The Aussie Speaking Guy

Great presenters are always prepared and are fastidious about the details and they leave nothing to chance. They dot the ‘I’s’ and cross the ‘t’s’ as it were. They have an absolute commitment to excellence. One of the greatest hindrances to excellent presentations is the person delivering is just not prepared. I’ve witnessed countless presentations where the speaker was just not prepared and I really felt for him, in fact I wish I had a lever to a trap-door that I could open up and save him from the shame and his lack of preparation.

Throughout Step Up and Speak I teach you a host of ways to prepare so you can assemble your information in a logical flow as well as methods to practise your presentation so you’ll never have to stand there looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

For now though, let me tell you how you can begin to prepare yourself for your next presentation.

1) When you think, read or see something that is relevant, you must record it (written or otherwise) …which I’ll talk about in detail later in the course, the next thing you must do to prepare is to ‘ponder it’. What do I mean by ‘ponder it’? Well, if all you did to delivery your next presentation was to pick up a magazine on your chosen subject to read it to the audience, and that was your whole presentation, just reading from a magazine…it would be missing the one critical ingredient…YOU!…It would be missing YOU, your convictions, your opinions and your beliefs. When you add those elements to your talk, you are adding a human factor to the information.

When you ponder, think over, contemplate…what this means to me and my audience, then that is part of your preparation.  Your mind is like a gold mine of information and life experiences and it’s just waiting dormant for you to come along to bring them to the surface to add value to you and your listeners.

2) Practise, Practise, Practise – If you want to become a GREAT speaker, you must learn to practise…correctly. Talk to any great athlete or sports-star and what do they have in common? They practice for hours a day so when they step up to the plate as it were, they are ready…emotionally, mentally and physically. After preparing your talk, you’ll want to take it with you wherever you go and practice out loud.

If you’re a CEO, a director, a manager or a team leader, it’s likely you have your own staff that you assign tasks to do throughout their workday. By assigning tasks, you of course create leverage that enables you to get more done throughout your day.

However, when creating, outlining and practicing your presentation and talks, you do not have the luxury of assigning this to anyone but yourself. Nobody knows your subject like you…but you. Nobody knows your style…but you.  And nobody can practice your presentation…but you! Yes, practice is the absolute essential element to whether you will ultimately succeed or fail.  I know; strong words…but here’s the point I want to make.

All the way through ‘Step Up & Speak’ I teach you: how to prepare your material, develop your voice, speak with feeling, use gestures, influence with words and a host of other techniques and strategies, but all this is meaningless without a critical element…practice!

Yes, practice is where the rubber meets the road. It’s the difference between feeling confident on the day of your presentation and your knee’s knocking together with total fear.

Throughout my time of giving talks and presentations, I know within myself that there has been times when I was more prepared than other times. To a great extent that preparation was not so much the material itself, (the outline was great) but it’s not practicing enough before delivering it.

And as a result, I felt like my audience could tell that I felt awkward and self-conscious. If you’ve delivered presentations in the past, you’d be able to relate to this. If you haven’t done any presenting and public speaking…then take the warning seriously to practice well, so you never have to experience that horrible feeling. And there’s a few ways to practice correctly so you’ll feel the most equipped and confident for delivering your presentation.

What’s another reason for practicing correctly before your presentation?

Well, as you well know, public speaking is supposed to be people’s number one fear…even exceeding death as a fear. Crazy isn’t it? However when you know how to practice correctly; to the point where you know your material inside and out, then much of this fear will be manageable. (I’ve also provide you with a whole session on fear and stage fright for you to go through which has ways to control your fear and redirect it’s affect into something positive.

Working with speakers, I’ve found they make some mistakes when it comes to practicing their presentation. I have known speakers in the past who prepared their information in a logical flow, but who then practice the talk in their mind and never utter a single word out loud until they actually give the speech itself. I don’t know why or how they do it!

Let me tell you that it you do this or were planning to do this. Don’t do it! It’s an extremely dangerous way to practice. Why? Because the connection between the our mouth and our brain is often a lose one, and what we say in our heads can be different to what comes out of our mouth.

Just one suggestion for practice is to use what is known as N.E.T time. This stands for ‘No Extra Time’. Think of the time you spend, getting ready for work, shaving, showing, driving in the car. This is all time that should be used for practice. In Step Up and Speak, I teach you exactly how to do this.

Remember to practice, practice, practice. Your audience will thank you for it!

One of the greatest challenges new and even not-so-new speakers and presenters face when preparing a speech, is ‘where to start’.

They become so overwhelmed at the thought of presenting that all logical and creative thought goes out the window. New public speakers become overwhelmed, the fear kicks into high gear and all creativity is lost and they suffer from ‘information overload’. If you are new to the world of public speaking and presenting,
I hope that this will give you some ideas on what to add to your talk outline.

Whenever I’m preparing a new presentation whether a keynote or a workshop I ask myself
‘three important questions’ to insure that the information I’m using is of value to my listener.

So here’s the questions:

1. Why is this chunk of material important to my audience?

(Think about that carefully…it might think it’s important to you, but what about your audience? Is it important to them?)

2. What is my objective in sharing this material with my audience?

(In other words, what you trying to achieve by sharing this nugget of information? Is it to motivate…is it to raise their interest…are you wanting to provide practical guidance? Whatever it is, think about your objective before you add it to your outline.

3. What’s in it for them?

This is very important. Keep these 3 questions with you when you are preparing your outline. There’s an old story about a radio station that everyone tunes into called, WIIFM which stands for, ‘What’s In It For Me?’ Everyone listening to your presentation will be asking that question…sub-consciously.( ‘What’s In It For Me?’) So by keeping those questions in mind, it’ll help you keep on track to making your presentation about your audience and not about you.

Another point to keep in mind is to identify your main points.

You may have collected a ton of information but look carefully to what would be of the most value to your audience and don’t settle for general information but be more specific about what you’re saying.

Sift through your material like a gold miner searching for gold and identify the main points that you need to discuss in order to develop and achieve your objectives.

Follow these basic rules and I’ll ensure that the information you’re delivering is valuable.

It has been said many times that, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” And this is so true. People will make up their mind about you in the first few seconds and make an even more solid conclusion in around 30 seconds. I’m sure you’ve seen hidden camera investigations on TV where they send into a retail shop someone who is dressed in a sloppy and unkempt manner to see how long it takes for that person to be served as well as the quality of service they receive.

They usually follow this experiment with someone who is dressed for success in a power suit and compare the level of service. Whether you agree with these sorts of tests or not, you can’t deny that you are treated better in life, when you look like somebody. In fact, personal appearance goes way beyond your clothes, but also your hair, how you smell as well as your posture.  When you are clean and well groomed, others will likely conclude that you have self-respect, and they will be more likely to listen to you.

So, it’s safe to say that when you step up and out in front of your audience, you must dress appropriate for your situation, your culture and your location. One great resource I highly recommend is a book called, “Dressed for Success” for men & “Dressed for Success” for women. Based on this research, you can find out what dress is the most appropriate for your industry.

For now, here are some basic guidelines.

If you’re a college or university student giving a presentation to your peers, it probably won’t be appropriate to wear a business suit and tie, or a pants suit for women. Just look clean, neat…never sloppy or untidy.

In the business world…
Wear clothes somewhere in the upper part of your industry. Stand out but don’t dress to attract major attention to yourself. For example, If you are in the Information Technology industry, you may find that a nice pear of slacks and a smart open collar shirt will be sufficient. Or a full suit with an open collar shirt may be suitable also. Also, if you are a man, be sure you are well shaven and be aware of those 5 O’Clock shadows.

For Women:
A business suit with a skirt or pants suit can work well but once again, dress according to your industry. If you have an accessed amount of jewellery, you’ll want to remove it as it can prove to be a distraction to your audience and you may even hear your bangles or bracelets through the sound system. Keep your makeup modest and not over the top. Your goal should be to be noticed; for your presentation and not your over-the-top-appearance.

Female presenters also want to be conscious of the length of their skirt. You may have great legs, but wearing a short skirt on a raise platform is a recipe for disaster. Once again, you want to be remembered for all the right reasons.

Also for men and women, if you decide to join the speaking circuit full-time, you may have a signature look just like Steve Jobs of Apple with his blue jeans and black turtle neck. Perhaps for you, it could be funny ties or glasses. There is no hard and fast rules, just dress neatly and appropriate to your industry. For me, it’s generally a suit and tie all the way, sometimes a suit with an open collar shirt, but the key is to take an active note of how people who speak in your industry dress and you may get some ideas.

I hope these quick tips have helped you and that you learn how to dress appropriately for your industry.