If you give presentations to groups, here are 3 things to ensure your success and AVOID embarrassment. Whether you are a paid speaker, promote your business or book through giving presentations, or lead team meetings, these 3 tips will be useful.
1) INCLUDE YOUR WHY
The first is to craft a presentation that is a reflection of who you are. This means including your “why”, your values or your mission. Doing this can save you years of frustration. People want to know why you’re talking about your topic, What’s important to you? What’s driving you?
Here’s a 1-page Explore Your Why worksheet, if you don’t already know why you’re sharing this topic.
If you look at the top 20 TED talks almost all of them share a mission to make a difference in the world. For example:
- Sir Ken Robinson – creativity is as important as literacy
- Amy Cuddy – empower people through better body language
Get clarity on your mission and express it when you do a persuasive presentation. It’s a game changer.
Expressing your “why” will magnetize more ideal customers, supporters and team members. If you’re vague, then people don’t know how to relate to you or how to refer you.
2) MATCH YOUR WHY WITH A HUNGRY AUDIENCE
The second is to match your “why” with a hungry audience. Don’t try to sell a space heater to people living in the tropics. Also, don’t try to be all things to all people, you will serve no one.
It would be better to pick an audience you can really relate to, where you already have credibility. Don’t be afraid to get specific. For example, an author on helping people through transitions could never get much traction. Everyone is always in some kind of transition. When she focused on lawyers wanting to transition to a more fulfilling career, then she got traction. It was also much easier to find groups to speak to. She started with one women lawyers group and then ended up speaking to those types of groups all over the world.
Think of a specific demographic that could benefit from your offerings. Especially if you are just starting out. The examples you use and the solutions you offer will also feel more relevant to your listeners.
3) FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTHS
Thirdly, focus on your strengths and not your weaknesses. For example, many introverts think they need to be extroverted to be a good public speaker. The truth is, some of the best presenters in the world, such as Obama, Eckhart Tolle, and Brene Brown, are all introverts.
Instead of trying to hide your quirkiness, highlight it. People will remember you more and appreciate the authenticity. For example, a client of mine had streaks of purple hair. She was going to dye it back to normal, but I encouraged her to keep it. She ended up using that color in all her branding, and it made her stand out from her competition and get more referrals
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Try the FREE D.A.N.C.E. Personality Style Quiz to find out your Presentation Personality Style. Are you a Demonstrator, Assertor, Narrator, Contemplator or Expert? Once you do the quiz, you’ll get your score and can read about the 5 styles.
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Take advantage of our Presentation Prosperity Speech Writing Program. It’s on sale only once a year, for a very limited time, right now. Get start-to-finish help on creating a presentation that wins clients, supporters and standing ovations!
ou are a paid speaker, speak to promote your business, or lead team meetings, these 3 tips will be useful.
1) INCLUDE YOUR MISSION AND VALUES
The first is to craft a presentation that is a reflection of who you are. This means including your values and your mission. Doing this can save you years of frustration. People follow speakers with a mission, rather than someone just doing their business for the money or because they have to.
If you look at the top 20 TED talks almost all of them share a mission to make a difference in the world. For example:
- Sir Ken Robinson – creativity is as important as literacy
- Amy Cuddy – empower people through better body language
Get clarity on your mission and express it when you do a persuasive presentation. It’s a game changer. You will magnetize more ideal fans, customers, supporters and team members. If you’re vague, then people don’t know how to relate to you or refer you.
2) MATCH YOUR MISSION WITH A HUNGRY AUDIENCE
The second is to match your mission with a hungry audience. Don’t try to sell a space heater to someone living on the equator. And don’t try to be all things to all people, you will serve no one.
Think of a specific demographic that could benefit from your offerings: ideas, products, services or business opportunity. Especially if you are just starting out you’ll get far more traction if you focus. For example, the words you use in a presentation designed for new mothers won’t be nearly as effective as a presentation for retired teachers.
It takes lots of editing to get your presentation just right, so pick a niche, a community, a demographic that you can really relate to.
3) FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTHS AND NOT YOUR WEAKNESSES
Thirdly, focus on your strengths and not your weaknesses. For example, many introverts think they need to be extroverted to be a good public speaker. The truth is, some of the best presenters in the world, such as Obama, Eckhart Tolle, and Brene Brown, are all introverts. Also, some people are quirky and unusual.
Instead of trying to hide your quirkiness, highlight it. People will remember you more and appreciate the authenticity. An extreme example of this is the late David Bowie, who took a risk to be entirely different and it paid off handsomely.
The trick to being a great presenter is to be true to your self.
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Try the FREE D.A.N.C.E. Personality Style Quiz to find out your Presentation Personality Style. Are you a Demonstrator, Assertor, Narrator, Contemplator or Expert? Once you do the quiz, you’ll get your score and can read about the 5 styles.
=========================================================
Take advantage of our Presentation Prosperity Speech Writing Program. It’s on sale for a very limited time right now. Get start-to-finish help on creating a presentation that wins clients, supporters and standing ovations!
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