See You Next Year. Have A Great Holiday!
Just one last thought for this year -- about a young man who suffered a major spinal injury in a car accident.
Doctors told his family he would never walk again -- something his family dared no tell him.
So unaware of his future this young man I heard about lay in a hospital bed practicing the deep breathing exercises he regularly used in combination with Tai chi before the accident to build and keep his body in excellent physical condition.
He also mentally practiced the Tai chi movements that he used to go through every day before his accident.
After about two weeks he miraculously could move a finger and some six months later was back in his Tai chi class going through the beginner's exercises which he went through very slowly.
As a result of all of this this young man,Randy, did recover. So never say something is impossible. With the right "tools" and determination you can accomplish just about anything in your professional and personal life.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Choosing Words Is Critical
Words you use to express your ideas are critical; make sure you choose carefully and have strong support for every word you use.
Nothing illustrates the need for this in any type of presentation more clearly than what happened after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.
When the building owner made an insurance claim on these two destroyed towers he said there were "two" distinct attacks. But the insurance company objected to this description, saying there was only one event or attack.
The owner originally said there were two attacks because close to half an hour separated the two airplane crashes -- to which the insurance company said in effect, "No. There was only one event.
The matter is now in court because if the building owner erred and cannot support his claim they he stands to lose big time. If the insurance company can prove there was only one event then instead of paying some seven-billion dollars they will have to pay only three-billion.
Of course not everything you say will be put under this much scrutiny, but this case does make the point that for whatever you say or words you use you must have enough evidence to support them.
Nothing illustrates the need for this in any type of presentation more clearly than what happened after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.
When the building owner made an insurance claim on these two destroyed towers he said there were "two" distinct attacks. But the insurance company objected to this description, saying there was only one event or attack.
The owner originally said there were two attacks because close to half an hour separated the two airplane crashes -- to which the insurance company said in effect, "No. There was only one event.
The matter is now in court because if the building owner erred and cannot support his claim they he stands to lose big time. If the insurance company can prove there was only one event then instead of paying some seven-billion dollars they will have to pay only three-billion.
Of course not everything you say will be put under this much scrutiny, but this case does make the point that for whatever you say or words you use you must have enough evidence to support them.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
How Effectively Do You Plan?
How effectively do you plan for your presentation, whether its before a large or small audience?
According to Arch Lustberg, in his book Winning When It Really Counts, speakers and presenters often fail miserably at this He says, "It's a pity that we rarely do the right things to get ready to give a presentation to an audience. We worry a lot. We make a lot of false starts. We go through a lot of self doubt and agony."
I know what he means but there are things you can do to eliminate all or much of this, such as using one of those portable flip charts stands -- loaded with a lot of blank sheets.
By setting one of these up in your home office you can easily plan, organize and continually update your presentation by creating your presentation or speech outline on it. You'll find it much easier to edit and revise your material as well as add new thoughts by having your outlined quickly accessible in this way.
You can use any type of outline you find works best for you, either the traditional with its linear layout complete with the hierarchy of numbers and letters and indentations for major and supporting points -- the type probably still used in many schools today -- or one of the newer techniques such as clustering and Mind Mapping.
If you have not used this outlining technique before Mind Mapping is the method that using a central main point written on a large sheet of paper with supporting material outlined on branches set off around this
I find the Mind Mapping better because its easier to see relationships between all your different ideas as well to make quick changes or additions to the outline. And it is also possible to keep an electronic version on your computer if you find it awkward to use the "ancient" flip chart method.
Using either method will help you to eliminate much of that pre-presentation agony Lustberg was was talking about not only because Mind Mapping makes it easy to continually refine and update your material but also because Mind Mapping, because of its graphic format, helps you to remember what you want to say
For more information on Mind Mapping click on: www.thinkbuzan.com or www.thorsons.com/buzan and you'll come up with a wealth of ideas that can help you get started on this.
According to Arch Lustberg, in his book Winning When It Really Counts, speakers and presenters often fail miserably at this He says, "It's a pity that we rarely do the right things to get ready to give a presentation to an audience. We worry a lot. We make a lot of false starts. We go through a lot of self doubt and agony."
I know what he means but there are things you can do to eliminate all or much of this, such as using one of those portable flip charts stands -- loaded with a lot of blank sheets.
By setting one of these up in your home office you can easily plan, organize and continually update your presentation by creating your presentation or speech outline on it. You'll find it much easier to edit and revise your material as well as add new thoughts by having your outlined quickly accessible in this way.
You can use any type of outline you find works best for you, either the traditional with its linear layout complete with the hierarchy of numbers and letters and indentations for major and supporting points -- the type probably still used in many schools today -- or one of the newer techniques such as clustering and Mind Mapping.
If you have not used this outlining technique before Mind Mapping is the method that using a central main point written on a large sheet of paper with supporting material outlined on branches set off around this
I find the Mind Mapping better because its easier to see relationships between all your different ideas as well to make quick changes or additions to the outline. And it is also possible to keep an electronic version on your computer if you find it awkward to use the "ancient" flip chart method.
Using either method will help you to eliminate much of that pre-presentation agony Lustberg was was talking about not only because Mind Mapping makes it easy to continually refine and update your material but also because Mind Mapping, because of its graphic format, helps you to remember what you want to say
For more information on Mind Mapping click on: www.thinkbuzan.com or www.thorsons.com/buzan and you'll come up with a wealth of ideas that can help you get started on this.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Make Your Ideas Contagious!
Make your ideas contagious. Speak with enthusiasm; such enthusiasm will not only hold the interest or your listeners it will also be more apt to motivate them.
But this enthusiasm can't be faked. The first step in this your honest belief in what you're talking about. If you have this belief and an honest conviction that your listeners really need to hear and will benefit from what you want to share with them your facial expressions, gestures, and voice will almost automatically be enthusiastic.
This enthusiasm will be almost automatic because there could still be things you have to work on more mechanically. If you're the kind of person who can speak either for or against the Mayan prophecy that it is all over for us earthlings on December 21, 2012 in a deadpan tone then you may need or make an extra effort to be more expressive ( See our or thoughts on belief and conviction above). or there might be some portions of your presentation requiring extra enthusiasm -- such as when you have to tell workers that their acceptance of a pay cut will eventually work out not only for the benefit of the company but also for them and their families -- or you might want have to inject new life into material that you might have covered numerous times before.
The way to overcome this last problem is to do continual research to come with new nuggets of information that excite you. It doesn't have to be something totally new or some that provides a fresh perspective to to the topic.
All of this will help you to make your ideas more contagious and move your audience to action
But this enthusiasm can't be faked. The first step in this your honest belief in what you're talking about. If you have this belief and an honest conviction that your listeners really need to hear and will benefit from what you want to share with them your facial expressions, gestures, and voice will almost automatically be enthusiastic.
This enthusiasm will be almost automatic because there could still be things you have to work on more mechanically. If you're the kind of person who can speak either for or against the Mayan prophecy that it is all over for us earthlings on December 21, 2012 in a deadpan tone then you may need or make an extra effort to be more expressive ( See our or thoughts on belief and conviction above). or there might be some portions of your presentation requiring extra enthusiasm -- such as when you have to tell workers that their acceptance of a pay cut will eventually work out not only for the benefit of the company but also for them and their families -- or you might want have to inject new life into material that you might have covered numerous times before.
The way to overcome this last problem is to do continual research to come with new nuggets of information that excite you. It doesn't have to be something totally new or some that provides a fresh perspective to to the topic.
All of this will help you to make your ideas more contagious and move your audience to action
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Listen to Voices That Move You
Improve the quality of your own voice by listening to a library of other voices that you admire or move you. That is the advice of speech coach Lilyan Wilder.
Listen to voices you like, that draw you to them. For speech coach Lilyan Wilder it was singer/actor, Paul Robeson whose voice had an "aliveness, vibrance, trueness and honesty of tone; singer/actor Yves Montrand who to her had (among other qualities) "the sexiest sound ...ever heard"; actress Ruby Dee, whose voice has "a musical quality, a perky insinuating "listen to me' quality ...a pleasantness and authority that command and invite, a warm humanness about her sound."
If you listen attentively and repeatedly to such voices you like you'll pick up desirable qualities without effort -- by osmosis -- and gradually many of these qualities will become part of your own vocal characteristics -- without any need to try and imitate the speakers or other vocal artists you listen to -- which would be disastrous.
Vocal qualities developed in this way will reinforce or enhance your natural deep feelings for your subject -- and your audience.
Vocal qualities developed in this way will reinforce or enhance your natural deep feelings for your subject -- and your audience.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Keep It Natural
You wouldn't dream of getting up on the stage, wearing a mask to hide your identity (unless if that was the part you're playing of course), so don't put on a vocal mask. Don't try to be somebody else -- no matter how well-known or respected or skilled they are.
Be yourself. Be natural. Speak exactly the same way you speak to friends, associates or acquaintances.
A good way to develop this naturalness when preparing your presentation is focus on ideas you want to share -- not exact wording -- unless referring to some technical or precise name of something or some step by step process. Make your presentation as much like a conversation with your audience as possible.
Of course this naturalness is not the same as carelessness. You still want to use good grammar, good pronunciation, a clear voice, and a good word choice, using either formal or colloquial expressions depending on your subject matter and audience. In most cases avoid slang or substandard English.
Be yourself. Be natural. Speak exactly the same way you speak to friends, associates or acquaintances.
A good way to develop this naturalness when preparing your presentation is focus on ideas you want to share -- not exact wording -- unless referring to some technical or precise name of something or some step by step process. Make your presentation as much like a conversation with your audience as possible.
Of course this naturalness is not the same as carelessness. You still want to use good grammar, good pronunciation, a clear voice, and a good word choice, using either formal or colloquial expressions depending on your subject matter and audience. In most cases avoid slang or substandard English.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)