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Phoenix Public Speaking coaching and workshops

Archive for business networking – Page 2

Public Speaking Tip #41: Stand When You Can and Stand Out

You will always have more energy and be able to engage your audience better if you stand when you speak.

If there’s a clear choice, and you are able, stand.

But sometimes, you have to make a judgment call. Often in business, our presentations are in conference rooms, boardrooms, or other meeting space and it’s not always obvious if you should stay seated or stand when making a business presentation.

Sitting is a safe choice but you risk having less energy and less engagement. Standing also may help others to see you better and hear you more clearly. Unless you think standing would cause others to think of you as awkward or arrogant, choose to stand.

If others are presenting before you and they choose to stay seated, don’t be afraid to break the mold.

Standing up just may help you to stand out. And in a competitive business environment, standing out can make the difference between winning the day or going home.

Listed by the Better Business Speakers Bureau

We are pleased to be part of the Phoenix Better Busines Bureau’s “Arizona Speakers Bureau.” You can find a listing for our own Paul Barton, as well as listings for many other Arizona speakers, on the local BBB website.

Paul’s topics include:

  • Speak Up and Stand Out: Secrets to Business Communication Success
  • Crisis Communication: Be Your Best When Facing the Worst
  • Finding the Voice of Your Brand
  • Maximizing Internal Communication
  • Fasten Your Seatbelts — The Future Starts Now (commencement address)

Of course, you also can find information about Paul’s speaking services right here on our website.

But we thought it was pretty cool to be listed by the BBB so we wanted to let you know.

Speak Up and Standout workshop sponsored by the Business Journal

We are pleased to once again partner with the Phoenix Business Journal to present our popular “Speak Up and Stand Out” workshop. This session will be held Thursday, Jan. 11, at CCS Training Center in Scottsdale.

The last time we held this workshop in conjunction with the Phoenix Business Journal, it sold out within a few hours. Don’t delay, sign-up today! Use this promo code to get a 20% discount: PHBB. Hope to see you there!

Phoenix Public Speaking sign-up

Workshop Description

In today’s fiercely competitive business climate, how well you present yourself can make the difference in getting ahead or going home. When it comes to winning a new client, getting a project approved, or closing the deal, the smallest things can make the biggest difference. You don’t want to blend in you want to stand out!

From shaking hands, exchanging business cards to storytelling these all have a powerful impression on how people perceive you. Most people underestimate the importance of these interactions and just get by. But by knowing a few simple secrets, you can turn that around.

Business Communication expert Paul Barton of Phoenix Public Speaking will teach you the skills to stand out.

In this highly interactive workshop, you will master the basics of:

  • Developing an executive presence
  • Using your body language to influence and include
  • Introducing yourself to make a great first impression
  • Exchanging business cards so you are remembered

This is the perfect chance to make a New Year’s resolution and start off 2018 with the confidence to speak up and the skills to stand out!

Public Speaking Tip #39: Do the Unremarkable with Remarkable Detail

I’m so proud of my alma mater, Iowa State, for the way they’ve turned their football program around. They’ve defeated two Top 5 teams already, made themselves bowl eligible before Halloween, and are rising fast in the national rankings. According to head coach Matt Campbell, the secret to the Cyclones’ amazing turnaround and stunning success is “doing the unremarkable with remarkable detail.”

Coach Campbell is talking about performing the basics and executing them flawlessly. For example, his team has the fewest penalties in the conference and has not lost a fumble in eight hard-hitting games.

Sometimes in life, when you get the seemingly insignificant things perfect, it can set you up for the big wins. This has been the approach of our Speak Up and Stand Out public speaking workshops and personal coaching program. It’s a highly competitive world out there and so when it comes to winning a new client, getting a project approved, or closing the deal, the smallest things can make the biggest difference.

Common Business Interactions to Get Perfect

Here are some common business interactions that you should execute with remarkable detail:

Done correctly, these simple business interactions can have a powerful impact on how people perceive you. They can make the difference in getting to the next level or going home. By executing these unremarkable things with remarkable detail, you too can turn your season around and be a winner.

Public Speaking Tip 29: Handling Questions When You Don’t Know the Answer

So you’ve just given a great presentation and you’ve moved into the Q&A. Someone asks you a question and you don’t know the answer. What should you do?

  1. Make up an answer?
  2. Admit you don’t know but promise to find out the answer?
  3. Throw the question to the audience?

Let’s look at each course of action:

Make up an answer?

Never make up an answer. It’s not ethical and it will catch up with you eventually. Don’t fall into the trap that you have to know everything because you are the speaker. You’ve already proven your expertise in your presentation. Remember: nobody likes a know-it-all. You don’t have anything to prove, except perhaps your humbleness.

Admit you don’t know but promise to find out the answer?

This is an acceptable way to handle the situation but be sure that you do indeed follow up with an answer and that you do so in a timely manner.

Throw the question to the audience?

I believe this is the best of the three choices. It engages the audience and often provides an insightful discussion. You can say something to the effect of “That’s a great question. I don’t have an answer. What do you the rest of you think? How would you handle this?” I sometimes throw questions to the audience even when I do know the answer just to see what others think. “I have an idea but I’d really like to hear what everyone else thinks.”

The Q&A in public speaking and business presentations is a great way to engage your audience and a great opportunity to be inclusive with other ideas and other points of view.

 

 

Public Speaking Tip #26: Practice Out Loud

One of the exercises I have my public speaking students do is stand and read quotations from famous speeches. One of the quotes is John F. Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” More than half of the students who read it out loud trip over their tounges when saying it.

Sometimes what looks really good on paper is hard to say when spoken out loud. Our brains sometimes get ahead of our tongues. This is one reason why you should always practice your speeches and business presentations out loud. You may discover words and phrases that just don’t come out right. If you do discover problems with the flow, you have two choices:

  1. You can practice the troublesome verbiage over and over until you can say it consistently right
  2. You may replace the troublesome words with something that means the same thing but is easier for you to say.

One thing is for sure: It’s much better to trip over your tongue while practicing in front of your bedroom mirror than it is to have a tongue-twister disaster in front of your business colleagues or a live audience.

Successful Sold Out Workshop

Phoenix Public Speaking workshop

Photo by Patrick Rapps Photography


In today’s fiercely competitive business climate, how well you present yourself can make the difference in getting ahead or going home.  When it comes to winning a new client, getting a project approved, or closing the deal, the smallest things can make the biggest difference. You don’t want to blend in you want to stand out! From shaking hands, exchanging business cards to storytelling these all have a powerful impression on how people perceive you. Most people underestimate the importance of these interactions and just get by.  But by knowing a few simple secrets, you can turn that around.

That was the premise of our “Speak Up and Stand Out” public speaking workshop held last week. The sold out event was sponsored by the Phoenix Business Journal and held at the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce.

Among the topics we covered were:

  • Using your body language to influence and include
  • Using storytelling in presentations to turn heads and win hearts
  • Introducing yourself to make a great first impression
  • Exchanging business cards so that you are remembered

If you missed the workshop, don’t worry — We’ll be adding new workshops soon!

Public Speaking Tip #25: Understand Cultural Differences

By Paul Barton

You know this cat. You see this cat and his raised paw almost every time you enter an Asian-owned business. Some of the cats have a battery operated paw that moves back and forth. The cat is known as Maeki-Neko, which is Japanese for “beckoning cat.” That’s right “beckoning cat” not clawing cat.

Maeki-Neko’s raised paw is meant to resemble how people beckon you to come inside in Japan and in many other Asian cultures (hand raised, palm down, fingers moving in and out quickly). The cat is intended to bring customers and good fortune into their establishments. But to many people in Western cultures, the cat looks like he’s trying to claw something. Maeki-Neko is a great example of how things can be interpreted differently by people in different cultures.

Public Speaking Requires Homework

Before you speak to any audience, particularly an audience that is culturally different from you, you need to do your homework. Research is key to an effective presentation.

Here are some questions to ask when doing audience analysis:

  1. What is my audience’s feelings toward my topic?
  2. What common ground do audience members share with one another and with me?
  3. How relevant will the audience find my content?
  4. What can I do to enhance my credibility with this audience?
  5. How can I make it easier for audience members to understand and remember my main points?
  6. What language or cultural differences do audience members have with one another and with me?
  7. Am I using colloquialisms, idioms or humor that won’t be understood?

You can’t anticipate and research everything when dealing with cultural complexity. My wife grew up in the Philippines and we encounter unexpected cultural differences on a daily basis in our household. But with my family, and in my travels to other countries, I’ve always found that being respectful of different cultures and seeking to understand your audiences will get you headed in the right direction. Most people are forgiving of occasional slip-ups if they know your heart is in the right place. So speak up — and don’t let the cat get your tongue.

A Thumbs Up Presentation!

I had a great time presenting some public speaking tips to the SMART Referrals Busines Builders Network in Avondale this morning and got thumbs ups from the attendees.

Public Speaking Tip #23: Be Prepared, Don’t Choke!

There are a lot of things that can go wrong when you are involved in public speaking. Imagine you are in the midst of a presentation and you suddenly develop a case of dry mouth that causes you to cough. It can happen to anybody at any time. If you’re prepared with a small bottle of water nearby, you can quickly recover and move on with your speech. No big deal. But without water, a small case of dry mouth can turn into a big distraction and maybe even ruin your speech. You have to stop. Someone now has to fetch you water while the audience waits restlessly. A five-minute wait is an eternity when an audience is waiting.

You don’t need a big bottle of water to save the day. You usually only need a quick sip to recover. I like the little 6 ounce bottles that I can easily place on a podium without them sticking out too much. The water should be room temperature. Cold water can cause your throat to tighten up. Of course, hot tea works well for your throat too, but hot tea is not easy to carry around with you like a small bottle of water.

I talk a lot so I also carry a supply of throat drops with me to soothe my often overworked throat. I don’t recommend using cough drops that contain menthol. Also, because I use a lot of throat drops (and because I’m a Type 2 diabetic), I prefer the sugar-free drops.

These small items can make a big difference in a speech or business presentation. So pack a small bottle of water and maybe a couple of throat drops in your briefcase. It just may help you to pull off a perfect public speaking presentation.