November 2010 Newsletter
"Three Q" Method Creates A Simple Presentation You'll Love it and So Will Your Listeners!
Most presentations are complicated messes. Listeners wonder "What are the key points?", "Why should I care?", "Why is this so complicated?" and "Do we have to look at that many slides?"
Complicated presentations are so unnecessary. There is a fast approach to creating simple presentations that connect with the needs of any audience. And you won't need to create a single PowerPoint slide.
I call it "The Three Q Method." It works because it is built around your audience members' key questions about the topic.
The only prop you'll need is a flip chart.
Ask Yourself "What Are the Three Questions My Audience Would Ask Me?"
Most presentations stink because they fail to provide what most listeners want – answers to their key questions. The Three Q Method addresses this issue by focusing the presentation on three audience questions.
Next time you have to create a presentation, don't go to your computer and open up PowerPoint. Instead, take out a blank sheet of paper and ask yourself "What are the three questions my audience would most likely ask me about this subject?"
Those three questions will become the basis of your presentation.
Want New eBook on "Rifle-Shot" Presentations Aims To Make the Business World a Better Place.
The business world would be a better place if all presentations were shorter. With that in mind, Speechworks has published a new eBook entitled "How to Create a Seven Minute Rifle Shot Presentation."
Want to Advance in Business?
Increase Your Networking IQ!
One of the best ways to advance your career is to learn how to connect with people.
A good start might be to determine your "Networking IQ" with an online quiz from the website Allbusiness.com. The test that asks only eight questions and then gives a helpful diagnosis of your answers.
Here's a big networking hint: when in doubt, think about how you might show interest in other people. The key to being a great networker is to heed Barbara Walters's key to being interesting. She said, "The secret to be interesting is to be interested."
Make More Money By Looking Taller:
Increase Your Leadership Presence.
The taller you are, the more money you make, according to "Blink", the bestseller from Malcolm Gladwell. That's because height translates into an intangible, highly valuable, quality of leadership presence, according to the book.
While Speechworks can't help you get taller, we can certainly help you communicate in a way that makes you come across with more presence and even look taller. Over time, that might well translate into more cash in your pocket.
Specifically, we suggest that people do two things to give themselves greater leadership presence.
- Raise your chair during meetings. With today's adjustable chairs, no one should have to give up a height advantage to anyone else. If you are "altitude impaired", add instant inches by adjusting your chair.
- When standing, make big gestures. Reaching out and holding out your arms during a presentation can make you look bigger.
Public Speaking Tip from Mark Twain
"It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech."
So said writer and orator Mark Twain. At Speechworks, we take Twain's words to mean that preparation is everything. If you want to be a great speaker, you must learn how to create a great presentation and then how to practice.
That's what we help our clients do in our programs. All of our programs focus on two areas: