The Secret to Great Presentations: ENTHUSIASM

The Secret to Great Presentations:  ENTHUSIASM

By Doug Staneart

If you take only one piece of advice about public speaking, make sure that it is this pearl of wisdom.  If you focus on this one simple thing, the number of times you say "uhm" won't matter.  If you focus on this one thing, your gestures and not knowing what to do with your hands won't matter.  If you focus on this one thing, then the occasional loss of train of thought won't matter.  In fact, if you focus on this one simple thing, you can break just about every rule that public speakers are supposed to abide by, and you will still win over your audience.

This one simple rule has transformed countless mediocre speakers into good speakers, scores of good speakers into great speakers, and numerous great speakers into world-class speakers.

This simple rule that can make or break a speaker is… ENTHUSIASM.

That's right, if you have a little excitement in your talk and a spring in your step, people pay attention.  Your audience will have just about as much excitement about your talk as you do, and no more. So, if you want to win over your audience, add a sparkle of enthusiasm.

One of my mentors told me that there are two rules to live by in the world of professional speakers.  She said, "Rule number one is to never speak on a topic that you yourself are not enthusiastic about, and rule number two is that if you ever violate rule number one, fake it 'til you make it."

Frank Bettger in his book How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling said it a different way. He said, "If you act enthusiastic, then you'll be enthusiastic."

For those of us who get nervous in front of groups, it's even easier.  However, 90% of our nervousness doesn't even show.  Let's look at the other 10%.  When we are nervous, we often cut out preambles and get right to the point, our rate of speech typically speeds up, we tend to move around a lot more, and we may move our hands around more than normal. Well, when we are excited about something, we do the exact same things.

Years ago, when I was a sales manager, I was often amazed at the number of times that a brand new sales person without a lot of product knowledge and absolutely no experience, could close sale after sale while my more seasoned people were struggling.  The more times I went on sales calls with these new people, the more I started to notice a pattern.  New salespeople are often nervous, so when they walk into an office on a sales call, they tend to cut right to the chase.  They also generally talk faster because they are afraid they'll forget something.  They have a tough time sitting still because of the nervousness, so they move around a lot.

I noticed that these symptoms of nervousness worked to the advantage of these new salespeople, because their prospects looked across the table at salespeople who appeared to be extremely enthusiastic about what they were selling.  I would imagine that these potential buyers were saying things to themselves like, "if this person believes so much in this product, it must be good."

We as speakers can also use our nervousness to our advantage.  When we turn that pent up nervousness into energy and enthusiasm, our audience can't help but be energized as well.
 

Doug Staneart is President of The Leader's Institute, leadership and public speaking training. He can be reached by e-mail at doug@leadersinstitute.com or toll-free at 1-800-872-7830 x-100.

How to Be a "Ray of Hope"

Leaders Should Be "Rays of Hope" Piercing the Darkness

A dark cloud of doom and gloom hangs over those of us in the United States and in other countries where we have subscribers.  Much of the worldwide gloom is of an economic nature.  For those of us in the US, we are faced with not only a struggling economy but also a war in the Middle East, high gas prices, an upcoming election and a miriad of other issues including recent natural disasters.

There's no doubt that several of these issues have touched each of us personally.  Most of us have felt it at the pump; perhaps you or a family member are serving in the US military; many of us have seen the political campaign commericals and see partisan supporter's signs in yards and on buildings during our commute.  It's all swirling around us.

In fact, most popular media are promoting doom and gloom.  We read it in the morning papers, see it on the television, hear it on the radio, read and view it on the internet and a lot of folks are passing negative emails.  It's difficult to escape it all.  Gotcha feeling down?

While I believe all citizens should be informed, many folks are living in a vacuum and just sucking this negativity up.  Those of us active in fraternal organizations are fortunate however.  Fraternal organizations, clubs and associations offer us a healthy retreat from all this doom and gloom.  Our organizations meet regularly and offer opportunities for fellowship that locks out the secular world if only for a while.  You can literally "get away from it all" by attending a meeting, social function or working a charitable event.

Speaking of charity, most fraternal organizations perform some type of charitable work.  The needs continue in our communities no matter what is going on in the world and we are there to help others.  Our fellow human beings still need our compassion, friendship and financial assisitance.

So, assuming you are serving in some leadership capacity, be a "Ray of Hope" for your organization.  Make your meetings fun, enjoyable and productive.  Let your members bask in the good works they do and talk about it.  In these difficult times, fraternal organizations can thrive and be a welcomed respite for our members.

Finally, I encourage you to tune some of the media out and focus on your communities, organizations, schools and places of worship.  Lend your skills to build these institutions up while many are busy tearing them down.

Being Productive

Productivity Tips:  Guerrilla Communication

You can save time and improve relationships with your subordinates and colleagues by using these communication strategies:

*  Use voice mail during the daytime hours to say “thanks.”  Call when you believe the person may be at work and say “thank you” for a job well done.  When the person arrives home and checks their phone messages, it will be a pleasant surprise.

*  Use voice mail or email to send a birthday wish or message of congratulations the same way.  Send the greeting the evening before and it’s likely you‘ll be the first person they hear from the next day.

*  Pre-print “occasion” postcards on your home computer, complete with your return address.  Have a bunch of them pre-stamped and ready to mail.  As situations and occasions arise, jot a nice note and drop it in the mail the next day.  Larger office supply stores have perforated postcard stock for ink jet printers in a wide variety of stock designs.

Frat Lines

Remaining True To Your Mission

Remain True To Your Mission

So many times we can get sidetracked and lose sight of our original goals.  We get caught up in the day-to-day operations or status quo.  Also, because our fraternal orgnizations may meet only once each month, it's easier to forget our objectives.

I find it helpful to have a model or diagram of the current mission, task or goal on paper.  Every month or so, I can refer to the model and refocus on the mission.  Often as leaders in fraternal organizations, clubs, etc. we can forget our original objectives for a term in office.  Pull the model out at team or officer meetings, review it and measure success achieved toward the goal.  This will help keep you and the team accountable and focused on the mission.

Influencing Others

The Art of Influencing Others

Leaders of every type of organization must be skilled at influencing others in order to achieve their goals and objectives. Listening is one of the most important necessities of human communication. If you don't listen to people, you are missing out on one of the best ways to influence people.

People will always listen to you when you listen to them. One of the greatest influencing tools is listening. When you listen to what's on a person's mind, you will find that communication barriers are broken. Even if you think you know what they are going to say, listen to them.

If you are a “bad listener,” people will think that you are not interested in them. People will like you if you listen to them. How do you feel about people who listen to what you have to say? Isn't your admiration for them high? Others will feel the same way about you.
Eliminate All Distractions
Distractions inhibit good talkers and listeners. It is important that you remove all distractions when listening to another person. Tune everything else out. You want to create a very warm and comfortable atmosphere for the talker.

What Questioning Will Do
Questions we ask people arouse their thinking processes. When you arouse people's think processes, you give them the chance to express their own ideas and feelings. The only way you will find out what you want to know about another is by asking questions. If you are able to help people think on their own they will respect you and like you. You have been able to do something for them that they were not able to do for themselves. By listening to others, you also fulfill their need to feel important. Through your concern, they feel special.

Keep The Conversation Open
In order to listen, you must keep the conversation open. Some people won't tell you everything on their minds, so you may have to question them to keep the conversation going. All of your questions should relate to who, what, why, where, when and how.

What Questions Do You Ask?
The questions you ask must have a specific purpose. If they don't, you will lose credibility. You must ask questions the person understands. Don't confuse other people by asking complicated questions, such as questions with many parts. Ask them one part of a question at a time. Try to get others to tell you "why." "Why" is one of the best questions to ask people. The reason for asking people questions is to get definite answers. Your questions should prompt definite answers, and they should discourage others from guessing at the answers. The therapeutic value of questioning is lost when people guess at answers.

How To Get Publicity for Your Organization

Getting Publicity:
What’s Newsworthy About Your Organization?

How many times have you seen a segment on your local news, or read an article in the paper and wondered, “How on earth did this make the news?” I live in Louisville, Kentucky, a medium sized city (market) and I find myself asking that question frequently. Too often, as organizations, we assume that we aren’t doing anything that is “newsworthy”, when in fact, most of what we do is. Many fraternal organizations, clubs and associations work diligently on behalf of charitable events all year round. Most of it goes unnoticed because of a lack of public relations efforts.

Don’t confuse getting publicity with “tooting your own horn.” Publicity should be designed to be favorable in nature and to serve as a vehicle to create awareness.

There are a lot of folks out there who are good candidates for membership in your organization. Many would ask to join if they only knew a little more about what you do and what you stand for.

Getting publicity is often as easy as just asking for it. Local TV news and newspapers are always on the lookout for subject matter. Here are some ideas on what may be considered “newsworthy” about your organization:

- A recognized person in your community (ie: business leader or politician) will be a guest speaker at your event.
- You’re hosting a civil service recognition event to honor police officers, firefighters and EMT’s.
- You're hosting an event for military personnel or veterans.
- A prominent community figure is elected to your board of directors or to lead your organization.
- You’re having a special fundraiser for a local charity.

Make contact with the media. Write letters, send a fax or email and follow-up with a phone call. Remember to be persistent and these tips will payoff.