Can You Spot 10 Mistakes?
TJ Walker posted a video online with some common speaking blunders. Win a prize if you can
spot them -- A contest from TJ Walker and Media Training Worldwide
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The beginning of a presentation is a touchy time. On the one hand, you are feeling nervous and might not be quite sure of yourself yet. And on the other hand, the audience is nervous for a different reason; they are worried that you might be about to bore them to death and perhaps they should have brought more reading material, called in sick or located some cyanide tablets—everyone including you is on edge!
So that’s why people like to start off a presentation with a joke. The only problem is that it’s hard to by funny. My advice? Don’t bother. After all, you aren’t trying to get booked at the local Comedy Cellar on Saturday night—so don’t give yourself all the pressure of trying to be funny on demand—you aren’t a trained seal!
To be a pretty good presenter you only have to make one decision about two options when it comes to starting your speech. #1 Are you going to talk about yourself? Or #2 Are you going to talk about something that is remotely interesting to your audience?
If you are George Clooney, you can talk about yourself and people will find that interesting. If you are not a famous movie star, my recommendation is to talk about something of interest to your audience within the first 5 seconds of opening your mouth.
Most awful presenters spend the first five minutes saying the following boring stuff: I’m happy to be here, thank you for that wonderful introduction, here’s what I studied in college, here’s the boring history of my company, here are all the cities my company is in that you don’t care about because you are in this city, here are the 14 points I’m going to cover in my presentation today (and since I will cover them later you don’t have to pay attention now), and the bathrooms are down the hall and on the right. Have you fallen asleep yet?
To be a pretty good presenter, all you have to do is focus your attention on your audience and not yourself at the beginning of a presentation. Imagine if you started a presentation with “I was just in the hallway talking to Jim and he said ‘TJ, I’ve just lost my best customer because he says my prices are too high. What can I do?’”” That might not be a brilliant opening to a speech, but it’s pretty good, and here’s why: 1. Jim is listening because I’ve mentioned him by name. 2. Everyone else can relate to the problem of one of their colleagues and so now they are listening. 3. Everyone is surprised that this is the first thing out of my mouth because they expected me to stare down at notes and go through the usual cliches of being happy to be there etc. 4. I appear to be supremely confident because I seem to be speaking off-script and ad-libbing (even though the opening was planned)
More Insights from TJ Walker & Jess Todtfeld
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Videos
from TJ Walker
Gaining Respect from your Audience during your Presentation
To attain more respect from an audience, perhaps even earn guru status, is to proclaim, “I don’t have all the answers!”
Only the insecure and the pompous (these people are usually the same) pretend to have all of the answers.
Nobody can know the answer to every problem.
If you focus on your true expertise, you can help people in your audience come up with their own solutions.
Occasionally admitting to less than omniscience will enhance your credibility.
If, after hearing you speak, audience members come up with their own solutions to their own problems, you will be rewarded with the ultimate label: Guru - and it won’t be the self-anointed variety.
Handling Being Attacked in a Radio Interview
The more radio you do, the more TV requests you will receive.
If a caller starts trashing you repeatedly and the host doesn’t intervene, just start talking in a calm voice.
You will drown out the negative message of the caller and yet still appear to be calm.
Don’t worry about who might call. You have no control over that.
Never let a host see you shaking.
If you are in the studio with a host who is ripping you apart, don’t be afraid to sit closer and touch his arm and smile. It will be harder for him to be nasty to you.
Upcoming Events
March 30, 2010
9:00 pm
During this TeleClass TJ will discuss:
- How to create action when you speak
- Body language: A few small changes equal big results
- PowerPoint: How to avoid putting people to sleep
- The best ways to quickly put your presentation together
- The secret to knowing every message and every PowerPoint slide without memorizing them!
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