Public speaking skills and interviews

by: Ellen Egan

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I was conducting some interviews recently and I was struck by how important public speaking skills are in the interview process. After all, public speaking is, at its heart, one person speaking to one or many. An interview may be one of the most important public speaking engagements that you have. The fundamentals of good public speaking are also at the centre of a good interview.

1. Preparation. Anyone who has conducted an interview will tell you that it is obvious who as prepared for the interview and who has not. We can easily guess who makes a better impression. Before the interview be sure to learn as much as you can about your potential employer. Google is a great tool for this. Find out about the company philosophy and mission. Find out as much as you can about the future direction of the company. Learn as much as you can about the department you will be working with and the particular job you are interviewing for.

2. Audience analysis. I have gone into detail about audience analysis in previous blogs (just look in the categories). Once again, you will want to find out as much as you can about who you will be interviewing with, what their interests are in this position and customize your interview preparation based on this.

3. Prepare your presentation (your stories). Take a good look at the job description and think of the skills and competencies that will be required and desireable for the job. Then, think of examples in your past where you have demonstrated these skills and capabilities. During the interview you can use thes examples/stories to give a clear picture to the interviewer that you have the experience to be successful at the job.

4. Voice control. Work on your voice before the interview to be sure that you are speaking clearly, loudly enough and confidently. You don’t want a shaky and weak voice during your interview.

5. Non-verbal messaging and body language. You will want to appear confident, interested, honest, caring, etc.  during your interview.  You can give all of these messages through body language by sitting up straight, sitting at the edge of your chair, having good eye contact with the interviewer(s) and smiling.  Of course, you will want to take care that your personal appearance is professional.

6.  Practice .  The key to successful public speaking and successful interviews is practice.  Practice “mock interviews” with friends or family so that you have a chance to answer questions, weave your stories into the conversaion and get confortable talking about yourself.   The more you practice, the more comfortable you will be when the interview takes place.

A good resource which can help both with interviewing and with being successful in your current job is:

How to Be the Person Successful Companies Fight to Keep by Connie Podesta

To your success,

Ellen

Public speaking and body language

by: Ellen Egan

Steve Punter

Body language is an integral part of public speaking.  Research has found that people will develop their first impressions of you in 7 seconds.    During presentations, you may not even be speaking during these first few seconds.  So, a lot of the audience members’  first impression of you will depend on your body language.

Further research has indicated that as much as 93 % of communication between people is nonverbal. Body language includes how you stand and move, your facial expressions, where you are positioned in relation to other people and even what you are wearing.  All of these things can send messages to other people about you.  A classic example is how hair length can send a message about a person’s politics.

There has been extensive research into body language.  it would be worthwhile to study body language in order to better understand the powerful messages that you may be sending your audience. Realize that you are using your body to get your message across in public speaking and sometimes it sends a stronger message than your words.

A few things to keep in mind about body language and public speaking (especially the critical first impressions):

1.  Facial expression:  Smile, smile, smile.  As people enter the room be sure to smile at them.  They will then know that they are welcome and will assume that you are friendly, relaxed and confident.

2.  Eye contact:  We all know that it is critical to make eye contact with your audience during your presentation.  it shows that you are confident, helps people to perceive you as an expert and gives the audience the impression tha tyou are interested in them and honest.  it is also important before your presentation to make eye contact with your audience.  If you are staring at your nots, avoiding your audinece, out of the room, or speaking with only one participant you may be giving the wrong message.  This can be interpreted as signs of a lack of confidence, dishonesty or lack of caring.

3.  Positioning:  I would always recommend standing as this sends a message of confidence.  You will also want to consider coming out from behind the podium as the podium can put a barrier between you and your audience.

4.  Gestures:  When you a practicing your presentation, watch your gestures.  Pay attention to using gestures that are open and making a connection with your audience.  Try to avoid crossing your arms, both hands in your pockets, jingling keys and change in your pockets, etc.  As these send messages of impatience and closing yourself off from your audience.  Another big thing to remember is please, never check your watch during your presentation.  This sends a message to your audience that you want to be somewhere else and are impatient to get there.

5.  Attire:  I would rather not give a long list of what not to wear.  Here are some quick rules for your attire.  Be sure everything is clean and pressed (if appropriate).  Try to dress just a little more formally than your audience.  Also, think of comfort when you are choosing your attire.  It doesn’t help your confidence if you are uncomfortable.  Pay attention to your personal hygiene as this sends a message about your self respect.

As I mentioned earlier, you should consider learning more about body language as this will improve all of your communications, not just in public speaking situations.

I would highly recommend Kevin Hogan’s courses on Body Language.

Here are some books I can recommend from Allan Pease, Tonya Reiman and Mark Bowden:

It’s a fascinating subject, don’t be surprised when you get hooked.
To your success,
Ellen

Dealing with the recession – Improve your public speaking skills

By: Ellen Egan

I was just reading Tom Peters list of Forty-six “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008 – xxxxx.  Tom always has some brilliance to share and I recommend his blog for anyone who is looking to develop their career.  I started reading Tom Peters back in the ’80’s with In Search of Excellence and have been reading his wisdom ever since.

In his list of Forty-six “Secrets” he begins with things that some do not want to hear like: “You come to work earlier; You leave work later; You work harder”.  Tom is a master at clearly stating what we all really know we need to do to succeed and be excellent.  But, he says it in such a way that we nod our heads and think “yes, he’s right”.

One of the items in his list is “You learn new tricks of your trade.”  For me, this is where public speaking comes in.  By improving your public speaking skills you become the person who can:

• Lead the meeting
• Train new or existing staff
• Move into sales
• Gain more clients
• Travel to meet and work with clients

As people within your company see you improving your public speaking skills they will see you expanding your expertise and skill set.  This can lead to new opportunities, promotions or simply being the person they don’t want to layoff.

If you are looking for work, join a Toastmasters club to improve your public speaking skills and use it as a networking opportunity at the same time.  Mentioning in an interview that you are actively working on your presentation skills will impress prospective employers that you are using your time to improve yourself.

Right now, take a piece of paper and list a few areas in your current work situation where you could apply public speaking to enhance your work situation.  Perhaps you could start with something as simple as “speak up more in staff meetings”.  Once you start looking for ways to apply public speaking in your career and you are actively focusing on improving your public speaking skills, new areas will open up all over the place.

Click here to see a complete package to improve your communication skills.

Check out Tom’s list of 46 Secrets and other “free stuff” here

To find some of Tom Peters recent books:

To your success,
Ellen

Public speaking in business – preparing to deliver a proposal

by: Ellen Egan

Public speaking is important in every business setting.  Very often in business, you will need to deliver a proposal or a pitch to a potential client.  In these situations, you will want to do more than just display your technical expertise, you will want to persuade your audience to take some action. Certainly, you will want to include some technical information to inform your audience about the product or idea you are presenting.  but, keep in mind that the ultimate outcome you want  is to sell a product or an idea.  By preparing your presentation properly you can achieve your objective of informing your audience and encouraging them to take action.

There are four important questions to answer in your preparation:

1.  What is your purpose?

2.  Who is your audience and what are their needs?

3.  What is your main message and how can you best support it?

4.  What definite action do you want the audience to take?

It is important to start by defining your desired outcome.  Do you want the audience to buy your product or service? Do you want them to take a specific course of action? Are you looking  for agreement or approval? Be specific about what you want your proposal to accomplish.

Analyze your audience.  I have written a blog series and several articles about the importance of audience analysis and the steps to do this successfully.  Audience analysis is the cornerstone to successful presentations.

Design your main message around the wants and needs of your audience. Frame the features and benefits of your product, service or idea around the wants and needs of your audience.

Be sure to tell your audience exactly what you want their course of action to be.  This is where presentations often fall flat.  The presenter doesn’t tell the audience the action they want them to take.  Be very clear about this.  Tell them exactly what you want them to do – it will be much easier for them to do it.

The classic advice in delivering a proposal is

1.  Tell them what you’ve got.

2.  Tell them what it’s going to do for them.

3.  Tell them what you want them to do.

If you prepare for your presentation with these ideas in mind, you will be on the road to delivering a successful presentation.

If you would like to learn even more about effectively getting your message across Click Here

To your success,

Ellen