Outstanding speeches are measured on the quality of their content, not the quantity of their content. Too often, speakers forget this important fact and fail to present short and concise messages.
When most people are asked to speak, the first question they ask is how much time is allotted to their topic, and they proceed to develop a presentation to fit the time allotted. The better question to ask is how much time is necessary to present the topic.
Rainmakers should focus on preparing concise presentations. Your clients, colleague and audiences will appreciate your efforts.
Author Scott Berkin shares his thoughts on concise presentation in a recent Forbes.com article entitled, The End of Boring Presentations.
Showing posts with label law marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law marketing. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Making a Great Toast
Offering a toast to the host of a dinner party, a friend or newly weds is an eloquent way to say thank you and to express your heartfelt appreciation. Columnist and etiquette maven, Pam Harvit, shares some fascinating history about toasts and great pointers in her column, Why we toast, and how to receive a toast in your honor, in the Sunday Gazette-Mail.
A few pointers from Ms. Harvitt are:
Remember the three B's - begin, be brief and be seated.
Toasts do not have to be made with alchol: however, some people believe that making a toast with water will bring bad luck.
Avoid tapping your glass to obtain everyone's attention before proposing a toast.
Stand when proposing a toast (unless the group is ten or less.)
If you are the guest of honor, you should propose a toast to thank the host or hostess before desert.
Never pre-empt the host or hostess by making a toast to a guest of honor before they do. It is their responsibility to offer the first toast.
If the toast is made in your honor, you should neither rise, lift your glass, nor sip your drink. Accept the kind gesture graciously.
It is proper form to return a toast to the person who proposed one in your honor in order to thank them.
A toast to my readers, "may you have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!"
Monday, November 9, 2009
4 Things You Can Do to Reduce Anxiety Before Any Event
Do you ever feel awkward at business gatherings and feel like you have nothing to say? A few minutes of preparation before an event can help reduce your anxiety. Try these four little tips before attending your next event.
1. Anticipate basic questions - Think about typical questions that people ask you. "What do you do for a living?" "What's new at work?" "What do you enjoy doing in your free time?" Prepare engaging answers for the "typical" questions. Start by thinking about the information that you want to convey about yourself and/or your business. If someone asks, "What do you do for a living?" Don't simply reply, "I'm an accountant." Talk about the type of work that you perform as an accountant and where you work. "I'm a tax accountant with Barnes & Jones and I specialize in assisting mid size businesses with navigating the tax code." This gives the person you are talking to valuable information and makes you much more interesting. Preparing interesting and well thought out answers to frequently asked questions will make you a better conversationalist and will help you overcome the anxiety associated with "small talk."
2. Think about discussion topics and questions - Have you ever started talking to someone and in two minutes time run out of things to say? The silence that follows can be very awkward. You can avoid these pregnant pauses by spending a few minutes before an event thinking about topics of conversation. What is the one topic that everyone likes to talk about? Themselves. Ask general questions that give people the opportunity to talk about themselves. Flatter people by asking for advice - "Where is a good place to shop or eat dinner?" Read a newspaper or magazine to learn more about current events. Having a few "conversation savers" in the back of your mind will enhance your confidence and reduce your anxiety.
3. Plan your wardrobe - Take a minute to think about the location of the event and the people who will be attending. This will help you dress appropriately and relieve the anxiety associated with over dressing or under dressing for an event.
4. Obtain and review the guest list - Do you have difficulty remembering names? If you review a guest list before the event, you will better be able to recall names when you see people that you know. Additionally, you can use the guest list to identify people that you want to meet and arrange for an introduction. Successful rainmakers have a plan before they enter an event.
Developing the habit of preparing before each event will reduce the uneasiness associated with networking and will lead to the creation of stronger business relationships. Additionally, it will allow you to have more fun!
1. Anticipate basic questions - Think about typical questions that people ask you. "What do you do for a living?" "What's new at work?" "What do you enjoy doing in your free time?" Prepare engaging answers for the "typical" questions. Start by thinking about the information that you want to convey about yourself and/or your business. If someone asks, "What do you do for a living?" Don't simply reply, "I'm an accountant." Talk about the type of work that you perform as an accountant and where you work. "I'm a tax accountant with Barnes & Jones and I specialize in assisting mid size businesses with navigating the tax code." This gives the person you are talking to valuable information and makes you much more interesting. Preparing interesting and well thought out answers to frequently asked questions will make you a better conversationalist and will help you overcome the anxiety associated with "small talk."
2. Think about discussion topics and questions - Have you ever started talking to someone and in two minutes time run out of things to say? The silence that follows can be very awkward. You can avoid these pregnant pauses by spending a few minutes before an event thinking about topics of conversation. What is the one topic that everyone likes to talk about? Themselves. Ask general questions that give people the opportunity to talk about themselves. Flatter people by asking for advice - "Where is a good place to shop or eat dinner?" Read a newspaper or magazine to learn more about current events. Having a few "conversation savers" in the back of your mind will enhance your confidence and reduce your anxiety.
3. Plan your wardrobe - Take a minute to think about the location of the event and the people who will be attending. This will help you dress appropriately and relieve the anxiety associated with over dressing or under dressing for an event.
4. Obtain and review the guest list - Do you have difficulty remembering names? If you review a guest list before the event, you will better be able to recall names when you see people that you know. Additionally, you can use the guest list to identify people that you want to meet and arrange for an introduction. Successful rainmakers have a plan before they enter an event.
Developing the habit of preparing before each event will reduce the uneasiness associated with networking and will lead to the creation of stronger business relationships. Additionally, it will allow you to have more fun!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Present Like a Pro!
Nonverbal Cues Can Make or Break a Presentation
At times, our appearance, tone of voice and mannerisms communicate far more than our words. The nonverbal cues we send to an audience during a presentation can electrify them, captivate them or put them to sleep. Often speakers focus solely on the content of their speech and fail to consider the nonverbal cues that they are sending. Accomplished speakers coordinate their words, gestures, tone, nonverbal cues - the entire package when preparing for a speech.
Steve Jobs of Apple is a compelling public speaker. He practices not only the content of his speech but the visual images and nonverbal cues that he wants the audience to see. The narrator in this video does an excellent job of highlighting Jobs' nonverbal cues and contrasts Jobs' presentation style with those of a less accomplished and less prepared speaker. The contrast is fascinating and very instructive. Please take a moment to view the video. It is well worth your time.
At times, our appearance, tone of voice and mannerisms communicate far more than our words. The nonverbal cues we send to an audience during a presentation can electrify them, captivate them or put them to sleep. Often speakers focus solely on the content of their speech and fail to consider the nonverbal cues that they are sending. Accomplished speakers coordinate their words, gestures, tone, nonverbal cues - the entire package when preparing for a speech.
Steve Jobs of Apple is a compelling public speaker. He practices not only the content of his speech but the visual images and nonverbal cues that he wants the audience to see. The narrator in this video does an excellent job of highlighting Jobs' nonverbal cues and contrasts Jobs' presentation style with those of a less accomplished and less prepared speaker. The contrast is fascinating and very instructive. Please take a moment to view the video. It is well worth your time.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
4 Reasons People Don't Buy Your Ideas...Products or Services
Have you ever stopped for a moment to consider why people don't buy your ideas? My friend, Tom Wilkerson, a former general agent for Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company, is the consummate salesman and community leader. Tom has a way of making complicated concepts, such as sales, simple. Here are his 5 reason why people don't buy your ideas, products or services.
1. They don't trust.
2. They don't need.
3. What you're offering doesn't help them.
4. They feel no sense of urgency.
Recent public policy debates in Washington D.C. highlight the importance of these factors in swaying public opinion. If you listen to the arguments of opponents of health care reform, these five themes are highlighted. Some feel that Congress and the President spent too much money on bailouts and stimulus packages. They lack trust. Others, who have health insurance and are afraid of being burdened with taxes and losing what they have, don't need reform. Simply stated, what is being offered doesn't help them. Finally, others who say "let's slow down" and examine this change and implement it gradually don't feel a sense of urgency. All five themes are part of the debate. I offer this simplistic analysis not to support one position or the other, but to show you how all five reasons must be addressed to successfully sell your ideas.
Do the same themes apply to selling products or services? Absolutely yes! Regardless of whether you are trying to make change in your community, selling a product to a consumer or trying to offer a professional service, these five reasons must be addressed in order for you to be successful.
In my book, I emphasis the importance of credibility. Credibility and visibility are the two essential elements of developing business relationships. Credibility goes to the heart of trust. You can't simply wake up one morning and say, "Today, I am going to be credible." It takes a lifetime of work to establish credibility. Credibility and trustworthiness can not be turned on and off like a switch. It must be a part of who you are or a part of your businesses culture.
Need is perhaps the greatest driver of human behavior. Need and want are often confused in the minds of consumers, but need must be addressed in order for a sale to occur.
Offering something that is needed may seem like a no-brainer, but I am often amazed at how many people selling a product or service fail to examine the needs of the person to whom they are selling. This is necessary to determine whether the product or service actually helps the consumer. You must have a compelling reason why your product or service will help address the needs of the consumer.
No sense of urgency is often the reason a sale fails. A consumer may like the product or service but he or she will not act until motivated or pressured to do so. How many "infomercials" on TV say, "If you call within the next ten minutes, you will receive_____ free!" Why do they always throw in a bonus offer - to create a sense of urgency.
Just think how many wills are written after a poor health diagnosis or how many accountants are hired after an IRS notice is received. If you want to sell your idea or product, you have to demonstrate to people the urgency of acting now and not delaying.
Before you attempt to make a sale keep these five themes in mind and you will do well.
1. They don't trust.
2. They don't need.
3. What you're offering doesn't help them.
4. They feel no sense of urgency.
Recent public policy debates in Washington D.C. highlight the importance of these factors in swaying public opinion. If you listen to the arguments of opponents of health care reform, these five themes are highlighted. Some feel that Congress and the President spent too much money on bailouts and stimulus packages. They lack trust. Others, who have health insurance and are afraid of being burdened with taxes and losing what they have, don't need reform. Simply stated, what is being offered doesn't help them. Finally, others who say "let's slow down" and examine this change and implement it gradually don't feel a sense of urgency. All five themes are part of the debate. I offer this simplistic analysis not to support one position or the other, but to show you how all five reasons must be addressed to successfully sell your ideas.
Do the same themes apply to selling products or services? Absolutely yes! Regardless of whether you are trying to make change in your community, selling a product to a consumer or trying to offer a professional service, these five reasons must be addressed in order for you to be successful.
In my book, I emphasis the importance of credibility. Credibility and visibility are the two essential elements of developing business relationships. Credibility goes to the heart of trust. You can't simply wake up one morning and say, "Today, I am going to be credible." It takes a lifetime of work to establish credibility. Credibility and trustworthiness can not be turned on and off like a switch. It must be a part of who you are or a part of your businesses culture.
Need is perhaps the greatest driver of human behavior. Need and want are often confused in the minds of consumers, but need must be addressed in order for a sale to occur.
Offering something that is needed may seem like a no-brainer, but I am often amazed at how many people selling a product or service fail to examine the needs of the person to whom they are selling. This is necessary to determine whether the product or service actually helps the consumer. You must have a compelling reason why your product or service will help address the needs of the consumer.
No sense of urgency is often the reason a sale fails. A consumer may like the product or service but he or she will not act until motivated or pressured to do so. How many "infomercials" on TV say, "If you call within the next ten minutes, you will receive_____ free!" Why do they always throw in a bonus offer - to create a sense of urgency.
Just think how many wills are written after a poor health diagnosis or how many accountants are hired after an IRS notice is received. If you want to sell your idea or product, you have to demonstrate to people the urgency of acting now and not delaying.
Before you attempt to make a sale keep these five themes in mind and you will do well.
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