Archive for the 'produce your message' Category

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One Minute Nugget: In 2011, what is the most difficult problem facing business presenters?

This is a business themed collage. It illustra...

Technology when used well can enhance your message and credentials, but the problem is that most presenters are lazy and make the technology the message. Technology, while a great tool, does not necessarily lead to better presentations.

A bad movie is a bad movie whether it’s played on DVD, HDTV or 3D. If you cannot deliver an effective presentation by simply standing up and speaking to an audience, then using a slide-deck, playing a video or using an iPad is not going to make you a better presenter. In fact, it is more likely to either confuse your audience or make the technology the centre of the presentation.

The main purpose of any presentation – whether in a face-to-face meeting or on a conference call is twofold.

Firstly, there is the communication aspect, like informing the team of a new procedure, persuading your manager that you need a new resource or influencing a existing client to expand their business with you. It’s a good idea to write down what you wish to achieve before you start to prepare your main message or slides. This will give you a focus and something to check against as you develop your presentation.

The second purpose is to enhance the credibility of the presenter in the eyes of the audience. Think about the best speakers you know in your company, they tend to be regarded with a golden halo because they have good speaking skills. When you get to a senior level in an organisation the person who gets promoted to the executive level is likely to have the better soft skills, which means highly effective speaking and presenting skills. Have you asked whether your last presentation enhanced or detracted from your credibility. Many business presenters brush over the importance of their weekly ‘routine’ presentations which they make to their teams or line managers. But over time these interactions have a significant impact on how you are regarded inside your company.

So, in 2011, make a commitment to use technology less and bolster your presentation skills more. Attend a workshop, get a coach, or simply grab a book and rehearse the tips that are in the book. Record yourself, playback, critique and go again. Give yourself the edge when it comes to taking the next opportunity in your business and personal life. Have a great 2011!  Whatever you do and wherever you are, I sincerely wish that your life improves and you take great strides forward in reaching your dreams!

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

“I work with high-potential senior executives who need to be more confident and influential with their key stakeholders. I help the executive quickly and powerfully express their opinions into message based presentations – 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”.

Now available on Amazon.com.

Sign up to “52 Tips to more confident public speaking” newsletter at www.warwickjohnfahy.com

Toastmasters: How to deliver an impromptu speech

young cheerful business man giving a presentat...

One very important skill to master is to appear certain and confident while you are delivering an unprepared speech. In this training – targeted at Toastmasters – you will learn to

  • Open with certainty
  • Structure for clarity
  • Close with confidence

In this 29 minute training presentation, Warwick John Fahy shares his experience in a high energy, often humourous experience which includes Warwick delivering a 2 minute unprepared speech at the end of the training – combining the lessons he has just delivered. You can download this training here (MP3, 26.6MB)

Warwick John Fahy is a Distinguished Toastmaster with almost 10 years experience as a Toastmaster delivering speeches in both English and Mandarin. Warwick was awarded the Presidential Citation in 2007 for his leadership in doubling the number of clubs in China and helping China move to district status.Warwick is an executive speech coach working with senior executives in multinationals across Greater China to help them become more influential with their key stakeholders.

Other Toastmasters trainings:

Think Strawberries: How a great presentation can help you make change a reality in the hotel business

James Lavenson owned a marketing and advertising company before being invited to become a senior management executive with Sonesta International Hotels. He was given responsibility for the company’s hotel and food interests. For the last three years of that period he was president and chief executive officer of the chain’s ‘flagship’, the famous Plaza Hotel in New York City. Unprofitable in the year before his appointment, the Plaza was profitable each year of Lavenson’s tenure until it was sold in February 1975 to Western International Hotels.

Read Mr Lavenson’s speech here with highlighted comments which show the presenting skills that he is inserting to make his delivery an engaging and humourous speech. There are also several lessons that could be applied into your hotel business.

Download the script with comments here.

Download a brochure on workshops and coaching that help you and your team raise their presenting ability here.

Four tips for technical experts who need to present to senior management audiences

I recently conducted a survey on how technical experts – like finance executives – can better present themselves to senior management. Here are some of the insights from the survey, the common problems faced by presenters and some solutions on making sure your next presentation to senior executives is received in a positive light.

Common problems faced by technical presenters

Technical presenters have a strong tendency to focus on the ‘how’ of the content rather than the outcome. Technical presenters tend to either over explain the technical aspects of their presentation, even though they are facing a savvy audience who have a good grasp of the technicalities. Or they get too bogged down in the numbers and miss the overarching purpose of the presentation, meeting or conference call which is often to help the senior executive to make a decision.

I would like to share four tips that you can apply to improve your presentation skills when communicating up to a senior executive audience.

Tip 1 : Understand your audience’s motivations so you know why are in this meeting

In The One Minute Presenter, a key step is Treasure your Audience. The main purpose of understanding your audience in detail is to go deeper into their motivations and hot buttons. This understanding helps the technical presenter prepare for meetings. Ask key questions like, “Why is the senior executive joining this meeting?” Is it to gain a brief overview on a topic, an update, a summary or to receive your input on a critical time-sensitive business issue which needs a decision?

Tip 2: Technical literacy quick check

When thinking about your content and how deep to go into the technicalities, think about the literacy of the senior executive on this issue. Are they familiar in depth with the issue? If they are, don’t start from the beginning when introducing the topic. Is the senior manager highly literate but not as familiar with the local differences on which you are an expert? Then skip explaining broad concepts and get into the specifics. Don’t worry if you skip too far ahead, the senior executive will ask you a question.

Tip 3: Think through your presentation’s timing
When you are preparing your content or your slide presentation, ask yourself how much time you have to deliver. If you have twenty minutes and twenty slides of packed data charts, are you allowing yourself enough time for the audience to digest them? Is there a better way to extract your message from each slide and highlight it in a clear slide? Consider using handouts when you need to pass on a record of the data to your audience. Build in some time for questions into your presentation time in case you are asked a series of questions or time is cut from your delivery time. If you have twenty minutes to present, then arrange fifteen minutes of content.

Tip 4: Produce your message for every presentation

Even if you are delivering a frequent update for a weekly management meeting, think about what your message in a nutshell is for every meeting. Press yourself to find a link between your message and the motivations and interests of the senior executives. The more relevant you can make your message to their driving issues, the more likely you are get their attention and receive positive comments. You have to speak to the issues that are important to senior management. They often look at the same topics in a different light. They are more likely to take a broader look or apply a wider scope to the topic. Remember that they are likely to have shifting priorities based on the current state of the business. Are you able to link your topics to the major issues like total revenue, profit margins, share price, market share, and others. Can you fit your topic into those issues?

Conclusion

While you are a technical expert and are valued for the insights you bring, when facing senior management you may need to adjust your content and dig out a message that is in line with the senior executives current reality.

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

“I work with high-potential senior finance executives who need to be more confident and influential with their key stakeholders. I help the executive quickly and powerfully express their opinions into message based presentations – 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”.

Now available on Amazon.com.

Sign up to “52 Tips to more confident public speaking” newsletter at www.warwickjohnfahy.com

Toastmasters: 1001 Ideas for Speeches: Your Life Inventory

Survey resultsIf you are stuck for a speech topic, you will enjoy this presentation which sets the challenge of finding the source of 1001 ideas for speech topics.

I conducted a survey among Toastmasters before the speech and include the results below. You can also download the handout which will give you quick access to the ideas in the presentation.

Download the results from the survey here. Download the 19min presentation here in MP3 format (17.8MB). Delivered on 6 Dec 2010 in Talent Discovery Bilingual TMC in Shanghai.  I have made a special handout summarising where you can source the 1001 ideas for your speech topics here. (478kb, PDF)

Warwick John Fahy is a Distinguished Toastmaster with almost 10 years experience as a Toastmaster delivering speeches in both English and Mandarin. Warwick was awarded the Presidential Citation in 2007 for his leadership in doubling the number of clubs in China and helping China move to district status.Warwick is an executive speech coach working with senior executives in multinationals across Greater China to help them become more influential with their key stakeholders.

Other Toastmasters trainings:

‘It’s Trendy To Be Free’ – Lady Gaga At Poland Show: What can you learn about presenting a clear message

Successful business presenter?

Successful business presenter?

An essential part of business presenting is having a clear message and making sure that the audience come away with the same message you intended to deliver.

In the pop music world where it’s fair to say most people have short attention spans, we can learn a lot from pop diva Lady Gaga. Recently Lady Gaga managed to take a stand against an issue and at the same time mention her new album numerous times (Born this Way) and still arouse the love / hate responses she is known for. One article on Lady Gaga had over three thousand comments. Not many blogs can rival that response!

So what can we learn from Lady Gaga:

1. Clearly define the issue.

Lady Gaga starts off with a succinct definition:

“The funny thing is that some people reduce freedom to a brand,” Gaga said between tears.

This is a great tagline (with pop diva emotion) that positions her against her pop rivals. By clearly defining the issue, she is now ready to lay out her position.

2. Give your opinion on the issue

Lady Gaga now states her opinion on this pressing issue:

“They think that it’s trendy now to be free. They think it’s trendy to be excited about your identity. When in truth, there is nothing trendy about ‘Born This Way.”

Did you notice the beautiful bridge to her album. Sentence starts with talking about the issue and ends with bringing the attention to her key message – which in this case is her album.

Now, having made the segue, it’s time to hammer home the message:

3. Deliver your message vividly

A powerful way to connect with an audience is to use a metaphor:

“‘Born This Way’ is a spirit, and it is this connection that we all share.”

This metaphor has now linked her message to the audience. Now it’s time to get vivid and have a dig at her pop rivals:

“It is something so much deeper than a wig or a lipstick or an outfit or a [expletive] meat dress. ‘Born This Way’ is about us, ‘Born This Way’ is about what keeps us up at night and makes us afraid.”

Injecting emotion and making her message relevant to people’s lives is another technique that business presenters can use although probably in a toned down fashion.

So while you may not know who Lady Gaga is or whether you love or hate her, make sure that you take away these important lessons:

1. Clearly define your issue

2. Give a direct opinion

3. Use vivid language to deliver your message

e-book download : A copy of  The One Minute Presenter for only Usd10 here.

Senior Finance Executives: Are you struggling to convince your boss in your presentations?

Learn how to turn your technical presentations into engaging message-based presentations that get your boss’ attention and will cut your presentation time in half

Technical ability alone will not help senior finance executive’s get promoted
Many senior finance executives in China have risen the corporate ladder on the back of their solid technical ability and operational skills. They have been able to ride the massive growth in China over the past decade by combining a strong technical grasp and an aptitude to understand their client’s needs in compliance and financing.

These senior executives are often held up as future country or regional Chief Financial Officers (CFOs). However, one significant obstacle awaits many finances executives – their strength in technical issues. Many senior finance executives are too focused on the details, the process and procedures. So when presenting to CEOs, board of directors or  overseas directors, they are frustrated by their inability to get their point across without being bombarded by direct questions, interrupted constantly in their presentation and feeling of being harassed by senior management.  While technical skills got them to where they are today, they can’t take them any further in their careers.

It doesn’t have to be that way. They don’t need to be stuck here forever.

Senior finance executives who can present effectively are highly marketable
Presentations to senior management often cause nerves and tension in any presenter. Many technical presenters – especially in finance – are naturally introverted and when faced with A-type personalities they are often talked-over or easily interrupted. However, by learning some important skills in presentation creation and delivery, even shy and quiet presenters can learn how to get their point across to their CEO in a concise, crisp and engaging way. Importantly, their presentations can be delivered in a much shorter time – which both the senior finance executive and the CEO and directors appreciate! Having a reputation as a CFO who both understands the business and can deliver sharp presentations is a great asset to career promotion. Once learned, these skills deliver a fantastic return-on-investment year-in, year-out.

So if you are currently stuck by delivering overly detailed technical presentations to a group of frustrated senior managers, you are not alone.

Too much information often kills the effectiveness of your presentation
If any of the above sounds familiar, don’t worry, you are not alone. In fact, you are in good company. Most senior finance people have similar issues. Being technical experts means you are focused on process, procedure, the small nitty gritty details of data. All of which is essential – and desirable – in finance executives. However, when you reach the C-level, these technical skills become less important as the core task of an executive is to make decisions and communicate them throughout the organisation. All highly effective executives are superb communicators and presenters. Today, when hiring decisions are made  on the CFO or CEO role -the ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders is one of the most important competencies.

However, as a finance expert, you can’t be expected to automatically know what it takes to create message based presentations that engage your audience in the shortest possible time – you are not an advertising company. The good news is that help is here and you can learn these skills.

Advice from The One Minute Presenter
To take a step away from being a technical expert and learning the craft of an effective executive communicator, you first need to understand taglines.

What is a tagline?
Taglines are short catchy marketing phrases which sum up the promise of a brand (or product or movie), and are designed to be memorable and easily passed through a target audience. A good tagline can stand the test of time and become synonymous with a company or product. The 1975-2005 “Don’t leave home without it” from American Express and the 1988 “Just do it” from Nike taglines show how the power of taglines can carry over into building the world’s most valuable brands.

What is your tagline?
Take a look at your next presentation. Use these steps to form your tagline:

1. Write down your happy ending in 25-50 words. In other words what do you want to achieve at the end of the presentation. What do you want the audience to think, feel and do. Be as specific as you can.

2. Take a break and come back to this paragraph.  Highlight key words or phrases. Now imagine you only had time to deliver one sentence to your audience. Keep the value and meaning of your message. Rewrite it in 10 words or less.

3. Put this aside for several hours or longer. Come back and see which words really sum up the essence of your message. Pick out your key words or phrases.

For The One Minute Presenter, our nine word tagline is “successful business presentations for a short attention span world”.  We use two key phrases: successful business presentations and short attention spans.

You now have focus in your presentation. This will help you structure your presentation framework. You can check your supporting points, and choice of visuals (charts, graphs, statistics) against your key words. Ask yourself, “How does this support my key words?”
With practice, you will be able to quickly get to your key words(s) in a shorter time. It will be a challenge the first few times you try this exercise. Stick with it. You need the focus to capture and engage today’s audiences. The clearer your message, the more effective your presentations.

Be aware when you present your ideas
Make your message tangible. Don’t make your audience work it out. If you make them think during a presentation, then while they are thinking, they cannot be listening to your subsequent words. Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules, vividly demonstrates how the human brain is ill equipped to handle two processing tasks simultaneously. “Driving while talking on a cell phone is worse than driving drunk.” This is because the human brain uses something called the attentional spotlight. The attentional spotlight, according to Dr. Medina, cannot multitask which means cellphone-talking car drivers have the same reaction time (when stopping) as a drunk driver. So don’t make your audiences think! Do the thinking for them.  Know where you want to take them, shape a clear concept of your overall message, use stories to engage and bite-size your content with slogans, soundbites and taglines. Puzzles are great for long train and plane journeys, but not for successful business presentations.

Many CFOs have benefited from The One Minute Presenter coaching
I work with many CFOs from multinationals around Greater China. Just recently, after helping one senior executive  to understand how to create a message-based presentation from their technical data, she told me that her presentation to the board of directors went much more smoothly and took less time than previous years. Importantly, she was interrupted much less with sharp questions. She is now able to apply these skills in other areas of her work, such as conference calls, client meetings and internal senior manager briefings.

So what now?
If you are ready to take a step up in your career, and want to learn how to be a more powerful communicator, then visit www.oneminutepresenter.com and download a free chapter on how The One Minute Presenter system works to help you develop more executive presence.

About Warwick J Fahy
Warwick works with high-potential senior finance executives who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive gain respect by quickly and powerfully expressing their opinions – even when under pressure.

Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. Warwick can be reached on  +86 21 6101 0486.

Web Site Resource: One-Minute Book Reviews

I coach senior finance executives to craft memorable (hopefully!) messages and stories from often data-heavy presentations. Which is not always that easy. I teach them how to create taglines – short pithy phrases – that sum up vast amounts of data, rather than present 57 very dull slides crammed full of tables. Sometimes I am challenged by executives who find it tough to boil down their messsages to such short and catchy phrases. I admit it’s a skill which takes practice.

One great resource I have just come across which demonstrates this skill in bags is Janice Harayda‘s One-Minute Book Reviews site (no connection with The One Minute Presenter!). In a fantastic section called Books in a Sentence, Janice distills her opinion of the book into a short sentence (or two). It makes for great reading. Here are some of my favorites:

Managing Employees From Hell: Handling Idiots, Whiners, Slackers and Other Workplace Demons. By Gini Graham Scott. A much more useful guide to managing saboteurs at work than the insipid The Power of Nice.

Your Management Sucks: Why You Have to Declare War on Yourself … and Your Business. By Mark Stevens. No, the book does.

Beauty Junkies: Inside Our $15 Billion Obsession with Cosmetic Surgery. By Alex Kuczynski. An impressive blend of reporting and social commentary that may stand for years as a definitive book on the 21st-century cosmetic surgery boom.

Mystic River. By Dennis Lehane. Clint Eastwood shows, as with The Bridges of Madison County, that he’s a good director of bad books.

Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling/Career Strategies for Asians: The Essential Guide to Getting In, Moving Up, and Reaching the Top. By Jane Hyun. A former HR executive says that Asian-Americans can succeed at work partly by — surprise, surprise — “networking” and “mentoring.”

I highly recommend that you go and take a look at the others. If a book can be reduced to an informative sentence, can’t your presentation story be told in fewer words too?

Re-post from Matt Church: The Mathematics of Retention

Check out more from Matt at his web site here.

Too often when speaking in public, presenters try to give you all of their information. To be world class, don’t make too many points within your speech. Five points, give or take up to two, is the rule. We tend to retain what we can count on one hand. Presenters who presume to teach 21 tips in 21 minutes are pretty content-centred, and do not really respect the mathematics of retention.

Some tips:

1.   Have 3-7 core messages to your presentation
2.   Every 7-15 minutes or so, introduce a new point
3.   Always have less rather than more. Fear makes us over-prepare content
4.   Have a “bare bones” version of your speech prepared with 1-3 points only
5.   Always have one overarching point for every speech, and make this very clear

Less is more.


Product Launch like an Executive – Memorable product launches with taglines Part 2

preparing-tagline-fingerprint-idIn part two of this three part look at product launches, we will build on “Less is More” as featured in Part 1 here.

Tagline with word pictures

While pictures help to make a presentation more memorable, having a tagline can push recall even higher. A tagline is a one line description which sums up your key message. For example, the MacBook Air was described as “the world’s thinnest notebook”. You may not remember all the technical specifications but you if you remember the tagline, you understand why the product is special. And let’s face it, if you are really interested in the tech spec, visit the product’s web site.

Every product and service can use this approach. When 37signals launched their project management online software, Basecamp, their tagline was “the better way to get projects done.” Taglines are simple and easy to pass on to your clients, sales team and media.

While a good headline tagline will help your audience remembers your product uniqueness, you can add word pictures to other parts of your content. This turns your presentation into a more visual one. At the iPod launch, Jobs described it as ‘the size of a deck of cards.” This was accompanied by a picture of a deck of cards. This word-picture is much more memorable than giving the dimensions of the product as many technical presentations tend to do. Look for ways to highly key features and benefits with word pictures and taglines.

RESOURCE BOX

Warwick John Fahy is the international executive speech coach for senior executives, business leaders and entrepreneurs who need to influence clients, investors, shareholders and team members. His highly practical approach and deep cross cultural intelligence have made him a sought-after business presentation coach throughout the world.

Warwick is the author of the acclaimed book, The One Minute Presenter – 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. For free executive speaking tips visit http://www.oneminutepresenter.com/blog

To arrange presentation skills training or coaching to build your executive presence visit this web site.

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Copyright 2010 Warwick John Fahy All rights reserved.