Get them to listen!

 

Talking to others, making our point and pitch our idea are key to success on our road in life. Much is said and done about the content of our presentations, little about the way how to do it.

How to do it is much more important than the words we use!

Mark Twain said, “All suffers from stage fright, those that do not are liars." It is one of the top fears in life to stand in front of an audience.

Some keys to overcome and be a great success:

• Ask who the audience is. Talk about their needs and how we can solve it. We all need safety, belonging, self-esteem, self-actualization, we are curious, neatness, sympathy, spirituality, achievement, revenge, adventure and danger, fear and resolve, humor and play. Give some of it!
• The first and last sentences will make or break. Start with a surprise, a story works the best by far. Self-effacing humor or an open question. End by leaving them wondering and yearning for more. Drop an unexpected twist in the tail!
• Use your voice. Talk loader and softer, talk slowly and leave spaces between the sentences for the audience to pick up.
• Body language. Never ever touch your body. Closed arms is showing fear, hands in the pockets are “I do not care”. Touch the face shows insecurity. Show a lot, always with open palms. Never fidget. Walk a bit, but keep slow and limited to make a point. Be enthusiastic and show it.
• Eyes are mirror of the soul. Look at each part of the audience for about five to ten seconds. Anything more is glaring anything less is sweeping. Include the whole audience … always.
• A visual aid is, well … a visual aid. It has one purpose only to emphasize things that cannot be said. Reading off endless bulleted points with long sentences borders on stupidity as the audience can read faster than we can talk. They are bored and experiences the inability of the speaker. Use pictures, diagrams and less than six words. Keep simple abiding by the T shirt rule! Keep the background dark, dark blue is the best to avoid sore eyes. Use physical things as it is always a surprise.
• Leave them with three emotions, “I did not know that!”, “I never thought of it this way!” and leave an inspiring message, “It touched my heart.”
• Touch the heart. The way we use words makes a big difference. Avoid adjectives, “I am a vibrant and proactive team player … ” Nobody believes it, rather downplay yourself and let them guess.  
• Avoid the double negative, “Do not close the door” Rather say, “keep the door open”. Use words as “because”, “imagine” and “agree”.
• Above all: SMILE!

Mastering this step by step is the most important skill on the road towards getting our ideas and products accepted. Be aware of and practice, practice and practice over and over.

reference:

Scholtz, G.J. (2013) The keys to persuasion, Cape Town, Zebra Press.