Put em' All to Sleep

Ever been to a presentation, lecture or seminar and all it motivated you to was to sleep? I think I just heard an unanimous "Yes!"

So, who does them well? Who delivers really great in-person or video presentations? Do they use special skills ? Do they have special personalities? Are some people just better at it than others or can anyone learn to deliver inspiring and motivating presentations?

As an actor, writer, director and producer and someone who has had to sit through my fair share of really dull corporate presentations and training programs, I write with experience and complete confidence that anyone can learn to design and deliver great presentations. Anyone. Are some people with extroverted personalities better at it than their introverted colleagues? No. Just because the extrovert likes to talk a lot doesn't make him a better presenter. When teaching presentation skills I've had the pleasure of experiencing some incredibly powerful presentations from those who were considered wall flowers. Not all actors are effervescent and not all 'good' presenters are naturally good at it.

Through my years working as an actor and director in theater, film and television I learned a lot of performance skills. Besides researching and preparing to play a character I learned to, "act as if." As if I was a prince in Denmark, as if I really had shopped at Piggly-Wiggly Supermarkets, and as if I was an aging and washed up comic. So, if you're that shy and anxious wall flower and are tasked to present to your department during the next team meeting, act as if you are confident and experienced; that you know your topic and your main message and that you really won't die if something goes wrong. Anything can be learned and I can teach you the same acting and presentation skills that I have used to deliver powerful presentations that create lasting impact and positive change.

An actor in a play or a movie wants you, the audience to believe that they are the character that they are playing. If you don't believe them they'll start to lose interest and possibly head for the emergency exit so, start acting "as if."

For group presentations skills training or one-on-one presentation skill coaching, contact me and I'll show you how to get a standing ovation at your next presentation as well as the one after that.

Obama vs "Uh" Obama 0 - "Uh" 192

Nothing kills a speech, puts me to sleep or causes me to lose confidence in the speaker more than an exorbitant amount of filler words. You know what I'm talking about, I think, okay, what I meant is, uh, right, hum...

During President-Elect Barack Obama's press conference last Monday when he announced his foreign policy team he said "uh" or a version thereof 192 times within a fifteen minute time span. At approximately twenty-eight minutes into the press conference when he opened the floor to reporter's questions, the President-Elect paused more times (and not quietly) then a tractor trailer waiting to get through the tolls of the NJ Turnpike at rush hour. I dare you to listen to the speech and count all the "uh's, um's and umm's as I did and not be put to sleep. Just who is this alien speaker who has inhabited the once elegant Barack Obama?

B.O. what happened?! I sat glued to my television set last summer when you gave your incredibly direct and poignant speech in Philadelphia on race. You spoke with ease, charm and intelligence at the Democratic Convention in Denver. And I cried along side my wife when the election was 'called' and you were declared the winner. Even during the debates you kept your use of listless and irritating language to an absolute minimum and we all thanked your for it - even the Republicans.

As someone who coaches and instructs others on presentations skills and speeches I always have an eye and ear out for what makes a successful speech and what does not. When I ask clients what areas they would like to improve upon they answer that both controlling their nerves and reducing or eliminating their filler words or their top priorities. I have exercises for both and use a high tech behavioral tool called a rubber band that the client wears on his/her wrist. Each time they use a filler word they snap the rubber band that smarts. After a dozen or so snaps of the band they hesitate before using "uh" or "hum" or "like" or "you know".

Filler words, of which I am guilty of using from time-to-time are gap fillers. They give the speaker time to think. However, silence is much more powerful and effective than saying "hummm" when one is lost for words or deciding just how much information they would like to divulge or how much truth they want to share, as I believe was the case with our President-Elect. I've queried audiences after they've sat through presentations, speeches and keynote addresses and asked what they liked or disliked about the presenter/speaker and what they thought needed improvement. On the plus side: 'the presenter was engaging, new her material, and kept things moving. On the improvement needed side: 'talks to slow and says "hum" and "uh" a lot.'

Besides Mr. Obama's filler words, the tone of his speech was different than any he used while campaigning. This is where knowing your audiences is so important. The subject matter was very important and serious last Monday and the President-Elect did seem convey that through is body language and tone. (The Secretary of State and the Nation's security are extremely important topics.) I also heard something in Mr. Obama's tone besides serious and important. Through his tone of voice it sounded something like, 'I'm the boss and the buck stops here.' (He did say at one point "the buck stops here.") It sounded akin to who is currently in the White House. 

Now, please don't end me angry emails in defense of Mr. Obama. I'm thrilled that he and his family will be moving to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I even applied for a position with his administration and maybe he'll consider me as his presentation coach. And I do look forward to the President-Elect implementing is plan of change and getting us out of the terrible messes that we are in both domestically and internationally. I also hope that he'll pick up the rubber band and put an end to the use of those speech killing filler words. 

You can view a comprehensive list of filler words compiled at Wordie. See if your favorite makes the list.

Welcome

Welcome to bruce's blog!

My first entry is connected to the importance of having good presentations skills, especially when representing yourself and your business.

Last night my wife and I attended a one-hour workshop on blogging hosted by the non-profit organization, The American Craft Council in NYC. Amy Shaw & Rena Tom were there to present, "Blogging the Handmade: Creating Community, Conversation & Commerce." Both Amy and Rena run their own businesses Greenjeans and Rare Device were enthusiastic about the crafts industry, their businesses and blogging. I came to learn what I could about blogging, as I have just started using this medium. Amy and Rena’s presentation started out with promise, as they appeared warm and friendly and eager to share their experience and knowledge of blogs using a laptop and a PowerPoint presentation. Both of these small business owners and bloggers have a lot to offer and are successful in their own right.

I have been teaching presentation skills to both groups and individuals for many years and one of the first things we discuss, is to know your audience. Amy and Rena conducted an on the spot audience analysis by asking for a show of hands who runs their own blog, you reads blogs and who comments on blogs. With this information they could tailor their talk. Another component of creating successful and inspiring presentations is to have a main message. The main message is different from the topic. After listening to Amy and Rena's presentation for about ten minutes I wasn’t sure what their message to the audience was. They spent a lot of time sharing screen shots of theirs and others’ blogs none of which, we the audience could see, as the slides were to small. Also, it's important to have a strong opening line to get your audience's attention. Their opening consisted of the usual welcome’ and ‘we’re glad to be here etc. None of which made me sit up in my chair. Both presenters sat on a tabletop with the laptop between them with the lid facing down, so that they had to turn completely around to look at and read the slides. The result of this was not only could we not see their faces we couldn’t hear what they were saying.

55% of the way we communicate is through our body language, so when you sit on furniture it tells your audience several things: (1) you feel relaxed enough to sit instead of stand, although this was a professional environment; (2) you're not invested enough in your presentation nor your audience; (3) you are not confident. It also affects your energy levels, which will quickly sink.

Voice accounts for 38% of the way we communicate. Voice includes pitch and tone and when you speak, as I like to say in one color your audience’s ears very quickly close . When asked to speak up when reading a document Rena shifted her weight and continued to speak in a low and monotone voice. Amy had a perky voice but used just one tone, which became tiring after 20 minutes or so.

The words we use account for just 7% of the way we communicate and are important only for the information that you want us to walk away with. As I am constantly telling my clients and myself when I lead Standing Ovations Presentations (copyright 2006) at KATLIN CONSULTING to watch their filler words such as, "like", "um", "you know", "sort of.” I counted fifty “ums” in the first twenty minutes from just one speaker! All of these filler words grain the brain of the audience and are used as a pause because the presenter does know their presentation backwards and forwards. Around this time the energy in the audience sank and I was surprised that the presenters did not realize this and did not shift from their position on the table to standing and facing the audience. Unfortunately, I was actually looking at my watch several times to see how close we were to getting out of there.

I wanted, as most audiences do for these presenters to sweep me off my feet and inspire me to change or do something different. Their presentation actually affected my desire to decide if I would want to purchase anything from their stores or not. My thought was, “If, they’re not interested enough in taking the time to deliver a concise, professional and inspiring presentation, I’m not so interested in checking out their in-store and online merchandise.” That’s a shame because if I was thinking this others probably were too. I like to give people three chances. Maybe they were rushed or had other comments so they couldn’t put as mush time into the presentation as they would have liked. Maybe they were not feeling well. I really wanted these women to shine. I was rooting for them but by the time the presentation was finished I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Of course, I did get something out of it, I'm writing this blog.

If, you would like presentation tips or further information on presentation coaching or the Standing Ovations Presentations (copyright 2006) course for your organization, please contact me: bruce@katlinconsulting.com