With the new season comes a tremendous opportunity to become an effective presenter, one of the most sought-after skills in business today.
Very recently, Rebecca Robbins, a San Francisco Correspondent, shared a report about an organization that wanted to take a different approach at an upcoming scientific gathering. Planners decided to only invite female speakers to the microbiome conference at the University of California, San Diego, thus igniting a major controversy. As a woman, mother, and corporate executive, it is my opinion that women-only events don’t make sense. Now, before you throw a laptop at me, hear me out. I’ve been thinking deeply about this subject, especially with March being Women’s History Month, and International Women's Day on March 8, 2019. It seems clear that the event at the microbiome conference was not meant as a hateful strike against men but rather as a one-off, a way to make a splash and try something new.
There are amazing similarities between parenting kids and leading and managing our people at work. Being mindful of this just might help you become more resilient as you groom your employees to operate at high proficiency. Being aware might also give YOU extra energy in the process. Because like raising kids, managing people can be extremely exhausting (yet some of the most rewarding work ever!).
A Chinese proverb says, “Tell me something, I’ll forget; show me, I’ll remember; involve me, I’ll understand.”
According to recent studies, when people participate in a presentation, the material becomes at least three times more memorable for them than if they merely listened to a lecture.
Sometimes you risk losing listeners altogether if you don’t go out of your way to involve members.
One of the topics our team of speech coaches cover most often is persuasion. Many people believe persuasion is about saying “I am right and you are wrong.” This couldn't be further from the truth. Persuasion is about presenting your thoughts and ideas in a compelling way that makes others listen to them. So, if I have persuaded you to read on <ahem>, here are three important considerations to be persuasive:
Managers and leaders are often massively challenged in how to quickly align cross-functional and multicultural teams in today's mobile and ever changing global economy. A solid conflict management approach - having the knowledge, a reliable process and a system in place that people can follow - is crucial to not allow emotions to become overwhelming.To do so successfully requires a high level of interpersonal communication skills which are acquired through in-depth self-development, reflection, training, coaching, experience and practice. These interpersonal skills and awareness may not have been acquired on an equal scale as technical knowledge in the process of professional development.
How often do you think about how you’re perceived as a communicator? What’s the impression you want people to have of you after they hear you speak? The ability to control the impression you make on others is a crucial tool to have in today’s fast-paced world.
One client with whom I’m working just moved into the President & CEO role. My job as his speech coach begins with the question, “What two words would you like others to use to describe you after they hear you speak in a business situation?”
Let’s start with some statistics.
Women are still earning 82 cents for every dollar a man earns. If part time workers were included in that statistic, it would be much lower.
Upwards of 75% of all caregivers are female, and may spend as much as 50% more time providing care than males. [Institute on Aging. (2016)]
Have you tried to get your child to go to bed on time?
What about enticing a certain someone to date you?
Or...telling senior management that you deserve a raise and a promotion?
How much of your communication involves persuading and influencing others? Think about it. The most efficient and effective way to persuade someone is through storytelling.
People who love baseball certainly will remember its originator, Yogi Berra as one of the game’s most memorable players and coach. Many other people know him only for his absurd, but sometimes insightful quotes which spawned their own name: “yogiisms” — defined as seemingly nonsensical or self-contradictory statements that actually convey serious thoughts once listeners untangle the knots of their unusual phrasing.
Reading in the papers about mostly wrong predictions from 2018 and new ones being made for 2019 reminds me of that famous quote.
Jeff and Nina were at a Christmas party all of the thirty seconds when Nina whispered in Jeff’s ear, “I think Joan [one of the women in Jeff’s office] is getting divorced.” Jeff thought Nina was nuts, but a week later Joan herself told him that she had separated from her husband. When Jeff asked his mystical wife how she knew, Nina said, “Easy. She looked relaxed, had a great new haircut, and was playing with her wedding ring.” For centuries, women’s interpersonal discernment has been acknowledged as “women’s intuition.” Now researchers have confirmed females’ superior skill in interpreting gestures, posture, and facial expression from fifth grade through adulthood. Since men in traditionally female professions like teaching and nursing excel in mood reading too, it’s not due to chromosomes but to socialization in pleasing others and practice in adjusting to others’ moods.
I have always learned so much about the male mindset through my brother and many times it was contrary to what society was teaching. He was always a great ally to my sister and I when confronting our irrational and impulsive mother. I continue to learn from him by having very candid conversations about male/female dynamics and perspectives. He is angered about the #metoo stories coming out and couldn’t imagine taking advantage of an incapacitated female. He’s the type of man that women need as an ally to change the world for the better.
Time for some wordplay and levity... "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill "Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas "He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - Abraham Lincoln "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend… if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
Working as a speech coach, one of the successful techniques I use to help people speak clearly is to figure out where there may be snags in their speech patterns. Here are two of the most common. 1. Are you dropping volume at the end of sentences? It is normal to soften your volume at the end of a thought, but don’t trail your sentences into oblivion. Assess your volume by taping yourself and checking to make sure you can hear the last words of your sentences. Practice speaking or reading aloud with conscious attention on lessening the decibel drop. Use these practice sentences:“Let’s meet in the lobby of the downtown Marriott.”
“Sarah James was finally promoted to regional manager.”
In these examples, if you don’t keep your volume up, you’ll be swallowing your main point.