The idea that the fear of public speaking is a phobia that requires medical treatment, therapy, hypnosis or prescription pills is simply nonsense. People speak every day! We were born to do it, and have been doing it unabated for millennia. Why have we decided that speaking in public is suddenly so frightening?
That fear comes purely and simply because we have been taught to believe that PUBLIC speaking is somehow different than regular speaking. It isn’t. To prove it, ask yourself, "What’s the magic number?" How many people does it take to go from talking to a few friends or co-workers until it suddenly becomes PUBLIC speaking? Five? Ten? A hundred? What about that one-on-one job interview, that high profile sales meeting, or that marriage proposal you’re planning? Don’t they give you the same fears and worries as PUBLIC speaking? In fact, it isn’t really the number of people you’re talking to that’s so frightening, it’s the fact that the presentation has a potentially critical outcome. In other words, it’s a presentation with purpose.
Most of the time when we speak, we don’t worry much about the consequences, because it has little or no impact on our lives other than to pass the time of day. When a presentation has a definitive impact on our future, however, that concept changes. Suddenly we realize that everything we do and say will have an effect on that listener, the one who controls our future.
Frankly, we’re not used to being that aware of ourselves and the way we communicate, since most of the time we don’t give it a second thought, it just seems to come naturally. When we have to speak with purpose, however, we suddenly realize we have a huge vacuum in our knowledge, and the result in the face of that ignorance is, understandably, fear.
The only logical way to overcome that fear (rather than going into therapy!), is to fill that vacuum with knowledge. With knowledge you can eliminate your fear, and begin to transform your inevitable and ordinary nervousness into essential and constructive energy.
Let’s take it logically. Most people find that once they’ve begun a presentation, after a few minutes they begin to settle down. Therefore, we need to concentrate on learning what needs to be done in the first few minutes, in order to alleviate those opening jitters and arrive sooner at the point where we can relax a bit. The best and most effective way of doing that is to know exactly what it is you want to say in your opening statement and why.
Forget all the misguided advice to start with a joke, or a question, or a shocking statement, or telling them what you’re going to tell them. These are all old wives’ tales that are doomed to failure more often than not for reasons that are too lengthy to discuss here. It is better to start with the one way that will absolutely always work. That is simply to begin with something on which everyone can agree.
Start off with an irrefutable statement, one that will get your listener agreeing with you and with each other, something to demonstrate that you and your audience are all on the same page. It can be historical, (think "Fourscore and seven years ago") or an obvious truth ("College graduates earn more money than high school dropouts"), or a quote of any kind, as long as it’s on point and something that everyone can agree with. Once you have your listeners nodding in agreement, you’ll soon begin to calm down, and you’ll be able to get past those few tense early moments and get settled into your presentation more quickly. The rest will just happen before you know it, with you simply explaining your ideas and points as necessary.
The only other tense moment for most people is at the end, knowing how to wrap it up. Since most purposeful speaking involves the need for the listener to take action (hire you, buy your product, accept your proposal, etc.), it is wise to have an ending that tells them in no uncertain terms what it is you want them to do; ask them to hire you, sign the contract, get out their checkbook.
By giving them a proposal of action, you make it clear that they haven’t wasted their time listening to you, that they can, in fact, benefit from your presentation, and to do so, all they have to do is react to your proposal of action. The worst that will happen is they’ll say no, which most salespeople will tell you is their second favorite answer, because then everyone can move on, no hard feelings and no foot-dragging. It’s a much more satisfying ending, for both the presenter and the listener, than simply tapering off in a whimper, hoping for the best.
So next time you have to make an important presentation, don’t reach for the Prozac, just remember, there’s no such thing as public speaking, only speaking with purpose. The rest will come naturally!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
The Invaluable Asset of Rejection and Why Every Salesperson Should Embrace It
Years ago, a young actor received invaluable advice from his vaudevillian Mother. "You have to audition ten times in order to get one job." Trusting that advice, he proceeded to do as many auditions as he could, embracing each "rejection" as simply a step closer to his tenth, successful audition. It worked every time. He soon realized it was a numbers game, that as long as he put in ten causes (the auditions), he would ultimately earn the one effect he desired (the next job).
That simple realization changed his life. He accepted rejection as an advance, rather than a retreat, and viewed every audition as a positive experience, a mathematical means to his end. As he mentally checked off each number, he endeavored to learn from every occasion, so as to reduce the number of auditions it took to earn a contract, even though he was fully prepared to do all ten. Eventually, he managed to reduce the number to about six, and enjoyed a five decade long career in professional theatre.
The same is true with anyone working in sales, where rejection is almost as commonplace as in the entertainment industry. It’s a numbers game. You need only put in the right number of correct causes before you get the effect you want. At first it may take the full ten (sometimes more), but eventually, with experience, you can reduce that number substantially. How far you reduce it depends on how much you learn from each rejection.
First and foremost, understand that in sales, your job is to satisfy the needs of the buyer. Only by satisfying her needs will you ever be able to make a sale, and only by making a sale can you eventually satisfy your own needs. Happily, there are only three elements of behavior to understand about sales, and which have been well known to Man since the days of the first printing of Aristotle’s Rhetoric: logos, pathos and ethos.
Logos is the logical or practical approach to buying. It is the list of features that many salespeople heavily rely on to sell the product. Logos dictates that when you present your litany of features, that logically the buyer will see the benefits and make the purchase. While it is very important to know your product inside and out, you must also realize that logic isn’t enough. You must also tie each feature in with emotional benefits to the buyer. That’s where pathos comes in.
Pathos is the emotional issue tied to the product. What emotional needs is your product capable of satisfying? Include such things as more time, status, productivity, security, good health, even love, etc. Take your logos list of practical features and determine what emotional needs each feature can satisfy. The moment your customer exhibits an emotional need, proceed to demonstrate how your product has a corresponding feature that will satisfy it.
Finally there is ethos. Ethos is the commander, the controller, the part of the buyer that will actually make the decision. Ethos usually sits back and waits until the pathos and logos needs are satisfied before coming to the fore and approving the purchase. Few people buy anything for either 100% emotional or 100% logical reasons. Those that do are the rare impulsive buyers who generally regret it afterward and blame the salesperson out of self-contempt. Therefore it is up to a competent salesperson to insure that the correct balance between pathos and logos is achieved first, at which point ethos can then step in and buy the product.
So as you make each sales presentation, be sure to satisfy both the logos and the pathos needs of the buyer up front. Once you’ve done so, ask questions and listen carefully to the answers. Consider whether the question is coming from a logos or a pathos source and address it accordingly, pathos with pathos and logos with logos. Many a sale has failed because a salesperson tried to address emotional issues with logic and vice versa, making the right balance impossible.
Finally, keep a vigilant eye out for ethos. Ethos will show up the moment pathos and logos are in the right balance for that buyer. When that happens, stop selling and start signing. To continue selling risks knocking your logos and pathos out of balance and creating the withdrawal of ethos. In other words, recognize when to shut up, and do so.
Clearly, purchasing priorities are different for everyone, and the weight each of us puts on satisfying our particular needs at any given moment is unknowable. Therefore not every buyer is capable of creating a balance between her pathos and her logos sufficiently for her ethos to become involved, regardless of how skilled a salesperson might be. No need to take it personally, that’s just the way it is.
But certainly, one in ten buyers can be brought into balance by even the most novice salesperson. By learning from each "rejection" how to better identify when and how to achieve that balance, perhaps you, too, can reduce it to one in six, or better!
That simple realization changed his life. He accepted rejection as an advance, rather than a retreat, and viewed every audition as a positive experience, a mathematical means to his end. As he mentally checked off each number, he endeavored to learn from every occasion, so as to reduce the number of auditions it took to earn a contract, even though he was fully prepared to do all ten. Eventually, he managed to reduce the number to about six, and enjoyed a five decade long career in professional theatre.
The same is true with anyone working in sales, where rejection is almost as commonplace as in the entertainment industry. It’s a numbers game. You need only put in the right number of correct causes before you get the effect you want. At first it may take the full ten (sometimes more), but eventually, with experience, you can reduce that number substantially. How far you reduce it depends on how much you learn from each rejection.
First and foremost, understand that in sales, your job is to satisfy the needs of the buyer. Only by satisfying her needs will you ever be able to make a sale, and only by making a sale can you eventually satisfy your own needs. Happily, there are only three elements of behavior to understand about sales, and which have been well known to Man since the days of the first printing of Aristotle’s Rhetoric: logos, pathos and ethos.
Logos is the logical or practical approach to buying. It is the list of features that many salespeople heavily rely on to sell the product. Logos dictates that when you present your litany of features, that logically the buyer will see the benefits and make the purchase. While it is very important to know your product inside and out, you must also realize that logic isn’t enough. You must also tie each feature in with emotional benefits to the buyer. That’s where pathos comes in.
Pathos is the emotional issue tied to the product. What emotional needs is your product capable of satisfying? Include such things as more time, status, productivity, security, good health, even love, etc. Take your logos list of practical features and determine what emotional needs each feature can satisfy. The moment your customer exhibits an emotional need, proceed to demonstrate how your product has a corresponding feature that will satisfy it.
Finally there is ethos. Ethos is the commander, the controller, the part of the buyer that will actually make the decision. Ethos usually sits back and waits until the pathos and logos needs are satisfied before coming to the fore and approving the purchase. Few people buy anything for either 100% emotional or 100% logical reasons. Those that do are the rare impulsive buyers who generally regret it afterward and blame the salesperson out of self-contempt. Therefore it is up to a competent salesperson to insure that the correct balance between pathos and logos is achieved first, at which point ethos can then step in and buy the product.
So as you make each sales presentation, be sure to satisfy both the logos and the pathos needs of the buyer up front. Once you’ve done so, ask questions and listen carefully to the answers. Consider whether the question is coming from a logos or a pathos source and address it accordingly, pathos with pathos and logos with logos. Many a sale has failed because a salesperson tried to address emotional issues with logic and vice versa, making the right balance impossible.
Finally, keep a vigilant eye out for ethos. Ethos will show up the moment pathos and logos are in the right balance for that buyer. When that happens, stop selling and start signing. To continue selling risks knocking your logos and pathos out of balance and creating the withdrawal of ethos. In other words, recognize when to shut up, and do so.
Clearly, purchasing priorities are different for everyone, and the weight each of us puts on satisfying our particular needs at any given moment is unknowable. Therefore not every buyer is capable of creating a balance between her pathos and her logos sufficiently for her ethos to become involved, regardless of how skilled a salesperson might be. No need to take it personally, that’s just the way it is.
But certainly, one in ten buyers can be brought into balance by even the most novice salesperson. By learning from each "rejection" how to better identify when and how to achieve that balance, perhaps you, too, can reduce it to one in six, or better!
Thursday, August 2, 2007
What Do I Do with My Hands When I’m Speaking?
PROBLEM: Every time I get up to speak, I never know what to do with my hands. When I’m at a lectern, I usually just hang on to that, but when I’m just in front of a group of people, it just feels unnatural. What should I do with my hands?
SOLUTION: First of all, you should never lean on a lectern. The lectern is there to hold your notes and possibly a microphone, it is not there to hold YOU up. As a Presenter, you are the leader, at least for that moment in time, and you must behave like a leader. That means standing on your own two feet. Leaning on a lectern makes you appear tired or lazy, which are not traits people admire in a leader. Further, it can make your jacket or shirt bunch up in the back of your neck, which can make you look sloppy, yet another undesirable trait.
Let’s take a minute to review how communication works. As Presenter, we have an image in our brain that we decide to share with our listener. Once conjured, that image gets sent to two separate parts of our brain; the gesture center and the word center. The word center is where we figure out how to describe that image using the proper language, syntax, expressions, etc., in a way that particular listener will understand (which can vary greatly depending on who we are talking to, be it our Board of Directors or our toddler). Naturally, all this sentence creation takes a measurable amount of time.
Meanwhile, the route to the gesture center is short and direct. It takes just a split second for our gesture center to decide whether or not the image warrants a gesture, and what that gesture should be. That’s why in an ordinary conversation, when you aren’t thinking about it, your gestures will always come first, preceding your words by a considerable margin. That’s the natural way to do it, and the way that we are used to seeing them as listeners. When the gesture is in the wrong place, i.e. after the words, at the same time as the words, or not at all, we as listeners sense the speaker’s discomfort, which often makes us uncomfortable as well.
The challenge arises when a speaker knows he should gesture, but doesn’t know how or when. A novice Presenter may very well attempt to solve the problem by simply making a conscious decision to not gesture. Unfortunately, not gesturing is very unnatural. Humans gesture all the time, and anyone who watches any group of people in a normal interactive environment will notice that no one is ever still. We are always moving, our hands, our bodies, our faces are always shifting. When a Presenter chooses not to gesture, they are eliminating at least half of their communication effectiveness.
Once a novice Presenter figures that out (either by good training or bad experience), his next step may be to try to solve the problem by planning some gestures. That’s another huge mistake. Because you will be inherently more worried about what you’re saying, your mind will be busy conjuring up images and transferring them into words. Once the words finally reach your mouth, chances are just as they are coming out, you will remember that you were going to gesture there, so you then instruct your hands to gesture. By the time your hands get the message, the words are almost gone, and the gesture arrives late. Both you and your listener realize that that didn’t work very well, though neither of you probably really know why. Quite simply, it’s because late gestures are as unnatural as no gestures, both for the Presenter to do and for the listener to see.
Another problem that arises from trying to plan your gestures is repetitiveness. Having now reached the point, through trial and error, of realizing that trying to remember when to perform a planned gesture is an impossible task, a Presenter may now decide the answer is to gesture as often as possible, figuring that will be more effective than either no gesturing or late gesturing. He forces himself to gesture at every opportunity until it becomes a habit, thus disengaging himself from the image in his brain.
Unfortunately, the sorry result of this strategy is that most Presenters on automatic will only use one or two gestures. They will simply repeat them over and over again, with no consideration for whether they are actually the right gesture for the image they are describing, because they believe that any gesture will do. In reality, we seldom gesture the same way twice in a normal conversation, and doing so, one again, makes us appear unnatural.
So as a Presenter gains experience, he generally passes through these phases: 1) He learns he must gesture, because no gesturing is unnatural, 2) he learns he can’t plan his gestures, or they will always be late, 3) he learns he can’t keep repeating the same gesture over and over, as it, too, will become unnatural. So what’s a Presenter to do to shortcut the learning curve?
Here’s what to do. First and foremost understand that gestures originate from the image center of the brain. Don’t fight them, don’t plan them, just realize that your brain has been doing this dance between your word center and your gesture center all your life, and the best thing you can do is to get out of it’s way. The trick is easy; simply wait for an overwhelming urge to gesture, and when it comes, give yourself the freedom to gesture. Sounds simple, and it is. Don’t force gestures, but be aware that your natural instinct is to make gestures, and open your mind to that inevitable instruction from the gesture center. When it comes, don’t try to stop it, or minimize it, just let it come out.
At first, you’ll probably be afraid to do that. So while you’re waiting for that first overwhelming urge to gesture, it’s okay to rest a hand on the lectern (remember, leaning on it or grabbing it hard are bad, resting a hand on it, temporarily, is okay.) If you want to put on hand in a pocket (never both hands) that’s okay, too. The key here is that after a minute or two, you’ll discover your word center is doing it’s job just fine and you will start to relax. Soon you will remember that the gesture center is giving you instructions as well. As you become more aware of it, and start listening to it, you will become more sensitive to it. Soon, your personal understanding of "overwhelming" will become more subtle. The result will be that all of your gestures will become more natural, and will son require no thinking on your part at all. Now that’s a gesturing habit worth mastering!
SOLUTION: First of all, you should never lean on a lectern. The lectern is there to hold your notes and possibly a microphone, it is not there to hold YOU up. As a Presenter, you are the leader, at least for that moment in time, and you must behave like a leader. That means standing on your own two feet. Leaning on a lectern makes you appear tired or lazy, which are not traits people admire in a leader. Further, it can make your jacket or shirt bunch up in the back of your neck, which can make you look sloppy, yet another undesirable trait.
Let’s take a minute to review how communication works. As Presenter, we have an image in our brain that we decide to share with our listener. Once conjured, that image gets sent to two separate parts of our brain; the gesture center and the word center. The word center is where we figure out how to describe that image using the proper language, syntax, expressions, etc., in a way that particular listener will understand (which can vary greatly depending on who we are talking to, be it our Board of Directors or our toddler). Naturally, all this sentence creation takes a measurable amount of time.
Meanwhile, the route to the gesture center is short and direct. It takes just a split second for our gesture center to decide whether or not the image warrants a gesture, and what that gesture should be. That’s why in an ordinary conversation, when you aren’t thinking about it, your gestures will always come first, preceding your words by a considerable margin. That’s the natural way to do it, and the way that we are used to seeing them as listeners. When the gesture is in the wrong place, i.e. after the words, at the same time as the words, or not at all, we as listeners sense the speaker’s discomfort, which often makes us uncomfortable as well.
The challenge arises when a speaker knows he should gesture, but doesn’t know how or when. A novice Presenter may very well attempt to solve the problem by simply making a conscious decision to not gesture. Unfortunately, not gesturing is very unnatural. Humans gesture all the time, and anyone who watches any group of people in a normal interactive environment will notice that no one is ever still. We are always moving, our hands, our bodies, our faces are always shifting. When a Presenter chooses not to gesture, they are eliminating at least half of their communication effectiveness.
Once a novice Presenter figures that out (either by good training or bad experience), his next step may be to try to solve the problem by planning some gestures. That’s another huge mistake. Because you will be inherently more worried about what you’re saying, your mind will be busy conjuring up images and transferring them into words. Once the words finally reach your mouth, chances are just as they are coming out, you will remember that you were going to gesture there, so you then instruct your hands to gesture. By the time your hands get the message, the words are almost gone, and the gesture arrives late. Both you and your listener realize that that didn’t work very well, though neither of you probably really know why. Quite simply, it’s because late gestures are as unnatural as no gestures, both for the Presenter to do and for the listener to see.
Another problem that arises from trying to plan your gestures is repetitiveness. Having now reached the point, through trial and error, of realizing that trying to remember when to perform a planned gesture is an impossible task, a Presenter may now decide the answer is to gesture as often as possible, figuring that will be more effective than either no gesturing or late gesturing. He forces himself to gesture at every opportunity until it becomes a habit, thus disengaging himself from the image in his brain.
Unfortunately, the sorry result of this strategy is that most Presenters on automatic will only use one or two gestures. They will simply repeat them over and over again, with no consideration for whether they are actually the right gesture for the image they are describing, because they believe that any gesture will do. In reality, we seldom gesture the same way twice in a normal conversation, and doing so, one again, makes us appear unnatural.
So as a Presenter gains experience, he generally passes through these phases: 1) He learns he must gesture, because no gesturing is unnatural, 2) he learns he can’t plan his gestures, or they will always be late, 3) he learns he can’t keep repeating the same gesture over and over, as it, too, will become unnatural. So what’s a Presenter to do to shortcut the learning curve?
Here’s what to do. First and foremost understand that gestures originate from the image center of the brain. Don’t fight them, don’t plan them, just realize that your brain has been doing this dance between your word center and your gesture center all your life, and the best thing you can do is to get out of it’s way. The trick is easy; simply wait for an overwhelming urge to gesture, and when it comes, give yourself the freedom to gesture. Sounds simple, and it is. Don’t force gestures, but be aware that your natural instinct is to make gestures, and open your mind to that inevitable instruction from the gesture center. When it comes, don’t try to stop it, or minimize it, just let it come out.
At first, you’ll probably be afraid to do that. So while you’re waiting for that first overwhelming urge to gesture, it’s okay to rest a hand on the lectern (remember, leaning on it or grabbing it hard are bad, resting a hand on it, temporarily, is okay.) If you want to put on hand in a pocket (never both hands) that’s okay, too. The key here is that after a minute or two, you’ll discover your word center is doing it’s job just fine and you will start to relax. Soon you will remember that the gesture center is giving you instructions as well. As you become more aware of it, and start listening to it, you will become more sensitive to it. Soon, your personal understanding of "overwhelming" will become more subtle. The result will be that all of your gestures will become more natural, and will son require no thinking on your part at all. Now that’s a gesturing habit worth mastering!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Are Your Presentation Skills still in Kindergarten? Find out here...
Remember that book title, All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten? That about sums up what most people bother to learn about how to make a presentation. Consider how anxious you were on your very first day of school. It’s probably about the same feeling you got the first time you were asked to make an important presentation. Now consider how you felt in school a few weeks later, when you knew what to expect, and learned there was little to fear and much to be gained. That’s how someone who makes presentations regularly feels after awhile. The fear is diminished and you soon learn that the benefits of a well-done presentation far outweigh the potential risks.
Unfortunately, once that fear is gone (or at least manageable), most people think that’s all there is to it, that they have "arrived" in the realm of being a good presenter. In reality, that’s about the same as saying that kindergarten is the only schooling you need, because that was when you overcame your fear of school. Nonsense! How far do you think you’d get in life with only a kindergarten education?
Let’s break it down. There are three types of presenters. First, there are the reluctant presenters, those who are still so afraid of that first day in school that their fear overwhelms them, so they do everything possible to avoid it. Unless there is a truant officer or parent or boss waiting in the wings to force them to do it, reluctant presenters essentially close the door on themselves, cutting themselves off from their own future advancement. Reluctant presenters are, alas, the overwhelming majority of us.
Then there are the kindergarten presenters. These are the ones who have actually managed to overcome most of their fear of making a presentation, usually because they were forced to do it often enough that they learned how to control or even eliminate their fear. Most politicians, broadcasters, corporate executives, teachers, and even salespeople fall into this category. Having some control over their fears is the one and only benchmark of success for a kindergarten presenter, yet even those few who have achieved just that modest level of skill are often greatly rewarded.
The rarest, most elusive, and most celebrated communicator of all is the accomplished presenter. Accomplished presenters are those who learned early that overcoming their fear of presenting isn’t anywhere near enough knowledge to accomplish their goals. They learned to approach making a presentation as a highly specialized art form, yet one with specific, even measurable results. They understand that when the goal is to be a true leader, one must first become an accomplished presenter. Quite simply, the fastest and most satisfying route to become an admired and inspirational leader is to master the art of presentation.
Many accomplished presenters learn what they needed to know through years of attending the school of hard knocks, overcoming countless bits of bad and conflicting advice from well-meaning but under-informed sources. Even most college communications programs deal only with the kindergarten ABC’s of presentation, neglecting the D-Z elements so critical to leadership presentations.
Some accomplished presenters learn more quickly by taking the shortcut of hiring highly specialized experts in the field, such as presentational experts and speech coaches, which can be expensive, but the results can be much more rapid, and the potential for embarrassing mistakes dramatically diminished, particularly when the venue is widely publicized.
Once you know what you are looking for, you can recognize a truly accomplished presenter within moments of the beginning of his or her presentation. The first thing you will notice is how they make you feel during their opening remarks. When they are inclusive, inviting and make you nod your head in agreement, that’s your first sign of an accomplished speaker. If, as he or she continues, you find yourself being drawn in to the presenter’s story (as opposed to wondering "who cares"), you are on your way in a useful journey. If, at the end, you leave knowing exactly what you need to do next, for yourself and for your alliance with your presenter, then you have truly been in the presence of a master presenter, and quite probably, an inspirational leader whose legacy will be long remembered.
No great communication ever happened by accident, though. Let’s be clear; just like the great athlete or the great actor, the best ones always make it look easy. When you see a speaker who accomplishes everything mentioned above AND appears to just be having an impassioned conversation, leaving you with the impression that he or she was talking directly to you, regardless of the venue, then you are witnessing a truly legendary presenter. Take note, as they are few and far between these days.
Unfortunately, once that fear is gone (or at least manageable), most people think that’s all there is to it, that they have "arrived" in the realm of being a good presenter. In reality, that’s about the same as saying that kindergarten is the only schooling you need, because that was when you overcame your fear of school. Nonsense! How far do you think you’d get in life with only a kindergarten education?
Let’s break it down. There are three types of presenters. First, there are the reluctant presenters, those who are still so afraid of that first day in school that their fear overwhelms them, so they do everything possible to avoid it. Unless there is a truant officer or parent or boss waiting in the wings to force them to do it, reluctant presenters essentially close the door on themselves, cutting themselves off from their own future advancement. Reluctant presenters are, alas, the overwhelming majority of us.
Then there are the kindergarten presenters. These are the ones who have actually managed to overcome most of their fear of making a presentation, usually because they were forced to do it often enough that they learned how to control or even eliminate their fear. Most politicians, broadcasters, corporate executives, teachers, and even salespeople fall into this category. Having some control over their fears is the one and only benchmark of success for a kindergarten presenter, yet even those few who have achieved just that modest level of skill are often greatly rewarded.
The rarest, most elusive, and most celebrated communicator of all is the accomplished presenter. Accomplished presenters are those who learned early that overcoming their fear of presenting isn’t anywhere near enough knowledge to accomplish their goals. They learned to approach making a presentation as a highly specialized art form, yet one with specific, even measurable results. They understand that when the goal is to be a true leader, one must first become an accomplished presenter. Quite simply, the fastest and most satisfying route to become an admired and inspirational leader is to master the art of presentation.
Many accomplished presenters learn what they needed to know through years of attending the school of hard knocks, overcoming countless bits of bad and conflicting advice from well-meaning but under-informed sources. Even most college communications programs deal only with the kindergarten ABC’s of presentation, neglecting the D-Z elements so critical to leadership presentations.
Some accomplished presenters learn more quickly by taking the shortcut of hiring highly specialized experts in the field, such as presentational experts and speech coaches, which can be expensive, but the results can be much more rapid, and the potential for embarrassing mistakes dramatically diminished, particularly when the venue is widely publicized.
Once you know what you are looking for, you can recognize a truly accomplished presenter within moments of the beginning of his or her presentation. The first thing you will notice is how they make you feel during their opening remarks. When they are inclusive, inviting and make you nod your head in agreement, that’s your first sign of an accomplished speaker. If, as he or she continues, you find yourself being drawn in to the presenter’s story (as opposed to wondering "who cares"), you are on your way in a useful journey. If, at the end, you leave knowing exactly what you need to do next, for yourself and for your alliance with your presenter, then you have truly been in the presence of a master presenter, and quite probably, an inspirational leader whose legacy will be long remembered.
No great communication ever happened by accident, though. Let’s be clear; just like the great athlete or the great actor, the best ones always make it look easy. When you see a speaker who accomplishes everything mentioned above AND appears to just be having an impassioned conversation, leaving you with the impression that he or she was talking directly to you, regardless of the venue, then you are witnessing a truly legendary presenter. Take note, as they are few and far between these days.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Developing a Winning Sales Presentation
PROBLEM: You’ve been given the task of creating a sales presentation for a new product that will become the company standard. You’re competing with other sales managers for a promotion, and it’s clear that whoever designs the best presentation will get that promotion.
SOLUTION: Sales presentations are the easiest kind of presentation to develop, because unlike many other types of presentations, the goal is always the same; to sell more of the product. Unfortunately, many salespeople begin by simply making a list of all of the attributes of their product, then run down that list during their presentation ("This product is faster, smarter, cheaper than the competitors.") Simply listing the attributes isn’t enough, because it assumes the buyer will automatically know what the advantages of those attributes are, an assumption that is sure to lose sales.
By all means, start with such a list, but then take each attribute to the next level; determine what NEEDS a potential buyer has, and how each of the attributes of this new product can satisfy those needs. For example, if you’re selling high-end cookware, rather than just talk about how much faster your pans will heat up, point out how much time it will save a busy cook during meal preparation. If your product is smarter, describe how using it will give them an edge over their competitors who haven’t yet upgraded. If your product is cheaper, make it clear how significant their savings will be, and how useful those savings will be for expanding their business or making their personal lives more comfortable and enjoyable.
Once you have made a list of attributes and the corresponding needs of the buyer that will be satisfied by each of them, the next critical element is to develop a strong opening for each attribute. Never begin with a question, because: 1) you may not get the answer you want, 2) it sounds like you haven’t done your homework and are looking for guidance from your buyer, and 3) it’s too hoaky, and you’ll lose credibility. Never start with an apology or joke either, because they will also diminish your authority.
The best way to start is to make an irrefutable statement with which the potential buyer can agree. These can include; 1) The Historical Approach-"Since Man discovered fire, we’ve been looking for better ways to cook our meals." 2) The Concerned Approach-"Teflon pans have recently been indicated in the development of cancer." 3) The Truth as We Know It-"The last thing that touches our food before it goes on a plate is the pan it is cooked in." and 4) Quotations-"It’s been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach." Choose the attribute that will have the most impact at the beginning of your presentation, and bring the others in whenever you introduce a new attribute.
The reason you start with an irrefutable opening statement is so the potential buyer will be compelled to agree with you, which is exactly what you want them to do. The more the buyer agrees with you, the easier the final sale will be. Therefore, your presentation of each attribute should begin with an irrefutable statement, move to a description of that attribute, and end with how that attribute will satisfy a particular need of the buyer. Watch your buyer! You should be able to get them nodding at each irrefutable statement, as well as each time you demonstrate how an attribute will satisfy their need. If they don’t nod, they haven’t seen the advantage to them yet, and you may have to adjust your approach a bit, because you’re trying to satisfy a need they either don’t really have or don’t think they have. If it’s the former, move on to another attribute, if it’s the latter, try again from another angle.
Once you’ve completed your description of each attribute and how it will satisfy the needs of your prospective buyer, now is the time to launch into the proverbial "close." This is the most misunderstood areas of making a sales presentation. Contrary to convention wisdom, it is not a time of cleverly outmaneuvering objections and employing arm-twisting techniques, nor is it a time to be avoided, letting the presentation simply peter out, as many (unsuccessful) salespeople prefer to do. Rather, consider it a Q&A period, an opportunity to teach the buyer even more about the product, and possibly even learn from your buyer how your product might be able to satisfy needs you never thought of.
Begin your close by simply asking, "What questions may I answer for you?" Now let them do the talking. Don’t expect them to admit their real objections at first, usually the third or fourth objection will get closer to the real reason they might be hesitating. Again, make your priority the satisfaction of THEIR needs, because ultimately, that’s the only reason they’ll buy your product.
Be well-prepared for the moment when the buyer says "Sign me up!" This may seem obvious, but there are many instances when a salesperson seems surprised and flustered when that moment comes, and that alone could destroy your buyer’s confidence in their decision to buy the product, sometimes enough to instantly change their minds. The customer giving his final "Yes" is the REAL close!
By keeping in mind that your most important job is to satisfy the needs of the buyer, there is no question that you will eventually reach the point of final sale. By exhibiting that kind of confidence in your product, you will set the standard for the company’s sales presentation, win that promotion, and ultimately make lots more sales!
SOLUTION: Sales presentations are the easiest kind of presentation to develop, because unlike many other types of presentations, the goal is always the same; to sell more of the product. Unfortunately, many salespeople begin by simply making a list of all of the attributes of their product, then run down that list during their presentation ("This product is faster, smarter, cheaper than the competitors.") Simply listing the attributes isn’t enough, because it assumes the buyer will automatically know what the advantages of those attributes are, an assumption that is sure to lose sales.
By all means, start with such a list, but then take each attribute to the next level; determine what NEEDS a potential buyer has, and how each of the attributes of this new product can satisfy those needs. For example, if you’re selling high-end cookware, rather than just talk about how much faster your pans will heat up, point out how much time it will save a busy cook during meal preparation. If your product is smarter, describe how using it will give them an edge over their competitors who haven’t yet upgraded. If your product is cheaper, make it clear how significant their savings will be, and how useful those savings will be for expanding their business or making their personal lives more comfortable and enjoyable.
Once you have made a list of attributes and the corresponding needs of the buyer that will be satisfied by each of them, the next critical element is to develop a strong opening for each attribute. Never begin with a question, because: 1) you may not get the answer you want, 2) it sounds like you haven’t done your homework and are looking for guidance from your buyer, and 3) it’s too hoaky, and you’ll lose credibility. Never start with an apology or joke either, because they will also diminish your authority.
The best way to start is to make an irrefutable statement with which the potential buyer can agree. These can include; 1) The Historical Approach-"Since Man discovered fire, we’ve been looking for better ways to cook our meals." 2) The Concerned Approach-"Teflon pans have recently been indicated in the development of cancer." 3) The Truth as We Know It-"The last thing that touches our food before it goes on a plate is the pan it is cooked in." and 4) Quotations-"It’s been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach." Choose the attribute that will have the most impact at the beginning of your presentation, and bring the others in whenever you introduce a new attribute.
The reason you start with an irrefutable opening statement is so the potential buyer will be compelled to agree with you, which is exactly what you want them to do. The more the buyer agrees with you, the easier the final sale will be. Therefore, your presentation of each attribute should begin with an irrefutable statement, move to a description of that attribute, and end with how that attribute will satisfy a particular need of the buyer. Watch your buyer! You should be able to get them nodding at each irrefutable statement, as well as each time you demonstrate how an attribute will satisfy their need. If they don’t nod, they haven’t seen the advantage to them yet, and you may have to adjust your approach a bit, because you’re trying to satisfy a need they either don’t really have or don’t think they have. If it’s the former, move on to another attribute, if it’s the latter, try again from another angle.
Once you’ve completed your description of each attribute and how it will satisfy the needs of your prospective buyer, now is the time to launch into the proverbial "close." This is the most misunderstood areas of making a sales presentation. Contrary to convention wisdom, it is not a time of cleverly outmaneuvering objections and employing arm-twisting techniques, nor is it a time to be avoided, letting the presentation simply peter out, as many (unsuccessful) salespeople prefer to do. Rather, consider it a Q&A period, an opportunity to teach the buyer even more about the product, and possibly even learn from your buyer how your product might be able to satisfy needs you never thought of.
Begin your close by simply asking, "What questions may I answer for you?" Now let them do the talking. Don’t expect them to admit their real objections at first, usually the third or fourth objection will get closer to the real reason they might be hesitating. Again, make your priority the satisfaction of THEIR needs, because ultimately, that’s the only reason they’ll buy your product.
Be well-prepared for the moment when the buyer says "Sign me up!" This may seem obvious, but there are many instances when a salesperson seems surprised and flustered when that moment comes, and that alone could destroy your buyer’s confidence in their decision to buy the product, sometimes enough to instantly change their minds. The customer giving his final "Yes" is the REAL close!
By keeping in mind that your most important job is to satisfy the needs of the buyer, there is no question that you will eventually reach the point of final sale. By exhibiting that kind of confidence in your product, you will set the standard for the company’s sales presentation, win that promotion, and ultimately make lots more sales!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
PowerPoint: Boon or Bust for Presenters?
When first introduced nearly two decades ago, PowerPoint and similar slide show programs were considered a godsend for those giving highly technical presentations on complicated subjects. Previously, those Presenters often had to labor for weeks, even months, partnered with a highly skilled, highly expensive audio-visual department, in order to get those essential overhead projections and slides just right. With PowerPoint, the job was reduced to simple point and click word and image processing program nearly anyone with a desktop computer can use, no AV department necessary.
So easy has the task become that now it is expected in practically every business, technical, or even general informational presentation. Presenters are often maligned, considered lazy or unprepared if they show up without an extensive PowerPoint presentation. In order to appear prepared (not that they are fooling anyone), some presenters merely resort to putting their outline on their PowerPoint, then proceed to do nothing more than read their outline out loud, or insert a bunch of nonsensical gobbledygook just to take up space. How many of us have been tortured with that kind of tedious, lackluster and disconnected presentation?
What used to be a tool for the presenter is too often becoming a crutch, or even worse, becoming the presentation itself. It should be remembered, however, that slides don’t connect with an audience, only a Presenter can do that. No one was ever inspired by a slide without the Presenter being inspiring as well.
First the facts. In order to be an effective Presenter, you must maintain authority at all times in order to win over your audience to your side, to trust that you, a real person, know what you are talking about. You cannot relinquish that authority to anyone or anything without a clear reason, or you risk losing control of the entire situation.
So picture this: imagine authority as a beach ball. As long as you have the beach ball in your hands, you are the authority, that’s where people are looking and listening. When you want your audience to pay attention to someone or something else, you must physically turn to that person or thing, and in essence, toss the imaginary beach ball to them. By telegraphing to your audience what you want them to do (indicating your leadership ability), they will turn to look at what you want them to look at in response (in the case of PowerPoint, a screen or monitor).
You should continue to remain facing that screen until the audience has gleaned all they can from it, ideally remaining silent while they take it all in. Then you must take that beach ball back by turning away from the screen back to your audience and reestablishing eye contact with them again. Now you have the authority again, and have clearly demonstrated that PowerPoint is just a tool, subservient to you, as it should be.
None of this can happen in a typical PowerPoint presentation as most people do it today. First, Presenters tend to want to darken the room so that the audience can see the screen better , which makes the screen the authority for the entire time. Worse, people have a hard time reading and listening at the same time, which means they have to choose between reading something that has the authority of being the brightest thing in the room, or listening to a disembodied voice coming out of the dark. Since our visual sense invariably takes precedence over all else, we’ll keep our eyes glued to the screen, barely hearing a word the presenter is saying. So now the listener not only can’t see the presenter, she can’t hear him either. Not much chance of a connection between them under those circumstances!
Even when you do hand over authority to your PowerPoint correctly there are a few more things you should take into consideration when preparing your presentation:
1. Keep slides to a minimum, only using one when "the picture replaces a thousand words."
2. Put a blank slide up in between slides you do use, to help let the audience know when to focus on you.
3. Dim the lights as little as possible (or have someone control the lights accordingly), so that you can visibly maintain the authority.
4. For the rest of your presentation, try to use words that are as descriptive as possible, to let your audience use their imagination rather than relying on your slides.
Years ago, I was conversing with an older woman with whom I worked at the time, and I told her how much I had enjoyed the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark." She said she hated it. I pressed her to explain. She said it was because the filmmaker tried to show her too much, and that his images were never as good as her own imagination. "In the old days," she said, "when a character peered into a dark hole and said, ‘Oh, no, not snakes, I hate snakes’, I imagined so many snakes in that snake pit it made my hair stand on end. In that movie, they didn’t even come close to what I had imagined!" She was disappointed because she felt cheated that the movie shortchanged her imagination.
Our imagination is one of our greatest human assets, and these days, its getting way too little exercise. So next time you have to do a presentation, resist the urge (and the criticism of the lesser-informed) to put every word or image in your presentation on the screen. Instead of wasting time designing an overabundance of convoluted and unnecessary slides, concentrate on making good words instead, descriptive words, and let the audience’s imagination do the rest of the work for you. (BTW, can you still see that beachball?)
So easy has the task become that now it is expected in practically every business, technical, or even general informational presentation. Presenters are often maligned, considered lazy or unprepared if they show up without an extensive PowerPoint presentation. In order to appear prepared (not that they are fooling anyone), some presenters merely resort to putting their outline on their PowerPoint, then proceed to do nothing more than read their outline out loud, or insert a bunch of nonsensical gobbledygook just to take up space. How many of us have been tortured with that kind of tedious, lackluster and disconnected presentation?
What used to be a tool for the presenter is too often becoming a crutch, or even worse, becoming the presentation itself. It should be remembered, however, that slides don’t connect with an audience, only a Presenter can do that. No one was ever inspired by a slide without the Presenter being inspiring as well.
First the facts. In order to be an effective Presenter, you must maintain authority at all times in order to win over your audience to your side, to trust that you, a real person, know what you are talking about. You cannot relinquish that authority to anyone or anything without a clear reason, or you risk losing control of the entire situation.
So picture this: imagine authority as a beach ball. As long as you have the beach ball in your hands, you are the authority, that’s where people are looking and listening. When you want your audience to pay attention to someone or something else, you must physically turn to that person or thing, and in essence, toss the imaginary beach ball to them. By telegraphing to your audience what you want them to do (indicating your leadership ability), they will turn to look at what you want them to look at in response (in the case of PowerPoint, a screen or monitor).
You should continue to remain facing that screen until the audience has gleaned all they can from it, ideally remaining silent while they take it all in. Then you must take that beach ball back by turning away from the screen back to your audience and reestablishing eye contact with them again. Now you have the authority again, and have clearly demonstrated that PowerPoint is just a tool, subservient to you, as it should be.
None of this can happen in a typical PowerPoint presentation as most people do it today. First, Presenters tend to want to darken the room so that the audience can see the screen better , which makes the screen the authority for the entire time. Worse, people have a hard time reading and listening at the same time, which means they have to choose between reading something that has the authority of being the brightest thing in the room, or listening to a disembodied voice coming out of the dark. Since our visual sense invariably takes precedence over all else, we’ll keep our eyes glued to the screen, barely hearing a word the presenter is saying. So now the listener not only can’t see the presenter, she can’t hear him either. Not much chance of a connection between them under those circumstances!
Even when you do hand over authority to your PowerPoint correctly there are a few more things you should take into consideration when preparing your presentation:
1. Keep slides to a minimum, only using one when "the picture replaces a thousand words."
2. Put a blank slide up in between slides you do use, to help let the audience know when to focus on you.
3. Dim the lights as little as possible (or have someone control the lights accordingly), so that you can visibly maintain the authority.
4. For the rest of your presentation, try to use words that are as descriptive as possible, to let your audience use their imagination rather than relying on your slides.
Years ago, I was conversing with an older woman with whom I worked at the time, and I told her how much I had enjoyed the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark." She said she hated it. I pressed her to explain. She said it was because the filmmaker tried to show her too much, and that his images were never as good as her own imagination. "In the old days," she said, "when a character peered into a dark hole and said, ‘Oh, no, not snakes, I hate snakes’, I imagined so many snakes in that snake pit it made my hair stand on end. In that movie, they didn’t even come close to what I had imagined!" She was disappointed because she felt cheated that the movie shortchanged her imagination.
Our imagination is one of our greatest human assets, and these days, its getting way too little exercise. So next time you have to do a presentation, resist the urge (and the criticism of the lesser-informed) to put every word or image in your presentation on the screen. Instead of wasting time designing an overabundance of convoluted and unnecessary slides, concentrate on making good words instead, descriptive words, and let the audience’s imagination do the rest of the work for you. (BTW, can you still see that beachball?)
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The Fastest Way to Spot a Liar
Much has been written about the complicated art of reading body language, and some of it might even be considered helpful. Most of us, however, don’t have time to become experts in this seemingly complicated field of study. So to help you spot someone who’s hiding something, or perhaps just not telling the whole truth, here’s a very simple way to tell.
Whenever we communicate, it all begins with an image in our brain, which we then decide to share with our listener. Once we make that decision, that image gets sent to two places: the "gesture center" of our brain, which determines whether the image is worthy of a gesture, and if so, what type of gesture should accompany it, and the "word center" of our brain, which proceeds to determine how to describe that image, figuring out what words will be most effective for that particular listener, selecting the proper language, making sure everything fits the rules of grammar, decorum and occasion. Once those words are selected, they then must make the journey to the mouth, where tongue, lips, cheeks and breathing must all be perfectly applied in order for that image to be conveyed.
It should be obvious that the amount of time necessary to determine an appropriate gesture is considerably shorter than the time it takes for the words to finally get out of your mouth. That means that if your gesture center has decided a gesture is appropriate, the gesture will always reach their destination long before the words do, relatively speaking. Quite simply, in a natural and truthful communication, the gesture will always come first, albeit a split second sooner.
When a gesture is late, however, appearing at the same time as the words, or worse, after the words, it is a clear indication that something is wrong. Whenever you notice a late gesture, alarm bells should start to go off in your head. Listen to it, because it is these kind of incongruities that are the basis for our instinct and intuition.
That’s because the first image in our mind is always the truth. Adjusting that image to suit a more favorable impression that is contradictory to the original truthful image is a conscience decision a presenter makes after that image is sent to the gesture center. The gesture center must then reassess the new image, and that disrupts the natural flow, which causes the gesture to be late.
So the easiest way to spot a liar is by looking at the timing of the gestures with their words. Take a close look at some well-known contemporary video and it will become more obvious. For example, when President Bill Clinton said, "I did not have sex with that woman," notice how long it takes for the finger pointing to kick in. Had it been the truth, that gesture would have occurred well in advance of the statement, because it was certainly a statement that warranted such an emphatic gesture, but a natural and truthful gesture would have come before the words.
The same was true in the case of the major league baseball player who made the claim, "I have never taken steroids in my life." Again, the finger-pointing gesture he used came much later than the words, once more indicating the absence, or manipulation, of the truth.
That isn’t to say that someone can’t be a good enough presenter to fool you, after all, good actors do it all the time. But when you do notice incongruities between a person’s words and the timing of their gestures, you can rest assured that any doubts you may have are justified. In this case, more than in any other, timing is everything.
Whenever we communicate, it all begins with an image in our brain, which we then decide to share with our listener. Once we make that decision, that image gets sent to two places: the "gesture center" of our brain, which determines whether the image is worthy of a gesture, and if so, what type of gesture should accompany it, and the "word center" of our brain, which proceeds to determine how to describe that image, figuring out what words will be most effective for that particular listener, selecting the proper language, making sure everything fits the rules of grammar, decorum and occasion. Once those words are selected, they then must make the journey to the mouth, where tongue, lips, cheeks and breathing must all be perfectly applied in order for that image to be conveyed.
It should be obvious that the amount of time necessary to determine an appropriate gesture is considerably shorter than the time it takes for the words to finally get out of your mouth. That means that if your gesture center has decided a gesture is appropriate, the gesture will always reach their destination long before the words do, relatively speaking. Quite simply, in a natural and truthful communication, the gesture will always come first, albeit a split second sooner.
When a gesture is late, however, appearing at the same time as the words, or worse, after the words, it is a clear indication that something is wrong. Whenever you notice a late gesture, alarm bells should start to go off in your head. Listen to it, because it is these kind of incongruities that are the basis for our instinct and intuition.
That’s because the first image in our mind is always the truth. Adjusting that image to suit a more favorable impression that is contradictory to the original truthful image is a conscience decision a presenter makes after that image is sent to the gesture center. The gesture center must then reassess the new image, and that disrupts the natural flow, which causes the gesture to be late.
So the easiest way to spot a liar is by looking at the timing of the gestures with their words. Take a close look at some well-known contemporary video and it will become more obvious. For example, when President Bill Clinton said, "I did not have sex with that woman," notice how long it takes for the finger pointing to kick in. Had it been the truth, that gesture would have occurred well in advance of the statement, because it was certainly a statement that warranted such an emphatic gesture, but a natural and truthful gesture would have come before the words.
The same was true in the case of the major league baseball player who made the claim, "I have never taken steroids in my life." Again, the finger-pointing gesture he used came much later than the words, once more indicating the absence, or manipulation, of the truth.
That isn’t to say that someone can’t be a good enough presenter to fool you, after all, good actors do it all the time. But when you do notice incongruities between a person’s words and the timing of their gestures, you can rest assured that any doubts you may have are justified. In this case, more than in any other, timing is everything.
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