Pause More - Say Less to Achieve More Drama

In this TED talk, sculptor Reuben Margolin, exhibits his work and his perspective. Notice the extended pauses, short phrases and powerful visuals.


A presentation is about conveying your message. It's not about filling every second with you talking.

Pause more often and longer when you speak.

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Tell a Personal Story and Tell it Well - opportunities will rush up to you

Richard Turere, a 12-year-old Masai boy from Kenya invented a simple yet effective device to keep the lions from eating the family herd of cows that he was charged to watch.

Because of the success of that device he was asked to conquer a bigger fear - to speak in public at a TED event. He was a shy 12-year-old boy asked to speak in front of hundreds of people. English wasn't his first langauge and he was travelling to a distant land for the first time in his life.

Watch this TED video to hear his story and more importantly learn from the story telling techniques that he used very well. You probably need to watch this video more than once because it will be difficult to notice techniques while you are entranced by his story.




What did you notice?

He employed a conversational tone - no preaching or bragging.
He spoke without notes. That's one benefit of telling a personal story. You lived it. You simply need to replay the memories.
He spoke slowy.
He set up the problem and importance quickly.
This was a life and death issue.
He allowed his emotions to show.
He revealed his thoughts, struggles and joy.
He used only a few images that aided his story.
He paused when the audience laughed. 
He smilled.


You can read the story behind this TED talk as told by Chris Anderson, Curator of TED in this article How to Give a Killer Presentation on Havard Business Review.

The article also provides excellent tips on giving a TED talk or business presentation.



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Superior Presentations 70: The top three reasons are...

Build your presentation on three

How can you simplify the structure of your message and make it more powerful?
 

Build your presentation on a foundation of three.

Here are three ways to do that in your presentation:

3 Options

This is an effective way to offer a set of options to your audience. In a sales presentation you might offer the client a choice of Standard, Enhanced and Comprehensive. Some stores offer products that vary in quality - Good, Better and Best.

Three options are enough to allow your listeners to feel in control while not overwhelming them with too many choices. Just imagine how difficult it is to decide when you face a menu of 37 flavors of ice cream.

Give clients three options and they aren't trapped within a yes or no decision. They get to choose a matter of degrees.

3 Steps

When explaining a process or project diagram it into three stages or phases. Each might have several activities within them. By explaining the process in three steps you make it easier for your listeners to grasp the big picture and visualize the direction. Often, they don't need to understand all the details.

Three steps won't feel intimidating to your listener. Describing your plan in three steps will force you to gain a clearer perspective on things.

Top 3 Reasons

This is an effective way to respond to a question. Imagine that you are asked, "Why should I hire you?" "What makes your product so expensive?" "How is your company different from the rest?"

To any of those questions you can respond with, "The top three reasons are..."

Naturally, you respond with your strongest points. That should make a compelling case for you. Three strong points beat five or more mediocre points. This approach demonstrates that you respect your listener's time and that you can prioritize. It also allows you to add more information if needed.

To have more success with your presentation build it on sets of three.

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Superior Presentations 69: Don't Speak at the Audience, Instead...

Speak to One Person at a Time

 

 

If you want to connect with the people in your audience you need to talk to each person one at a time. Each person needs to feel, "The speaker is talking to me!"

How do you accomplish that?

With direct eye contact and the right language.

 

Eye Contact

 

Imagine having lunch with a colleague who is sitting directly across the table from you. Throughout the 45-minute lunch that person never looks at you - not while you are talking or even while that person is talking to you. That person looks at the meal, out the window or at other people in the restaurant. Apparently you don't deserve even a sideways glance. How would you feel?

Now imagine how your audience might feel if you don't look at them. It's not enough to look at them as a group. Instead you must look a person directly in the eyes. As you deliver your presentation don't deliver a speech to the crowd. Instead make it appear that you are having many one-on-one conversations. Deliver a sentence or phrase to one person then connect with another, then another - until each person in the room feels that "The speaker spoke to me." You can enhance the feeling by occasionally smiling at an individual.

You might need to check your notes or your slides occasionally but make it a point to be looking at an individual 80% of the time.

 

Conversational Language

Use language that talks to an individual.

The most important word that helps you establish the one-to-one connection is the word "you". Say, "I'm happy to see you today." "Here's how this will help you." "You might be wondering how this works."

Don't say "you guys". That's trailer trash talk. It's okay when chatting with buddies at the bar but not for a business presentation. In addition it's treating your audience as a mob not individuals.

Construct and deliver every sentence as if you were talking to one person. When you look at a person, imagine that person is the only one you are talking to.

Avoid using these mob words: anybody, everybody and crowd.

How is everybody today? That's bad for two reasons. It lumps the people into a mob. It's also a dumb question because no one can speak for everybody.

Does anybody have a question? That's similar to everybody. It's a mob word and it's a dumb question.

What might you say instead? How are you today? Do you have a question?

Notice the difference.

Don't deliver a speech at your audience. Instead connect with each person by engaging in many one-on-one conversations.

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Fear of Public Speaking: Catherine Zeta-Jones

The fear of public speaking is so common. It has nothing to do with your intelligence, success or wealth. That's why I'm appreciative of celebrities who "out" their fear of public speaking.

Catherine Zeta-Jones recently talked about her phobia of public speaking to the Belfast Telegraph. She joked that she tortures her husband, Michael Douglas before her appearances to get through her anxiety.

I woulld like to know more about the torture or the magic that Michael Douglas performed. Does she scream and cry? Does he sip a brandy while repeating, "Yes dear" ?


The key point for the rest of us is that the fear of public speaking is a normal thing even experienced by the beautiful people. 

There's no one way to deal with speech anxiety. You might work through it on your own or you might work through it with a partner. If that doesn't work - call Michael Douglas.

Read the rest of this story in the Belfast Telegraph.

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