Presentation Skills Success
Why you?
How can you get more done? By being a superior communicator. The secret of managing people is to master the art and science of communication. Superior communication skills are a combination of listening, negotiating and speaking. So the first question you should ask youself before your speak is "Why you?" Why were you chosen to deliver this presentation and why are you qualified to deliver this speech? Be clear on the why before you move to the how and what.
Public Speaking, Presentation or Speech?
Deliver your message with impact. It is not just a speech or presentation. I use the words speech, public speaking and presentation interchangeably in this article. It is your key message that is most important. Your presentation is the vehicle for delivering your message and to create results. A successful presentation is one that moves people to action. You know your presentation was a success if after you speak, your listeners buy, work or follow. To do that requires skill. Devour this article. You will capture the essence of superior presentation skills.
First Rule of Great Presentations
A great presentation does not just happen. It is planned, rehearsed then delivered with flair. A good presenter is one who learns the skills of presentations - not one who hopes for talent to carry them. Public speaking is a set of skills not a talent. You can be a good presenter if you learn the skills for presentation success. You will be a great speaker if you learn from every presentation you deliver. Great presenters start as poor speakers – then they get better.
Learn from other Great Presenters
Who are the public speakers you admire? Ask yourself why you admire them. What techniques do they use in their speeches that you can use? What principles can you adapt to your presentations? It could be a great political leader, business executive or innovator. Whether it is a Churchill, Henry Ford or Einstein – ask yourself, “Why does their delivery work so well? How can I use that technique or principle in my speech?” Look for the skills they used and make them your own.
Read the rest of this article on Presentation Skills Success
George Torok
Presentation Skills Training
Motivational Speaker
Communication Principles
Communication Principles
The secret to successful communication starts with the principles, the irrefutable truths. Learn these principles then you can begin to apply the techniques of effective communication.
To see the answers to the following questions try the interactive quiz here. Move your cursor over each question to see the answer on the quiz page.
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What is communication?
How do you send messages?
How does what you write, say or do impact on others?
How do we make decisions?
How do we make the important decisions in our life – like career, spouse, home, investment, friends, vacation, car, etc... ?
What two emotional directions drive all of decisions?
What is the strongest emotional driver?
When what we see conflicts with what we hear, what do we believe?
How can you be a better communicator?
How can you be a superior communicator?
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For the answers to these important questions about communication try the quiz.
George Torok
Executive Speech Coach
Public Speaking Pro
Motivational Speaker
The secret to successful communication starts with the principles, the irrefutable truths. Learn these principles then you can begin to apply the techniques of effective communication.
To see the answers to the following questions try the interactive quiz here. Move your cursor over each question to see the answer on the quiz page.
-----------------------
What is communication?
How do you send messages?
How does what you write, say or do impact on others?
How do we make decisions?
How do we make the important decisions in our life – like career, spouse, home, investment, friends, vacation, car, etc... ?
What two emotional directions drive all of decisions?
What is the strongest emotional driver?
When what we see conflicts with what we hear, what do we believe?
How can you be a better communicator?
How can you be a superior communicator?
-------------------------------
For the answers to these important questions about communication try the quiz.
George Torok
Executive Speech Coach
Public Speaking Pro
Motivational Speaker
Presentations: Using Quotations
Tips on Using Quotations in Your Presentation
In your presentation a good quotation can crystallize an unclear message and help to anchor an important point. It can help to have one powerful quotation to to sprinkle a few throughout your presentation. But be careful - too many and the impact is lost and you might appear to be just a copier of thoughts - not an original thinker.
The choice of source that you quote is as important as the selection of the words. For example even if they said something well you would probably not quote Adoph Hitler, Idi Amin or even OJ Simpson. They will probably not help your message or credibility.
Here are four points to help you improve the delivery of the quotation.
1. Always state whom the quote is from.
2. Change your voice slightly when you deliver the quote - this gives the impression that these are not your words - but of the authority you are quoting.
3. Pause just before you begin the quote and just after. The pause acts like quotation marks.
4. Memorise a short quotation. But you can read a longer quote.
5. When quoting from a book - hold the book up to show where the quote comes from.
George Torok
Speech Coach for Executives
Presentation Skills Training
Canadian Motivational Speaker
Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives.
In your presentation a good quotation can crystallize an unclear message and help to anchor an important point. It can help to have one powerful quotation to to sprinkle a few throughout your presentation. But be careful - too many and the impact is lost and you might appear to be just a copier of thoughts - not an original thinker.
The choice of source that you quote is as important as the selection of the words. For example even if they said something well you would probably not quote Adoph Hitler, Idi Amin or even OJ Simpson. They will probably not help your message or credibility.
Here are four points to help you improve the delivery of the quotation.
1. Always state whom the quote is from.
2. Change your voice slightly when you deliver the quote - this gives the impression that these are not your words - but of the authority you are quoting.
3. Pause just before you begin the quote and just after. The pause acts like quotation marks.
4. Memorise a short quotation. But you can read a longer quote.
5. When quoting from a book - hold the book up to show where the quote comes from.
George Torok
Speech Coach for Executives
Presentation Skills Training
Canadian Motivational Speaker
Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives.
Presentation Style: Obama vs Hillary
Presentation Style: Obama vs Hillary
This is an instructive lesson in presentation skills.
Although it seemed that Hillary had the advantage coming into this fight – Obama seems to be leading recently.
From a presentation skills point of view Obama has all the advantages. He is male, taller and has a deeper voice.
All things being equal those factors tend to lend an advantage in public speaking. That is an observation of how we tend to feel about public speakers.
Obama is a master of prose, pacing and the pause. Three powerful presentation techniques
Hillary often seems to be in a panic. She does have the advantage of age. We tend to give more credibility to a person who apears older. However because this campaign is about change - the relative youth of Obama gives him the congruency point.
And the one time that Hillary showed some emotion by shedding a tear – it appeared to be so out of character that it drew more criticism than rapport.
In this horse race my money is on Obama – because he speaks like a leader. Hillary speaks like a sargent major.
George Torok
Executive Speech Coach
Presentation Skills Training
This is an instructive lesson in presentation skills.
Although it seemed that Hillary had the advantage coming into this fight – Obama seems to be leading recently.
From a presentation skills point of view Obama has all the advantages. He is male, taller and has a deeper voice.
All things being equal those factors tend to lend an advantage in public speaking. That is an observation of how we tend to feel about public speakers.
Obama is a master of prose, pacing and the pause. Three powerful presentation techniques
Hillary often seems to be in a panic. She does have the advantage of age. We tend to give more credibility to a person who apears older. However because this campaign is about change - the relative youth of Obama gives him the congruency point.
And the one time that Hillary showed some emotion by shedding a tear – it appeared to be so out of character that it drew more criticism than rapport.
In this horse race my money is on Obama – because he speaks like a leader. Hillary speaks like a sargent major.
George Torok
Executive Speech Coach
Presentation Skills Training
Pardon My French
Pardon my French
My good friend and fellow professional speaker, Marc Andre Morel, delivers a speech with the title, “Pardon my French”. It’s an entertaining presentation. He is French Canadian and fluent in both French and English.
English speakers sometimes use the phrase, “Pardon my French” when they use crude or rude language. In this case it has nothing to do with speaking French. The phrase is ‘culturist” because it assumes that crude or imperfect English is French.
I often work with presenters whose mother tongue is other than English. They often feel self-conscious about their lack of perfect English.
I wish that they would see how silly this concern is because most natural born English speakers are less than perfect English presenters. As an English speaker all my life and with a university education I still make English errors. We all make mistakes.
A good example of how imperfect English hasn’t hurt him is US president George W Bush. And he went to Harvard.
So when I work with business speakers whose first tongue is not English, I remind them that it is about getting your message across. It is not about speaking ‘perfect English”.
George Torok
Pardon my English
My good friend and fellow professional speaker, Marc Andre Morel, delivers a speech with the title, “Pardon my French”. It’s an entertaining presentation. He is French Canadian and fluent in both French and English.
English speakers sometimes use the phrase, “Pardon my French” when they use crude or rude language. In this case it has nothing to do with speaking French. The phrase is ‘culturist” because it assumes that crude or imperfect English is French.
I often work with presenters whose mother tongue is other than English. They often feel self-conscious about their lack of perfect English.
I wish that they would see how silly this concern is because most natural born English speakers are less than perfect English presenters. As an English speaker all my life and with a university education I still make English errors. We all make mistakes.
A good example of how imperfect English hasn’t hurt him is US president George W Bush. And he went to Harvard.
So when I work with business speakers whose first tongue is not English, I remind them that it is about getting your message across. It is not about speaking ‘perfect English”.
George Torok
Pardon my English
Public Speaking Pro
Public Speaking Pro
The online resource for promising public speakers just launched. It is the place to visit to prepare yourself to be a more effective public speaker.
Here's what you will find at Pubic Speaking Pro
How to deal with the fear of public speaking
A crash course on improving your public speaking
How to use the technology tools of public speaking - multimedia, PowerPoint and even old techonology - the original overhead projector.
There are more public speaker tips and articles waiting for you - and of course this site will continue to grow.
Public Speaking Pro - the resource for promising public speakers.
Check it out.
George Torok
The online resource for promising public speakers just launched. It is the place to visit to prepare yourself to be a more effective public speaker.
Here's what you will find at Pubic Speaking Pro
How to deal with the fear of public speaking
A crash course on improving your public speaking
How to use the technology tools of public speaking - multimedia, PowerPoint and even old techonology - the original overhead projector.
There are more public speaker tips and articles waiting for you - and of course this site will continue to grow.
Public Speaking Pro - the resource for promising public speakers.
Check it out.
George Torok
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