25 Feb Have the Listeners in Mind!
I speak with hundreds of conference speakers a year. In fact, I love doing it because it is great to learn what is being discussed around the world in a variety of industries, and it obviously helps those speaking to say what they say more effectively.
One thing that I constantly hear is how do I make sure that I am keeping people’s attention? This is a great question, however the nervousness behind it is always surprising. Keeping people’s attention is not something to worry about but something to strive for. Since more conferences are a combination of talks and presentations, there are two ways to keep attention:
- What’s in it for me? In presentations, speakers constantly do a great job of explaining what the information is but not what is in it, more me as the listener! I work with speakers constantly to determine what aspects of their presentation are essential to their listeners and then hone their presentation to focus on that value. If you do that, you will keep people’s attention.
- I don’t get anything out of this! Most talks are supposed to provide the listeners with thought leadership on important topics. Most talks discuss important topics but fall short of providing anything. What is important is that in each of these talks, someone must moderate or facilitate that conversation correctly, which means setting aside time after each segment of the talk to highlight important terms or ideas that should be remembered by the listeners.
If you are attending a conference and plan to present or give a talk, remember what is in it for me and how you can make sure your listeners get something out of it! This will make every conference you attend more engaging and memorable.
13 Mar Motivating Others
In this 30-minute recorded lesson, you will learn the difference between inspiration and motivation. We will introduce the unique Motivation Matrix and use it to identify the six elements needed to motivate anyone.
Thinking on Your Feet
This 30-minute recorded lesson teaches you how to process and organize your thoughts quickly in a way that will help you communicate clearly and with confidence
Have you ever wondered how some people always have the right thing to say at the right time? (more…)
4 Aug Avoiding The Great Resignation
One of the most perplexing questions our corporate clients ask is, “Will our talent actually stay?” The concern is that many talented people are leaving their positions for more desirable jobs. Some people refer to this as The Great Resignation.
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13 Jun Investing in POWER skills
One of the most perplexing questions our corporate clients ask is, “will our talent actually stay?” The concern is that talented people are leaving their positions for more desirable jobs. Some people refer to this as The Great Resignation.
For instance, a client of mine, with 20 years of experience in helping tech companies scale from 50 to 2000 employees, explained, “there is no great resignation, there is talent everywhere, but they get to decide where they are going. That’s the difference.” (more…)
10 Feb Answering Off the Cuff
#1 Thinking on your feet
When I meet potential clients, their needs span many areas, but I want to talk about one I find almost everywhere I go. “How can I be better at speaking off the cuff?” Easy! Well, honestly, it is easy, but to explain how it’s easy, let’s talk about what you are asking for.
Speaking off the cuff, thinking on your feet, or any other way you describe it, comes from the idea of speaking with limited notes in a time crunch. You don’t get to take a lot of time to fully plan a response. You must deliver at that moment! So, the way you can be ready for anything is to prepare ahead of time. (more…)