Well Presented

Thoughts and tips about great presentation skills and great communication.

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Nerve Busting

One of the most common presentation skills I get asked about is controlling nerves before and during a presentation. The first thing to consider is why we get nervous. Well, we have our bodies instinctive nervous system to thank for that. Whenever we perceive we are in danger or under threat then our bodies whip into fight or flight mode. The adrenalin pumps round the body our hearts race and we a ready to do battle or run like the wind. Unfortunately, as most of you know this is not conducive to smooth presentation delivery. Are nerves an all bad thing? In a word, no. The benefit we get from nervous energy, if we use it in the right way can create a massively enthusiastic performance from the worst of us. The key is getting enough of a grip on those nerves to make them useful without suppressing them altogether. How do you do that? Well, as you asked i’ll tell you. The big secret is to BREATHE. But you do that all the time right? How does that help. Well, the thing is that when you go into fight or flight then your breathing becomes shallow and fast and that makes your voice sound nervous. The thing to do is to breathe deeply and slowly. You can do this discretely through your nose, there is no real need for “in through the nose and out through the mouth”. Breathe deeply so you feel the air swell your stomach and chest, hold for a count of two then let go equally slowly.  Repeat this a few times and you will naturally become more relaxed, your body has no choice but to relax. Now this may seem too easy to be true but go ahead and try it. Do it now and see how much better you feel after three or four repetitions. Get used to doing this at times when you are calm and it will be much easier when you are battling nerves. For more information get a copy of our free report Seven Secrets to a Great Presentation When you do you will be subscribed to our regular newsletter full of Well Presented tips

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How to Make a "Boring" Topic Interesting

There is no such thing as a boring subject. I’ll grant some subjects are more difficult to make interesting but i can’t think of one that’s actually impossible. If you have to talk about a boring widget then your secret weapon is simple. Talk about the problems it solves. Imagine the world without your widget or anything like it. If it has special features talk about the problems associated with not having that special feature. Impress on the audience the difficulties they would face without your widget. The key here is to make it relevant to your audience. Make them see the benefit that they get from having your widget by showing them the perils of not having it. This makes use of the pain/pleasure principle. People instinctively move away from pain and towards pleasure. Show them the “pain” of life without your widget and they will soon be interested in finding out about life with your widget. The other secret is to approach the subject from the mindset that YOU find it interesting and are enthusiastic about it. If you decide that a subject IS interesting you will make it interesting. Nothing is more infectious than enthusiasm, if you can drum up your own enthusiasm it will generate enough goodwill from your audience that you can talk about almost anything. The interest and enthusiasm come from you not your subject. Be interested to be interesting. If you want to know more about improving your presentation skills then sign up for our free report by following the link.

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The Road to Communication Hell

You probably know the phrase “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” well, it’s no less true when it comes to communication. When it comes to communication intention means nothing, the meaning of your communication is the response that it generates. What do I mean by that? Let me illustrate with an extreme example; if you walked up to somebody you care about, told them you loved them and then proceeded to hit them with a big stick then they might not feel very loved!  The fact that you intended them to feel loved means nothing. The response generated was not that of feeling loved. The result was hurt. It isn’t the other persons fault that your communication didn’t make them feel loved. If you want them to feel loved then you need to change what you say or, in this instance, what you do with your big stick! It’s the same in normal communication. If the message you are trying to convey produces a result other than the intended one then you need to change what you say and how you say it until you get the desired result. So when you are communicating make sure the results you get match your intentions. Be aware of the response your communication generates. Make sure people understand you clearly, get them to repeat back to you what they think you said if necessary. If the response you get isn’t what you expected or wanted be honest about it and own the responsibility for making yourself understood. If it is clear that your message hasn’t been understood say “I’m sorry I didn’t make myself clear, what I meant to say was…” and rephrase it. Find a way to say things that works for the person in front of you. Fortunately most of the time our communications are simple and do not need in depth analysis. For instance “Andrew, can you make sure that you fax this over to Mr Johnson by 12pm today” isn’t going to create too much confusion, provided of course both people understand who Mr Johnson is. However, when misunderstandings occur, it is vital to remember that the meaning of your communication is the response it generates. To be a great communicator you need to grasp this principle and put it to practice. Take responsibility for being understood.

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Calm Down Dear! It's Only a Presentation.

Public speaking is hell right? Your mouth dries up, your stomach has a whole squadron of butterflies flying around, your legs feel weak and so on. It's awful! Well actually it's not that bad. Really. Here are five tips to get a grip of the dread fear before a presentation.     1.    Practice. There is no substitute for knowing your presentation well enough so that even if you forget the exact words that you had in mind you can improvise because you have a clear idea of what it is you wish to say. Practice until you are so familiar with your presentation that you have no doubt that you will always have the words to convey your message.     2.    Breathe. When you become scared your body goes into fight or flight mode. Adrenaline courses through your veins so that you are ready to do battle or run like the wind. Neither is good for presentations. To get control of your body take slow deep breaths. Your body automatically responds to deep breaths by relaxing.This is because the brain is very literal. If you breathe slowly and deeply the brain assumes all is well and begins to relax the body. Breathe in and out through your nose, drawing the breath slowly in so it fills you lungs, hold for a count of two and let it out equally slowly. Repeat as often as you need but you will find that after four or five repetitions your body is much more relaxed.     3.    Focus on the audience. I can almost hear the response now: What? Focus on the audience? Are you crazy? They are the people i'm nervous about! Well that may be true but if you focus on giving the audience what they need, on building rapport with them and communicating in a way that reaches your whole audience you will find that you have a lot less time to worry about yourself!     4.    Visualisation. As part of your practice visualise yourself giving a calm and confident presentation. Make the images vivid, pay attention to how it feels, the response you get from your audience and the sights and sounds you experience. This is a form of training you brain to accept that this is the way things are. Spend time teaching your brain the response you want it to generate before and during your presentation.     5.    Use affirmations. Affirmations are a great tool if you use them properly. Phrases like "every day i feel better in every way" are poor affirmations. They are too vague, as i said before, your brain is very literal and needs specific instructions. You need to say something like "when i give my presentation i will feel calm and confident and i will speak with authority" Repeat this frequently in the days leading to your presentation and your brain will accept this as the truth. Keeping calm before a presentation or any big event is all about conditioning. Condition your brain to respond the way it needs to and it will do it exactly the way you teach it. It takes a little time and conscious effort but the results are worth it!