Pause before you answer the question because...

Why do lawyers pounce on the witness to answer the question quickly? 

Because they’re hoping for a visceral response. One that is incriminating and can’t be retracted. That means when you are answering tough questions during your presentation, pause before you reply. 

Pause to calm yourself down and to think about your answer. Most importantly, prepare for these tough questions when you rehearse your presentation so you aren’t blindsided by them.
 


Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Saturn Five Rocket described in simple words...

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Researching Your Presentation

Get your facts straight
Don’t stand there saying, “I think so” or “I’m not sure.” Don’t lie and pretend to know something you do not. So spend time collecting and confirming your information. Too many public speakers are quick to present their opinions without providing clear substance. Avoid that trap.

Be careful of presenting hearsay as evidence – unless you preface it as that. You might interview customers for their comments or check with the front lines for their unofficial feedback. That is ok – but present it honestly. Do a quick search on one or a few of the Internet search engines to find some new insights on the topic of your presentation. These Internet ‘facts’ might not be confirmable so present them as what you found – ‘Stuff from the Internet’.


Test for relevance
Review your speech for relevance to your audience. After every statement that you plan to make ask yourself, “So what?” Because that is what your audience will be asking. If you cannot answer this question clearly and succinctly – then rework it or remove it from your speech. What do you want them thinking, “Yeah right on!” or “So what?”


Remembering your speech
The best public speakers do not memorize their presentation. Instead know your topic and the issues. Then make notes for yourself. But don’t read your speech. That is so boring. Instead write key words that remind you of your messages. Write your speech notes on index cards. That is much easier to handle instead of fumbling with a sheet of paper.


Rehearsing your presentation
Rehearse your speech on your feet at least three times. It is okay to rehearse parts of it in your car or sitting at your desk. But because you will deliver in on your feet – you rehearse the speech on your feet. It feels different when you speak on your feet. Get used to the feel of delivering your presentation. The best way to reinforce a set of skills is by repeating the pattern the way you plan to deliver. Golfers and musicians rehearse their patterns so the skills of the big day are natural to them.


The fear of public speaking
Studies show that our number one fear is the fear of public speaking. Hard to believe but it is more prevalent than the fear of death. If you have a fear of public speaking or feel some anxiety you are not alone. Even great speakers like Churchill experienced this fear. But he worked on his delivery skills so he could deliver even when he was nervous. I am a professional speaker who has spoken to audiences all over North America yet I also experience speech anxiety. The fear of public speaking might be with you forever. But your audience does not need to know.


Overcoming the fear of public speaking
In most cases the symptoms of the fear are not noticeable to your audience. You might feel terrified but your audience doesn’t know. There are several ways to get past speech anxiety. Focus on the success of your presentation. Before you step up to speak take a couple of slow deep breaths. Speak slowly. Don’t let it run away from you.


George Torok

Presentation Skills Training

Presentation Skills Coaching



Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives.

Ooh Ooh - What now?

What do you do when things go wrong during your presentation?

Things will go wrong. Remember Murphy's law. And the more you depend on technology for your presentation - the more likely things will go wrong.

Microphones screech, lights blow and computers sometimes act like teenagers. And it's all a plot to make you look bad. At least you might feel that way at the time.

What should you do?

First pause, breathe and smile. Every one will be amazed at your apparent composure.

Appear to be in control - even if you don't feel that way.

Then deliver your line.

That line doesn't need to be clever or funny - but people will usually laugh because they will think that you are so clever that you were calm and the line will relieve their tension.

After Ronald Reagan was shot, he said to his wife, "Honey I forgot to duck." It relieved her tension. Reagan was a master at delivering a line on cue. That's why he was called "the great communicator. He had been an actor so he was almost always prepared with a key line.

You can learn from that.

Always have a line ready to use in case you need it.

There you are on stage and the equipment is sabotaging your presentation. What do you say? Never blame anyone or anything. Remember to smile.

I suggest that you memorize a small collection of lines from movies, TV or entertainment that might fit some future presentation disaster.

Here are a few suggestions:

"Houston, we have a problem."

"Scotty, beam me out of here."

"Resistance is futile."


Or twist a common expression:

"Well, that computer is shovel ready."


The next time that you watch a movie look for lines that you can use in your presentations - when thing go wrong.


George Torok
Speech Coach for Executives
Presentaton Skills Training for Sales Teams


Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives.

For example or for instance?

For example or for instance? Choose well

Do you use examples in your presentations? It might work against you. Perhaps you should use an instance instead.

Confused? So was I until my good friend and scholar, John Robert Colombo explained the difference so clearly.

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An "instance" is an actual occurrence. An "example" is a hypothetical occurrence.

"In 1929 the stock market collapsed." That is an occurrence that actually happened. It can be discussed by historians and economists.

"Let's say the stock market collapses in 2011." This is an example of what may or might have happen. It can be imagined by commentators of all types, including historians and economists.

The distinction between instance and example is a minor one, but I find that preachers, teachers, moralists, bureaucrats, censors, politicians, etc., work in the field of "examples," whereas scientists and scholars work in the field of "instances."

In the field of public speaking and human motivation, we fear examples far more than instances. "Suppose this happens ... " is worse than "Guess what did happen."

I often think we would be a lot better off in everyday life if we ignored examples and dealt only with instances.

John Robert Colombo
Colombo & Company
Professional website www.colombo.ca Personal website www.colombo-plus.ca
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If you want to build a logical argument use instances. If you want to base your argument on emotions, use examples.

Now listen to your last or next presentation and check to see if you are using examples when instances might work better.

If you are delivering a technical presentation your credibility will be undermined if you only deal in examples.

I suspect that examples are not bad – but if your whole argument is based only on examples it might be a weak argument. Instances though based on the past ground your logic.

If you have a weak argument based on the facts, then use examples and hope nobody knows the difference between example and instance. (Of course that last sentance was an example.)

Thank you John Robert Colombo for explaining the difference.

George Torok
Executive Speech Coach
Presentation Skills Training

Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives.

Sales Presentation Tips

Make Your Case
By Kelley Robertson


At an industry conference this past week, I saw and heard several different sales presentations as sponsors of the conference presented their products and services. Unfortunately, most of them missed the mark. Yet, delivering an effective sales presentation is critical if you want to succeed. Here are few key points to consider.

Start with impact. Don't waste valuable time talking about your company or its products, services or solutions. Instead, demonstrate that you understand your prospect's pain, problem, concern or issue. This will capture their attention.

Show, don't tell. Whenever possible, use props in your presentation. Instead of telling your prospect the results you can help them achieve, show them a testimonial letter or video that outlines a key outcome.

Focus on your prospect. Most sales people fail to make the presentation about the other person and use a lot of "I" or "me" or "we" language. But your customer doesn't care about you. They want you to talk about them.

Show the ROI. Also known as the WII-FM theory-What's In It For Me? Every sales presentation MUST focus on how your customer will benefit from using your product, service, solution or company.

Modify your approach, use these steps and you will notice an improvement in your results.

Have a productive and profitable week!
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The above is from the 59 Second Sales Tip by sales expert Kelley Robertson.

Register for the weekly sales tips here.



Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives.

PowerPoint Presentation Self-Sabotage

PowerPoint Presentation Self-Sabotage

The marketing director of a well known Internet company presented us with fascinating stats about Internet use and users.

I was captivated by the numbers and percentages until he reached the graph slide in his PowerPoint presentation.

One of my colleagues raised his hand to ask a question. The presenter innocently paused to take the question and was blindsided by what happened next.

My colleague boldly announced that the graph slide was wrong. The data clusters clearly could not be true for the axis defined in the example. When this was pointed out I could see his point. The graph was bogus. The marketing director tried to recover by accepting that the “data” illustrated on the slide was indeed bogus but that it was only for illustration purposes. My colleague continued to point out that because the data represented was bogus therefore anything else the marketing director said was thus suspect.

The marketing director attempted to skate by the flaw and continue to use the questionable slide for his example. My colleague persisted to the point of sounding angry. The marketing director finally conceded and moved on to the next slide and announced that the bogus slide would not be used again.

My Observations
I was intrigued by the exchange and the impact on the room. Most of the audience knew of my colleague’s expertise and most likely “sided” with him on the point of credibility. The dispute ruined the flow of the presentation and hurt the presenter’s credibility. The presenter first attempted to continue what was clearly a flawed example. He attempted to belittle the flaw.

Most importantly the presenter failed to do three things:

He did not thank my colleague for being so astute.

He did not apologize for the error, (attempted deception).

And because of that he failed to clarify what I suspect was an important point.


You can take a few presentation learning points from this incident.

Don’t use PowerPoint slides prepared by someone else until you understand them fully. And remove any slides that you are not clear on or comfortable with.

When you use a PowerPoint presentation prepared by someone else – the audience will hold you accountable for errors.

Don't use an illustration in your presentation that is not representative of reality.

Not everyone raising their hand is asking a friendly question. Be prepared for the unexpected attack during your presentation.

When you are clearly wrong – apologize to the audience and thank the person who pointed out your error.


George Torok
Public Speaking Pro
Presentation Skills Success
Canadian Motivational Speaker
Toronto Speech Coach

Public Speaking for IT Careers

Importance of Public Speaking Skills for IT

November 12, 2007 (Computerworld) -- When it comes to technical skills, you either have them or you get them. This year’s salary survey shows that there’s demand for a broad range of skills, many of which have been hot for several years (see our jobs report snapshots).

But what else makes for a great IT hire? In their continual struggle to align IT with the business, IT executives say they’re increasingly looking for staffers who have, in addition to technical chops, solid business acumen and so-called soft skills, like strong communication and listening abilities.

Computerworld’s most recent hiring and skills survey confirms that. Survey respondents said writing and public speaking are two of the most important soft skills they look for when hiring new employees. Classes that teach technical skills are easy to find, but what’s the best way to learn soft skills? Here’s a look at nine skills employers are looking for, with IT executives and career experts’ advice on how to get them.


Number three on the list is Public Speaking Skills

3. An aptitude for public speaking. They may be a throwback to the 1960s, but Toastmasters International clubs can help IT workers refine their public speaking skills and get past their jitters. Also, SIM’s Regional Leadership Forum can help up-and-coming IT professionals polish their leadership skills, including their speaking ability, says Keefe.


Read the rest of this report at Computer World.


Public Speaking Tips

Fear of Public Speaking

George Torok

Speech Coach for Executives