How to Speak with Confidence - Part 3

The time to relax

is when you don't have time for it.

(Sydney J. Harris)

Speaking in public is often cited as the number one fear of adults, and certainly a number of my clients have felt that way.  They come to me because they want to be sure they present themselves well and that their message is received effectively.

I recently read an article by Richard M. Highsmith who was a senior instructor for The Leader's Institute, where he looks at some techniques to deal with the anxiety of public speaking and some tips on how to give an excellent presentation.  His methods are divided into the acronym P.R.E.P.A.R.E.

In Part 1 we looked at Preparation, Rehearse and Entry.  In Part 2 we examined Posturing and Audience and in this Part we shall explore Relax and Ending.

RELAX

Remember the physical reaction you experience in front of a group are normal.  When confronted with a stimulating situation the body resorts to the 'fight or flight' response.  Your pulse increases.  Adrenaline releases into your bloodstream.  Your body prepares for a physical response but you have to stay put!

Sometimes your mind generates negative thoughts.  Michael Pritchard said, "Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed.'  Deal with fear by building a solid foundation (know your topic!) and feel confident in your message.  Take a few deep breaths.  Mild exercise or stretching can disperse some of the anxious energy. Smile.

ENDING

Like the touchdown of an airplane, your presentation must be landed correctly.  Begin the end by summarising your key points.  Next, ask for audience questions and clarify any remaining issues.  Then make your closing statement, which should encourage some action.  What do you want the audience to do?  Memorising the last few lines ensures a strong close.  Finally, smile and nod your head.

If the thought of speaking in public makes you anxious, you probably will be.  If you P.R.E.P.A.R.E however, the level of your anxiety will be lower and you will deliver a better, more effective speech.

Contact me at Nicholl Consultancy, if you would like to improve your public speaking techniques.

Until next time - be successful!

Sharon

How to Speak with Confidence - Part 2

"The mind is a wonderful thing.
It starts working the minute you are born
and never stops until ....
you get up to speak in public!"


(Roscoe Drumond)

Speaking in public is often cited as the number one fear of adults, and certainly a number of my clients have felt that way.  They come to me because they want to be sure they present themselves well and that their message is received effectively.

I recently read an article by Richard M Highsmith who was a senior instructor for The Leader's Institute, where he looks at some techniques to deal with the anxiety of public speaking and some tips on how to give an excellent presentation.  His methods are divided into the acronym P.R.E.P.A.R.E

In Part 1 of my blog I covered P - preparation, R - rehearse and E - entry.

Here in Part 2 - we are looking at:

P - Posturing

A - Audience.

POSTURING

Your body is a tool.  Learn to use it effectively.  Find your centre of balance.  Your feet should be firmly planted about shoulder width apart.  Hold your shoulders back and chin up.  Stand calmly, being careful not to fidget or sway.  Let your hands rest by your sides.

Don't wander around the room.  If you want to go to a different location - go there and then stop.  Speak to one person at a time and maintain eye contact.

Your voice has volume, tone and pace.  Realise you will speak faster and at a higher pitch than you did when you were rehearsing.  Be aware of this tendency. Talk lower and slower.  Speak loudly enough so everyone in the room can hear you but not so loudly that the people in the front rows are covering their ears.

AUDIENCE

Know who you are talking to.  Don't be like William Safire who asked, 'Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.' What does your audience know about the topic? Try to anticipate their questions.  During the presentation, seek reactions, questions and concerns.  This makes you appear accessible and allows you to move through the topic with your audience following closely along.


If possible, greet audience members as they arrive.  Ask why they came or about their interests in the topic.  Adjust your presentation plans to better meet their needs.  Finally, keep in mind the audience is not your enemy - they want you to succeed. Nobody came to watch you flail or fail.  Engage people and make them partners in your successful talk.


Still not feeling comfortable? Why not contact me at Nicholl Consultancy and we can explore this together.


Until Part 3, when we explore R = Relax and E = Ending, be successful!


Bye for Now,


Sharon 

How to Speak with Confidence - Part 1

"Launching your presentation

is as important as the takeoff of an airplane.

If the lift-off fails, the rest of the trip becomes irrelevant."

(Richard M. Highsmith)

Speaking in public is often cited as the number one fear of adults, and certainly a number of my clients have felt that way.  They come to me because they want to be sure they present themselves well and that their message is received effectively.

I recently read an article by Richard M. Highsmith who was a senior instructor for The Leader's Institute, where he looks at some techniques to deal with the anxiety of public speaking and some tips on how to give an excellent preparation.  His methods are divided into the acronym P.R.E.P.A.R.E.

In Part 1 of this blog, I shall share with you:

P = Preparation

R = Rehearse

E = Entry

in Part 2, we shall look at:

P = Posturing

A = Audience

and in Part 3, we shall explore:

R - Relax and

E = Ending.

PREPARATION

The foundation of a good speech is built on the six 'W's' of effective journalism: who, what, when, where, why and hoW.  You must determine:

1. Who is your audience?
2. What are your key points?
3. When are you speaking and for how long?
4. Where are you giving the speech? What are the physical surroundings?
5. Why should the audience listen to you?
6. hoW are you going to present?

In an effective speech, you can only deliver three or four main ideas.  Think about your audience, the amount of time you have, what media you are using to support your presentation and the physical surroundings.  Decide on the essential ideas vital for understanding your topic.  These are your key points.  Make a comprehensive outline with supporting detail, quotes and graphics.

REHEARSE

Practise is essential.  Begin by reading through the detailed outline of your speech.  Check your timing during this rehearsal.  When you are comfortable with the material, move on to a key-word outline.  Don't attempt to memorise the entire speech.  Keep practising with your key-word outline until you are familiar with the material and its sequence.  Mark Twain said, 'It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.' Your delivery should be conversational, seemingly impromptu yet backed up with a thorough knowledge of the material.

Watch yourself in the mirror.  Observe your facial expressions and gestures.  Recheck the timing of your talk.  If possible, video yourself or have someone you trust listen to you practise.  Ask them to tell you what you're doing right as well as give suggestions for improvement.  Accept their criticism gratefully, even if you don't agree with them.

ENTRY

Launching your presentation is as important as the takeoff of an airplane.  Determine how you are going to start your speech and commit the first several lines to memory.  An excellent beginning includes telling the audience why they want to listen.  What is the benefit to them?

If you are particularly nervous, look for a sympathetic face and talk to that person for several moments. Do not begin with an apology .... 'I didn't have much time to prepare this talk.' Or 'I'm not really very good at giving speeches.' Starting with a negative makes the audience uncomfortable.  Remember you feel more anxious than you look.  Convert your nervous energy into enthusiasm and launch your speech positively.

Part 2 coming soon ....

If you have a public speaking opportunity coming up and would like to talk to me about it, then contact me at Nicholl Consultancy.

Until next time - be successful!

Sharon

Quality 7 of a Great Leader

A Great Leader pays attention to improving oneself as a Leader

The biggest room in the world 

is the room for improvement.

(Unknown)

Let's now examine Quality 7 required by a great leader, as extracted from an article by Business Link.

Leadership author Warren Bennis stresses the importance of ongoing self-development, and observes that being a manager does not necessarily provide the best foundation for being a leader.

"There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important.  To manage means to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct.  Leading is influencing guiding in a direction, course, action, opinion.  The distinction is crucial."

In "Learning to Lead: A Workbook on Becoming a Leader", Bennis illustrates specific differences between managers and leaders:

• The manager administers; the leader innovates.
• The manager maintains; the leader develops.
• The manager focuses on systems and structures; the leader focuses on people.
• The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
• The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
• The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
• The manager has their eye always on the bottom line; the leader has their eye on the horizon.
• The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

Whether or not you agree with every one of these contrasts, it is apparent that distinctions can be made between management and leadership.  Self-development and training are thus of vital importance to leaders, particularly those coming from management backgrounds.

You might feel pressured to excel at everything, from leadership to the ins and outs of finance, marketing and operations. But Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks, says that Bennis once told him that leadership relies on "your ability to leave your own ego at the door" and recognise the skills and traits required to build a successful organisation.  This admission helps to identify areas for self-development, but also allows you to surround yourself with people who possess the skills you are lacking.

Contact me at Nicholl Consultancy, if you would like to explore this further.

I look forward to hearing from you and in the meantime, be successful!

Kind regards - Sharon

Quality 6 of a Great Leader

Let's now examine the 6th quality required by a great leader, as extracted from an article by Business Link.

There go the people
 I must follow them 

for I am their leader.

Alexandre Ledru-Rollin

Quality 6 - A Great Leader shows People why they are important to realising the company vision, enables people to achieve goals by providing support, training and freedom and establishes trust.


By focusing on creating an open and nurturing company culture, leaders can inspire people to do great work, improve and communicate openly in the interests of the business - all with the ultimate goal of realising the leadership vision.


Manage and Nurture
Some management control is necessary to ensure that people properly undertake their roles.  But rather than control, great leaders inspire people to do great work by showing them why their roles are important to realising the company vision.  Connecting job roles and strategy also highlights areas where training and development could increase people's individual contributions to strategic success.


Communicate
Direct communication ensures your vision and strategy are heard, understood and respected.  Open dialogue provides valuable employee insights, such as employee issues or ideas for improvement.  Leaders should listen and act when insights provide opportunities to improve company culture or business performance.


Be Honest and Clear
"Trust is a key factor" says leadership author Warren Bennis; "honesty and candour at the top helps. When executives speak their minds, they encourage their peers and subordinates to do the same".  Bob Sutton, from Stanford University, adds that leaders should "come clean", even when there is bad news, and be clear with the signals they send out.


Recognise People
A government-funded survey found that 61% of employees questioned said they wanted to work for leaders that give credit for good ideas.  And an Economist study, "Innovation: Transforming the way business creates", found that the best way to encourage innovation is through "public recognition by leaders". Recognising people and achievements not only boosts employee motivation and trust - it spurs innovation too.


If you would like to examine your leadership qualities, then please contact me through Nicholl Consultancy.


Until next time - be successful!
Sharon

Quality 5 of a Great Leader

"Daring ideas are like chessman moved forward;

they may be beaten,

but they may start a winning game"

Goethe

Let's now examine the 5th Quality required by a great leader, as extracted from an article by Business Link.

Quality 5 - A great leader pursues, encourages and supports Innovation and positive change.

Innovate = Introduce something new.

By articulating innovation priorities and introducing measures to encourage and support innovative thinking, leaders can create positive change that directly links back to the leadership vision and strategy.

In a global survey entitled "How companies approach innovation", from McKinsey & Company, 94% of senior executives said that "people and corporate cultures are the most important drivers of innovation". In discussing these findings, McKinsey & Company say that the first step towards producing an innovative culture is "to formally integrate innovation into the strategic-management agenda of senior leaders .... In this way, innovation can be not only encouraged but also managed, tracked and measured as a core element in a company's growth aspirations". A sentiment echoed in an article from Business Week, which comments: "Ideas generation shouldn't be the starting point for innovation ... An innovation agenda is key ...

Leadership plays a big role here - it is the responsibility of management to articulate priorities."

To progress their agenda, leaders should explore methods for generating ideas (such as group brainstorming or collaborative innovation), and the various different ways to innovate (such as problem solving, simplifying or creating new offerings). Making continual improvement a performance measured objective for all employees, which acknowledges innovation through employee recognition may also be beneficial.

Other leadership priorities include freeing up the required management support and business resources for innovation, and fostering a culture that accepts failure as a potential part of the innovation process.

If you feel that working with me would help you explore innovative ways to grow your business then please get in touch with me at Nicholl Consultancy.

Until next time, be successful!

Regards - Sharon

Quality 4 of a Great Leader

Change is not a destination,

just as hope is not a strategy.

(Rudy Giuliani)

Let's now examine the fourth quality required by a great leader, as extracted from an article by Business Link.

Quality 4 - A great leader ensures the vision connects with Business Strategy and Operations.

Firstly, let's clarify what we mean by strategy - this is a master plan for achieving a major goal and operations are an organised action involving a number of people to deliver the strategy.

Senior management in any company need to have regular, probably monthly, meetings that focus only on strategy. While it is important to discuss short-term operational issues, strategy meetings should occur separately. In that way, each meeting has its own frequency, agenda, information system and participation.

If at all possible it would be advisable to have an administrator or "Strategy Officer" to coordinate these strategy meetings. They would not create strategy or operational tactics and have no authority or accountability for its execution. However, they would schedule the meetings, ensure the appropriate people show up at the meetings, they would attend and take notes at the meetings to ensure that the actions decided upon are carried out with the ultimate aim of coordinating strategy execution.

Strong leadership is both necessary and sufficient for successful strategy execution. No organisation can successfully execute strategy without proactive leadership overseeing its implementation.

Build on strong leadership with a systematic approach

Quality management systems could further support strategy execution. Set up systems which define and develop business processes and activities in order to meet the strategic objectives. Ensure that key processes and activities are effective and efficient, and that responsibilities for managing, evaluating and improving processes are clear. The involvement of people, ensure that employees understand their individual roles, and how they contribute to the strategy and ensure constraints such as skills gaps are plugged through development, training and knowledge sharing.

If you find this easier to achieve by working with me, then please get in touch with me through Nicholl Consultancy.

Until next time - be a successful leader!

Sharon