Olympic Proportions

I teach people to be better communicators in a number of contexts. Some of my greatest moments of clarity about how we perform as communicators comes by way of sports. I love sports. I REALLY love when the Olympics come around. This Olympics is no exception. I DVR all of it and then sit and watch with a bowl of ice cream (blackberry cobbler from Blue Bell--yummy!). One of my favorite events is women's gymnastics.

The women's gymnastics team competition at the Olympics provided a great opportunity to look up close at how people perform under pressure. The Chinese women rose to the occasion. (especially for a bunch of 13 year olds! Ha.) The women representing the United States came up short. As I watched these young, incredible talented women I was struck by a few things.

1. The Team effort it takes to win Gold

2. How people respond and react to set backs

"When I say say 'let's go' you say 'team'"

Last night's performance was a team effort. We win together, we lose together. In the case of the women representing the United States, Alicia Sacramone probably cost the team the gold medal. That is a heavy burden to carry. If her parent's happen to read this--I mean no offense. My point is simply this--one person can drop the ball and everyone suffers the consequences. On this day it was Alicia. The same can be said for many of the presentations we see in corporate America today. A team helps design the presentation and very often a team also does the actual presentation. Imagine for a moment there is an imaginary torch that is passed among each team member. If one person fails to pass the torch effectively, it gets dropped (your power point has crazy, unexpected animation; the second guy in the presentation was supposed to speak for 5 minutes and he takes 20 instead; one of the team members does not bother to show up for practice time because she is SO BUSY and she is a great speaker any

way so who needs to practice right?) If you want to win together as a team you have to work together as a team--and enjoy the results.

"You could see it on their faces"

For anyone to make it to the Olympics means they have dedicated their time to the pursuit of their sport. In gymnastics that means from a very early age, these young women have spent COUNTLESS hours in the gym working to perfect their craft. No matter how many hours one practices though, their ability to handle the pressure of the actual event itself is not always a certainty. The night of the team finals, the tension that Alicia Sacramone was feeling was evident in her face and body language both before the balance beam routine, during the balance beam routine, after the balance beam routine and yes, during her floor exercise. You could FEEL her anxiety and stress. How we MANAGE the stress is often what makes the difference between winning and losing. Now, compare Sacramone's display of anxiety and tension to that of the Chinese gymnasts who also had a setback with one of their girls on the balance beam: they were hugging, smiling, high fiving and it looked genuine--not tense and contrived.

Our gold medals are contracts, job promotions, etc.

What do you get for second place? In the corporate world...not much. So while sports metaphors may feel a little tired at times, the truth is there is much to be learned from this area of life.

-- Libby Spears

Attention! Please

This month's tutorial on www.bravocc.com is about how to get your audience's attention using the rules from Dr. John Medina, author of one of our favorite books this year Brain Rules. Millie touched on a few of them with her post about Ted Koppel and how he used unexpectedness to captivate his audience. I think, at the heart of Dr. Medina's rules about presentations is that we MUST stimulate our audiences in some way or we might as well go home. If you do a lot of presentations and you begin them with the following:

1. Hello My name is __________
2. Ladies and Gentlemen
3. Today I am going to talk about
4. Thank you for being here

Then raise your right hand and slap your self on the face! THAT IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL. No one has captivated an audience with any of these attention getters--in the history of EVER (as my seven year old would say).

There is compelling research that suggests that audiences make up their mind in the first minute of a presentation if they are going to listen or not. And if you are not the first speaker of the day? Then get ready, your audience may tune out in less than 30 seconds! When we focus in on corporate speaking occasions I think these problems are even more prevalant. Corporate America loves a good meeting where men and women bore us to tears with the monotonous droning on and on about information that honestly, no one cares about!

So for your next presentation challenge yourself to find a way to get your audience's attention from the beginning. How?

1. Use visual language--if we can't literally see it, then paint us a picture that we can go to in our minds and see
2. Stop it with the old and tired cliches! I swear if anyone says "think outside the box" or "value added program" or "paradigm shift" to me I might punch them in the face. That is corporate speak! Don't do it!
3. Find a great story that is your own personal story or one you find in your research to open up the presentation with. For me--this is the best way to begin any presentation. People are captivated by (good) stories.
4. Don't be self-centered in the beginning or any part of the presentation. Recently I attended a speaking occasion where the CEO of the company kept saying "help me". Help me win, help me achieve, help me.... Yuck! Given the feedback afterwards, people were saying "help you? How bout' you help us! You are the one making the big bucks!".
5. Use (appropriate) humor. Well timed and well done humor puts us all at ease--speaker and audience alike.

You can do these things and separate yourself from the rest of the pack. QUIT doing it like everyone else does! Separate yourself from the mediocre. And watch the results....

-- Libby Spears

KoppelLine

Jeff (my husband) and I just got back from Chicago where he attended a professional conference and I ate and walked and then ate some more. One of the big names that opened the first general session of the conference was none other than Ted Koppel. I'm still not clear on why an old news guy was speaking at a financial investment conference, but his speech provides a lesson in the value of candor and unexpectedness as a public speaker.

One of the elements of presentations that Libby and I talk about over and over is the importance of gaining the attention of your audience as soon as you start talking. This is just what Koppel did. According to Jeff, as soon as Ted Koppel came onto the stage, Jeff and everyone around him were struck by how short Koppel is. Wisely understanding how distracted his audience could be, Mr. Koppel succinctly addressed it in a humorous and lighthearted way: "I know what you're thinking" he said as he glanced at the much taller fellow next to him. Notice how disarming and unexpected such an acknowledgment is! It immediately shifts the focus of the audience from his height to him.

Another surprising and very unexpected element of Koppel's presentation was his use of humor to get the attention of the audience. Now, you may be thinking that the use of humor is not a novel way to start a speech. But wait! There's more! It was unexpected, not because it was funny, but because of what it was about. Ted Koppel told three, um, how shall I say . . . penis jokes. Yes, you read that right.

Oddly enough, his opening jokes were not in any way related to his core message (which, as you know, breaks a cardinal rule in presentations). Libby and I always teach that every word you say from the time you open your mouth to the time you close it should be directly relevant to your core message. However, Koppel gets a pass -- and here's why.

Ted Koppel had already established a great deal of credibility with his audience. Anybody remember those 25 years of Nightline? He was actually facing a different challenge than most of us when we give presentations: whereas we use the early portion of our presentations to create identification and credibility with our listeners, Koppel used his to combat widely held beliefs about his character and personality. By creating surprise in his listeners, he effectively forced them to open their minds to what would come next.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not advocating the use of off-color jokes to begin your next presentation. And I don't suggest that you reveal private things about yourself (unless they are readily apparent to your audience and have the potential to distract your listeners). But, take a lesson from Ted Koppel and surprise your audience every once in a while. Even if they only remember what surprised them and not your complete message, you will be the one they leave the meeting/interview/presentation talking about.

-- Millie Shaw

Get a Grip!

Everyone's doing it! You've probably seen it on national television! It's the first viable alternative to the traditional handshake! The multi-talented Barack Obama demonstrated it a few weeks ago and got major national news coverage. Check it out . . .



Yes, I'm talking about the fist-bump (or dap, or dat -- whichever you prefer). And while all the flak Obama caught was pretty silly, one thing the incident illustrates is that handshaking is no longer the simple, uncomplicated introductory gesture it once was. Now there are any number of ways in which you can introduce yourself. That is, if you're under 21 or are desperately trying to hold on to your youth. For the rest of us, the traditional handshake is pretty much the only way to go.

I'm sure you've heard it before -- from your Dad, your Business 101 Instructor, or maybe your first boss -- a handshake is the first (and perhaps the most important) way that you establish your identity with another person. I've actually started teaching "How to Shake Hands" in my basic communication courses (I teach at a community college) because I have found that while many of my students can perform wildly involved and intricate forms of greeting, they can't do a good handshake to save their lives.

And, lest I be accused of focusing indictment on a particular group, let's take a look at the female handshake. Sorry, I couldn't find any videos on this one, but I experienced it the other night. I went in for a shake and was met with the "half-hand" instead. Huh? What are you supposed to do with that? Kiss it? Caress it? Hold it gently and admire it's delicacy?

No! You're supposed to shake it. I would much rather shake a man's hand simply because I almost always know what to expect. The firm grip, two-pump, shake-n-bake! I'm no self-hating woman (I am a woman, by the way) I just like to know what I'm going to get. And, I'll be honest, my immediate assessment of a person is impacted by whether they register on the "Weakling Scale" when we shake hands. (I'm not even going to address the limp handshake from men -- that's just a big, fat no.)

Do yourself a favor and develop a good handshake. You don't have to break someone's hand to let them know you're serious, but you do have to establish a presence and the way you do that is to be strong and firm and assertive. Go for the full shake where your thumb joints touch. Do two good pumps and then let go. It sounds simple -- and it is. But don't underestimate the impact that a simple handshake can have on the world. Just ask Barack Obama . . .

-- Millie Shaw

PowerPoint Sucks

Okay, so it's not the most eloquent phrasing, but I think the title of this blog pretty accurately describes the state of PowerPoint these days.

Here's a clip of comedian Don McMillan's take on the problems with PowerPoint:



One of the main problems with PowerPoint is that it is often the first line of defense for a speaker, rather than what it should be -- a demonstration of the culmination of a great deal of planning and forethought. Instead of creating a clear message with concise supporting points, we just start with the title slide and then for the subsequent "Title with Bullets" slides, we type the first thing we think of and all the pieces of information that go with that title. The end-product is a compilation of pretty much everything you know about the topic and often resembles a stream-of-consciousness brainstorm session much more than well-planned presentation.

And you've all been there -- sitting through the PowerPoint slides with way too much information but not enough useful substance. Throw in a few complicated charts and whizzing animations, and you've got a real dandy.

But, PowerPoint doesn't have to suck! In fact, it can be one of the most useful tools in your toolbox if you use it correctly. But, you have to put it in its place. Just as a dentist doesn't start with the drill, neither should presentations start with technology.

That's right -- presentations start with a little bubble in the brain that is rolled over and over and then translated onto paper. Or, for those of you who have forgotten how to use a pen, typed into a word processing document. The point is that you should know exactly what the content of your presentation will be before you even open PowerPoint. This allows you to use PowerPoint as a creative tool that complements your message.

I won't try to cover everything there is to know about building PowerPoint slides in one entry, so stay tuned for updates! I'll leave you with a couple of examples of really great presentations:

Present! - Edition #1 Rethinking Presentation Design

view presentation (tags: ppt powerpoint design presentation)

Brain Rules for Presenters

view presentation (tags: reynolds garr zen presentation)

I know I'm inspired to build more interesting and creative presentations. How 'bout you?

-- Millie Shaw