence people by public speaking by Dale Carnegie. Here are some of my notes based on the book.
The book has this reassuring quote by Cicero:
All public speaking of real merit is characterized by nervousness.
Dale Carnegie gives this advice: See yourself as a messenger, the message is important. In other words, content is important.
Preparation
Preparation means assembling your thoughts, your ideas, your convictions, your urges. Preparation means selecting, polishing, working them into a pattern, a mosaic of your own. A speech is a voyage with a purpose and it must be chartered.
Outlines
The book lists some types of outlines.
1. State your facts
2. Argue from them
3. Appeal for action
1. Here is a situation that ought to be remedied
2. We ought to do so and so about the matter.
3. You ought to help for these reasons.
1. Secure interested attention.
2. Win confidence.
3. State your facts, educate people regarding the merits of your proposition.
4. Appeal to the motives that make men act.
How to open a talk
The book lists these alternatives:
• Arouse curiosity
• Begin with a story
• Begin with an illustration
• Use an exhibit
• Ask a question
• Open with a quotation
• Tie your topic up to the vital interests of your audience
How to close a talk
The book lists these alternatives:
• Summarize, restate, outline briefly the main points covered
• Appeal for action
• A terse sincere compliment
• A humorous close
• A poetical qouotation
• The climax
This book overlaps in parts with Dale Carnegie’s The quick and easy way to effective speaking. I prefer that one.
Garr Reynolds, Presentation Zen, has created a page with Presentation Tips on his own site. The tips are three main areas: Organization and Preparation, Delivery and Slides. There are also Samples and Tutorials.
Olivia Mitchell at Speaking about Presenting has created a collection of her Best Posts to help you with every aspect of your next presentation.
Presentation Skills has tips around
• Planning and writing the presentation
• Using visual aids effectively
• Overcoming presentation nerves
• Delivering the presentation confidently
• Answering questions competently
I have read The quick and easy way to effective speaking by Dale Carnegie. The book is outdated in examples, copyright is in 1962. Still, there are useful tips about public speaking in the book. Here are some of my notes based on the book.
Every talk has one of four major goals. Pick the one that suits you, the audience and the occasion.
1. To persuade or get action.
2. To inform.
3. To impress and convince.
4. To entertain.
Notes about preparation and delivery.
• Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.
• Be sure you are excited about your subject.
• Be eager to share your talk with your listeners.
• The listeners shall feel that what you say is important to them.
• Talk in terms of your listeners’ interests.
Ask yourself how knowledge of your subject will help your audience solve their problems and achieve their goals. In other words, “What’s in it for them?” Then proceed to show them that, and you will have their full attention.
If the purpose of your talk is to inform then make the talk easy to listen to and easy to remember.
If your aim is to convince, remember that it is more effective to stir emotions than to arouse thoughts. Feelings are more powerful than cold ideas.
The book mentions the classic recipe for a talk: First tell them what you are going to tell them; then tell them; then tell them what you told them.
If you ever get to introduce a speaker, follow the T-I-S formula:
+ T stands for topic (of the speech).
+ I stands for importance, connect topic and audience.
+ S stands for speaker, introduce him/her.
I really like Olivia Mitchell’s site Speaking about Presenting which has this introduction: The aim of this blog is to help you with your next presentation. You find:
- Helpful articles to help you with every aspect of your next presentation
- Reviews of books and blogs on presentations and public speaking
- Analysis of great speeches and presentations.
I will refer to several of her blog posts in my own posts in the Presentation category.
