Presentation Skills Training

Ian GriffinExecutive Communications

March 16, 2014

Ian Griffin Executive Communications

“…speak plain and to the purpose.”William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

“…speak plain and to the purpose.”William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

Mistakes to Avoid

»Focus on your own or your company history

»vs. offering solutions to client problems

»Talking about what you do

»vs. telling stories of satisfied clients

»Too abstract and technical

»vs. concrete client-centered

MESSAGE OUTLINE

© 2008 Fair Isaac Corporation..5

The Power of Three

• Left, Right and Center

• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

• Father, Son and Holy Ghost

• Three Little Pigs

What’s your intention?

»What’s the point of origin? The destination?

»Where do you want to take the audience?

»How will they act and feel differently?

»What newspaper headline would you like?

Structure of a Persuasive Speech *

»Grab their attention

»State the need or problem you will solve

»Present the solution

»Share examples of success, help the audience to visualize

»Close with a call to action

* Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Speech Outline Plan Putting it all together

»Your intention

»Audience destination

»Message in three main points

»Call to action

Delivering a compelling speech

»Show empathy with the audience

»Align your personal interests with theirs

»Eliminate fluff

»Deliver with passion and focus

Adult Learning Styles: VAK

»Visual

» Graphs, charts, illustrations

»Auditory

» Interactive dialog

»Kinesthetic

» Concrete examples

Your Style

»Urge

»Demand

»Assure

»Persuade

»Recommend

»Illustrate

»Inform

CONTENT DETAILS

© 2008 Fair Isaac Corporation..13

Power Opening

»Instead of a ‘gentle introduction’

»Grab their attention

»Boldly state your intention

»Credible and relevant, even controversial

Evidence

»In support of your argument

»Examples, statistics

»Quotations, facts

»Comparisons, details

Case studies

»Deal with a real problem, dilemma

»Outline a challenge

»List the options

»Explain how the decision was made

Stories

»Engage and motivate

»Describe a journey

»Overcome an obstacle

»Make a point

Analogies & Metaphors Taken from experiences everyone shares

»Relate one thing to another

»Explain in everyday terms

»Raising kids

»Travel

»Health

»Money, food, sex

Statistics Context relevant to the audience

»Add credibility

»Acknowledge the source

»Context relevant to the audience

Closing

»Include a call to action

»Summarize, recap

»“As I told you”

»Leave with a rhetorical question

PRESENTION TIPS

© 2008 Fair Isaac Corporation..21

Effective Design

Good BestBetter

»The presentation is NOT the slides

»Aim for clarity in design

»Minimal text

»No clip art

Write Slide Titles as Headlines Use active verbs

»Direct Headlines

»Indirect Headlines

»News Headlines

»Question Headline

»Command Headline

»Reason Why Headline

»Testimonial Headline

Presentation Skills

»Pause often

»Memorize opening and closing

»Stance

»Gestures

»Breathing exercises

»Warm-up vocal exercises

Vocal Variety

» Power (vary the volume, contrast loud/soft)

» Pitch (vary the range)

» Pace (vary the cadence and speed)

» Pauses (vary before and after key points)

» Duration (vary length of sounds)

Resources

» Toastmasters

» National Speakers Association

» SpeakerNetNews.com

Ian Griffinhttp://www.exec-comms.com/blog510-962-4721

Ian Griffin510-962-4721Ian.griffin@exec-comms.com