Mindreading and public speaking – using images to project meaning

By: Ellen Egan

Are you a mind reader? Do you know what people are actually thinking when they are talking with you? Have you ever been surprised after having a conversation with someone that the “pictures” in their mind about the topic were completely different from the words that you were hearing?

An important thing to remember when you are preparing your presentation is that your audience cannot read your mind. They may hear the words that you are speaking very clearly, but they may not get your message completely. If you want to help ensure that your audience gets your message, give them some images to link with your words.

Studies have shown that when we get information through several sensory avenues, we are more likely to retain the information. So, If someone describes the yearly sales figures for us AND shows us a graph of the figures, we are more likely to understand and retain the information. Now, if we take this a step further, and actually attach meaning to the words and images, we have a huge increase in the chance that our audience will retain the information. By attaching meaning, I mean that we appeal to the audiences interests, concerns, dreams, etc through our words and images. When images are attached to information, it can actually tap into our emotions.

There is an excellent video from a TED University talk by Tom Wujec about how the brain attached meaning to images. He actually shows you how the brain processes images and makes them meaningful by
1. Making ideas clear by visualixing them
2. Making them interactive
3. Making them persistent
TED University – Tom Wujec

It is clear that we will be much more successful in getting our message across if we use both words and images. And, if we then attach meaning to the words and images, our message will come across even more powerfully.

Public speaking is at its heart all about communication. We can be much more effective communicators if we include images along with our words.

How will you incorporate images into your next presentation?

To your success,
Ellen

No more tricks to improve your public speaking skills

by:  Ellen Egan

DoubleM2

We have all seen the books and courses on public speaking that tell you of the “Top ten tricks for public speaking brilliance”. When we open up the book or the course, it is filled with advice on removing the “umms” and “ahhs” from your speech. Or, we are told to practice voice techniques and eye contact. While all of this is good advice to polish your public speaking, it does little to deal with the core issues of public speaking fear or the person who wants to seriously develop their public speaking skills.

Training in public speaking is not just a matter of externals like voice, body language and eye contact. It’s not about conforming to standards or imitating the skills of someone you admire. Public speaking is about you speaking in public. I know, that’s pretty obvious but many people miss this critical point. The first thing we must understand is that we have to have something of value to share, to speak about in public. If there is nothing of value to share, then no tricks or training will make the talker anything more than a person taking up space and time.

So, the starting point is here.

1. What do you have of value to share with your audience? Do you have an idea, a product, a service, some information, etc. that will improve their lives and/or solve a problem?

Take a pen right now and write down at least five things of value that you have to share with an audience. You will probably find that have more than five when you begin listing all your experiences, ideas, information, etc.

2. How do you know it is of value to your audience? Take the time to find out as much as you can about your audience so that you can tailor your message so that it is clear to them that it is of value.

Take a pen right now and write as much as you can about your audience. Who are they? What do they already know about your topic wnd what do they want to know? Why are they going to listen to you?

Once you clearly have something of value to say and you know enough about your audience to see how it is of value to them, then you can begin crafting the presentation. At this point we can bring in the important aspects of writing a powerful speech, practicing techniques to deliver a strong presentation and using tricks to capture and hold attention.

Make a great cake (that you know your audience will like) and then add the frosting.

Powerful public speaking – adding meaning to your preasentation

By: Ellen Egan

Photo by Robert Scoble

Guy Kawasaki – Make Meaning in Your Company

I was just watching a video with Guy Kawasaki where he was talking about one of the keys to starting a business.  And, his message resonated with me as one of the keys to a good presentation.  He said that the core of anything that you start has to be about “meaning”.  It can’t be all about money, it has to be about meaning.

This, of course got me thinking about what is at the core of a good presentation.  It also has to have meaning at the center.  When you speak about something that has meaning for you, that you are passionate about, your audience will feel your enthusiasm and , if you put some effort into the presentation, they will join your enthusiasm.

But Ellen, my topic is boring….what do I do?  Find the meaning behind the topic.

Guy Kawasaki says in his talk that there are three fundamental ways to bring meaning to what you do and I will use these as examples.

1.  Increase the quality of life.  We have discussed audience analysis in this blog.  If you have done your audience analysis, you will understand your audience’s interests, needs, expectations, etc.  How can your topic increase their quality of life.

2.  Right a wrong Perhaps your audience is struggling with a particular problem, and you can provide the solution.

3.  Prevent something good from ending Perhaps your audience needs information on how to prevent something good from ending.

I have delivered presentations to bankers, teachers, entrepreneurs, stock brokers, leaders of industry, school children, etc.  Whether I was talking about the recent sales figures, personal development, the latest software or High School History  I always focused on increasing the quality of life for my audience.

When you can use meaning as the core of your presentation, your audience will listen more attentively, they will leave with a greater understanding of your presentation and you will have a much more enjoyable experience.