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How to speak on the spot – successfully

Being put “on the spot” can be a challenge. And yet to some it seems so easy. They rise to the occasion, speak fluently, seemingly without preparation, and with such ease. We would all like to be able to emulate them – that effortless presentation of ideas, that seemingly impromptu connection with an audience, and an outcome that establishes them as credible and convincing.

In this article, let’s look at 6 techniques you can implement to build your fluency and confidence, so that you, too, can seemingly present with effortless ease.

1. Stand very deliberately and take time to begin. Pause. Smile if it is appropriate. Take a moment or two to think if you need to, and to ground yourself physically. Stand up straight to build confidence.

2. Do not apologise. You will have something to say even if it is about what you don’t know about the subject and why. Apologising ruins your confidence, deflates the audience’s confidence in you and is generally demoralising. It is also a waste of the opportunity to create a great attention-getting opening that leads into your ideas.

3. Begin with a strong opening and with confidence. Make a bold statement of your theme or to introduce what you want to say. It may be a challenge to the audience. It may be a strong statement of belief. The emphasis here is on the word strong. You convince your audience, and in the process, you convince yourself that you are confident and have a strong theme.

4. If necessary, repeat the topic out loud, either as an opening or following the strong opening. It gives you the feeling of gaining time, and it helps you develop your theme and tie it into the topic.

5. Scary though it may be, maintain eye contact. You and the audience are all in this together. Share the experience. Make the tone conversational so that you engage them in your material and presentation. Use words that you would use with them in conversation. If possible relate your material to someone in the audience or the organisation involved or to the geographical area.

6. Stick with your topic. Use your stories, examples and other support material to relate to that topic. Call back, if possible, to your opening statement. Stay focussed on your message.

7. Take questions and answers if there is time and/or opportunity, but not right at the end. Instead, finish strong. If nothing else, conclude with a reiteration of your opening statement rehashed in light of what you have said during the speech. If there is no need to thank anyone at the end, then a nod and/or smile is enough to finish, and can be far more powerful.

Add a dash of practise to this recipe. With experience you can build these techniques into habits so that they come to you more easily. With experience, and success, your confidence will grow. And with experience you will become more comfortable with not only speaking “on the spot”, but also interacting with your audience “on the spot” as well.

© Bronwyn Ritchie If you want to include this article in your publication, please do, but please include the following information with it:

Bronwyn Ritchie is a professional librarian, writer, award-winning speaker and trainer. She is a certified corporate trainer and speech contest judge with POWERtalk, a certified World Class Speaking coach, and has had 30 years experience speaking to audiences and training in public speaking. Get her 30 speaking tips FREE and boost your public speaking mastery over 30 weeks. Join now or go to http://www.30speakingtips.com

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Visual aid – The Swinging Ball of Death

... a wonderful example of using a visual aid - Who needs PowerPoint?!! Watch the language he uses, and the use of pause

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Public Speaking Tip: Extremely Small Customization

[Via Tom Antion]

“When speaking to a very small group of people you should be able to include an extremely large amount of customization. You should have researched the group and done your normal homework including phone interviews with the expected attendees (if it is a public event and you don't know who is coming, be set up way early so you can greet and interview people as they arrive.) Jot down a note of why each person attended. Then, when a section of your talk applies to them, point it out and name them by name.
Example: "John, you told me you wanted to learn how to sell more to the people that visit your website. This section specifically addresses that, especially the part about the psychology of the sale."
Don't assume that people will perk up when you come to the part that specifically applies to them. Make a big deal to point it out to them. You will be adding an extreme amount of value which makes them realize that it was a good thing they attended. Oh and don't forget they'll love you for it.”

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The Exceptional Presenter

The Exceptional Presenter: A Proven Formula to Open Up and Own the Room

by Timothy J. Koegel

It's often reported that the number one fear among American adults is public speaking. But in today's competitive business world, effective communication is a crucial skill, and the cost of being less than effective is quite high. From the White House to boardrooms worldwide, Tim Koegel has strengthened presentations, media relations and communications skills of CEOs and world leaders alike with his renowned coaching abilities. His new book, The Exceptional Presenter, lays out his techniques in a format perfectly suited to today's busy world.
 This little hardback is incredibly easy to read. Extremely well organized, it's written in clear, jargon-free language. Each of its many lessons covers just a few pages, and is composed of short, straight-to-the-point paragraphs. Sized to fit easily in the side pocket of a laptop case, it's an ideal way to kill time at an airport gate, on a flight, or even during those dead half-hours that often pop up between convention sessions.

Better still, this book really delivers on its promise. => http://bit.ly/wpKj8H

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In Speaking, "Sell" Is a Four Letter Word

It's weird. Professional speakers, who are often paid thousands of dollars to give a one-hour talk, are expected to "sell from the platform" - that is, encourage audience members to go to their product table at the back of the room to buy their books, CDs, DVDs, notepads and promotional items using a short commercial at the end of their talk. The problem is that when the pitch goes on too long, it can backfire.

But as a free speaker who is typically compensated only with a free meal or a small gift, you are not supposed to sell at all. Why? Because you were invited to speak by a particular group; you were not hired by them. It is understood that you are there to educate, engage and entertain that group, not take the occasion to promote your own agenda.

The problem is that you ARE there to sell something, and you should expect the investment of your time, effort and money in securing and giving your presentation to pay off in terms of product sales, new clients, referrals, or some other form of financial return. Here are six ways you can encourage your audience to take action on your behalf without turning them off:

1) Change your thinking: Think of sales of your products as a way to nurture your relationship with your audience, rather than as change in your pocket. The only reason people will buy what you have to offer is because your talk touched them or taught them something, and they want to take you home with them. Buying your book, CD, etc., allows them to do that.

2) Remember that nobody likes to be sold, but everybody loves to buy: Pitching is offensive, but persuasion can be pleasant. Rather than trying to sell products, your mission should be to encourage people to want what you have. Since they came to hear you, they are already interested in your topic, and when you respect their intelligence and don't pitch or push, you'll find they will be interested in you and be more inclined to linger afterwards.

3) Have a drawing using a sign-up form: Pass out a sign-up form for your ezine (email newsletter) and draw for a copy of your book, CD, or a free consulting session. As you give it to the winner, tell them and the audience that you'll autograph their copy - and everyone else's - at your table after your talk.

4) Incorporate your product subtly into your talk: I recently heard an author who excerpted an exercise from her book and had the audience totally engaged by it. During her talk, she would occasionally refer to her book by saying, "This is on page ______" or "This is in the chapter titled ______." It was extremely effective and completely unobtrusive.

5) Be realistic: I wish I could tell you that you can expect X% of the audience to buy your products, but the fact is that each speaking engagement is unique, and so is each audience.

When I was doing a lot of speaking for my book Secrets of the Hidden Job Market: Change Your Thinking to Get the Job of Your Dreams, my experience ranged from making no sales to selling 44 books in 30 minutes. Same talk but different audiences.

6) Think relationships: Since people do business with people they like, your goal is to develop relationships with those who may have an interest in what you have to offer, and to encourage them to refer you to their friends. Your speaking success won't be measured in product sales, but rather in the business that comes later.

So the next time you get up in front of an audience, don't see them as prospects; think of them as people who are there to hear you share with them something they want to know. And very shortly you'll discover why speaking is the most cost-effective way to generate business for your business.

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Janet White is a 40-year veteran of business to business public relations, marketing and sales. Her diverse career includes being a reporter for Newsday, operations assistant at WABC-AM in New York when it was the # 1 radio station in America, 12 years as a commercial real estate writer and publicist in New York and Dallas, and 14 years as a sales rep for mobility, custom rehab, bariatric and patient handling medical equipment.

In 2010, Janet came back to her public relations and marketing roots and established The JW Speakers Agency, Dallas/Fort Worth's only booking agency for business owners who use free speaking as a way to increase their exposure, broaden their network and bring in new clients, and emerging speakers who need guidance on building their speaking business. http://www.jwspeakersagency.com

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Audience feedback!

We learn what we have said from those who listen to our speaking.

Kenneth Patton

What did you expect when you wrote your speech?

You wrote your speech, prepared it, presented it. Was it successful? Did you get some response?
 
What did you expect?
 
If it was not successful, if it did not get response, then possibly it did not meet your expectations. What were your expectations? Did you have expectations?
 
Expectations are vitally important in creating a presentation.  And they need to start before the speech, be a part of the planning stage, not just a part of the finale. If you do not know exactly what you want, or if you don’t plan your speech/presentation around what you expect, then you are playing Russian roulette with your speech – shooting it off without knowing if it will work or not – without preparing for it to succeed in the way that you want it to.
 
Every successful speaker knows, before they even start writing their speech, what it is that they want to achieve with that speech.
 
When we build a house, even though the part of the process that seems more important is creating the rooms, first a foundation has to be laid. Eventually it will be out of sight, but without it, the house is lost. So it is with a speech. Before we start putting together the words and phrases, there are things to be done.
 
First ….If the words and phrases, the body language and the visuals are to have impact, that impact has to be defined. What is it that you want to achieve? What is it that you would see as success for this speech?
 
The public speaking literature lists “impacts” as things like
 
· To inform or educate
· To persuade or motivate
· To thank
· To inspire
· To entertain
· To provoke thought
 
And you can think in those terms. Or maybe you have your own personal view of the impact you want to make – to impress the boss, to gain funding for a new project, to sell a product – the list of possibilities is endless.
 
Whatever that impact is, it is vitally important to keep it in the forefront of your thoughts, and make it the basis of all the processes involved in creating your presentation.
 
Visualisation works. It does. Visualise what you want at the end of the speech. How do you want to feel? What do you see the audience doing? Are they flocking to buy your product? Are they cheering? Are they coming to you with quiet admiration? Are they asking questions? Are they signing up for your course or ezine? Are they hiring you for the job? Are they heading for the polling booths to vote for your candidate, or vowing to be more attentive to environmental issues in future?
 
When you have a picture of this outcome, when you know in detail what it is that you want to achieve in this presentation, then you can go ahead and put together the words, gestures and facial expressions that will make up the speech. But not before. Impact is not an accident. It is something that is planned. For experienced speakers it may be an instinctive process, but it happens nevertheless. If you want success for your speech or presentation, plan for it and let that plan permeate everything you put into the presentation, and you have the foundation for success.

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© Bronwyn Ritchie If you want to include this article in your publication, please do, but please include the following information with it:
Bronwyn Ritchie is a professional librarian, writer, award-winning speaker and trainer. She is a certified corporate trainer and speech contest judge with POWERtalk, a certified World Class Speaking coach, and has had 30 years experience speaking to audiences and training in public speaking. Get her 30 speaking tips FREE and boost your public speaking mastery over 30 weeks. Join now or go to http://www.30speakingtips.com

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“The Top 10 Secrets of Today’s Most Successful Speakers”

Maya Angelou, JFK, and President Obama didn’t become gifted orators overnight. It takes old-fashioned practice and perseverance to master the art of public speaking.

As a business owner, you’d be surprised how much your world will expand when you begin to connect with a live audience. Your confidence will attract new clients, new resources, mentors, and the media. So, if you’re ready to master this powerful business development tool, here are my top 10 tips for success on the stage:

1. Research — Prepare carefully by doing your research before you even attempt to write your speech. Who is your audience? What are your “take aways” — the most important things you want them to walk away having learned from you? The more you know about your audience as well as your subject, the more confident you’ll feel when you are in front of them.

2. Make clear notes — Write down your entire speech, then pick out the main areas you’ve covered. Jot them down as bullet-points, words or phrases on 3? X 5? cards to prompt you during your speech. Use different colors to separate your points, in case you lose your place or work them into your PowerPoint presentation.

3. Practice thoroughly — Practice giving your talk into a recorder and use a timer to watch your minute marks. Surprisingly, having a recorder running puts pressure on you to know your material. From here, you can graduate to practicing in front of others. Practice using tools such as your PowerPoint clicker or laser pointer.

4. Visit the venue beforehand — Make an advance visit to where you’ll be speaking, even if you can only do this an hour beforehand. Stand exactly where you will be giving your speech to get a feel for the space. Also, ensure you get a sound check beforehand if there is a sound engineer provided for you.

5. Dress to stand out from the audience — If the backdrop is dark on stage, make sure you wear light colors. If the backdrop is light on stage, wear a contrasting color or darker shade. Never wear black on top, although black pants with a light or colored top works well. If you wear a dress, pick one with a belt, so you can clip the wireless mic transmitter to it! (Otherwise, in a pinch, I have clipped my mic pack to my bra strap.)

6. Breathe deeply – Take deep breaths before you go on stage. A minute or so of calm, deep breaths will slow your heart rate, increase your oxygen levels, and ground you nicely to give a calm, confident performance.

7. Think positively — If you’ve rehearsed and prepared adequately, there is no reason not to believe in yourself. Visualize no other outcome but being a raging success. Think how much the audience will like you, and how good you will feel after you’ve done it!

8. Don’t rush — Speak slowly to ensure you don’t trip over your words, and don’t rush to finish points. Ideally, set timings in your speech notes, so you know if you are going too fast or too slowly as you go along. Timing checks in your notes will help you sail along at a comfortable, relaxed speed.

9. Show your passion! — Feed off the passion you have for your subject. This will engage your audience’s attention. Let your voice get louder for some points and softer for others; have some variance in your presentation as far as your sound dynamics.

10. Be yourself and have fun – Audiences may forget what you say, but they will remember what you make them feel. And no one will know that you “messed up” but you. So go for it!

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© 2011 Ali International, LLC
Self-made entrepreneur and Inc. 500-ranked CEO Ali Brown teaches women around the world how to start and grow profitable businesses that make a positive impact. Get her FREE weekly articles and advice at www.AliBrown.com

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Design perfection

A designer knows he has achieved perfection, not when there is nothing left to add,
but when there is nothing left to take away.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Can you whittle your speech or presentation down to that level of perfection?