April 2011 Newsletter
Lessons In Public Speaking From the Apple Store.
The other stores were almost empty. Why wouldn’t they be empty? It was a weekday in the middle of March!
But the Apple Store, as always, was like a carnival. Why?
The answers can tell us a lot about how to connect with people and sell ideas.
They’re Selling Bold, Life-Changing Ideas
Every time Apple puts out a new product, it’s positioned as something that will change your life. To the folks at Apple, the iPad isn’t just a new handheld computer. If you’re buying one for business, the advertisements say, it “changes the way you work.” If you’re buying it for school, “It’s a whole new kind of learning.”
Bold, life-changing ideas excite people. Or course, we can’t all be selling iPads. But we can position our ideas more powerfully.
CEOs Aren't the Only Ones That Prefer Brevity
"When you’re presenting to our CEO, be sure to keep it tight. He has a very short attention span.”
We hear people say that about their CEOs all the time.
It’s like CEOs all somehow suffer from a horrible case of attention deficit disorder.
We don’t buy it. CEOs aren’t special.If You Don't Have "The Goods" for a Sales Presentation, Consider Not Presenting.
If you want to deliver a winning pitch, you have to have “the goods.” By that, we mean you have to have a strong sense of the client’s “hot buttons.” You need to know the big problems that the prospect is trying to solve in hiring you.
For example, if you’re pitching to win a chance to design a building, you need to know the business reason for the building. Are they trying to increase productivity? Are they trying to consolidate operations? Are they trying to cut costs?
If you don’t know the “hot buttons”, it severely restricts your ability to deliver a pitch that will win the job.
So what do you do if you don’t have “the goods?”
One option is simply not to pitch.
Free Communication Skills Seminar or Webinar With Purchase of 20 or More Books.
If you’re looking for a great way to give your team communication skills coaching, consider buying 20 or more copies of Joey Asher’s newest book 15 Minutes Including Q&A: A Plan to Save the World from Lousy Presentations.
Along with the books, Speechworks President Joey Asher will provide a free one-hour seminar or webinar on the ideas contained in the book.
15 Minutes Including Q&A is a tiny book with a big ambition. It takes just 30 minutes to read. But it lays out everything you need to know to create and deliver simple, persuasive presentations that your audience will love.
Public Speaking Tip From Elizabeth Taylor.
The point is that even the greats movie stars get nervous when they have to stand up in public.
But with coaching and practice, everyone can learn to overcome their anxiety. In our workshops, we help you overcome your anxiety and give presentations tha excite your audience: We focus on two areas: