William Edwards Deming, famous for contributing to Japan’s reputation for high quality innovative products in the years following the second world war, once said, “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
As a coach and advisor to senior executives, I have found that most executives do not have a process for one of their key requirements: the need to communicate clearly, effectively and persuasively with their direct reports, clients, investors, media and peers. They don’t have a process to think through the presentation or interview or speech. They don’t have a checklist to ensure they are thoroughly prepared for key moments. If you asked, they can only give vague statements to being “almost ready” or “I’ve made some slides”. Given the importance of an executive’s public face, this is a glaring gap. People judge you based on how you come across in public meetings and presentations. They make decisions on your ability to lead and direct an organisation based on how concisely and engagingly you can convey company strategy and change initiatives.
What can a process do to improve your public speaking or influencing ability:
It reduces your time to prepare. A checklist focuses your attention systematically so that you only spend time on the essentials. I have found that using a checklist cuts down preparation time substantially. In fact, I have reduced my preparation time to under 18 minutes (excluding rehearsals).
It increases your confidence. By going through a process you can be sure that you have covered all the major points. You reduce your anxiety around not knowing what the audience wants, you lower your stress by reassuring yourself that all major points will be delivered. By raising your certainty levels, you are boosting your confidence levels.
It improves your mastery. By using a process every time, you are becoming an expert. You are deepening your knowledge and ability. Over time you will find that the steps become engrained and as you strengthen your thinking process, you will be able to prepare a presentation to much higher standards than previously possible - and in half the time.
It allows you to become coach. A senior executive is a role model. An excellent presenter often benefits from the halo effect; their skills are seen in even greater light due to the fact that they can connect, engage and inspire people in their presentations. As a manager-coach, you will be able to transfer these skills because you have a process. A process is learn-able and measurable. You will be able to raise the effectiveness of presentations in your direct reports and you can instil an expectation for quality in communications. All this raises the productivity in your team.
The Speaking with Purpose Process has been developed from working with hundreds of senior executives and thousands of middle mangers across Asia. We have distilled the major components of preparing for a presentation or public speech in 10 easy to follow steps. These steps have been tested in our coaching engagements and in workshops in a wide range of industries and with people from all countries and hold up in range of formats; from small group presenting, key note speaking, conference calls, business presenting and large audience events.
The ten steps are :
1. Be audience ready
2. Define a clear intention & purpose
3. Organising for clarity and movement
4. Create soundbites for all main messages
5. Top and tail to open and close
6. Add supporting material to main points
7. Link each section with transitions
8. Rehearse 1-2-3-4
9. Plan connecting phrases
10. Prepare for question and answer session
I have written a book - which is more like a workbook- with 43 tools that help you develop the muscles to quickly and effectively prepare for all your business communications. I have called it “Speaking with Purpose: How to present ideas that matter in 18 minutes or less”. This is the step-by-step guide you have been looking for if you ever find yourself short on time to prepare. A systematic approach will take you through the essential steps to prepare, rehearse and deliver an impactful presentation that deliver a memorable message.
Full of examples, samples and suggestions, Speaking with Purpose will take you through a rigorous checklist that ensures you’ll be ready for the big day. Speaking with Purpose is written for the 21st Century presenter who needs to engage an audience with short attention spans. You will learn how to:
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Save time with a checklist while preparing for a presentation
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Create a memorable message for all your key points
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Prepare so that you adjust to your audience’s expectations
-
Organise a flow that matches the purpose of your presentation
-
Write a clear conclusion with call-to-actions
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Add transitions between sections so that your presentation unfolds smoothly
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Use connecting phrases to engage and keep the audience’s attention
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Rehearse so you make the best use of your limited time available
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Prepare for Q&A so that you are ready for all expected questions
You can download a complimentary PDF one-page handout with the 10 steps and the taglines for each step here.
Advance copies of the Speaking with Purpose workbook are available in electronic form and can be found here.
The workbook will be launched at a conference in Hangzhou later this month and copies will be available for shipping after May 12th 2012.
In a world where we are both increasingly under time-pressure and pressure-to-preform, this is my small contribution to help executives become more effective, more influential and more masterful in their public communications.
In a world where we are both increasingly under time-pressure and pressure-to-preform, this is my small contribution to help executives become more effective, more influential and more masterful in their public communications.
To learn more about Speaking with Purpose…
We conduct one-day and two-day workshops which uses The Speaking with Purpose process as a frame on which we tailor examples and situations relevant to your industry and leadership challenges. You can also order copies of The Speaking with Purpose workbook from us at volume discounts, call us on 021 6101 0486.
All the best,
Feel free to contact us at any time.
Warwick John Fahy and The One Minute Presenter Team
Hong Kong Level 19 Two International Finance Centre, 8 Finance Street, Central Hong Kong, China Tel: +852 3101 7294 Fax: +852 3101 7530 Shanghai Level 23, Citigroup Tower, 33 Hua Yuan Shi Qiao Road, Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai 200120 Tel: +86 21 6101 0486 Fax: +86 21 6101 0487 Mob: +86 1391 786 7502
About the Author
Warwick J Fahy
“Warwick helps C-level executives, working in multinational companies based in Greater China, who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive project their message with confidence allowing them to express their opinions powerfully and gain respect from senior managers even when under pressure.”Learn more about who I help here.
Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world”.
Sign up to “52 Tips to more confident public speaking” newsletter at www.warwickjohnfahy.com
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Picture this situation. You have an important presentation to deliver in two days. Your demanding schedule means you have struggled to find the time to prepare. Now finally, you have cleared a couple of hours on your schedule to think about this high-stakes speech. How are you going to spend the next two hours so that you come out with a presentation that gets your ideas across and positions you as an expert in your field?
This is the step-by-step guide you have been looking for if you ever find yourself short on time to prepare. A systematic approach will take you through the essential steps to prepare, rehearse and deliver an impactful presentation that deliver a memorable message.
Full of examples, samples and suggestions, Speaking with Purpose will take you through a rigorous checklist that ensures you’ll be ready for the big day.
Speaking with Purpose is written for the 21st Century presenter who needs to engage an audience with short attention spans. You will learn how to:
-
Save time with a checklist while preparing for a presentation
-
Create a memorable message for all your key points
-
Prepare so that you adjust to your audience’s expectations
-
Organise a flow that matches the purpose of your presentation
-
Write a clear conclusion with call-to-actions
-
Add transitions between sections so that your presentation unfolds smoothly
-
Use connecting phrases to engage and keep the audience’s attention
-
Rehearse so you make the best use of your limited time available
-
Prepare for Q&A so that you are ready for all expected questions
A professional speaker, Ironman Triathlete and published author, Warwick John Fahy is regarded as the thought leader on executive communication in China. He is a specialist in the art and practice of executive public speaking. Warwick helps senior executives working in multinationals in Greater China to speak and influence with executive presence.
He has been a Toastmaster since 2001, reaching his DTM in 2004 and is currently working on his DTM in Mandarin. He is the first and only member from China to be awarded the Presidential Citation for his leadership in doubling the number of clubs in China and helping China to become a district. He is the author of The One Minute Presenter : 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world.
If you want to express an important idea, use this book to ensure your message comes across loud and clear.
Download an excerpt from the book that describes :
Who the book is for
How to use this book
The Speak with Purpose System with 43 tools
Table of Contents; and
About the Author
Download the Speaking with Purpose e-workbook here:
We have designed a one-day or two-day hands-on workshop that show leaders, managers and service professionals how to use, apply and combine influencing techniques
Influencing is :
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Situational; you need to adapt your approach for different people at different times
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Needed in combination; no single technique will work in every situation
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Value based; you need to offer something of value to the people you wish to influence. No value. No influence.
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A catalyst; influential people are able to get more things done quicker.
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Dynamic; things change. A technique that worked last year may not work this year if everyone is exposed to it.
Influencing is not:
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Manipulation; your intention and purpose should be as transparent and ethical as possible
The Influencing Matrix:
We have researched 15 key influencing approaches that have been tested to consistently work over time and across cultures. They are:
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Scarcity
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The Force
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The Vision-caster
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Walk your Talk
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The Connector
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The Rules
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The Give-and-Take
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Silent Allies
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Do me a Favour
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The Vulcan
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The Coach
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The Robin Hood
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Dr Feel Good
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Be Likeable
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The Pharaoh
To learn more about The Influencing Matrix…
We conduct workshops which are tailored to your industry and leadership challenges. To learn more about how your leaders can apply The Influencing Matrix, contact Warwick at warwick@warwickjohnfahy.com or call on 021 6101 0486.
You can watch a video of this speech here.
Here is my breakdown of the speech. The things that are great about the speech are:
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Steady confident delivery with clear voice and pacing
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Mixture of evidence to support ideas (anecdotes, examples)
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Good soundbites dropped in
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Clear call to action
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A metaphor that unfolds throughout the talk
The areas that could be improved include:
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A tendency to qualify statements
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Repetitive gestures
The things that are great about the speech are:
Steady confident delivery
Susan is well prepared and delivers a very confident talk with a clear voice and pacing that is comfortable to follow along with.
Illustrated the problem of introverts with anecdote
Opening anecdote about going to camp.
1:00-1:30 Camp cheer example got a good laugh. Message behind anecdote: Being quiet and introverted needs to be changed
Personal anecdotes
14:00 Grandfather anecdote
15:30 Published book. 7 years.
05:00 Examples of how our environment does not support introversion
Schools designed for extroverts. Classroom has pods of desks. Lots of group work – even in maths, creative writing. At work. Open plan offices. Leaders more likely to be extroverts.
Good soundbites dropped in
3:30 when it comes to creativity and leadership we need introverts doing what they do best
07:00 Examples of introverted leaders. Everyone is a mix of introvert / extroverts.
10:30 There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.
11:20 US favours man of action over man of contemplation
13:10 Let introverts be themselves
Humour points
1:00-1:30 Camp cheer example got a good laugh
15:55 Talking about introversion
Clear call to action
Susan concludes the speech with a clear call to action
16:45 Three calls to action
- Stop the constant group work
- Go to the wilderness
- Take a look at what’s inside your suitcase
A metaphor that unfolds throughout the talk
It was only at the conclusion that I really got the metaphor of the suitcase and it’s a good one. The idea of showing other people what’s inside your suitcase can be interpreted as sharing with others your passions and deep seated motivations which may not be obvious from the outside.
Prior to this I wondered whether the suitcase prop was impactful:
First minute of talk, Susan was holding the bag packed for camp. My impression at this stage was that it didn’t add much impact or value.
13:30 Call back to suitcase. Takes out three books. Which transitions to story of her grandfather. I felt that this was low impact again.
It was only in the conclusion did I see the idea that Susan was driving with the suitcase prop. Be conscious when using props, always ask yourself “Is this the best way to illustrate this idea?” “Is this the most memorable way to express the idea?”
Areas that could have been improved:
A tendency to qualify statements
When you have a point of view, you need to support it in a way that sways the audience to your view. I found the repeated qualification of statements to lessen the impact.
07:30 I actually love extroverts. Some of my best friends are extroverts.
I find the “some of my best friends” phrase to be a particularly poor choice of words. The history of this phrase is often found in divisive discrimination cases around race, religion and sexuality. You can find an interesting background to this phrase here.
While I don’t think Susan made this connection consciously, the frequent usage of the phrase as a defence to discrimination takes away from her impact at this point in the speech. As a former corporate lawyer, I would expect her to be aware of its connotations. I believe that there is no need for Susan to say that she loves extroverts because I don’t believe anyone was thinking she was out to attack extroverts. She is simply making a case for introversion to be given its space and this does not need to be qualified.
Warwick’s coaching tip: When you are presenting your ideas to influence people, focus most of your energy on making your case and supplementing your message and point of view. If you deliver in a sincere and confidence manner, there is no need to argue the other side too. However, in your preparation and research stage, it is prudent to learn as much as you can about different opinions and perspectives so you can consider them while formulating your own message.
Repetitive gestures
04:45 Susan tends to use the same gesture over and over even when it’s not linked to the message. Gestures are best used when they add impact to a message or idea you are expressing. Most of the time speakers have a favorite gesture they tend to overuse, it starts to become an issue when the gestures distracts the audience from the message being delivered. Interestingly, this type of over-gesture is something I often see with extroverted speakers!
Conclusion
This is a well built presentation that makes a case and supports it with a range of evidence. While a couple of areas disrupted its flow, the overall metaphor of the suitcase was good. I would rate this a 7 out of 10.
About the Author
Warwick J Fahy
“Warwick helps C-level executives, working in multinational companies based in Greater China, who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive project their message with confidence allowing them to express their opinions powerfully and gain respect from senior managers even when under pressure.”Learn more about who I help here.
Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world”.
Sign up to “52 Tips to more confident public speaking” newsletter at www.warwickjohnfahy.com
]]>A. Influence is the number one skill a high performing executive demonstrates
B. Leadership teams need to set and cascade the “story” behind strategy and change initiatives
C. Individual executives must be able to express the message in different formats and lengths
In John C Maxwell’s book “Becoming a person of influence”, he says that “if your desire is to be successful or to make a positive impact on your world, you need to become a person of influence. Without influence, there is no success.”
For today’s executives who project influence and confidence, this means getting more done through their teams. As companies move towards global and matrix organisations, being effective means less command-and-control and more encouraging, advocating and inspiring. The best executives are able to attract people and resources by defining and expressing a purpose. Much like Steve Job’s famed “reality distortion field”, the most influential executives can create an environment where people contribute more, are willing to see things through and ultimately care more about the outcomes.
Challenges are plentiful. The business world is fast moving and complex. Change is hard to predict. While it’s relatively easy to set strategy and announce a new vision, making this a reality takes much more work. The leadership team needs to play an active role in cascading the benefits of change and selling it to the company. Obstacles like resistance to change, confusion over the reason why change is necessary, reluctance to adopt new working styles all play a role in slowing down the implementation of important change projects across global organisations.
Executives need to play a more active role in communication. Today people are looking for a combination of management and leadership from their managers. To fully engage the talents, energy and commitment, a good executive not only delegates a clear package to her team but also articulates the “why” - the importance of the project to the organisation as a whole. Setting the context and connecting it to the individual project gives the team a stronger reason to buy into the project. It also acts as a guiding star for the team as they move forward and handle project challenges.
Degrees of separation reduce your influence. While many leaders like to think that the fact they said something once will engage the whole company to act, often the reality is very different. From my experience, working with leadership team very often there is no clear shared understanding of the direction of the company in terms of how the individual executives talk about it with their peers, subordinates and partners. If there is no shared clarity at the top, how can we expect middle management to be confident in expressing a consistent theme to their reports?
Even a charismatic CEO is not enough. People are most influenced by their line managers and while the CEO may engage his leadership team and inspire them. Unless these executives are also rolling down the same message, it’s impact is lost. What is needed are executives and middle managers who are equally proficient at influence. In large global organisations where a change initiative is planned worldwide this is essential otherwise all the effort into creating a strategy is lost once it drops below the leadership team.
Use this checklist to test how influential your leadership team’s messaging is:
1. Does the leadership have a clear vision and strategy for the next three years?
2. Has this message been refined and talked about so everyone is on the same page?
3. Is there consensus among the leadership team?
4. Has everyone agreed to share this message regardless of their personal resistance or objections?
5. Has the leadership team gone through a simulated media-style interview where they are put on the spot and asked to deliver the key message?
6. Can the leadership team deliver the key point of the message without slides?
7. Have the top executives committed to cascading the message to their line managers?
8. Acid test: If you asked five people in your organisation about the strategy or change initiative, how consistent would their answers be?
This polishing and refinement is often overlooked by leadership teams and executives are left to their own devices. This leaves too much up to their own personal opinions. Once the CEO and top executives have committed to the strategy, everyone needs to get on-board. By ensuring that their story is aligned, the change has a higher rate of success. How well are your executives influencing?
All the best,
Feel free to contact us at any time.
Warwick John Fahy and The One Minute Presenter Team
Chapter 1: Never Ending Change
Chapter 2: The Power in You
Chapter 3: Leading v Managing
Chapter 4: People Power
Chapter 5: Customers ARE Your Business
Chapter 6: How to Increase Sales
Chapter 7: The Incredible Power of the Web
Chapter 8: The Future is Coming Ready or Not
You can download your complimentary copy in PDF here. (2.72MB)
About the Author
Warwick J Fahy
“Warwick helps C-level executives, working in multinational companies based in Greater China, who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive project their message with confidence allowing them to express their opinions powerfully and gain respect from senior managers even when under pressure.”Learn more about who Warwick helps here.
Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world”.
Sign up to “52 Tips to more confident public speaking” newsletter at www.warwickjohnfahy.com
]]>iPad product launch: What Makes Steve Jobs a Great Presenter?
Five ways to know if you are a presentation professional or a presentation amateur
Other resources:
CEOs: Are executives frustrating you with their unproductive communication style? Read here for more on how you can groom executives to think, act and communicate like a leader.
]]>You can watch the video of this speech here. [Tip: if you double click the video, it will play with subtitles in full screen]
Length of speech: Under 12 minutes
Here is my breakdown of the speech. The things that are great about the speech are:
- Rapport building from the start
- Framing the presentation
- Let’s the audience know the purpose
- Connecting questions
- Vocal Pacing
- Uses Taglines to deliver clear messages
- Uses statistics and anecdotes to support message
- Gestures add energy and impact to key messages
- Rule of three
The areas that could be improved include:
- Stretching supporting points to make them fit an idea
- Fluidity
Here is my breakdown of the speech. The things that are great about the speech are:
Rapport building from the start
Started with a rapport builder about travelling in bad weather and the color purple. Good reaction from the audience. Great ice-breaker. Ginni also uses people’s names from time to time which is part of her personal style. It works to bring the audience closer to the speaker.
09:40 Ginni also employs a call back technique that many stand up comedians use. She sets up her point by citing the study mentioned in the opening.
09:55 Calls back the Drucker quote mentioned earlier. “the best way to predict the future is to create the future”
Uses ‘we’ throughout the speech to include herself in the challenges facing the CIO audience [Ginni was IBM CIO at the time of this speech]
Framing the presentation
This is a good technique which Steve Jobs would employ. Overviewing the talk in 30 seconds:
00:50 Smarter Planet is a Business Strategy, Why is it resonating?, A decade of smart
Let’s the audience know the purpose
03:10 How can you think differently when implementing. Uses examples to add credibility to what is coming with Eindoven’s pilot roll-out 70% pilot traffic, Tennessee Valley Authority - largest public utility, and Shell.
Connecting questions
A higher level skill which involves using a question to connect or engage with the audience [without waiting for interaction] and then delivering a key message or point.
02:25 And you may say, what’s so interesting about that? Except it connects….
06:00 But what do you guess is the number one inhibitor for growth? Lack of integrated information
06:15 As growth returns, what kind of growth? And that’s what I meant by pushing the boundaries
07:05 How do you go make a market? This is where I really assert…
Vocal Pacing
Clear and easy to understand throughout. Shows how to deliver to an international audience.
Uses Taglines to deliver clear messages
03:10 3 Observations
1. The New Normal “productivity while you grow”
2. Pushing the Boundary “through data”
3. New leadership for new economy “compliance”
Uses statistics and anecdotes to support message
Ginni uses a mix of data to support her point. She cites EIU reports, IBM studys, anecdotes, statisitics on CEOs changing position and also historical data referring back to past recessions. She doesn’t use slides and instead deliver short precise anecdotes to back up her points.
Example from section on The New Normal
05:20 Statistics: EIU report 90% of CEOs → focus on productivity. IBM study CFO 70% input to growth agenda BUT lack of integrated information
07:15 Example of health insurer using data
08:00 Statistics on 2,700 CEOs positions change
Gestures add energy and impact to key messages
Ginni uses gestures actively and throughout the presentation. Some gestures include:
00:50 – count to three on her fingers [although the third point was forgotten!]
01:00 risk and efficiencies using the ‘on the one hand, on the other hand’ gesture
02:00 ‘foundation’ ‘rollout’
03:20 Three observations
03:35 ‘pushing the boundary’
Like all energetic speakers, Ginni tends to over-gesture. In other words, many gestures are not linked to a clear point. In my opinion, this does not distract too much and does not detract from her message.
Warwick’s coaching tip:
Note the way that Ginni linked specific gestures to her key message, like ‘pushing the boundary’. This is intentional and most like pre-planned. After you have identified your presentations key message see how you can create a simple gesture to add impact to it.
Rule of three
Structure is made clear at the beginning:
1. The New Normal “productivity while you grow”
2. Pushing the Boundary “through data”
3. New leadership for new economy “compliance”
08:00 New leadership for that new environment and that new economy [repetition of 'new'] adds more impact
08:40 “Bold, open-minded and persuasive” is a good example of rule of three in a message
11:30 for conclusion wrapped up with three main messages
The areas that could be improved include:
Stretching supporting points to make them fit an idea
Ginni used an example of Kraft introducing a product just after Great Depression to support her point that leaders need to be bold, open-minded and persuasive in difficult times. The Kraft example worked but the others felt too stretched.
2001 while Apple launched iPod on 23 October 2011 after the 9-11 event that Ginni alludes to - this launch would have been in plan for months or years. In 1954, Texas Instrument introduced the transistor radio but it had been in development for many years and the bottleneck was around finding a suitable manufacturer.
Warwick’s coaching tip:
It’s good technique to find supporting evidence to back up your message. Ensure that the points you choose are credible and realistic for the audience. Avoid stretching an example to fit your piont. Try to find a point that matches the message. Ginni ’s message here was around leaders being “bold, open-minded and persuasive”. Perhaps it would have been better to find examples of individual leaders who took bold decisions in this tough times. Like for example, Steve Jobs saying we are going ahead with the iPod lauch even though the country and economy was in a state of shock. Getting a personal insight here would better match the point.
Fluidity
Having seen other presentations from Ginni, this one seemed just a little below her usual high standard in terms of the fluidity. At times it seemed like Ginni was trying to recall key messages and this made certain parts seem a little disjointed. But not so much to get in the way of her clear messaging.
Conclusion
A very well structured presentation with clear messages and energetic delivery. Ginni is a great presenter and you should certainly watch this video and her other presentations. This one was a little off-par in terms of smoothness but that it just a small quibble. If everyone presented in such an engaging and clear style, business presentations around the world would be so much better. A solid 8 out of 10.
About the Author
Warwick J Fahy
“Warwick helps C-level executives, working in multinational companies based in Greater China, who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive project their message with confidence allowing them to express their opinions powerfully and gain respect from senior managers even when under pressure.”Learn more about who Warwick helps here.
Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world”.
Sign up to “52 Tips to more confident public speaking” newsletter at www.warwickjohnfahy.com
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