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 tips – Whatever happens is normal

by:  Ellen Egan

SuperFantastic

I was just reading an article about leadership and the author was talking about the concept of approaching each situation with the understanding that “everything is normal”.  I thought that was a great concept to share and to apply in public speaking.

One of the fears that people attach to public speaking is that “something terrible” will happen while they are speaking – something that will throw them off their well-planned-out speech and leave them babbling like an idiot,  or worse, silent in front of the room.  Does this fear sound familiar?  Often if you ask people what they think could go wrong, they have difficulty defining this thing that would throw them so off-track.  But, the fear is firmly in place, nonetheless.

Now, we all know that when it comes to public speaking, I am all for preparation.  Can’t be too prepared, I always say.  But, at the same time you must expect the unexpected and know that “whatever happens is normal”.  If you can approach each public speaking experience with the attitude that whatever happens is normal, and more importantly, that you can handle it – you will sail through every presentation with style, and enjoy yourself a lot more.

Remember this tip when you are stepping up for your next presentation and you will be able to approach every little “glitch” with a smile and a calm demeanor.

To your success,

Ellen

Public speaking tips – Breaking down the barriers with your audience

By: Ellen Egan

One of the critical things that we can do with public speaking is to use communication to bring people together despite their differences.  When we bring people together, we can move forward as a team and achieve loftier goals.  As a public speaker, you can motivate people to work together by breaking down the barriers between them.

One of the ways to do this is to first break down the barriers between you and your audience.  I often see public speakers who create barriers between themselves and their audience in order to establish themselves as the “expert”.  There is no need to do this. One obvious barrier comes immediately to all of our minds – the podium. Please come out from behind the podium, it creates a physical and psychological barrier. Being at the front of the room and being the one speaking, already sets you up as the expert, you don’t need a podium for that.

But, let’s talk about the ways you can use the content of your presentation to break down the barrier. Because, if you are able to draw the audience together  and to have them see that you are “one of them”  and have their best interests at heart, your chances of success increase dramatically. One of your goals early on in the presentation should be to unite the audience with a sense of shared goals.

So, how do we do this?

1. Focus on commonalities. We have already discussed the importance of audience analysis – in a nutshell – understanding who your audience is, what they want and need, why they are there and how to best present information to them. Now, use this information to focus on the common ground between them -and you (e.g. they are all parents, they are all taxpayers, they are all rising stars in the industry, etc. with common dreams and concerns).

2. Acknowledge perceived barriers. Acknowledge sources of perceived discomfort early on (i.e. the elephant in the room). For example, “Yes, I am new here and many of you have years of experience with the company…” If you feel comfortable with using humour, then address the issue with humour. Once the issue is out on the table you can get back to the important task of bringing people together.

3. Identify common ground where everyone can agree. For example “we can all agree that we provide important services to our clients”. These statements can provide strong ties between audience members and then to you.

4. Using shared experiences. Highlight shared experiences to build camaraderie. For example “we all remember how hard we worked to get version 2.0 of our software to our clients”.

Lel4nd

These are all techniques you can use within your speech to build rapport with your audience. Another important thing to remember is to Smile. Smiles are very powerful when trying to connect with your audience. It also makes you feel better (honestly, there has been research into the chemical reaction in your brain when you smile – and just smiling really does make you feel better).

To your success,
Ellen

Public speaking and team building

by: Ellen Egan

As I have mentioned before, public speaking is at the cornerstone of your successful career.  Years ago I had a wonderful mentor who taught me how to apply my public speaking skills in my role in our team.  The more that I applied these skills that I am about to teach you, the more I became a leader within our team.  This eventually led to a promotion and a much more secure position within the organization.  Once again – developing your public speaking skills can develop your career.

When working within a team, there are public speaking skills that you can apply which will lead to the team success and then your own success as well.  These tips can be applied to team meetings or any other interactions with team members.

1.  Listen generously.  Effective team members and effective leaders are those who are good listeners.  Listen first and then speak.  Try to hear all aspects of the situation before giving your opinion.  The other members of your team will recognise that you are listening to the situation, their concers and viewpoints.  It is a lot easier to think of different options and solutions when you have all the available information.    Also, you will be better able to understand the different perspectives of your audience (the other team members) if you have taken the time to listen.

2.  Look for options.  It is easier to complain and speak of problems.  But the mark of a true leader is someone who looks for solutions.   While you are listening to the information given by others, begin thinking of solutions to the concerns and challenges.  When you offer the solution, you can begin by clarifying what you think the problem is.  Then, offer options for solving the problem.

3.  Take a different perspective.  When working with teams, there can be differences between team members.  In these situations, try to bring the conversation back to the client (or audience) perspective.  You can use phrases like “Well, for our client X, it seems that their needs are centered on acheiving Y.  If we are helping them to achieve Y, then we need to focus on Z”  This helps to bring people back to the main goal of helping the client rather than on the mini-battle within the team.

4.  Transitions.  There are many different types of transition phrases you can use when you begin speaking that help to begin your presentation of your opinion without causing conflict.  “Jim, Iagree with what you are saying …… and I would like to add….”  “If I can clarify some of the details of …..”   “It seems like we have one core challenge  X….. with several options  x,y,z  for what we can do next.”  When you are transitioning to your opinion or solution, try to put on  a positive spin.

5.  Credit where credit is due.  One of the main skills I learned from my mentor is to be generous in giving out the credit.  People will remember other team members who shared the spotlight for a job well done or a good idea.  These are the people who are then given leadership roles.

One of my favorite quotes is from President Harry S. Truman “It is amazing what you can accomplish, when you don’t mind who gets the credit”

To your success,

Ellen