tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64236417853936903522024-03-06T02:53:55.212+00:00Nick Fitzherbert - Presentation Skills CoachCommentary & Tips on Business Presentation issuesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-77995018628212555272017-08-28T17:43:00.001+01:002017-08-28T18:00:54.976+01:00Positive Framing examples popping up on my hols<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’ve been taking an August break from the blog as I embark
on some travels. Wherever I went, however, I discovered rather wonderful
examples of the ‘positive framing’ technique that I discussed in my final
pre-holiday post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What I was saying was that, even if you have some rather
negative things to say, you can still make a positive impact buy applying
positive language. The first example came up on the train to Edinburgh for my
visit to the Festival. How irritating do you find those signs listing all the different
(sometimes unmentionable) things you are not allowed to throw down the
loo?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So well done Virgin Trains for not
irritating me and actually making me want to get involved in keeping their
plumbing clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdcE6cSb_cQHxDHJ4Ml_zImn_gVJu6jFwxl6aivn7YuEcpxg58r-z1-txberO3TuB3b50KUEYWS_PuGUf8EIBzA6UekimKWhaNtiWtng39FZ_jaFEoYyqUDXODCenKugGoI_RVCJTQtwa/s1600/unflush.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdcE6cSb_cQHxDHJ4Ml_zImn_gVJu6jFwxl6aivn7YuEcpxg58r-z1-txberO3TuB3b50KUEYWS_PuGUf8EIBzA6UekimKWhaNtiWtng39FZ_jaFEoYyqUDXODCenKugGoI_RVCJTQtwa/s320/unflush.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Security was tight in Las Vegas and David Copperfield had
the additional concern of not wanting us to film his illusions. He achieved
this by engaging us directly – asking us to take out our phones and send him an
email. This created some interesting interactivity on the big screen and he
then sent us an email predicting everything that was to about to happen in the
show. We had to promise, though, not to look at it yet (that would spoil the
show for us). Indeed he asked us, while our phones were in our hands, to now
put them into a rather beautiful box on the table immediately in front of us. What
is usually a nagging chore that washes over you had become a pleasure!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8Nzwalsw7ZAcpf_kc3GX15fofhyWIXZWm8NG7AT7rfVt2l38KOLugRGIRO3YG5w287ElVsl6onpbxkmwQcrGhQgHP1Y5-L7Q4HcIvnUWOB6PwzZaJiT2zFj7r__EMq8wazx9nc_ybb4k/s1600/copperfield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1013" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8Nzwalsw7ZAcpf_kc3GX15fofhyWIXZWm8NG7AT7rfVt2l38KOLugRGIRO3YG5w287ElVsl6onpbxkmwQcrGhQgHP1Y5-L7Q4HcIvnUWOB6PwzZaJiT2zFj7r__EMq8wazx9nc_ybb4k/s320/copperfield.jpg" width="202" /></span></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Finally, I am indebted to behavioural economics guru <a href="http://paulcraven.com/">Paul Craven</a> for a most charming example of asking people not to use their phones –
it’s what Paul calls a ‘nudge’.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabLBcC_vhQiIS3WFKhjnw0Fj1m9-RDkY_tKGkIYVgcWKDKvqWYE87SlQEI3Kf93f-wWEKwpRM9hAr9jRkD7urepy1Jg7pEOZzGiCC916LLetF0fjXbbrvGvq0HZ4f9RdEYCfV-GvHXzz7/s1600/switch+phone+on1796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="1160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabLBcC_vhQiIS3WFKhjnw0Fj1m9-RDkY_tKGkIYVgcWKDKvqWYE87SlQEI3Kf93f-wWEKwpRM9hAr9jRkD7urepy1Jg7pEOZzGiCC916LLetF0fjXbbrvGvq0HZ4f9RdEYCfV-GvHXzz7/s320/switch+phone+on1796.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-61478731583562664592017-07-25T07:20:00.000+01:002017-07-25T07:20:11.001+01:00‘Positive Framing’ gets you through the stickier bits of a business presentation<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Business presentations are not all about trumpeting good
news, advantages and benefits; in most cases they need to cover off less
positive points – failures even. With ‘positive framing’, however, the overall
upbeat mood can often be sustained and maybe even enhanced.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfaXWfjbjkwNV-4FnatijAhUK_4rwTSpoYtDQVjJrl8-A0iH8GL8RueEhn0Ahvjbts9B0Ieb25v4DEmpUbkaGR7NlESnykTubWpUZrRNG0-zTioCNAu_bMCUvWgWX0ABxLsoquFXZAvsA1/s1600/Positive+framing+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="690" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfaXWfjbjkwNV-4FnatijAhUK_4rwTSpoYtDQVjJrl8-A0iH8GL8RueEhn0Ahvjbts9B0Ieb25v4DEmpUbkaGR7NlESnykTubWpUZrRNG0-zTioCNAu_bMCUvWgWX0ABxLsoquFXZAvsA1/s320/Positive+framing+crop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">I was reminded of this recently while coaching post-graduate
students and graduate trainees, all of whom showed admirable respect for doing
as they had been told. The graduate trainees had been instructed to conclude
with ‘Achievements’ and ‘Lessons Learned’, so we saw presentations with
generally well-trumpeted ‘Achievements’, followed by phrases such:
“Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to …...” – which formed the conclusion
to their presentation.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">My feedback focused on two key points: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->You
simply must end on some positives, so see if you can slip ‘Lessons Learned’ in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">before</i> ‘Achievements’. If you really
can’t, then add a short, sharp and positive over-arching ‘Call to Action’ at
the very end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Leave
out negative words such as ‘unfortunately’ and reframe your ‘Lessons Learned’
along the following lines: ‘What I will do in future is make extra time to do X
so that I can achieve a more thorough understanding of Y and Z.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Many of the post-grads, meanwhile, were acutely aware that
they had not been able to fulfil all the requirements of the pitch they were
giving to join an incubator programme. Their instinct was to keep quiet about
those elements and hope no one noticed or enquired. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">My feedback here tended to be: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Leave
the ‘missing/lacking’ items in your agenda so it is clear that you are not
hiding from them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->When
you get to the part about plans going forward come back to those
‘missing/lacking’ items and stress that these would be among your first
priorities when you join the programme. Ideally, explain how much more
effectively you will be able to address those issues at this later stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">I am conscious that there is scope here to get into the
realms of ‘spin’, if not actual ‘BS’. But I firmly believe that these examples qualify
neither as spin, nor BS. They actually fall within the more general practice of
using strong language and positives when communicating. Specifically, these
examples also demonstrate that the presenter has learned the lessons/understood
what was needed, together with how they are going to apply and prioritise those
learnings in the future.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-22594309212512129782017-07-11T09:02:00.002+01:002017-07-11T09:02:53.655+01:00‘Say it, then show’ – the adage for presenters that is too little known, appreciated or remembered<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">There is a tendency among most presenters when using visual
aids – in particular PowerPoint – to display a slide and then start talking
about it. The result is that their presentation is then being driven by their
slides – the visual support has ended up in the spotlight! Presenters need to
remember that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i> are the show –
anything else is simply to help them to deliver their presentation and the
audience to understand it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCMHbsI-NvmOzDSYTulrRS-vZE1V9c7DJcNkjkyQdg5fdrc7nnScx5QzRfXiwioF5MPKKkUweNYMsirPhYcsOp1Wbfzetu03uy1rMj4RpOC7qeA2JLrTrEOCVeDLqITmjOUGH6NlwUxxG7/s1600/sayitnologo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1239" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCMHbsI-NvmOzDSYTulrRS-vZE1V9c7DJcNkjkyQdg5fdrc7nnScx5QzRfXiwioF5MPKKkUweNYMsirPhYcsOp1Wbfzetu03uy1rMj4RpOC7qeA2JLrTrEOCVeDLqITmjOUGH6NlwUxxG7/s320/sayitnologo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Hence the advice from Presentation Skills coaches such as
myself: “Say it, </span><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">then</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> show.” The
perils of doing the opposite – </span><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">showing,
then saying </i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">- become all the more acute when a presenter displays a list of
bullet points, or a selection of visual images, all at once. This means that
the presenter loses any control of where the audience’s attention is directed,
as they will inevitably start reading ahead.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Most, but not all, slides therefore need to be displayed in a series of
‘builds’ so that the audience is looking at the point that the presenter is currently
talking about.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Part of the reason for presenters taking a back-to-front
approach to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">say it, then show </i>is that
they are often uncertain as to what comes next and use the appearance of a
slide as their own prompt. To make an impact you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">must</i> know what is coming next – so that you can ‘cue’ the reveal
appropriately. This is made easy for you with the ‘Presenter View’ (aka
Presenter Tools) facility that is built into Macs and is increasingly available
on PCs as well. For me, this is the most valuable tool to any presenter as,
rather than simply displaying the slide currently being projected, it also
displays the next slide, the entire run of slides (enabling you to jump
seamlessly to any point in the presentation) and other features such as Notes
and a clock. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesZbTkNPA3y_YtT-1hlsDM4TQo9oo41AUioqxCO8Nw9gXkolM88s8v8-q7ALODGwXtZYwgxoR5aFGDXdj2ztTxok8LnR6sRPVjv72KlSDTvuvZijiAU6iQpQwY5-IfnETSbVi8ziFaRRw/s1600/Presenterview+modern.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesZbTkNPA3y_YtT-1hlsDM4TQo9oo41AUioqxCO8Nw9gXkolM88s8v8-q7ALODGwXtZYwgxoR5aFGDXdj2ztTxok8LnR6sRPVjv72KlSDTvuvZijiAU6iQpQwY5-IfnETSbVi8ziFaRRw/s320/Presenterview+modern.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Finally, in order to make the </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">say it, then show</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> principle work to best effect you need a slide
changer – and one with which you are completely comfortable, so preferably your
own. And be sure to practice – cueing is, after all, about timing!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-47513803260122136222017-06-26T06:29:00.000+01:002017-06-26T06:29:57.569+01:00For effective communication, Prime Ministers and business presenters alike need to let a little light shine in on themselves.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;">As Theresa May lurched from one crisis to
another, I was asked last week by Helen Dunne, editor of CorpComms magazine,
for some advice to address the PM’s failure to empathise and communicate
effectively. Above all, the brief was ‘to make the Prime Minister seem more
human’.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The results from myself and other
commentators can be found here: </span><a href="https://corpcommsmagazine.co.uk/features-and-analysis/view/theresa-may-needs-a-new-media-strategy"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">https://corpcommsmagazine.co.uk/features-and-analysis/view/theresa-may-needs-a-new-media-strategy</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> on the CorpComms web site. The general thrust of my
contribution, however, was based on advice I often give to clients in
Presentation Skills sessions: ‘Let a little light shine in on yourself and your
audience will warm to you. Then everything you say will sound more convincing,
because it is coming from someone they feel they know and can trust’. This, it
has to be said, needs to be rather more ‘real’ and spontaneous than a carefully
stage-managed display of leather trousers. Arguably the most effective thing
Mrs May did communications-wise over the Grenfell Tower disaster was reportedly
to have shed tears over the victims’ stories. But, cynical as it may sound, she
needed to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seen</i> to be showing that
emotion, not simply beavering away behind closed doors in Downing Street. Just
look at how effective the Royals proved to be, simply by being seen to show up
in a timely manner. And how much ‘PR credit’ have they banked of late by
opening up on mental health issues? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="color: #351c75;">So how do you apply the ‘Letting some light
shine in on yourself’ principle as a business presenter as opposed to a Prime
Minister or member of the Royal family? By way of example, I was working on a
rather dry presentation with a senior packaging executive. It was a bit of a
slog, so we took a break and over coffee he admitted that the new idea he was
preaching had actually been sparked by his children over breakfast. I asked him
if we could use that and he gradually warmed to the idea. What this meant was
that the audience were now seeing: family man; cute kids (from a picture he dug
out); a man willing to share credit on a day when the overall theme was
‘teamwork’; and a man prepared to think outside the box. As a result, his was
the presentation that everyone remembered and talked about afterwards.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;">It’s quite simple really, but be warned – it
needs a leap of confidence to get the process going. Note that my client’s key
theme only emerged during an informal chat over coffee. This is often the case
– most people are simply too coy to offer up aspects of their personal life in
a more formal setting and need to have it coaxed out of them. So be brave and
do it in consultation with others.</span></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-62661440357717975342017-06-12T10:06:00.001+01:002017-06-12T10:06:15.765+01:00How to create an impact as you close your presentation – or kill the impact with a simple slip!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">As I always say, Opening and Closing are the two most
important parts of any presentation. Aside from being the elements that
audiences are most likely to remember, your opening is key to engaging your
audience so that they listen, and your closing is where you spell out what you
want them to think and do as a result of your presentation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">So how do you create a real impact as you make that
all-important final ‘Call to Action’? You <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could
</i>display a slide listing the key points of your presentation. And if you
restricted those points to three (exploiting the ‘Power of 3’) and kept each to
a one-liner, it would probably be quite effective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">But consider for a moment how much <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more </i>effective your conclusion could be if you forgot the bullet
points and worked with a blank screen. At this point in almost any presentation
you are usually asking your audience to do or believe something. How much better
is that going to be if it comes directly from you – with full-on eye contact –
as you are seen to speak from the heart, rather than via a bunch of bullet
points? Blanking the screen is easy in PowerPoint – you simply press the B key.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Let me conclude by pointing to a way that many people
quickly kill any concluding impact they may have created, with a simple slip of
the keyboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They display a slide showing
either: three short key points (quite good): ‘Thank You’ (not so good as this should
be spontaneous); or ‘Any Questions’? (not so good either as Q&A are much
better positioned earlier so that you can control your climax). Then they click
on further, crashing out of the slide show and revealing their desktop –
complete with latest emails, overdue software updates and their iTunes library,
probably with Abba’s greatest hits on prominent display. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyONOLIDe4o05OYc2DBJnRp6xyKgnjlYaIps9IhzVfn-OM0I_eiQJuMB4ov-ZFTOa1isRYJPRy4TT-7UbklGcTa2P19iWKEGQ4LV-LcrYuwTUjg4hDJhqgiBhWx4m0B1_2Io2jc_9BFuTe/s1600/Crash+PowerPoint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyONOLIDe4o05OYc2DBJnRp6xyKgnjlYaIps9IhzVfn-OM0I_eiQJuMB4ov-ZFTOa1isRYJPRy4TT-7UbklGcTa2P19iWKEGQ4LV-LcrYuwTUjg4hDJhqgiBhWx4m0B1_2Io2jc_9BFuTe/s400/Crash+PowerPoint.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">Any impact they may have created is going to be very
short-lived and no amount of fumbling is going to make for an effective
recovery!</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">How can you avoid crashing out
of slideshow mode? Make yourself an ‘end slide’, ideally to display after you
have delivered your Call to Action to a blank screen (using the B key). This
could simply be a copy of your intro slide; or it could be an abiding image
that underlines your Call to Action; or it could list your contact details. Having created the end slide, make a duplicate, so that you have </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">two</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"> end slides and even if you press too
far no one gets to see your desktop.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-91300464699750967512017-05-30T11:45:00.002+01:002017-05-30T11:45:42.314+01:00Like a great jazz performance an effective business presentation needs to be both scripted AND improvisational<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #351c75;">There is always a debate when constructing business
presentations – to script or not to script?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuh1omgcZYgh76Z_evIY3taZNDiEZhrUQon_oqcCAsIoh00fN5OnnE1Cayo3dqRoCZFFWyB_z_-ca61wDTEzFs_tQwkVO9YTXrn1x-3cjjncf8hYSPem_7i_WLLc495J8-5esTDe05TYT9/s1600/typewiter.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="765" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuh1omgcZYgh76Z_evIY3taZNDiEZhrUQon_oqcCAsIoh00fN5OnnE1Cayo3dqRoCZFFWyB_z_-ca61wDTEzFs_tQwkVO9YTXrn1x-3cjjncf8hYSPem_7i_WLLc495J8-5esTDe05TYT9/s320/typewiter.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #351c75;">There are many pros and cons on both sides. With scripting
you run the risk of the presenter just reading it out. Even if they memorise
the script it is likely to come over as stiff, too pre-prepared and lacking in spontaneity.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Equally, one of the biggest ways in which many people let
themselves down is that they don’t really know what they are going to say –
they meander and repeat themselves in a way that would be deemed normal for a
general conversation but unsuitable for a presentation where people have taken
the time and trouble to gather and listen. Furthermore, it will almost
certainly lack any real focus or impact, so may be a waste of (everybody’s)
time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">I therefore tend to avoid talk of actual ‘scripting’ – except
for the opening and closing, which I stress are the most important parts of any
presentation. As you open you need to get straight to your big agenda-setting
point while also engaging your audience. As you close you need to send your
audience away with a crystal-clear rendition of what you want them to remember
and do as a result of your presentation. Your opening and closing therefore need to be
both scripted and memorised – so that you are concise, word-perfect and can
give full-on eye contact at the most crucial moments. In between you can afford
to be a little more relaxed and informal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0G9d3ikmCxR7YABrUBV8TGEgIeDj3ZPRtRLtPP1i3fTixSLKpIZk5SrV6Ycu18-azhkAHzmzLe2dnU46s5ovelUJeRaZwZLmyrLv7L6f9C1s0J7kbIEQMiEVO_OdzxeB_xQtClRgRFYJC/s1600/ted+talks+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0G9d3ikmCxR7YABrUBV8TGEgIeDj3ZPRtRLtPP1i3fTixSLKpIZk5SrV6Ycu18-azhkAHzmzLe2dnU46s5ovelUJeRaZwZLmyrLv7L6f9C1s0J7kbIEQMiEVO_OdzxeB_xQtClRgRFYJC/s200/ted+talks+book.jpg" width="133" /></span></a><span style="color: #351c75;">Having long applied this principle to my Presentation Skills
coaching, I was delighted to find a supportive view in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">TED Talks</i>, via a contribution from Dan Gilbert, author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stumbling on Happiness</i>. I quote direct
from Head of TED Chris Anderson’s excellent book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TED-Talks-Official-Public-Speaking/dp/B01DTE9RRK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496140319&sr=8-1&keywords=Chris+Anderson">TED Talks – The official TED Guide to Public Speaking:</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Dan Gilbert thinks it’s not either/or. First of all he
writes a script for his talks (being careful to use spoken English).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But
then, when I deliver them I don’t stick to the script I wrote. So why do I
write them? Because writing a story is how you find out where the holes are! A
great talk is both scripted AND improvisational. It is precisely like a great
jazz performance: First, the opening and closing are always completely
scripted; second, the general structure is fully determined before the first
horn blows; but third, what makes jazz interesting and captivating is that in
the middle there is always some point (or several points) in which the player
can go off script and spontaneously create something that captures the mood of that
particular audience in that particular room at that particular moment in time. The
player can take a few moments to do this, but he must always know when to come
home, and he must always know where home is. A totally improvisational talk is
like free jazz: an utter abomination almost every time it happens. A totally
scripted talk is like a classical music concert: intricate, deep, and
flawlessly executed, but often predictable enough to put the audience to sleep
because they know from the start that there will be no surprises.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">To me, that sums up the scenario perfectly, with key take
outs being: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->A
great talk is both scripted AND improvisational.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The
opening and closing are always completely scripted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->He
must always know when to come home, and he must always know where home is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">I do, however, love the references to free jazz and classical
concerts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-80270905913053011612017-05-16T07:22:00.000+01:002017-05-22T16:37:32.738+01:00Let’s put the old ‘93% myth’ on the impact of communication to bed once and for all!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6P9U2281_4TDziiFVSmIwQoUD5d7_o_8XmmAtpPJmkuBIf0t3PHa8FIRypcFcOBSuEWdl8P6toEKeH83z6qG7NC84pobf4gY5bW59dihPtYS41LMxzHeEL3YtP2hqKWxnvF93a0b8PG2/s320/93%2525.png" width="320" /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’ve all heard it so many times: “Only 7% of the meaning of
what you say is in the words; 55% comes through body language, and vocal tone
and modulation account for the remaining 38%”. And the formula has been
perpetuated for more than 40 years through word of mouth, unscrupulous trainers
and, of course, the internet.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stop and think about it for a moment. If the ‘93% myth’ were
true, Shakespeare would surely have had Mark Anthony calling on his Friends,
Romans and Countrymen to lend him their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eyes</i>
rather than their ears. The telephone would be a fairly useless tool. The radio
industry would be out of business and, would there be much point even in
reading? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">So what gave rise to the 93% myth? It all goes back to the
1960s when Professor Albert Mehrabian, based at the University of California,
conducted research into body language and non-verbal communications. The focus
of his study was discovering how emotion was communicated. His tests would therefore
include people saying something like “that’s nice”, but in an angry tone of
voice or with threatening body language.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9u6uOmndr7hhWs3CuvGpbIToHQGuJm8JV2NQnRaOnsdEHNTNVJ8NMrH0azkUb4X9SZ7zhHCQ-Ex4Agpt0LBSyss6nGO9F9QojiOSGs8aao_2uKBpQb5TNXcKLLUN-R0Aa6lk_FndKJcv/s1600/mehrabianpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9u6uOmndr7hhWs3CuvGpbIToHQGuJm8JV2NQnRaOnsdEHNTNVJ8NMrH0azkUb4X9SZ7zhHCQ-Ex4Agpt0LBSyss6nGO9F9QojiOSGs8aao_2uKBpQb5TNXcKLLUN-R0Aa6lk_FndKJcv/s320/mehrabianpic.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Professor Albert Mehrabian</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The results can therefore be more fully and accurately summed
up as:</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in the
words that are spoken<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">38% of meaning pertaining to feelings and attitudes is
paralinguistic (the way words are said)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">55% of meaning pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in
facial expression<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is that crucial phrase <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pertaining to feelings and attitudes</i> that has gone missing in
action over the years. It’s frustrating for us Presentation Skills coaches that
the over-simplification has taken hold and it clearly gets to Mehrabian too
because his web site (<a href="http://www.kaaj.com/psych">www.kaaj.com/psych</a>)
includes a bolded disclaimer as follows: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please note that this (7/55/38%) and other equations regarding the
relative importance of verbal and non-verbal messages were derived from
experiments dealing with communications of feelings and attitudes (ie
like-dislike). Unless a communicator is talking about their feelings and
attitudes, these equations are not applicable.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There you have it – from the originator himself. Clearly
body language and vocal tone play a crucial part in effective communication,
but these are to enhance the words that must – after audience focus - remain at
the top of the communication hierarchy.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-1747869905548216272017-05-02T21:28:00.000+01:002017-05-02T21:28:36.388+01:00The environment for your business presentation can derail your otherwise best-laid plans<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;">I was called in at short
notice recently to help a very senior client with an introductory presentation
he was making for an important dinner – later that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the last minute nature of the
assignment I was delighted my client had seen fit to invest in this level of
preparation. He had recently arrived as CEO and this was his first opportunity
to make a real impact with many of the people who really mattered within his
world. When I called him the next day to see how it went he was clearly
delighted but added: “Mind you, it was quite scary to begin with – the room was
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">much</i> bigger than I had imagined!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">I can only think that he had
a wry smile on his face as he said this, because our session the previous day
had begun like this. He had clearly put a lot of work into his speech so after
a few brief pleasantries, he stood at the end of the big boardroom table and
started to deliver it. “Hang on a minute,” I soon interrupted rather sharply,
“how are you going to get them to stop talking and pay attention to you?” He
indicated a glass and a spoon. “OK, where are you going to get those from? Where
are you then going to put them? Will your guests be standing or sitting? Do they perhaps
need to be asked to sit? (which will take time, so probably needs to be done
first) What is the shape and layout of the tables? (Many people may be facing
away from you). Will there be light on you? Will you have/do you need a
microphone? (If in any doubt, you do, though with a short speech you might
manage without). How far will you need to project your voice? What are the
range and angles for your eye contact? Are there any obstacles such as pillars?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;">My client had given little,
if any thought to such factors but soon realised they all had the potential to
add to or detract from what he planned to say. I didn’t press the point so late
in the day, but it is because of factors such as these that I regard a site
visit as crucial to success. Together with a lot of planning advantages, a site visit enables you to visualise what the situation will be and to replicate that in
rehearsal, which will also do much to control any nerves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Having planned for the
environment we were then able to focus on the content and we did many of the
usual things such as introduce a personal note or two linked with the venue, disentangle
some double negatives, make references to some people in the room more fulsome
and overt, and coming to a rousing finish. We also took the opportunity to
remove anything that was superfluous. I frequently talk about ‘Killing your
darlings’ – the filmmakers’ approach to ruthless editing and it is every bit as
important in a situation like this as it is in the boardroom. After all, what
your audience really want to do is tuck into their dinner!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">So, as with all good
presentation practice, you need to think about your audience first - before
developing your message - but remember that the environment can often create the
framework for the impact that you are seeking to achieve.</span></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-6265136557669190922017-04-18T17:14:00.002+01:002017-04-18T17:14:36.547+01:00Are you undermining your fellow business presenters without realising it?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;">“I know you are only speaking for a few minutes each, but actually you will
be under pressure to ‘perform’ for the full 40 minutes that you remain on stage.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;">So went my briefing to a team of business presenters I was helping to prepare
for a recent conference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What you need
to remember, I explained, is that the audience will be looking, if not actually
focusing, in your direction throughout the session. What typically happens is
that you are all revved up for your own section, but will probably sigh with
relief and relax a bit once it is complete. You have already heard what your colleagues
are now presenting in numerous rehearsals, so your mind starts to wander. You may
start examining your fingernails, spot something peculiar about the light
fittings, or even let out a little yawn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI-SBhyphenhyphenolA2UPiz7skLwGBz2RzRm9jr9jy70hpomNPtK01s2avicfvm_2GuoY9WwhovgMm52oasV78jx0O47Uf2I1z_tN6XyZf5_itoppdead2Amp_a4pn74BHwDp_cmdUIHDgfAS7K4t/s1600/stools.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI-SBhyphenhyphenolA2UPiz7skLwGBz2RzRm9jr9jy70hpomNPtK01s2avicfvm_2GuoY9WwhovgMm52oasV78jx0O47Uf2I1z_tN6XyZf5_itoppdead2Amp_a4pn74BHwDp_cmdUIHDgfAS7K4t/s400/stools.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">This is bad news for your team and especially the person currently
presenting – because you are sending out signals of boredom to the audience. If
you are not showing proper interest why should they?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;">What you need to do therefore is to remain fully alert – ‘on parade’, if
you like – for every moment that you are in the audience’s view. Specifically,
you need to be supportive of your colleagues, actively listening to what they
say, complete with smiles and nods in appropriate places as if you are hearing
it for the first time. As well as being supportive this will create a sense of ‘energy’,
that will be sadly lacking if each person is simply waiting for their turn to
speak.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Success in presenting as a team is dependent on a number of other
factors such as choreography – getting the team on stage in the right order and
at the right pace – and furniture! What you need to avoid is low-standing
squidgy sofas that appear to suck people into a slump position. Look at the
sofas on breakfast TV shows – they may look comfortable, but in reality they
are quite hard and upright. Stools are usually the best option – they keep
everyone almost vertical and are quick and easy to get out of.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAD9vw4EhVGT7KOT0qnfUyoGFrFhHx662BXdBH_iX245k1kyd9F9DxTxu_8m0_3g7v9fcIPtppHG4CeMGWHCACmP37fKMz2lpFpy4sq-GLXkYjogZg9uyX_tLkgvVh0exId2DnfWln7Mi5/s1600/bbc+breaksat+sofa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAD9vw4EhVGT7KOT0qnfUyoGFrFhHx662BXdBH_iX245k1kyd9F9DxTxu_8m0_3g7v9fcIPtppHG4CeMGWHCACmP37fKMz2lpFpy4sq-GLXkYjogZg9uyX_tLkgvVh0exId2DnfWln7Mi5/s320/bbc+breaksat+sofa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">One other tip was highlighted by my recent coaching session – the need
to be seen to actively watch any video material you use. One of the speakers introduced
his video clip with a certain amount of gusto and then appeared to take no
further interest in it. “You must watch – and be seen to be watching – your video,”
I said. “I was,” he replied, “I looked at the monitor in front of the stage.”</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">I explained that I knew that but few, if any,
of the audience would appreciate the fact. He needed to actively turn towards
the screen at the moment that he wanted attention focused there and keep his
gaze firmly fixed in that direction for the duration of the video.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Magicians, of course, know all about using their gaze to direct
attention where they want it, but it was the main point here of being ‘on show’
that the great Ali Bongo used to drum into us for events at The Magic Circle:
You must remain fully ‘in character’, he said, whenever members of the audience
see you - or </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">might</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> see you.</span></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-60943100175648559242017-03-20T18:48:00.000+00:002017-03-20T18:48:02.660+00:00The verbal ‘tic’ that is ‘so, so’ for business presenters – bad for opening, but good for closing<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">A verbal ‘tic’ has emerged in the past few years –
increasing numbers of people seem to be unable to start speaking without saying
‘so’. And it afflicts communication professionals as much as anyone. I listened
to a podcast with a legendary broadcasting executive and no less than five of
his answers started along these lines: “So, the interesting thing is…” or, “So
what you have to remember….”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZyFAtNVSUZpYT_Z-M3rnWVvOLT-t9hixm6SMyRwhSOLtoXicMuaMULTg4-ZnaM6jYxhOMmkygtU7ETTuiVtrpMMXcWDWJrLLEJAN5R6NIQY4cXZsRv_REzcdupWoKi_i9rnlybEXul6G/s1600/so+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZyFAtNVSUZpYT_Z-M3rnWVvOLT-t9hixm6SMyRwhSOLtoXicMuaMULTg4-ZnaM6jYxhOMmkygtU7ETTuiVtrpMMXcWDWJrLLEJAN5R6NIQY4cXZsRv_REzcdupWoKi_i9rnlybEXul6G/s320/so+crop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">So</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"> is essentially
a variation on ‘umm’ or ‘err’. It’s what the linguists call a ‘voiced pause’ –
a filler word that gives us a moment to think what we want to say. As such it
has no part in presentation – it soon becomes irritating and it diminishes what
you are saying.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Verbal tics come in waves because they are infectious. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So</i> follows the Upward Inflection
(finishing every sentence as though you are asking a question), which
thankfully seems to be on the wane, and Literally. I reckon this last one –
which is all about emphasis - actually recurs every 15 years or so. I remember
during my schooldays being told of a boy who had stuck his fingers in a toaster
and ‘literally screamed his head off’. A generation later it was adopted by
Hooray Henry-types you would use it as an opener: “No, literally…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Some people have their own personal tics. I once knew a
marketing agency executive whose job it was to present – and therefore sell –
the agency’s creative ideas. As he introduced each idea he said: “This is just
a concept based around….”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Just? </i>For goodness sake talk it up, not
down, I kept thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">The problem with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So</i>
for a business presenter is that your opening is one of the two most important
parts of any communication – it’s what your audience remembers and it’s the bit
that engages them (or not). I was coaching a business presenter in Q&A
recently and her answers started thus: “So the shareholders are delighted with
the return they are getting currently…” It’s only a tiny two-letter word that’s
getting in the way, but the statement could carry much more impact if she got
straight into the meat of it, especially as the So prefix hints at hesitation
and perhaps a looming qualifier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Conversely, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So</i> can
be rather effective when you make your closing statement, which, along with
your opening, is the other most important part of any communication. At this
point you need re-gather attention before hitting them with your big finish –
usually a Call to Action. That can be achieved quite effectively by proclaiming
in a very definite way: “So….” It must, however, be followed by a decent-sized
pause.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">So….it’s time for me to close. The nature of tics is such
that you probably won’t be aware your own – which means you need help from
friends and colleagues. </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">So</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"> is the current
one to watch for – it’s harmfully superfluous up front, but can be really quite
useful as you close.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-34053430919829319392017-03-06T18:04:00.001+00:002017-03-06T18:04:51.304+00:00Eye contact – it’s the business presenter’s most important skill but needs constant practice<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">“Prince Philip was feeling was left out and Fergie was
wondering why you were staring at him” are typical of the feedback I give to
business presenters when we are focusing on eye contact in my training
sessions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">For me, eye contact is one of the most vital elements for effective Presentation Skills and yet most people need to keep working at it
long after they have become accomplished in other respects. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">And one of the difficulties in coaching people in this area
is that you are often working with a very small audience or no audience at all.
I soon realised there was little point in saying “imagine all these seats are
filled with people” so I got myself some celebrity masks and if the need arises
I strap them to the backs of the empty chairs. Then the presenter has some
targets for the eye contact they are practicing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0jyNNwDtO7scK3QrlYH00JgEBYwtbwYlAa4gHyVJITvLGO9BTXTAK_P7FchL-YJAmWw9jfnPE4NCKmyI6G3O92kN1axLCt-0TMYNTULf96IVO0RkW5_KSMk9bD7_2G2Sb0819oOC7Ywy/s1600/masks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0jyNNwDtO7scK3QrlYH00JgEBYwtbwYlAa4gHyVJITvLGO9BTXTAK_P7FchL-YJAmWw9jfnPE4NCKmyI6G3O92kN1axLCt-0TMYNTULf96IVO0RkW5_KSMk9bD7_2G2Sb0819oOC7Ywy/s400/masks.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">In order to establish the importance of eye contact I often
ask those I am coaching about their children. “Are you teaching them to say:
‘thank you for having me’,” I ask. “They may achieve a firm handshake and a
heartfelt thank you, but without eye contact it means very little.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">The same applies with grown ups in any situation, but it becomes
especially apparent in presentations. You can be a word-perfect smooth talker
but without the eye contact you are never going to engage your audience;
indeed, you may switch them off or even make them feel excluded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">By the time we get to eye contact in my training sessions we
have already clearly established that how you open and how you close are the two
most important <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">moments </i>in any
presentation. These are what audiences remember, I explain (what psychologists
call ‘Primacy & Recency’), but there is much more to it than that. Your
opening is where you need to engage your audience – making them sit up, pay attention
and, ideally, like you. That needs strong, direct eye contact. Your close is
where you deliver your Call to Action – what you want them to remember and do
as a result of your presentation. No one is going to do anything for you unless
you look them straight in the eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">Two final tips – one from me and one from a legendary
magician. Be sure to spread your eye contact evenly. In order to make everyone
feel included this may need some overt moves in order to catch those at the
back or to your extreme left or right. Magicians probably know more about eye
contact than anyone because they use it to direct attention where they want it
and away from their sleight of hand dirty work. Juan Tamariz suggests checking
the colour of your audience’s eyes – that forces close eye contact.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-13686334737467685952017-02-20T16:33:00.000+00:002017-02-20T16:33:45.460+00:00Business presenters are being misled by comedians – apparent spontaneity usually comes down to careful scripting<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">One of the biggest ways that people let themselves down when
giving a presentation is so simple that I actually find it difficult to say out
loud: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they don’t really know what they
are going to say.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">People come up to me having made a presentation or given a
speech, asking: “How did I do?” The sheepish way in which they often ask
betrays the fact that they already know the answer, which is invariably: “You
didn’t really know what you were going to say, did you?” At which point they
protest about how busy they have been, how they only got a chance to look
through it on the train etc. I don’t usually need to follow through, but if I
did the blunt version would be: “So how can you expect to be any good?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Part of the problem these days is that we are all exposed to
a fair of stand up comedy and the best performers are very good at giving the
impression they are simply chatting with the audience and making much of it up
as they go along. I urge those I am coaching that this is simply not the case.
“Go and see any comedian for a second, third or fourth night,” I tell them,
“and you will find it remarkably similar, right down to apparent mistakes and
interruptions. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If </i>they adlib, they do
so because they have a solid structure for their act; they know that if they
step out of that structure and it doesn’t work, they can get back into it very
quickly. Indeed, having that safety net there frees them to exploit an
opportunity for an adlib should it arise.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Recently, however, I saw an absolute masterclass in the
principle of appearing to make it all up on the spot, when Alan Davies came to
try out new material at a little pub close to where I live. He was so
convincing with his casual, chatty approach that even I started to think that
perhaps he might be an exception to the rule that I so strongly espouse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdk3YOYO08pYrKm2Ht9m-kwqEsEy_mmJFaZh6PjFZUqdq79-M-YylcB88KsROpxTz72iSFIzSrvU3rK3MtH6l75d_lwXn2hzWAZYalcQsMJHYf960fwsGZPiLzsfTvQJlu277UH_C-BySX/s1600/Alan-Davies-ear+355930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdk3YOYO08pYrKm2Ht9m-kwqEsEy_mmJFaZh6PjFZUqdq79-M-YylcB88KsROpxTz72iSFIzSrvU3rK3MtH6l75d_lwXn2hzWAZYalcQsMJHYf960fwsGZPiLzsfTvQJlu277UH_C-BySX/s400/Alan-Davies-ear+355930.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">When I got home I started thinking more objectively about
what I had just seen. Davies spent the first ten minutes talking hilariously
about the pub and the neighbourhood. Surely that can’t have been planned?</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">On reflection I am pretty sure it was, for
two admirable reasons. First he would have thought: Where am I going tonight?
A: Peckham. Right, I can use some of my ‘South of the River’ material. That
will juxtapose nicely with all my usual jokes about the pretentious coffee bars
in my neck of the woods. Next, what sort of pub is it? A: ‘London’s first co-operatively
owned pub’. So it’s probably a bit ‘rough and ready’, if not actually run down.
Great, I can use my old material about Health & Safety inspectors and
gangsters in the car parks. How can I make that topical? A: Quip about this
being what Brexit is all about – getting back to proper old fashioned pubs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">We all loved it because it was very funny, but also – and
here comes the second reason it was so good – it was all about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">us</i>. He engaged us and got us to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">like</i> him immediately by focusing on our
favourite subject, which is always the same for any audience: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ourselves</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">As I always say, the priority for anyone with a message to
communicate – be they a business presenter or a comedian - is to think first
and foremost about your audience – who they are, what they know, what they are
thinking. Only then should you start polishing your message in the light of all
that information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">As for truly knowing what you are going to say, Derren
Brown’s early advice to magicians included this little gem: </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The key to
achieving good spontaneity is very good scripting. It’s not about killing
spontaneity, it’s about setting the framework as best as it can be, to allow
you to have the confidence to move into other areas.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-59613088891157087032017-02-07T07:21:00.000+00:002017-02-07T07:21:20.916+00:00You must be yourself when delivering a presentation – but with a keen sense of self-awareness <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">I was coaching a property consultant in Presentation Skills
recently and I opened my feedback as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">“You have very engaging style, clear voice, descriptive phrases
and strong eye contact. You also have <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very
expressive hands</i>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Yes, I know,”
she said; “my bosses have told me I’ve got to sit on my hands.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">I pleaded with her <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i>
to sit on her hands as she actually used them rather well and the gesturing was
clearly intrinsic to her (very engaging) personality. “The only problem you
have,” I said, “is that there is just a bit too much of it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcsIQUTDbIQwjGW9VYs50LlV5Es9HcPontKL38eNLpHYVEYWOwc0aF2EDoChWD2iiWiYRzNZHQqhyphenhyphenBcTpKAoH1ggtbXn-lje95cBkhQO4vsghlc52MsV_NDHR-nc6R0tMQXPSqnqMR6J7/s1600/clintonhandsCROP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcsIQUTDbIQwjGW9VYs50LlV5Es9HcPontKL38eNLpHYVEYWOwc0aF2EDoChWD2iiWiYRzNZHQqhyphenhyphenBcTpKAoH1ggtbXn-lje95cBkhQO4vsghlc52MsV_NDHR-nc6R0tMQXPSqnqMR6J7/s400/clintonhandsCROP.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">I went on to explain that, because her hand movements were a
natural part of personality, it was likely that she was largely oblivious to
them. What she needed to do, therefore, was to develop a greater awareness of
how her audience saw her. She would
probably then realise it was all a bit gesture-heavy and she could work at
controlling her movements, by planning moments of stillness. Then she could
save the gesturing for when she really wanted to emphasise key points. This
would be all the more effective because the gestures would come from a foundation
of stillness, rather than potentially getting lost in a flurry of on-going hand
activity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">This is the opposite of the more common situation where I am
recommending a more animated delivery, for which we build in planned moments of
active gesturing to reinforce key messages. In each case the starting point is one
of establishing a greater awareness of how the person is presenting currently
and that probably requires video. I am not the sort of Presentation Skills
coach who reaches automatically for the video camera and I can point to various
scenarios in which it does more harm than good. I tend to spare the camera for
working on the kind of specifics I am describing here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">I brought the camera out on one occasion when the presenter
had a peculiar way of holding his arm and twirling it as he spoke. I suspected
he had little or no knowledge that he was doing this. He confirmed as much when
I played back the video and he said, with some amazement: “I dance like that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">As I said up front, you should always let your own personality
come through in a presentation – but within limits that show self-awareness!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-38791329511259395702017-01-23T15:58:00.001+00:002017-01-23T15:58:26.256+00:00Speeding up your presentation is not the answer when time is short – now there’s scientific proof!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">“I’ve got a lot to get through, so I’m going to go quite
fast”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">How many times have you heard this from someone giving a
business presentation? And how effective did those presenters turn out be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Speeding up, as I have often said to those I coach in
Presentation Skills, is not an effective answer to communicating a lot of
information in a short space of time. Indeed, it will probably do more harm
than good. And now there is some science to support what I have been saying; published
in the journal <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cognition</i>, it was<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>reported in both the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Times</i> (see below) and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4129448/Fast-talkers-AREN-T-effective-communicators.html"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">here</b> in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daily Mail</i>.<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9wztoV0-Ig914ce7U46aH0gHAlwo4B0quWGysDkdM3k331qgF-6OxEcmizrYfjd9ODaUz0YVykqXCo5PUztMnLaoHQKud6xl-f9I4JVnHnBhHggBCCBllK7QJTnjDcEYh9gHoO93_vmq/s1600/IMG_1682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9wztoV0-Ig914ce7U46aH0gHAlwo4B0quWGysDkdM3k331qgF-6OxEcmizrYfjd9ODaUz0YVykqXCo5PUztMnLaoHQKud6xl-f9I4JVnHnBhHggBCCBllK7QJTnjDcEYh9gHoO93_vmq/s400/IMG_1682.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">The findings of the research, by Dr Uriel Cohen Piva,
assistant professor at Brown University in the USA, are quite complicated and
the Daily Mail has almost inevitably led on a reader-friendly gender divide. The
nub of it, however, is that </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">as speech
sped up, the information rate declined</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">So what can business presenters do when they have a lot to convey
in a short amount of time? The best approach is to be ruthless about your
editing – you need to accept the fact that you suffer from the <a href="http://nickfitzherbert.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/you-can-easily-know-too-much-when.html">‘Curse of Knowledge’</a> and need to <a href="http://nickfitzherbert.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/kill-some-darlings-before-delivering.html">‘Kill some Darlings’</a>, just as TV and film makers do. I
have discussed these issues at various times in the past and you can click on
some links for the articles, the most recent featuring <a href="http://nickfitzherbert.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/clarkson-gave-business-presenters.html">Jeremy Clarkson</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Thereafter, there are a number of tactics you can deploy,
primarily:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">First, be sure to time yourself carefully as you rehearse.
The brain plays tricks on you at times like this and your presentation will
always seem either longer or shorter than it actually is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Second, aim to come in a little <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">under</i> time. People will thank you for that and you will have a
built-in comfort margin. It may even help in terms of stimulating follow up
questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Third, build in some content at around the 75% mark that is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nice</i> to have, but not essential. That
way, this can be cut if necessary, so that you can avoid having to rush or even
manage without your closing comments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">Finally, remember that if you are forced to curtail your
closing comments you are messing up the most crucial part of your presentation. ‘Firsts & Lasts’ are the most important elements of any presentation for
two main reasons: 1) Those are what your audience remember and 2) Your close
contains your ‘Call to Action’ – a crystal clear (rather than rushed or
stunted) definition of what you want your audience to do and to remember.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-81230772016525425182017-01-16T07:52:00.000+00:002017-01-16T07:52:20.499+00:00How effective could my business presentations be if I were able to read minds like Derren Brown?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Of all the questions I am asked when applying the Rules of
Magic to business presentation skills, “Can you use mindreading techniques to
win people over?” is the one that crops up most consistently.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The short answer is ‘yes’, but it’s a very qualified yes
because the secret behind most ‘mindreading’ is blatant, and often quite simple, trickery. No one really likes to hear that, so they persist with: “But what
about the stuff Derren Brown does?” Again, mostly trickery, with elements of
psychology mixed in, but this does lead to where we can have a more
constructive conversation on the subject of Cold Reading.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Essentially, Cold Reading is about truly observing – rather than
just seeing – everything around you and putting that information to good use.
Sherlock Holmes is the best known exponent of this technique and would famously
chastise Watson with: “You see, but you do not observe,” before drawing all
kinds of conclusions about a person based on the way they dress, the scuff on
their shoes, the hint of a scent and a study of their gait. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I recently found myself in the perfect position to point to
the benefits of some ultra-simple Cold Reading when I helped a Korean start-up
business with their investor pitch. They had a whole new hi-tech take on personal
identification for online security and they were pointing to the potential for their
product in different parts of the world. They displayed a global map that was
divided into percentages, with higher scores featuring in the West than the
East. When they finished I confessed I had failed to understand this part –
what did the percentages represent? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvsNwAv1M3x6Ky2mjGqpRPwzVxW9fjVYFhGEXKw_zW-ME4ITbY6_s3a16leZPiIhDCSkOFJfk8k5zxV-zxXzT9tViyaP2l6RWj_lreW4xz2iErp6hQGxoFEceFvMINfrBFIsolfNx2aKJ/s1600/japan+stamp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvsNwAv1M3x6Ky2mjGqpRPwzVxW9fjVYFhGEXKw_zW-ME4ITbY6_s3a16leZPiIhDCSkOFJfk8k5zxV-zxXzT9tViyaP2l6RWj_lreW4xz2iErp6hQGxoFEceFvMINfrBFIsolfNx2aKJ/s200/japan+stamp2.jpg" width="200" /></a>Then, and only then, did they explain that until quite recently
people in Eastern cultures tended to use a stamp impression to identify themselves
rather than a signature. Then someone else chipped in: “It’s a bit like the
signet rings that British people used for stamping sealing wax on important
documents.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Like this,” I replied,
showing my own signet ring bearing my family’s ancient crest and motto.” Just
as I had very little knowledge of Eastern practices, my client had never seen
the Western equivalent and in my explanation I had to avoid getting too bogged
down in the complexities of Royal Charters and the Norman invasion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">What came out of this, however, were at least two very useful little
nuggets for future versions of the pitch. First, actively use – and maybe even
make a feature of – the cultural differences between stamps and signatures. It
may seem peripheral to your ‘big sell’ but it’s all good story material with
the potential to interest and intrigue your audience.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Second, do a little ‘Cold Reading’ before you get started,
especially in a room full of Brits in the City of London. Scan the room to see
who has a signet ring, probably on the pinky finger of their left hand. Then
you can get individuals actively involved in your storytelling. It builds a
bridge between the two different cultures, together with empathy between
yourself and your audience.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Show business people other than magicians will be familiar
with this process, without necessarily regarding it as ‘Cold Reading’. “Who’s
in tonight?” they will ask the theatre manager, keen to know of any particular
coach groups with special interests, regionalities or special interests they
can bounce off. As for magicians and their trickery, that inevitably has to
remain shrouded in secrecy but, while much of it is surprisingly simple,
technology has undoubtedly helped. Indeed, in the early days of the internet
many mindreaders made a specialty of picking a supposedly random audience
member and telling them intricate details of their schooldays – all plucked
supposedly direct form their minds. Those mindreaders continue to this day to
curse the demise of Friends Reunited!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYC1Zrn2lx-wOmecj9s0biQXlMk2E7pLd7QzklBn16zXOa4GXuZVmtAbC7QKVg5PTNDKOOE8qb2Q1tv0EwlxHMABBs4p4183r0Ps6SU5NrJVkeM76R06aU24khnIWHc2nLqfnAXJq1u009/s1600/signet+ring+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYC1Zrn2lx-wOmecj9s0biQXlMk2E7pLd7QzklBn16zXOa4GXuZVmtAbC7QKVg5PTNDKOOE8qb2Q1tv0EwlxHMABBs4p4183r0Ps6SU5NrJVkeM76R06aU24khnIWHc2nLqfnAXJq1u009/s320/signet+ring+crop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-7673251254261504212016-12-11T17:46:00.000+00:002016-12-11T17:50:52.352+00:00The post-truth lowdown on the Christmas story<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By any reckoning 2016 has been a pretty dreadful year for
most of us, so there’s all the more reason to have a really good Christmas and
start looking forward to better times in 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing we are going to have to get used to, however, is
living in a ‘post-truth’ age, which Wikipedia defines as follows: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">campaigners
continue to repeat their talking points, even if these are found to be untrue</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">debate
is framed largely by </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none;">appeals
to emotion</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> disconnected
from the details of </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none;">policy</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, and by the repeated assertion of </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none;">talking
points</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to
which factual rebuttals are ignored<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, at the risk of ‘bah humbug’ accusations, it occurs to
me that post-truth has been applied to the Christmas story for more than 2000
years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What brings me to this conclusion? A rather wonderful
new book called <b><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Cornucopia-Stories-Yuletide-Traditions/dp/0241267730/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481477633&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+cornuc"><i>A Christmas Cornucopia </i>by Mark Forsyth</a></b>, who gets to the bottom of the traditional Christmas story with
a lot of detailed research.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoYj2ssShbMCr14RMevzMoVanY5bIQr-35Pf28dCupXG4bFfBsaE9BGK7CPPj_nPK2_d74D_T7PuswP0soEuOzE42lcbqrt4Q_NIy-u8VlF12BIknR3cumThB_taLvlTJX1W4hRDFupg1/s1600/Ch+cornucopia+2+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoYj2ssShbMCr14RMevzMoVanY5bIQr-35Pf28dCupXG4bFfBsaE9BGK7CPPj_nPK2_d74D_T7PuswP0soEuOzE42lcbqrt4Q_NIy-u8VlF12BIknR3cumThB_taLvlTJX1W4hRDFupg1/s320/Ch+cornucopia+2+crop.jpg" width="227" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Among the Christmas myths busted by Forsyth
are: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dates</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">None of the four gospels say what day Jesus was
born on. Mark and John don’t mention his birth at all.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the evidence available (mainly equinox
data) Jesus was probably born in the Spring.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Advent does not begin on December 1, except for
once every seven years because officially it’s on the Sunday nearest to
November 30. Only the advent of Advent Calendars brought about standardisation.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Origins</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The origins of Christmas traditions are neither
Victorian, nor Pagan. The Pagans did worship trees but opted for oaks.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carols</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #351c75; text-indent: -18pt;">‘Three ships came sailing by’ – makes no sense,
as Bethlehem is landlocked.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good King Wenceslas was a real person, but he
wasn’t a King and he wasn’t called Wenceslas.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Icons</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The number of Wise Men or ‘Magi’ is not
specified in the gospels – only the number of gifts (three, of course).</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rudolph cannot be a male reindeer. ‘He’ is always
depicted with horns, but males shed them during winter.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">British partridges don’t perch in trees.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally</span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Early Christians didn’t even celebrate
birthdays – they celebrated death days.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #351c75;">What makes <i>A
Christmas Cornucopia</i> so enjoyable is that Forsyth combines his research
with large doses of humour and affection. Among the origins he investigates
are: </span><i style="color: #351c75;">Round Robins, Christmas Cards,<span style="background: white;"> </span>Carols<span style="background: white;">, </span>Father
Christmas<span style="background: white;">, </span>Santa’s Grotto
and Elves<span style="background: white;">, </span>Rudolph and ‘his’
red nose<span style="background: white;">, </span>Crackers<span style="background: white;">, </span>Dried Fruit,<span style="background: white;"> </span>Christmas Puddings and their
sixpences</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">
and <i>Boxing Day</i>.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, by the way, a ‘<span style="background: white;">proper’ Christmas tree should
have a snake in it</span>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75;">It’s all great stuff and for me takes nothing
away from the fact that I absolutely </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #351c75;">love
</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75;">Christmas. So be sure to have a very happy one yourself and if you click on
the link below you can see me creating a Christmas card with the help of some
technology and a little bit of magic!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lUHZJrQgkQk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lUHZJrQgkQk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></div>
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-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-15797905624598831622016-12-04T16:19:00.000+00:002016-12-04T16:22:28.716+00:00Keep still in your business presentation! It will both add impact and amplify your gestures<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Where are you going?” said the acting coach to the business
presenter who was pacing backwards and forwards as he spoke. “Over there”, came
the rather weak response. “Why?” said the coach, as they both realised there
was no good answer to the question. That coach, Rich Bloch, was speaking to us
at The Magic Circle and he made me think afresh about the benefits of stillness
when you are delivering a presentation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stillness is, of course, the body language equivalent of
Pausing, which I discussed in <a href="http://nickfitzherbert.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/pause-for-thought-in-business.html">another recent blog</a>. I said then that many
people struggle with pausing and I have to admit that keeping still continues
to be one of my personal challenges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I tend to fidget and shuffle my feet around, which is not a
good thing for two main reasons. The first is simply that an audience cannot
focus on a moving target! Most people need discipline (possibly guided by some
video footage) to achieve stillness and they also need inspiration from other
sources. The latter, I believe, has not been helped by the rise of stand up
comedy, which has grown in scale from little clubs with no room to move at all
to the O2 Arena with its massive stage. This means that we now regularly see
comedians prancing around their stage, and even skipping and falling over in some
specific cases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNolhlgDcvcUAeZcWCBzVSHoWkPgO5KvNAp4FddHYzgYF__0eK29nyOpVFNgAeC101q1dENjpPgNih3k1isr0Szp3T8LBZxuPtXFYMpK0nEleewKfm2RyH8gjbBBpnuhKlRsHejYDOvtG8/s1600/michaelmcintyre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNolhlgDcvcUAeZcWCBzVSHoWkPgO5KvNAp4FddHYzgYF__0eK29nyOpVFNgAeC101q1dENjpPgNih3k1isr0Szp3T8LBZxuPtXFYMpK0nEleewKfm2RyH8gjbBBpnuhKlRsHejYDOvtG8/s320/michaelmcintyre.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Please don’t even think of taking inspiration from the
comedy world. Instead, take a look – as I continue to suggest – at almost any
Steve Jobs product launch. He prowls the stage a bit as he opens – to ensure
that he has engaged with every member of his audience. By the time he gets down
to business, however, he is keeping fairly still, usually from a ‘home’
position on the left of the stage (audience’s view).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second, more practical reason for keeping still is that
gestures can be very effective for adding impact to what you are saying – but
only if they come from the starting point of stillness. If your arms and legs
are already flailing around it’s going to be difficult for your audience to spot
your gestures in amongst all the other action!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I intimated, you need to work at achieving stillness, but
you can start that work like this: 1) As a general principle aim to keep still.
Rather than standing with your feet parallel to each other, keep your heels
together, with your feet at a 45 degree angle to each other; this should anchor
you to the spot. 2) Plan some specific moments of movement and some appropriate
gestures at key points. 3) Plan some very specific moments of stillness –
probably where you have planned some pauses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Finally, let’s go to an extreme and listen to some tips from
a movie star who brings together both stillness and pausing. I say an extreme
because, as Oliver Reed says in this clip, when your face is projected on a big
screen your eyes can be six feet wide and if you want to, say, convey a sense
of menace, you can’t even afford to blink! This clip evokes special memories
for me because I was lucky enough to know Oliver quite well in the 70s and 80s
when he lived in the house featured here, just across the fields from where I
grew up. One Sunday afternoon he stood on one side of a pond reciting poetry, as
a small group of us sat mesmerised on the other side. What made it so special
was the combination of his rich voice and the fact that he was utterly still,
so that any body language had great impact when it came. Naively I whispered to
his niece: “How does he remember all those lines?”</span><span style="color: #351c75;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75;">“He’s making it all up as he goes”, came the
reply. Wow, what a shame we never got to see him on stage, rather than just on
screen!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OmnK0ty0RBE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OmnK0ty0RBE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-30488369889477141662016-11-21T08:01:00.000+00:002016-11-21T08:01:55.057+00:00Clarkson gave business presenters a valuable lesson in editing. Now he needs to relearn the art of ‘Killing your Darlings’ <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">So </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">The Grand Tour</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">,
Clarkson, Hammond & May’s new post-</span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">Top
Gear</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"> show, has finally hit our screens, albeit via an Amazon Firestick, and
the ‘Terrible Trio’ have many reasons to be rather pleased with themselves. The
bits in the tent need tightening up and they should make better use of their
chosen location, but the films are magnificent – with one little quibble that
harks back to a lesson for business presenters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gbTt03vXdmao-XX6RNKxeB021FQxvK_qoEL0u5JwyeI3pV71SGhQHotZM4jAjAi73YFiLvue9TUHNEwO5xt3zZ9rmUkPv7JmoXbHMuyTCAfRoSchSYCdpgb3CtbWYPqmg_xfG9ba1Ssb/s1600/grandtour+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gbTt03vXdmao-XX6RNKxeB021FQxvK_qoEL0u5JwyeI3pV71SGhQHotZM4jAjAi73YFiLvue9TUHNEwO5xt3zZ9rmUkPv7JmoXbHMuyTCAfRoSchSYCdpgb3CtbWYPqmg_xfG9ba1Ssb/s400/grandtour+table.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">In my Presentation Skills sessions the subject of editing
tends to loom large, especially when I am helping start ups with their investor
pitches. I explain to the presenters that they simply know ‘too much’ about
their topic. They have been fully immersed in that topic for months, if not
years, so understandably want their audience to hear the full story, complete
with all the intricacies on which they have laboured so long. The trouble is
that the audience will be hearing it for the first time and have yet to develop
any interest at all; at this stage they probably need a version that has been
highly simplified. Really it needs an outsider (someone like me!) to look at
the situation in an objective manner. Only then can you overcome what the
psychologists call the ‘Curse of Knowledge’ – knowing too much to be able to
explain something to people hearing it for the first time!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">One of the techniques I recommend as a cure for this curse
is to adopt the film makers’ approach to editing which is so ruthless that they
call it ‘Killing your Darlings’. They go to all the trouble to writing
dialogue, acting it out and filming it, only for much of the resulting footage
to end up on the cutting room floor. The need to fill very specific time
allocations and to hit commercial breaks at pivotal moments is part of what
drives this approach, but it is more nuanced than that. If you watch the
deleted scenes on DVDs the director’s voice over will typically include
comments such as: “Nice performances from both the lead players here, but it
wasn’t moving the story forward. So it had to go.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">Among the best recent endorsements for this ruthless
approach to editing happens to be one from Jeremy Clarkson. In a Sunday Times
column just after his famous fracas he said: “…every week the films were edited
to a length that felt right. They felt balanced. They felt good. But every week
there simply wasn’t time to fit them into the programme – so they’d have to be
shortened. And without exception they were better as a result.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">My ‘little quibble’ with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Grand Tour</i> is that, while the films were both beautiful and embraced all
that was best about the old <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Top Gear</i>,
they were a little too long. Early reviews seem to agree – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Evening Standard</i> said: ‘segments testing hybrid hyper-cars drag
at times’. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Times</i>, meanwhile:
‘the first sequence is too long…..For a show about speed, this played very
slowly to me’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">What seems to have happened is that they have broken free
from constraints but, as Clarkson himself said last year, one of those
constraints – having to fit into precisely 58 minutes - had actually being
doing them a favour. When broadcasting on the internet no one is putting up a
stop sign and you can all-too-easily just keep wandering on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">So Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman need to re-learn the
discipline of Killing your Darlings, possibly by doing as I advise business
presenters – getting help from a third party who has had nothing to do with the
content and so nothing to lose from making a few cuts. Furthermore, they will be
seeing it for the first time, so will react much more like the audience will on
the big day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-28435325163568175342016-11-14T08:35:00.000+00:002016-11-14T08:35:22.660+00:00‘Pause for thought’ in a business presentation – your audience’s thoughts, that is - allowing them to sink in<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyK3xgxvYoZruLcuY1lZFIDPZV4wu11HqB0SB8ivzy4ojGqUBzsC-idbNAvnJ_glYc5LoC9PKz_y4FwY4_qh7XAXYNrZcRKRpUbsXrsml1OEExxi9sVn-4EHAvyJW2bK16e2B0YtKZU4xj/s1600/pausecrop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyK3xgxvYoZruLcuY1lZFIDPZV4wu11HqB0SB8ivzy4ojGqUBzsC-idbNAvnJ_glYc5LoC9PKz_y4FwY4_qh7XAXYNrZcRKRpUbsXrsml1OEExxi9sVn-4EHAvyJW2bK16e2B0YtKZU4xj/s200/pausecrop.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #351c75;">One of most effective of all Presentation Skills techniques happens
also to be one of the simplest; and yet it is a technique that many presenters
struggle to implement. I am talking about Pauses which, as Khalid Aziz says,
have the effect of putting your words ‘into lights’, so adding real impact. In
my Presentation Skills coaching sessions I point to two additional
benefits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">First, pauses allow important messages to ‘sink in’ and
register properly with your audience, who are probably hearing them for the
first time. Too many presenters tend to be focused on simply <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">getting through</i> their presentation, so
they ‘plough on’, giving equal weight and emphasis to everything they say. I
find myself responding: “Hang on a minute; somewhere in there you made brief
reference to the ‘highest rental rates ever achieved’, but you said it in a
rather mater of fact way and moved on too swiftly to various bits of minutiae.
If you have a record achievement to report, let’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dwell</i> on that for a moment, with a bit of emphasis, a display of
excitement and then a pause – to let that important message sink in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">The second additional benefit of pauses is that they can
help with your overall pacing. Many people speak too fast when they present,
certainly as they open – partly because their heart is pumping a bit faster at
that nervy moment, so their speech speeds up as well. There are various methods
to tackle nerves, but if you plan and implement pauses around key words, then
together with the benefits already discussed, you will soon find your rate of
speech coming down to a much more measured pace. And if you work at this, you
have the beginnings of gravitas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">So pauses are one of the most useful and impactful tools in
the business presenter’s toolbox – you only have to look at any Steve Jobs
video to see how much he liked to deploy the pause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet most people are afraid to pause –
they almost shudder at the thought of creating a ‘vacuum’ that must surely be
filled as quickly as possible. Some of the best interviewers, of course,
exploit this fear when asking difficult questions. They simply wait for an
answer that eventually comes, but mainly because the interviewee can’t bear the
prevailing silence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">The only way to overcome this fear is to start experimenting
with pauses – in a planned way - and studying how others use them, both when
speaking and in other fields. At The Magic Circle, for instance, when we are
being taught tricks, the advice around the big ‘ta dah’ moment is often:
“Having done <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i>, do nothing else.
Just allow the moment to sink in.” Dynamo, of course, takes this approach to an
extreme, by simply walking way from his audience, allowing them to focus fully
on the amazement he has just created.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonthn_WerpiZChEHwfpSf0J-IYW3bk7hIZWTqUecOKiWqAemWKuzgojXEGCvX5-HsnyxE9XwkdF7kwm3ye4wC_GlXc7W7HzCnHGzYRlc_4-K7mFGfzDeKhshTIdFPqZQHQo4r4P8odSqH/s1600/pause+miles+davis+quote-it-s-not-the-notes-you-play-it-s-the-notes-you-don-t-play-miles-davis-63-65-81.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonthn_WerpiZChEHwfpSf0J-IYW3bk7hIZWTqUecOKiWqAemWKuzgojXEGCvX5-HsnyxE9XwkdF7kwm3ye4wC_GlXc7W7HzCnHGzYRlc_4-K7mFGfzDeKhshTIdFPqZQHQo4r4P8odSqH/s400/pause+miles+davis+quote-it-s-not-the-notes-you-play-it-s-the-notes-you-don-t-play-miles-davis-63-65-81.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">In music, meanwhile, no one is completely sure whether Miles
Davis actually said: “It’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you</span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"> don’t</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;"> play”, but somehow the
attribution feels right. What I can be sure of – having seen for myself recently
on a Sky Arts interview - is that Jeff Beck said: “Silence is gold dust. The
trouble is that people don’t know when to shut up.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UF0EoF3Ry0Ppjp6KlBXtd_mz5Ya1zHMIz5H5AJD5IsZULdNiqzgO4RMbQdC_waLZdJac2C_0PzggK0l0LBqZbM_0CaEpu9myzXK7rb9VtLTz0KxHktS9o-TZno6MvgqQppiVGOrBLoFL/s1600/jeff+beck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UF0EoF3Ry0Ppjp6KlBXtd_mz5Ya1zHMIz5H5AJD5IsZULdNiqzgO4RMbQdC_waLZdJac2C_0PzggK0l0LBqZbM_0CaEpu9myzXK7rb9VtLTz0KxHktS9o-TZno6MvgqQppiVGOrBLoFL/s320/jeff+beck.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 12pt;">Prof Khalid Aziz is Chairman of <a href="http://www.azizcorp.com/">Aziz Corporate</a>, the
executive business & leadership coaching company</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-89381831632984279312016-10-31T08:26:00.003+00:002016-10-31T08:29:04.701+00:00Why bother turning up to give your business presentation? Take a tip from the demise of the ‘Top Gear Experience’<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“If you’re just going to stand there and read it out, you
might as well send it in by email and save your audience a lot of time and
effort.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, I have never actually given feedback like that in my
Presentation Skills sessions – I like to think I have a reputation for giving
tough advice in a kind and constructive way – but there have been occasions
when I would have liked to!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A great presentation is all about the person giving it,
possibly enhanced by some well-chosen aids. YOU and only you can bring the
subject alive, make it memorable and make your audience do something as a
result.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So it was no surprise to me when I read last week <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/firm-tgxp-behind-top-gear-experience-blames-tv-revamp-for-going-bust">(see here)</a>
that the ‘Top Gear Experience’, which enables Jo Public to live out what they
have seen on the TV screen, has gone bust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, I’m asking for a slight leap of imagination here, but
look at it like this. Without Clarkson, Hammond and May, the so called Top Gear
Experience is just an old airfield in Dunsfold and some scruffy sheds. And ‘Star
in a Reasonably-Priced Car’ is ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Me</i> in
a Reasonably-Priced Car’ which, actually, is just Me Living Out My Ordinary
Life, but on an old airfield used by Top Gear. It was that Terrible Trio that
made the old airfield and scruffy shed seem like magic, helped along by their particular
visual aids – exotic cars that only they will ever be able to borrow! And,
while the new team still deserves a chance to settle in properly, we don’t
(yet, at least) really aspire to driving like Chris Evans, the bloke from
Friends or any of those other people, some of whom appear to have the makings
of star quality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1fSFQ9qS6jGb60f8M107xOObPNqHXr7DVgqVpvE_lM0wzLiZhcwqQ1eSTSN9YqmQf7_bh5PhY6R3JhWO30aF9JxVV60b_xuqLaLHKHnwb5sBw2GuiQZIAviQQXg0k1l5dxKsfnyodn5Z/s1600/topgear-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1fSFQ9qS6jGb60f8M107xOObPNqHXr7DVgqVpvE_lM0wzLiZhcwqQ1eSTSN9YqmQf7_bh5PhY6R3JhWO30aF9JxVV60b_xuqLaLHKHnwb5sBw2GuiQZIAviQQXg0k1l5dxKsfnyodn5Z/s400/topgear-001.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Coming back to the world of business presentations, one of
my trainees left a session last week with the personal objective: </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">I am going to put much more focus on myself
and what I say and do in order to engage the particular audience on the day.
Only once I have cracked that will I think about the aids that might support
me.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That </i>is getting </span></span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">priorities
in the right order. And here’s looking forward to </span><i style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Grand </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Tour:</span> </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kLtpcxtk4HI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kLtpcxtk4HI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-64509197164443620012016-10-24T07:58:00.000+01:002016-10-24T07:58:02.028+01:00‘Little elephants’ in the room can hijack your message – as Phil Collins can testify!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I am urging business presenters to watch out for
‘Little Elephants in the room’ when they deliver a presentation. Yes, following
the ‘Starbucks Test’ that I described in my last blogpost, I have coined
another phrase. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More accurately perhaps, I have adapted a very well known
phrase that goes back hundreds of years but has come into increasingly frequent
use in the past decade as people describe awkward scenarios where a big issue
remains unaddressed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe, however, that with business presentations there
can often be ‘Little Elephants’ in the room – in the form small details that
will inevitably be at the front of the minds of those you are addressing. A
Little Elephant starts as a distraction and if left unattended can end up as
the framework for everything you are seeking to communicate. If, for instance,
I were to turn up for a presentation with a black eye, then whatever I say, the
main thing audience members are going to be thinking is: ‘I wonder how he got
that black eye’? They may start using some of the things I say as pointers to
solutions; those at the back could even be getting into a whispered dialogue
about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcgwx-7a-mW4psffyVeMqm3Puk3EnzfCi4WFE6IXCziBLnqCaJuXGUWT1h9NgX_KVg-9NBnY9hDgy76kMTFIuQBDInI-CIC54cv3ZA53Dgbl2KGAQ49ZPcMVk-oOiKN5cE5xPfr5k2lMD/s1600/Rob-Beckettportrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcgwx-7a-mW4psffyVeMqm3Puk3EnzfCi4WFE6IXCziBLnqCaJuXGUWT1h9NgX_KVg-9NBnY9hDgy76kMTFIuQBDInI-CIC54cv3ZA53Dgbl2KGAQ49ZPcMVk-oOiKN5cE5xPfr5k2lMD/s200/Rob-Beckettportrait.jpg" width="142" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I would need to do, therefore, is to address the black
eye right up front, quickly and definitively: “Hello I’m Nick Fitzherbert – as
you can see I’ve got a black eye – that kitchen cupboard clearly wanted to get
its own back when I finally prised it open! What I am going to talk about today
is…”. By acknowledging your situation clearly but concisely you have the best
chance of clearing it out of the way, so that you can move on and have your
audience focus on what you are actually saying rather than the causes of your ‘shiner’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two examples from the world of show business demonstrate how
this tactic can be deployed. Rob Beckett is a young comedian whose opening line
when he was initially establishing himself was: “Hello, my name’s Rob Beckett
and I’ve got massive teeth. A funny thing happened the other day…” By having an
overt laugh at himself right up front and moving on swiftly the Little Elephant
has left the room the audience can now focus on his comedy rather than his
prominent gnashers. David Regal is one of the most creative people in the magic
world and he happens to be rather short. None of us really noticed this until he
appeared on </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaU24YqldtDB0ttgoJMl8vUqV0hY3W1w4hEks7gBmTbJQQUamHyfXCdtekqoBOo8T-U4nH6flLFIFl9cn1zi7H2nhyphenhyphenllDYbTXhVVebRc6cvSAFmzPiJBY9iHuqV5lb4xl6_yarX4cmnYK9/s1600/david+regal+pen+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaU24YqldtDB0ttgoJMl8vUqV0hY3W1w4hEks7gBmTbJQQUamHyfXCdtekqoBOo8T-U4nH6flLFIFl9cn1zi7H2nhyphenhyphenllDYbTXhVVebRc6cvSAFmzPiJBY9iHuqV5lb4xl6_yarX4cmnYK9/s200/david+regal+pen+crop.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Penn & Teller’s Fool Us TV show, performing alongside the extremely
tall Penn Jillette.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they came
together centre-stage Regal’s line was: “Thank you for joining me Penn”, then,
turning to the audience: “as you can see, pinstripe (the pattern of Jillette’s
suit) gives the illusion of height.” Again, the Little Elephant had left the
room and now all we were thinking about was Regal’s magic.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p>Finally, if you remain in any doubt about the ability of a
Little Elephant to steal attention and frame your communication, my black eye
example happened for real just last week. Phil Collins announced a series of
new shows. This was big news as he was coming out of retirement after a series
of health scares and personal problems. So the story made page 3 of London’s
Evening Standard. The front page, however, was dominated by a picture of Collins
captioned ‘How did rock star Phil Collins get that black eye’? As for framing
what he actually wanted to communicate, the Page 3 story was headed: ‘Collins
soldiers on after bathroom fall to announce: I’m coming out of retirement’.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has to be said that, on this occasion, Collins’ PR team
were probably raising a glass to that bathroom floor, but Little Elephants are rarely
going to be quite so helpful!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NEWS UPDATE: Robert Peston presented </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peston on Sunday</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> yesterday with facial injuries – but not before he
had inserted a jokey preview clip in which he explained that he had fallen off his
bike!</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-20791694361319754112016-10-10T08:12:00.002+01:002016-10-10T08:12:48.816+01:00So what is the ‘Starbucks Test’ for business presenters?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been travelling again – all over America, albeit just across
airwaves for a series of radio interviews on Presentation Skills. One question
that was asked by everyone from the bushy-tailed breakfast jocks to the rather
more intense business commentators was: “What is the Starbucks Test that you
apply to your training?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1YL43Gnkmcl26V260pBcqWki64WpUntR30eJVGGaxnxsnf_siZbnJTeLtDlugW_-BuTf7v8MNT2EtdJCxj19lMka1ZvUlMffqo1U205uJnoRGm6hI2BAnBFSaBD7NsrVeZ6PnEBnxYyP/s1600/starbuck-secret-menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1YL43Gnkmcl26V260pBcqWki64WpUntR30eJVGGaxnxsnf_siZbnJTeLtDlugW_-BuTf7v8MNT2EtdJCxj19lMka1ZvUlMffqo1U205uJnoRGm6hI2BAnBFSaBD7NsrVeZ6PnEBnxYyP/s320/starbuck-secret-menu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Starbucks Test is as follows: You </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">must</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> invest proper time in preparation; you know that but you
probably won’t appreciate it fully until you have let yourself down once or
twice. So in my training I go a little over the top to make the point. I ask
people to imagine they have prepared and rehearsed their presentation very
carefully and have arrived with all their equipment and other aids, only to be
told: “Very sorry, but all the meeting rooms have been booked, so we’re going
to have to do the presentation over the road in Starbucks.” Now, you need to
decide whether you are prepared to be messed around like that, but if you could
still deliver an engaging and impactful presentation in such conditions, just
imagine how good you could be when everything goes exactly to plan! As I say,
it’s a little over the top, but only a little – it </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">has</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> happened to me!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aside from recognising the reality that things will
inevitably go wrong from time to time, my Starbucks Rule actually embraces
another very important principle of business presentation: if you see a bunch
of PowerPoint slides as ‘the presentation’ you are going fail; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> are the show, everything else is
just support to you and what you are saying. Imagining what you would do if you
were suddenly robbed of your aids forces you face up to this. It also helps to
underline one of the tips I give to people seeking to pitch an idea or new
concept in their presentation: Be sure to give your idea a name. I don’t
imagine those American DJs would have been too excited if their briefing on me
had said simply: ‘Nick puts great importance on proper preparation’. In
contrast, by pitching it as: ‘Nick applies the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Starbucks Test</i> to the final stages before making a presentation’
they see images, intrigue and the potential for banter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what’s in a name? The power to communicate, that’s what!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ITjjh_OjkQ0uyap6cfvl4IsRi-nFVUWHaKnBQ20uJyNraHeN8-OMqYObjCWPvozAsIrL2LmTsyiyaQ2IkrlNtQb7_r5qLfou66wtxUJCH89sFHuzon_QWLW10J9yjvWiaBZaBr0QPGCz/s1600/Hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ITjjh_OjkQ0uyap6cfvl4IsRi-nFVUWHaKnBQ20uJyNraHeN8-OMqYObjCWPvozAsIrL2LmTsyiyaQ2IkrlNtQb7_r5qLfou66wtxUJCH89sFHuzon_QWLW10J9yjvWiaBZaBr0QPGCz/s200/Hero.jpg" width="141" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcW7OylmMxXD6lpKreQ9LNnYwZGmynVY7xssbMAs13G5rxxtCQvuIiGQPHObldfiPdX4Uc8dXAtC-nMA6NwzhVGLHFqxWU0xTFU9oHnLSfMBHg8THtG13sOhuJbliUtt-bW3VbkBymy-f/s1600/lesley_ann_jones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcW7OylmMxXD6lpKreQ9LNnYwZGmynVY7xssbMAs13G5rxxtCQvuIiGQPHObldfiPdX4Uc8dXAtC-nMA6NwzhVGLHFqxWU0xTFU9oHnLSfMBHg8THtG13sOhuJbliUtt-bW3VbkBymy-f/s200/lesley_ann_jones.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">A little footnote: My Starbucks Test has come to the fore as
I have gradually and sadly had to retire my favourite story about the benefits
of preparation, simply because it happened rather a long time ago. It’s the
story of how Queen made intense preparations for their barnstorming performance
at Live Aid in 1985. The story, which you can find <u><a href="http://nickfitzherbert.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/how-rock-band-queen-showed-way-to.html">here </a></u>was told to me by Lesley-Ann Jones, author of <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freddie-Mercury-Definitive-Lesley-Ann-Jones/dp/1444733699/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476082577&sr=1-4&keywords=lesley-ann+jones">Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography</a></i>.</span><span style="color: #351c75;"> The good news is that Lesley-Ann has
just published a new book: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hero-David-Bowie-Lesley-Ann-Jones/dp/1444758810/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476082577&sr=1-1&keywords=lesley-ann+jones">Hero: <i>David Bowie</i></a></span><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s a terrific book and one of the things that makes it so good is that, just
as she was there, backstage at Live Aid, Lesley-Ann was also with Bowie at
various different stages of his long career. And if you read the story about a
sponsorship deal on page 252 I can vouch for that myself – because</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="color: #351c75;"> I </i><span style="color: #351c75;">was there!</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-28819238744344977102016-10-02T16:19:00.000+01:002016-10-02T16:19:40.312+01:00Learning some cultural communication lessons – the Bulgarian Blog<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been on a
speaking assignment to Bulgaria and, as always when venturing abroad, I have
learned a few new things, not least about differences in communication styles.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZDm_LsEZ3blwNSQ_RelMAr3GTquXvex3W4JSPB5G_1pB_APfVwobNXgnqxqCSj4Zl2Be7TqtH731k5fdcDo-CAmfxK40TWCChYRMl7jknJ1pUloRqAbWyiYekcQAORU58RGNv8D686oY/s1600/yesno+01102016+CROP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZDm_LsEZ3blwNSQ_RelMAr3GTquXvex3W4JSPB5G_1pB_APfVwobNXgnqxqCSj4Zl2Be7TqtH731k5fdcDo-CAmfxK40TWCChYRMl7jknJ1pUloRqAbWyiYekcQAORU58RGNv8D686oY/s320/yesno+01102016+CROP.jpg" width="267" /></span></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A very handy little
guide I was given on arriving at my hotel explained that Bulgarians nod for
‘no’ and shake their heads for ‘yes’. I wish I had known this when working some
years ago with an asset management executive who displayed exactly this trait.
Rather than going straight into a criticism/discussion about his mis-match
between words and body language, I could have eased my way in with the
semi-serious question: “Do you have any Bulgarian blood?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then the moment I
finished my talk one delegate came straight up to ask a personal question –
not, sadly about my subject matter of Presentation Skills and Pitching, but
what was the meaning of the word ‘taut’. Ironically, the word appeared in a
direct quote from a Spanish magician.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was annoyed with myself, however, because clearly I had failed to run through
my script and slides one final time to check for words that may be unfamiliar
to those whose first language is not English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other things I learned
in Bulgaria include:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They all think we are
mad for choosing to Brexit. We had not even got out of the airport car park
before my taxi driver began to grill me on the matter. </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hungarians have
had to set up a new Facilities Management Association – because their best
people in the sector have left for the UK and Germany.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiri3bfq2Xc6khzFH4OBVWa922M7algNHDzCQNHpzASmRk5IQHSUtAqyEuuQG2DcIfsT3U-GAjvVYjg7EnVMLVVcc_-ca2ZvcvTH8-fdkJNy7rREyxKcDGF0h8lFgVJdLnABuMGdJqHVkML/s1600/iangillan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiri3bfq2Xc6khzFH4OBVWa922M7algNHDzCQNHpzASmRk5IQHSUtAqyEuuQG2DcIfsT3U-GAjvVYjg7EnVMLVVcc_-ca2ZvcvTH8-fdkJNy7rREyxKcDGF0h8lFgVJdLnABuMGdJqHVkML/s200/iangillan.jpg" width="150" /></span></a>
<li><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Bulgarians still
have book shops all over town. They even have a big outdoor market, devoted
entirely to books. Some of the cover designs are very familiar, with Gordon
Ramsay and Jamie Oliver featuring strongly. Quite how Sir Rod Stewart’s
autobiography ‘Rod’ translates into ‘Pao’, however, remains a mystery both to
me and to the Google Translator app.</span> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ian Gillian ‘sings
Deep Purple’ at local gigs – with an orchestra!</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the taxi driver who
picks you up at the airport charms you into accepting a ‘fixed fare’ you are
definitely being ripped off. But you won’t realise it until the return trip,
because it’s still quite cheap.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbR9k5zVynxDjvJ64IJkYqGwWtVBggBcGr4VOZPuGWelwVB4529Cf7NRU2mL4d9QBI0Nsh_fJIlsiqrUbEhubZV98Aj1EjZcDaOe-BVzaGe1NAe47w377xB0Zth2h3q3dPHEjSli-izuc/s1600/cathedral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbR9k5zVynxDjvJ64IJkYqGwWtVBggBcGr4VOZPuGWelwVB4529Cf7NRU2mL4d9QBI0Nsh_fJIlsiqrUbEhubZV98Aj1EjZcDaOe-BVzaGe1NAe47w377xB0Zth2h3q3dPHEjSli-izuc/s200/cathedral.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, I visited the
grand-looking cathedral opposite my hotel and I was reprimanded for having my
hands in my pockets! Again, I was disappointed in myself, because I like to
think I am not really a hands-in-pockets person – certainly not when talking to
someone. I felt like suggesting perhaps they should focus more on putting away
the stray brooms, storing the rolled up carpet more tidily, replacing a lot of
broken light bulbs and switching some others on so that we could actually see
the artwork on the walls. But I didn’t – I meekly obeyed.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">However globalised we
become, differences in communication and culture persist and we need to learn,
respect and abide by them if we are to engage with different communities.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ85QVNcSQGjPI5K8Z4_CFwSaztqG1n7l1KSEg0qx3UkTAR0_EYrFo1MzcQ3wlJ7-prUSaVPgtN5iJDacrPt98Za8F-_Vt1CdrhIZzkfRiqn8ePSKMbxjncyNDdOkr0CcKVIW_D4xKFvF1/s1600/yellow+brick+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ85QVNcSQGjPI5K8Z4_CFwSaztqG1n7l1KSEg0qx3UkTAR0_EYrFo1MzcQ3wlJ7-prUSaVPgtN5iJDacrPt98Za8F-_Vt1CdrhIZzkfRiqn8ePSKMbxjncyNDdOkr0CcKVIW_D4xKFvF1/s200/yellow+brick+.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goodbye to the Yellow Brick Road that runs from the Radisson Blu to the cathedral</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-29807570414013954772016-09-19T07:50:00.001+01:002016-09-20T14:52:56.104+01:00Mick Jagger’s audience management tips transfer directly to the business presentation arena<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been catching up on some musical memories and in the
process discovering Mick Jagger’s tips on audience management, which chime very
nicely with the advice I give to business presenters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SNvqfBEjicM4SR5_pLtx2loDko4Ls93xM8xyeQx8qV7nPidLDvIuhrvxAowk2NWHb-1R4X2gHOH2PBeQS86wuyEQBOaxySe5c1BvWv-LxSPMaEzhplEDkit92gVx0xTBt-IgH_1SYOCV/s1600/mick-jagger+red-e-sua-banda-rolling-stones-se-apresentam-no-estadio-do-maracana-no-rio-de-janeiro-neste-sabado-1456014484275_956x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SNvqfBEjicM4SR5_pLtx2loDko4Ls93xM8xyeQx8qV7nPidLDvIuhrvxAowk2NWHb-1R4X2gHOH2PBeQS86wuyEQBOaxySe5c1BvWv-LxSPMaEzhplEDkit92gVx0xTBt-IgH_1SYOCV/s400/mick-jagger+red-e-sua-banda-rolling-stones-se-apresentam-no-estadio-do-maracana-no-rio-de-janeiro-neste-sabado-1456014484275_956x500.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To my great delight my son Louis has turned into an even
greater Rolling Stones fan than myself, so for his recent birthday I gave him
the latest box set of DVDs, amongst which was the Brixton Academy gig that I
was lucky enough to attend in 1996. Aged just two at the time, Louis had been young
too attend.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also included was some great documentary material, with
Jagger’s explanation on audience management including the following: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“I see it as one big
animal and I focus on individuals too to ensure I’m getting close contact. I
also do groups because you can spot little gangs and treat them like that. I
don’t like seeing friends and family because you can’t be so daft….”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let’s break that down into separate components:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I see it as one big
animal<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I say that you have to be sure to address everyone in the
room in a business presentation, probably making a special effort to
acknowledge those at the back and to your extreme left and right. I urge presenters
to spread their eye contact far and wide because it is so easy for audience
members to feel left out. If there is no audience available in a practice
session and the speaker is struggling to imagine the situation for real, I get
out my set of celebrity masks and fix them to the backs of chairs. Then the
feedback tends to be along the lines of “much better, but Prince Philip and Sir
Alex are still feeling rather excluded”!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and I focus on
individuals too<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I recommend holding eye contact with individuals for just a
fraction longer than seems natural so as to ensure you are establishing close
contact. Juan Tamariz, the Spanish hero of magicians worldwide, goes so far as
to advise checking out people’s eye colours – again, to ensure you are establishing
close contact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also do groups<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I say you need to establish clearly up front whether you are
happy and able to take questions as you go. Nevertheless, you should always
seize on any opportunity for direct engagement with audience members,
especially in groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can empathise
with them and bounce off their energy. Played right, the rest of the audience
will feed off and add to that energy and the group members will feel special, be
the first to applaud and they will talk about you afterwards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don’t like seeing
friends and family<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The challenge with Presentation Skills training and
rehearsals is that you are usually performing in front of colleagues. People
expect this to be a safe option and are a little baffled when they struggle. I
explain that it is generally more difficult presenting to people you know
because there is often some sort of ‘agenda’ between yourself and individuals
in front of you. You will be coming to a particular passage and thinking
something like ‘I know Sarah/whoever doesn’t like this idea’ so you will steer
your eye contact in another direction and hold back a little in your delivery. It
is much easier when you have a ‘blank canvas’ in front of you and can proceed
unfettered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even, it would appear, if you happen to happen to be the
front man of the world’s greatest rock ‘n roll band, with more than half a
century’s experience under your belt! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Totally Stripped</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">,
the latest box set from the Rolling Stones can be found here: </span><a href="http://tinyurl.com/jechpd7" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background: white; font-size: 9.5pt;">http://tinyurl.com/jechpd7</span></b></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641785393690352.post-44881977640639640592016-09-04T15:39:00.000+01:002016-09-04T15:39:50.262+01:00A lesson for business presenters from TV presenters, young and old<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most business people give a presentation on just an
occasional basis, which is one of the reasons it can feel like an ordeal every
time it happens. So what can we learn from people who are presenting day in,
day out - Television personalities? I have come across a couple of tips from TV
people from very different generations and they both revolve around
preparation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jason Manford is a <span style="background: white;">comedian, TV presenter, radio
presenter and actor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s probably most
familiar, however, from his regular appearances on TV panel shows. How has he
achieved such a broad-ranging career at the age of just 35 and why is he in
such great demand?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwavlCkKL5j8RgZ4q-FX5YTfuMUBQBQQpeFX8DYnIE1fVo8Zhp2iESJQlptG_gVNySGxKAI9oXFQiqqAK2O50jS3-n3e70See3Z46biCIIGn99RS6IUaThV1ANjQTaQzlProkVBMIV9nR6/s1600/jasonmanfordqi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwavlCkKL5j8RgZ4q-FX5YTfuMUBQBQQpeFX8DYnIE1fVo8Zhp2iESJQlptG_gVNySGxKAI9oXFQiqqAK2O50jS3-n3e70See3Z46biCIIGn99RS6IUaThV1ANjQTaQzlProkVBMIV9nR6/s400/jasonmanfordqi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">l to r: Alan Davies, Sandi Toksvig, Stephen Fry, Jeremy Clarkson, Jason Manford</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A big clue to his success can be drawn from this insight. “I
prepare for everything”, he says, “even panel shows. I probably won’t use a lot
of what I have prepared, but knowing you are so well prepared gives you great
confidence.”</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, contrary to rumours, he
is not given all the questions in advance, but does know broadly what topics
are going to be covered. Based on that knowledge, he researches and writes
little snippets and jokes that will suit the style of the show.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That kind of commitment and
attention to detail is more readily associated with a different era of
television – such as that of Cliff Michelmore, who was 96 when he died earlier
this year. In the 1950s and 60s he became one of the best-known presenters on British
television. He was </span><span style="background: white; color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">appearing
in as many as 300 programmes a year </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and presided over election coverage and moments
of live drama such as the assassination of President Kennedy and the return of
the damaged Apollo 13.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPW8-IkBQMviEGMojxsx2olv0A3i2zTeDFaR0JC-xkliKscUI_8TLwFkWZ38S9WqBfpRWtgvbbTknegrF926_sy01JbUY-mbamAXRhcUKxEWgGgOLspWYGlEyXZqJa9WchwdHybKtbccLM/s1600/cliff+michelmore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPW8-IkBQMviEGMojxsx2olv0A3i2zTeDFaR0JC-xkliKscUI_8TLwFkWZ38S9WqBfpRWtgvbbTknegrF926_sy01JbUY-mbamAXRhcUKxEWgGgOLspWYGlEyXZqJa9WchwdHybKtbccLM/s320/cliff+michelmore.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michelmore’s hallmark was that he always appeared
confident, calm, unhurried and unflappable. We could all do a bit of that, so what
was his secret? Michael Parkinson got an insight when, prior to becoming a famous
chat show host, he worked with Michelmore on the BBC current affairs show </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">24 Hours</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Noticing that his preparation methods used to
involve a mere skimming of the research, but many notes in the margins of the
running order, Parkinson asked Michelmore what he was writing. “I’m looking at
the running order to spot where there might be a breakdown, and when I find it
I write in my ad libs,” he replied.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like, Jason Manford, he hopefully didn’t need
to use much of what he had prepared but forewarned is forearmed and the result
is unflappability.</span></div>
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