Monday, March 7, 2016
Be Like A Tour Guide When You Present
Following a recent visit to Cancun, Mexico, our Mayan tour guide was a local born and bred man named Henry.
Yes, heads were scratched amongst our group as we were in Mayan territory with a man visually possessing Mayan genetics named Henry!
Other than his very British name, Henry was positively striking & impressive because of his extraordinary communication skills.
Henry presented Mayan history to our group wisely using the same fine tuned skills you should use during all your business communications including presentations to ensure our ideas are heard.
Here is just a short list of the fine tuned communication skills Henry used to ensure out experience with him was enjoyable and his message(s) memorable:
Spoke slowly
Obviously, English is not Henry's first language and so, to compensate for any differences in pronunciation, he spoke slowly.
Henry tried to carefully enunciate, even though some letters and words were difficult for him.
Wouldn't it make your ideas sink in if you spoke slowly instead of rushing? Wouldn't speaking at a slower pace be enormously helpful your varied audiences who are not necessarily native to your language?
Framed up what we would be seeing
If our group were about to go to a specific place or land mark, before we would arrive, Henry shared why the next place was significant and what we were about to see. Maybe it had to do with the age of the place/land mark or the intricacy of the carvings, etc.
In your environment, do you give a short overview of why the meeting or presentation is important and what actions you will be requesting as you conclude?
So often, we skip the overview and jump right into the details.
Looked us in the eye
To make sure explanations were resonating, Henry watched our facial expressions, looking for any indicators that said, "Not understood." Many of us think we are looking people in the eye, but mostly, we scan the room.
Without strong eye contact, we cannot read the reactions of our listeners. Do you scan or engage people one at a time with sustained eye contact?
Took ownership
If Henry could see by the look on the faces of our group we didn't understand, he would re-explain. Henry would automatically apologise for not being clear or for his poor English or unclear explanation.
Do you pay attention to whether people seem to be understanding? Do you routinely pause and ask if an explanation is clear to everyone? Do you re-explain in simpler words? Do you apologise for not being clear?
Exuded passion
Henry was demonstrably proud of his nation and people's monuments, whether they were temples, waterfalls or scenic vistas.
Henry's enthusiasm came across in his voice and in the descriptive words he chose.
When you speak and present, do your listeners hear your passion? Would they be able to picture what you said through the colourful language you used?
Shared stories
To highlight points Henry predominantly shared stories
Many business presenters sacrifice the need for stories, analogies, examples, case studies, metaphors etc and instead populate their messages with heavy, dry and non memorable data.
History and now biological science has proven that the most attractive, interesting, engaging and memorable communications include a positive balance between data and visual imagery. What do you do to make your ideas and message vivid?
Gave abridged versions
Being of non Mayan decent, our international group could not relate to many of the historic places and themes Henry presented. Yet, Henry typically gave us three (3) important things to remember about any place or land mark.
Henry was very sensitive to boring his audience with too many details. Only when asked would Henry go deeper by providing more information, but he would always wait for an invite.
As you think about your own presentations, how simple are your explanations?
When ideas are simply explained, audience decisions are easier!
Retaining what our group learned isn't easy. Yet, Henry made all the difference. Therefore, think of yourself as a tour guide during your presentations and messages by carefully guiding people through your ideas.
By paying attention to Henry's fine tuned skills listed above, you will enhance your ability to communicate and present successfully!
All the best with your presentations!
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Thursday, February 18, 2016
LEADERSHIP - THE ART OF INFLUENCING OTHERS
"The
key to successful leadership is influence, not authority" - Ken Blanchard
Regardless
of your role in an organization, you need to persuade others to your point of
view.
Being
able to win people's cooperation is a critical skill for any business
professional. In fact, some say leadership means the ability to influence.
The good
news is that influence is a skill that can be learned. It requires paying
attention to the following important principles:
View your
idea from your listener's perspective(s). Before you open your mouth, consider
the impact of what you propose on your listeners. Will this inconvenience them?
Frighten them? Cause an increase in work load? When you see things from the
perspective of the other person, you become more sensitive.
Look for
common ground. People are less resistant when you can show them that your idea
considers their way of thinking. Your idea can help them gain what is important
to them.
Thoughtfully
and logically outline what you want your listener to do. Your job is to order,
clarify and intensify for your listeners.
Illustrate
your message so people can see it and hear it
Resist
saying too much. Follow the Rule of Three- three main ideas, not ten
Avoid
acronyms and buzz words that blur meaning. Steve Jobs said, "When ideas
are simply explained, decisions are easy."
Demonstrate
value. Show listeners why an idea is appropriate, necessary and in their best
interests. What proof can you offer to show your idea is worth it? Define and
quantify benefits, not just for the organization, but for the individual.
Be
yourself. Be genuine, sincere, and approachable. Demonstrate openness through
your body language. Pay attention to crossed arms, clenched fists, and intense
facial expressions. Watch the tone of your voice. Little things matter and will
be noticed.
Invite
questions. Carefully listen. Show you really want to understand any concerns.
Listen without interrupting or talking over. Avoid patronizing statements.
Validate or acknowledge the other person's way of thinking. Then, find the best
way to answer without being arrogant.
Be brief
Inspire.
Help people to believe. Passion is everything in the influence game. You can't
inspire unless you are inspiring. Feel your idea. Taste it. Passion causes a
tidal wave!
Think
Steve Jobs. Project a commanding presence. Look, act and sound confident.
Influencing
others doesn't happen by accident. It takes carefully paying attention to what
you say and how you say it.
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Sunday, January 31, 2016
7 STEPS TO PREPARE WINNING SALES PRESENTATIONS
The following shares 7 foundational steps used to create winning presentations that have resulted in millions of dollars worth of sales to date!
Step #1: WHO IS YOUR SLAM DUNK CLIENT?
The goal here is to nail down as closely as possible what we call “an Avatar” for your perfect client… the person who is the absolute “slam dunk” prospect for your offer – someone you can identify, someone you can reach either through your own list or one you buy, someone with whom you have a natural affinity – through age, occupation, hobby, lifestyle, condition, whatever.
Step #2: DESCRIBE YOUR POWER AND PROVE IT
What is your SINGLE greatest power as it relates to the problems/pains facing your IDEAL client? It’s important to pick a power that’s USEFUL to your prospect. If you can play guitar like a fiend, but they aren’t interested in that, you and your guitar don't matter.
So let’s say their biggest pain is hitting a drive down the fairway straight and long but they can’t and because of this, they are extremely frustrated.
In this case, your power could be that you can knock the ball 275 yards down any fairway regardless of wind, rain, or course conditions setting you up perfectly for your next shot…
AND you know how to transfer this skill to ANYONE with four easy steps!
That’s the important part… not only do you have the proven power to solve their deepest heartfelt need, you can literally transfer that power to THEM!
So… What do you do that your prospects would find amazing and walk across broken glass to learn the secret to?
Step #3 DESCRIBE YOUR OFFER IN DETAIL
Important: Remember that all the components of your offer provide the gasoline that powers the transformation you enable in your prospects’ lives – whether it’s hitting that ball down the fairway straight, long and true… enabling them to retire at 55 with a boatload of cash that’s safe and secure… or whatever.
Bottom line on offers… look at it and make sure that it’s as powerful and as good as you can possibly make it. It should be so good … and so perfectly targeted to fit the needs and wants and heal the pains of your prospects that they would be out of their minds to let it slip from their fingers.
Step #4 DESCRIBE THE PROSPECT’S TRANSFORMATION
Based on finally being able to accomplish the Proven Power that you were able to bestow, what is the ultimate outcome/transformation someone is going to experience after going through your product, program or service?
Make sure to include not only the transformation that has occurred, but also go into the difference the change has made to other clients.
For instance, “if I was suddenly able to consistently drive the golf ball long and straight down the fairway, I could lower my handicap dramatically…enter tournaments with the expectation of success…and best of all, totally STICK IT to my golfing buddies who’ve been ribbing me for years about driving the ball into the weeds on every tee shot. Now THAT’s a result I can’t wait to experience!”
Step #5 – DESCRIBE YOUR TEACHING POINTS
The “teaching” part of the presentation is where you give out some “how-to” information – all tied directly to the offer you will make them at end of your presentation.
If you had to come up with 3 to 4 steps for helping your prospect achieve the outcome they desire most, what would those four steps be?
Step #6 – TELL YOUR STORY
In your winning presentation, you will tell your story of struggle, pain and frustration… which led eventually to success, joy, and fulfilment.
Your story should contain the following elements:
- When you get started doing what you’re doing.
- Describe why you started doing what you’re doing.
- Use emotional language. Show your passion.
- Identify problems that you had when you got started
- Then talk about the solutions you looked for to solve these problems… talk about failures you had.
Talk about the breakthrough you had that enabled you to turn the corner and help you finally succeed.
Summarise your story in two to three sentences and tie it into the end result your product provides.
Step #7 – WHY WOULDN’T THEY BUY?
You’ve nailed down all the great elements of your offer – it’s features, benefits, transformational attributes, pricing, guarantee, etc. Now…
To make sure you can clinch the sale, you need to get inside their heads one last time and figure out all the reasons why they would NOT buy your product, program or service?
You want to answer all of your prospects objections during your presentation. Just write down every objection your prospect could have and then figure out how you are going to answer that objection in advance.
So there you have it, the 7 foundational steps for creating a winning sales presentation!
Yes, it is a lot of work but doing the work gives you all the ammunition you need to create an asset that can win more sales revenue!
All the best with your business communications!
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COMMUNICATION - CAN YOU BOIL DOWN YOUR IDEAS?
Quote from 'Inside Stephen Colbert's Creative Process':
‘As a writer it's most important to be able to take your idea, boil it down to the essentials, and convey it in a funny and timely manner to a room.
You might have the best idea but if you can’t explain your idea properly it’s never going to get picked’.
What’s the relevance of this quotation to you?
Simply this...
... When the pressure is on, can you boil down an idea to its essentials, and articulate it simply?
Let’s agree we all can get better at boiling down our ideas when under pressure. As William Strunk and EB White have memorably written in The Elements of Style, we need to ‘Omit needless words’.
Here's a practice tip to help boil down your ideas:
Find a family or friend’s 12-15 year old (if you don’t have one) and explain what you do in your work or a business idea you have – so they understand it, and can summarise your explanation.
Reflect on how much time you needed for your explanation, and on how well the teenager understood and could explain what you do.
Consider what words you could omit. Consider what re-sequencing of words/sentences might make the explanation clearer.
Small changes can matter. Consider this statement from a print journalist: ‘Put a comma in the wrong place, and it can mess up the whole sentence’.
All the best with your business communications!
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CEO WISDOM DISTILLED REGARDING YOUR PRESENTATION SKILLS
HAPPY NEW YEAR… It was a pleasure serving you during 2015 and we at EC trust you will benefit during 2016 from the complimentary tips, tools and advice we will share during 2016.
To start this year a fresh, you will enjoy the following quote:
“Few things seem to get CEOs riled up more than lengthy PowerPoint presentations!
It’s not the software they dislike as the software is just a tool
What irks CEO’s is the unfocused thinking that leads to overlong (boring) slide presentations
There is broad agreement that a major presentation problem is, “Death by PowerPoint”, which term has become a cliché, yet this does not stop masses of business people committing this presentation crime”.
The above quote is listed under the heading of ‘A simple mindset’ – one of five qualities that Adam Bryant maintains the best CEOs share, in his article Distilling the Wisdom of CEOs.
The other four qualities are: ‘Passionate Curiosity’, ‘Battle-Hardened Confidence’, ‘Team Smarts’ and ‘Fearlessness’
The article was adapted from Bryant’s book, The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed, published by Times Books.
The phrase “unfocused thinking’ resonates for many business leaders. Many business people don’t think as they should! They don’t think prior to a business pitch or before a boardroom presentation – Many times there is not enough thought invested into audience centric, tailored key message(s) the presenter needs the audience/person to retain and/or act upon.
Of course, presenters also have to deliver the message with conviction, in a simple way at the start of the presentation. If they did think – they’d cut down, and in some cases not need PowerPoint slides when they present.
We at EC recommend you read Bryant’s book or at least his article and use this CEO insight for all business presentation preparation, meeting or interaction.
All the best with your business presentations!
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YOU ARE A BRAND!
How often do you buy the same brand of toothpaste, food, beverage, clothing, phone, technology device, vehicle etc. because you like the brand?
Maybe you know people who follow similar buying patterns by sticking to their favourite brands.
Most people are loyal to particular brands because of things like their effectiveness, taste, price point, durability etc.
According to Wikipedia, a brand is a name, term, design, or other feature that differentiates one seller's product(s) from those of others.
Whether you like to see yourself this way or not, YOU are a brand!!!
What distinguishes YOU from other leaders, colleagues, external competition etc. is you personal brand.
Obviously, you want to present yourself in the best light, but there are some things that chip away at your personal brand. Protecting your personal brand requires constant monitoring and improvement.
The skills listed below will strengthen and ensure loyalty towards YOU as a brand.
First impressions matter
A bad first impression is difficult to erase. Be nice, be friendly. Be genuine. Always show your best self. Work at building relationships with others. Your brand depends on how others view you.
Look your best
You undoubtedly have heard the saying, "Dress for Success," but in today's business casual environment, we often lose sight of what that means. Professional attire varies depending on your occupation and the company where you work.
Poorly manicured nails or toes, scrubby facial hair, spotted or wrinkled anything will be noticed and affect your image.
What works for an "after hours" event may not be appropriate at the office. A good way to ensure that your appearance is polished is to notice how the Executives in your company dress - then emulate them.
Be crystal clear
Don't over-talk an issue or connect multiple thoughts to each other. Let your sentences come to a definite end. Avoid using a lot of acronyms. Resist turning nouns into verbs or vice versa.
A simple explanation is always the best bet, but as Steve Jobs once said, "Sometimes, you have to work darn hard to keep it simple."
Double check for accuracy
People really despise mistakes. They are costly. Decisions rest on the data or analysis you provide. Without checking your data for errors, your brand is at risk.
Be prepared
Be prepared, be prepared, be prepared!!! Managers and Executives can always spot the person who is unprepared.
Unprepared people don't anticipate what will be asked. They forget vital information. They aren't sure of the risks involved.
Follow through
If you say you are going to provide or do something by a specific time, then do it!!!
If, for whatever reason, you are not ready, you need to update the person requesting/expecting.
Being overloaded with work is not an acceptable excuse for poor follow-up!!!
Listen up
Listening takes effort, real effort. Most of us listen effectively only about 25% of the time.
When we don't listen carefully, mistakes happen or we answer incorrectly. Poor listening skills tar your brand.
Don't argue
Some of us are quick to temper. We blame others for events. It's always somebody else's fault. Accept when you are wrong and learn from your mistakes. It's never good to have a reputation of being feisty.
Be a good-finder, not a complainer
If you work for a company, be proud of what the company does. If you're not then do your leaders, colleagues and clients a favour... Simply leave in a professional and agreeable manner!!!
Don't whine about your managers to co-workers, relatives and neighbors because this is unprofessional. And, whilst the majority of people you complain to will not tell you the truth about your negative brand impression, the truth is... Complaining gets you nowhere!
Be honest.
Tell the truth every time. Don't gloss over events or hide bad news. People know things can go wrong, but they have little tolerance for someone not being honest or for someone who bends the truth.
Look people in the eye
People assess trustworthiness by whether or not you look them in the eye. Having fleeting eye contact is not okay. If you are guilty of this, you have again damaged your brand, maybe even irreparably.
Be helpful
Some people seem to hang a "Do not disturb" sign around them. Colleagues frequently have questions about a process or a procedure. They need help. Don't be the person people avoid.
Companies who are in business for a long time have worked hard to perfect their brand. They never risk their image. Your personal brand is who you are! Guard it. Protect it. Keep a close eye on what you do on a daily basis.
All the best with your personal branding!
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LEADERSHIP - DO YOU HAVE THE X FACTOR?
It's no wonder that talent contests like the international TV franchise 'The X Factor' is popular across so many nations and viewed by millions and millions of people.
Why?
Well one key reason is that many viewers like to witness, listen to and watch someone carry and demonstrate the natural gifts plus, learned and practiced skills that give a person the edge, or what commercially minded people call a differentiation!
Trust is a leader's X factor to accomplishing things faster, better and with fewer resources. However, trust must be earned. It cannot be taken for granted. A lot of leaders give lip service to wanting to build a trusting environment, but yet they do very little to actually promote it.
Establishing a culture of trust takes a top down initiative
A necessary element in building trust is open communication. People need their leaders to share the company's priorities and what they need to do. As an employee, they want the opportunity to voice their concerns and get their questions answered. When workers feel they are "in the know," they become more satisfied and productive. They contribute ideas that will lead to things like greater efficiency or cost savings.
Some executives think because they have an annual meeting, they are building a trusting environment. Communication that is effective should happen often, whether it is done formally or informally, face to face or virtually.
The retiring CEO of RW Baird, Paul Purcell, has promoted open communication throughout his 22 year tenure at RW Baird. He makes a point to respond to any email within 24 hours. One of the reasons people see RW Baird as a great place to work is because employees feel they can communicate all the way to the top and be heard.
When and if there is a crisis, some Executives mistakenly believe the best course of action is not to say anything until everything is known or decided. The opposite is true. Communication should be done early and often; otherwise, the rumor mill will take over.
Employees should never hear about their company through the news media. Every employee, whether they are in India, China or Chicago, needs to know what the company's situation is and how to respond when asked.
Real leaders build trust through the way they communicate. They walk the talk and create channels of communication that give employees the opportunity to discuss issues of concern at any time. They are open to feedback and solicit it.
When leaders need to listen, they do so objectively. When they respond, it is in a respectful, non-defensive manner. Trusted leaders demonstrate respect, integrity and compassion in what they say and do. Because of this, their employees are more collaborative and innovative. Their companies are more successful.
All the best with your leadership!
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