February 2011 Newsletter
Communication Tips from The King's Speech.
The King’s Speech may win lots of Academy Awards later this month for its story of King George VI’s battle against stammering and stage fright. But I liked it for another reason.
Having spent the last 13 years coaching CEOs. salespeople, and other business professionals in how to become more effective communicators, I saw the film as a good portrayal of what it takes for leaders to learn to connect with audiences.
Here are three lessons business leaders can take from the film.
Lesson 1. Practice, practice, and more practice. Leading up to the big speech at the end of the film, King George and his coach rehearsed over and over again--out loud!
I’m amazed at how often this critical idea is overlooked by sophisticated business people. I’ve seen Fortune 500 executives spend weeks preparing a deck of slides for a big presentation. They’ll have it reviewed by their marketing team, the CFO and the General Counsel.
But when it comes time to practice delivering the speech, they’ll review their notes on an airplane and declare themselves “ready to go.”
Two Words Listeners Love: "For Example".
If you use those words a lot, then chances are that you’re telling lots of stories when you speak. And if you’re telling lots of stories, chances are that you’re giving a very good presentation.
The words “For example” are magical in their ability to produce a nice relevant story.
Recently one of our coaches was working with a sales person on a presentation. This sales person made the general point that “Our clients really love it when we come out to check on them unannounced.”
What Can We Learn from Great Eulogies? Use Stories to Grab an Audience.
You’d have to have a very dark heart not to get a little misty-eyed reading “Farewell, Godspeed: The Greatest Eulogies of Our Time.” And you’d have to be blind not to notice what makes these eulogies so strong and this book so fascinating.
It’s the wonderful stories. These eulogies are a wonderful lesson to all of us of the power of stories to grip an audience.
The book compiles eulogies from a range of famous people: from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Lucille Ball. You’ll learn about:
Good News About Public Speaking Angst; Stage Fright Boosts the Immune System
It’s time to get up and give that big speech. Your heart is pounding. Your palms are sweating. You’re starting to feel faint.
And your immune system loves it!
That’s the conclusion of a 30-year study of stress research published recently in Psychological Bulletin, a journal of the American Psychological Association. The analysis culled through 300 studies involving over 19,000 participants.
The study determined that certain short term stresses have a significant impact on your immune system. It turns out that public speaking is one stress that can double your blood’s ability to fight off infection and heal wounds.
Of course, a jolt to the immune system may not be much consolation for the anxiety that many people face when giving speeches. Here are a few tips to help you deal with your nerves next time you have to give a big speech.But all those tips can obscure the more important point, which is that presenting is about “connection, not perfection.” We think there are only three things you need to focus on.
Communication Tips From Peter Drucker.
Business Guru Peter Drucker said “Communication...always makes demands. It always demands that the recipient become somebody, do something, believe something. It always appeals to motivation.”
To motivate people effectively, you need to have a focused message that you deliver with passion. That’s what we teach at Speechworks.
In our Persuasive Speaker workshops, we coach our clients in how to stand up and deliver presentations with passion and in a way that connects and motivates. In our two-day program, you will deliver five presentations in front of a small group all with the help of our expert coaches.