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Archive for business presentations – Page 3

The Magnificent Magic of Metaphorical Speech

Metaphors and analogies are a powerful way for a public speaker or business presenter to communicate complex concepts to their audiences. Metaphorical language can increase understanding, make concepts more relatable, and cast concepts in a new or better light. But perhaps the most powerful aspect of metaphorical language is its ability to evoke strong emotions.

MLK was a Master of Metaphor

Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech is an incredibly moving oration with many great examples of the magic of metaphors and analogies to create relatable emotions that capture exactly how his audience felt. One powerful example of metaphorical language he used in the speech is the following:

“In a sense, we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.”

Rather than carrying on a high-level discussion of Constitutional law, Dr. King nails it by using the simple concept of being on the receiving end of a bounced check. Everyone in the audience could relate to what a bad check is, but more importantly exactly how it feels to receive one. A flood of emotions happen when receiving a rubber check. You feel cheated, disrespected, belittled, hopeless, frustrated, disappointed, in disbelief, and downright angry. Think that captured the way African Americans felt in 1963?

 

Relatable and Emotionally Engaging

But don’t think you have to be leading a major social justice movement to use metaphorical language in your speeches and presentations. Taking a cue from Dr. King, I once used such language to describe the importance for companies to have an up-to-date crisis communication plan. I wanted my audience to be able to relate to this concept in a personal way and I wanted them to feel the emotion of not having such a plan when they really needed it. Here’s what I came up with: “Not having an up-to-date crisis communication plan is like reaching for a flashlight when the lights go out and discovering that the batteries are dead.”

Think about the concepts you present frequently in your public speaking or business presentations. Is there a way to make them more relatable and more emotionally engaging for your audience? There just might be when you find the right metaphorical language. And when you do, you’ll have a more powerful presentation that turns heads, wins hearts and gets results.

 

 

 

 


RELATED POSTS

What MLK Taught Us About Change Communication

“I Have a Dream” Speech

“I Have a Dream Speech [text]

 

Correct Mispronounced Words

By Paul Barton

Throughout my career, I’ve occasionally encountered a business professional who had one particular word that they consistently mispronounced. These were intelligent people who otherwise were well-spoken. But one troublesome word that they consistently mispronounced was undermining their entire message. I could see the pained looks of disapproval on the faces of others around the conference table. It was sad to me to see the mispronunciation of a single word chip away at the credibility of everything else the speaker was saying.

Some of the cringe-worthy mispronunciations I heard included:

  • Physical instead of fiscal
  • Post or posed instead of supposed
  • Pacifically instead of specifically
  • Prolly or probly instead of probably

Maybe you’ve heard something similar. Maybe, you have a troublesome word of your own. It can happen to anyone. Barrack Obama consistently mispronounced the word “corpsman.” George W. Bush consistently mispronounced “nuclear.”

Kill the Word that is Killing Your Credibility

If you have a word that you consistently mispronounce, I challenge and encourage you to make 2020 the year you kill the word that is killing your credibility. Perhaps you learned to say the word incorrectly as a child and then it became a habit. Old habits are hard to break. But you can break them the same way you formed them — with repetition.

How to Practice

First, learn the correct way to pronounce the word. Start by writing out a phonetically correct pronunciation of the troublesome word (e.g., Fiscal – Fiss-Cal). Tape it on your bathroom mirror and say it correctly out loud several times every morning. Focus on getting the correct pronunciation. It is crucial that you practice out loud. Find other places and times to practice. Put a copy on the empty passenger seat in your car or in your lunch bag. Practice, practice, practice.

Audiences judge you, at least in part, on the words you use and how well you pronounce them. By practicing consistently, you can overcome bad speaking habits and become a better speaker. And with better pronunciation will come better credibility.

Here’s to new beginnings. Cheers!


If you live in Phoenix and want to conquer your fear of public speaking in 2020, check out this workshop.

Don’t live in Phoenix? Look for our new online fear-busting public speaking course coming later this month. Give us your name and email, and we’ll let you know as soon as it launches. You can even get in on some early-bird pricing.

Audiences Like Vocal Variety

Is it best to talk slow or talk fast when giving a business presentation? Is it best to talk loud or soft when public speaking? How about your pitch — low or high? And how about no noise at all or talking constantly? The answer to all these questions is — “Yes!” That’s right. Audiences want it all. Too much of the same becomes boring and your audience will quit listening to you.

What audiences want is vocal variety. It’s vocal variety that adds the energy to your content. I’ve broken down vocal variety in these four categories: Pace, Power, Pitch, and Pause. Here’s a look at how you can use each to be a great speaker.

The 4Ps of Public Speaking

Pace — It’s easy to get into a rhythm when speaking and that can become boring to your audience. Slow down to emphasize key points. Speak a little faster when presenting supporting thoughts or to convey excitement.

Power — We know we can get attention by raising our voice for emphasis, but sometimes you can get more attention by whispering, especially if you’re saying something in a soft voice like “Do you want to know the secret?”

Pitch — No one likes to listen to a monotone. We all like to hear pitch variations. Change your pitch slightly when quoting someone when you’re telling a story. Questions are another natural way to vary our pitch. You can use rhetorical questions or self-questioning (“Should we do it? You bet we should. Can we do it? You bet we can!”) to achieve this effect. While we like pitch variety, no one likes “upspeak” (adding an up pitch at the end of a declarative sentence making it sound like a question.)

Pause — Perhaps the most powerful tool in a public speaker’s toolbox is saying nothing at all. Pause after key points to let the message sink in. Pause after questions to let the audience consider how they feel. Here is some more detail about how to use the power of the pause.

Vocal variety brings your content to life. Learn how to incorporate your vocal variety into an authentic, conversational tone, and your presentations will rock!

 

 

PowerPoint Tip: Use Blank Slides Instead of Filler

Sometimes fewer is better. Sometimes nothing means a lot. Sometimes, you don’t need to have a PowerPoint slide to go with each and every point in your presentation.

It’s easy for public speakers and business presenters to fall into that trap and you can find yourself wasting hours upon hours trying to find images and putting together needless slides when perhaps a few key slides are all your audience really needs. (Notice we said “your audience” because they are who really matters in content decisions.)

Great Slides Add Value

Good slides support and enhance your points. Great slides add value. If you need a chart, a graph or an image to explain or strengthen your point, then, by all means, use it. But what if all you really need is a graph and your other slides are really just filler?

Consider this solution: Sandwich the slide you actually want to show between two blank slides. Here’s how: Create a slide with a solid black background. The solid color will keep the projection screen from being a distraction. Now insert the graph you actually need after your blank slide and then create another blank slide to go after the graph.

The Solution

Here’s how this scenario might play out: You begin your presentation and quickly grab the attention of your audience. There is a blank slide on the screen but the audience probably doesn’t realize that the projector is even turned on. Your audience is focused on you and what you’re saying. You are the center of attention, not the slides. Then, you click your presentation remote and, viola, there is your graph. The graph stands out and makes your point clearer. The graph adds value. You then click the remote again to another blank slide and continue speaking. All eyes are on you. Now, you’re ready for your big finish.

Of course, there are many situations when you’ll want a full slide deck complete with a title slide, numerous points, and final thoughts. As in all good design, the form should always follow the function. But always ask yourself these questions before settling on a slide strategy: Who is the star of this presentation, me or the slides? Am I running the slides or are they running me? What’s best for my audience?

The answers to those questions will help you to create a more powerful, more persuasive presentation.


LOTS OF RELATED POSTS

What’s On Your Final Slide? Hint: It’s not “thank you.”

PowerPoint Tips to Make Your Presentation More Powerful Great tips from a top-notch graphic artist.

Where to Get PowerPoint Ideas? Yep, thousands of them.

Use PowerPoint to Enhance To slide or not to slide; that is the question.

Use a PowerPoint Remote or a Helper Connect better with your audience. No, really.

How to Create Visual Slides Your Audience Will Remember Tons of tips and things to think about.

 

Pack a Powerful Presentation Punch with The Power of Three

Small, medium, large. Past, present, future. On your marks, get set..GO!

We like hearing things in threes. Our brains are hardwired for them. After all, we count to three before taking a group photo right? You’d surely count to three before plunging off a zipline tower for the first time, wouldn’t you? And, of course, as any Monty Python fan can tell you, you must count to three before lobbing the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Think about the classic Western movie “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Ugly doesn’t logically fit but it seems like it does because we like the pattern of three so much.

Want more proof? The Three Stooges. The Three Amigos. The Three Musketeers. Ho, ho, ho. Ha, ha, ha. Hee, hee, hee. A, B, C and 1, 2, 3. Oh, and don’t forget: the third time is a charm.

Yep, three is perfection. Three is completion. Three means business.

In public speaking, things said in threes help you land your important points in a memorable, persuasive, and powerful way. The trinity tool is a good one to keep in your verbal vault.

So, here are (you guessed it) three ways you can use the awesome Power of Three in your presentations:

  1. Make a point by constructing a superlative sentence, such as, “That was good, this is better, our proposal will be the BEST!”
  2. Build to three with the third item being a powerful payoff, as in this line from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, “We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.”
  3. Create a humorous line by building to an unexpected third item, such as, “When I was young I had hopes, I had dreams, I had HAIR!”

Learn how to use the Power of Three and you’ll be a more powerful, polished presenter. And that’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.


THREE RELATED VIDEO LINKS

> Gettysburg Address recreation. Listen for the Power of Three here and again here.

> Benjamin Netanyahu United Nations Speech selection. Listen for the Power of Three here and here. (This speech also contains what must be the longest pause ever.)

> And, you have to hear this hysterical Your Thought Leader parody poking fun of the Power of Three.

What’s on Your Final Slide?

What’s on the last slide in your business presentation? For many, it’s a slide that says “Thank You!” Well, that’s simply not as powerful or as useful for your audience as it could be. Instead, we suggest using that space for something fresh and more meaningful. Think of it this way: The final slide should stay on the screen until every last member of the audience has left the room. It’s the last opportunity to communicate with them. What information, what thoughts and what feelings do you want your audience to leave the room with?

Here are seven suggestions for slides you can use to have a fantastic finish:

(1) Business Card. A close-up photo of your business card, perhaps with your hand holding it as in the photo at left. This reminds your audience of what you do for business when not presenting and gives them the opportunity to take a photo of the slide for future reference.

(2) Contact Information. If not a business card, perhaps a list of various ways to connect and stay in contact with you to “keep the conversation going.” This could include your social media channels, a mail list signup, or a private group on LinkedIn or Facebook.

(3) Summary of Key Points. A brief listing of the key messages you really want your audience to remember.

(4) Call to Action. The one thing you want the audience members to do or to remember above all else.

(5) Next Steps. A list of the action steps audience members should take following the presentation.

(6) Final Thoughts. A final thought, such as the fortune cookie photo at the top of this post, or a powerful closing quote. Leave your audience feeling hopeful about the future.

(7) Bookend Thought. If your presentation began with a provocative question or thought, you could return to that question or thought on your final slide and bring it all full circle for your audience.

People tend to remember the first and the last thing you say the most so you want to end strong. By choosing a slide that has some meaning for your audience, you’ll have a much more powerful finish and a much better chance of leaving a lasting impression.

Do you have an idea for a final slide that isn’t listed here? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. We’d love to hear them.

Getting Just the Right Volume

How loud should you talk without a microphone in a room full of people? Here’s how to determine just the right volume so that you can influence and persuade your audience when public speaking in a meeting space or making your next business presentation in a conference room.

First, locate the person furthest away from you in the room. Yep, that person waaaay in the back. Now, how loud do you need to talk to be heard by that person? Adjust your volume to that level. If you’re a quiet talker, you might have to “use your outside voice” or you can try these tricks.

But wait, there’s more. Yep, you don’t want that person to simply hear you; you want to be able to influence them with the sound of your voice. So, adjust your volume up a little bit more. There you go. That’s it!

Now you’ll be able to be heard and influence everyone in the room.

 

 

Using Data to Tell Your Story

By Michele Trent
Public Speaking Coach

Facts and figures don’t lie. However, they also do not necessarily tell the whole store. When you present data, you select the facts and figures that support the specific point of view or the story you want to tell. When you do research, you are looking at the data to give you answers. Then you craft a narrative to sell that answer or solution. The data is then used to communicate to the organization in a way that supports your recommendation.

In Nancy Duarte’s new book, “Data Story,” she shares important guidance on creating a story using data. You need to “Transform Numbers into Narratives.” One of the ways you do this is by making the numbers relatable. In and of themselves, numbers are just numbers. Larger numbers and very small numbers, in particular, can lose their meaning when you toss them into your remarks. Instead, strive to relate the numbers to something your audience understands. I recently heard that “Air Force One is roughly the size of a football field.” Hearing this comparison instead of “Air Force One is a really big plane,” added much more meaning. It made an impact because I have seen a football field many times and consequently, I have a sense of how big a football field is. To say a plane is that big really landed the point (pun intended!).

The trick is to make sure the comparison is understandable by your audience.  You may have heard comparisons such as – it’s like going back and forth to the moon 2-1/2 times. That statement does indicate a far distance. However, do you really have a sense of how far it is to the moon and back? Unless you are an astronaut, probably not. In Nancy Duarte’s book, she has one of the best comparisons for the distance to the moon that I’ve ever heard. It takes this vast distance and makes it relatable. Here’s how it’s stated in the book, “According to cosmologist Fred Hoyle, if you drove a car upward at 60 mph, in about an hour, you’d be in space. To get to the Moon, it’d take 4,000 hours of nonstop driving (or almost half a year).” Now that’s a heck of a road trip! Why this works is because we can all imagine driving an hour or multiple hours to get to a destination. And, we all have some sense of how long a half a year is. This comparison is relatable and secures in our minds the point that the moon is far away.

The next time you share data, think through the various ways you can make the numbers relatable. Connect the numbers to something your audience can imagine or easily recognize. Once you do, you will have an even greater chance of selling through your point of view and the data will help you do it.

RELATED ARTICLES

3 Ways to unNumber Numbers

Help People Understand Your Data by Making It Relatable

 

 

The Power of Your Words

By Michele Trent
Phoenix Public Speaking Coach

After having spent a summer studying for and then attending an intensive Neuro-Linguistic Programming Certification Training, I am clearer now than ever about the importance of language and public speaking. As a communicator, words are the raw materials from which you construct a bridge between yourself and your audience. What you say and how you say it mean…quite literally…everything in terms of your effectiveness. Without immersing yourself in an NLP course, what words might you use to better communicate your message?

Here are two thoughts about how to do that:

(1) Know Your Audience! This cannot be overstated. Once you know your audience, you will begin to speak in their language. Every business, every workgroup, every social group, has words, acronyms, and phrases that they use. To the extent that you can learn and apply these will make you come across as “one of them” and consequently, give you more credibility. However, don’t just throw in a bunch of terms that you don’t understand and hope for the best. If you do, you are likely to come across as silly and inauthentic. However, you don’t have to be an expert in the arena to use words and phrases familiar with the audience. Once you have uncovered what some of those words and phrases are that resonate with your audience, your attempt to relate and incorporate them just might be enough. Consider when you travel overseas and you attempt the native language of the country you are visiting. You are often given a courtesy smile just for having tried. At least you made the effort to find the words and use them. You made an effort to connect and assimilate. Do the same when presenting. Find out about the company or group and attempt to use their language.

(2) Use Your Imagination. Imagination is a terrific tool for you as a speaker. When your audience is imaging themselves in a scenario, they are actively using their minds and creating more meaning from what you say. I recently watched a speaker do this effectively. He was talking about his role as a commercial real estate agent. He invited the audience to come along with him as he showed a property. Of course, we were all still sitting in our seats. Yet, when he guided us to imagine ourselves on the tour, it all became more real. The next time you speak, invite your audience in by inviting them to imagine themselves benefitting or participating in what you are sharing.

Your words can have great power. Think through what you say in addition to how you say it. Doing so will make you an even more effective communicator.

Public Speaking Quick Tip: Smile

“Smile: It is the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo

Want to know the fastest and easiest way to connect with an audience? Answer: Smile. Yep, whether you’re in a 1-on-1 interaction or on stage in front of a large audience, a friendly smile will help you connect with your audience right away.

But wait – there’s more! A smile will help YOU feel more confident as well. That’s right, your body language can affect how you feel. We call this “the Jedi mind trick you play on yourself.”

So, before you walk on stage, take a smiling selfie or pre-engage audience members with a warm smile as they enter the room. Give it a try. When you do, you’ll put yourself in a better frame of mind and start to engage your audience in the crucial first 90 seconds of your presentation.