presentation coach

Can you influence without authority? Yes!

Do you know how to truly influence with integrity? You already do every day. Maybe you didn’t realize it. We do this naturally, but maybe you need to take a closer look at what you already do at home, at work and with your family.

It is happening all around you. Take note and influence with purpose.

Discover 7 Ways to Influence

In addition to being part of speaking communities, we, as presenters belong to professional, social, charitable, faith-based, and other communities. Today Mark and Darren discuss the power of community, examining the ways that communities make us grow…and change. They offer advice on collaborating with your community, growing your community, and even leaving your community. Using Stage Time University, Toastmasters International, and the National Speakers Association as examples, they show benefits and blessings of being in community with like-minded people and reveal how community has helped them to prepare unforgettable presentations.

SNIPPETS:

• Community helps change perspective

• Choose your community

• Use your community

• Serve your community

• Build your community

• Don’t be abused by your community, if you must leave, do so with grace

• Protect your community

• Don’t think NETWORKING; think NETSERVING

• Is your community helping or harming you

• Take inventory of your communities

Thorough research is an invaluable part of preparing unforgettable presentations. There are myriad ways to access information, and so much information from which to glean. Where do I look? How much should I use? How can I verify? Darren and Mark discuss these questions with…and get answer from…researcher/author/speaker Vince Antonucci and comedy writer/TV producer Chris McGuire. Their perspective on effective research will help you to prepare your unforgettable presentation.

SNIPPETS:

• Dig deeper into your subject

• Look for compelling and unique information

• Put in the extra work

• Use AI tools

• Use ‘old-fashioned’ tools; search and read.

• The more you learn, the better your chances of finding critical content

• Ask: “What generates an emotional response?”

• Test research results on small audiences to gauge emotional reactions

• Research for customization; learn from The Barenaked Ladies

• Use the ‘Registration Desk Principle;’ find what bugs everyone

Virtual presentations are now commonplace and it’s easy to assume, “I’ve done quite a few of these and I’m good!” Today Darren and Mark share reminders of how FLOW, FOCUS and PACE ELEMENTS can make a significant difference in your virtual presentation…especially since distractions can be continuous and abundant.

SNIPPETS:

• Check your studio setup…especially what’s behind you

• Re-evaluate every aspect of your virtual presentation

• To maintain FLOW, it’s wise to have a producer, co-host, or co-presenter

• Be aware of the difference between a co-host, and a co-presenter

• Establish key toles up front

• Create smooth handoffs

• To maintain audience FOCUS, make slides simple and clear, 1 slide, 1 point

• Use PACE ELEMENTS to keep your audience engaged

• Use client’s language to solidify your connection

The story is arguably a presenter’s most potent tool. While it’s important to tell stories well, it is equally…if not significantly more important to transport your audience into the story. As Mark and Darren explain today, the key is to have CONGRUENT CHARACTERS, whose emotions are congruent with the emotion that they feel in the story. They share why many presenters fall short in this area and offer solid suggestions for using body language for greater emotional impact.

SNIPPETS:

• Let your audience feel the emotion of the characters

• Don’t elicit confusion

• In your script add ‘before’ and ‘after’ emotions in parentheses

• Your eyes should change when the emotion changes

• Emotional shifts are unclear without a character’s baseline emotion

• Leave your emotional baseline when you embody a character

• Record video, playback muted, ask a friend to identify the emotion

• Be congruent to connect

Holograms? Hula hoops? What do they have to do with delivering an unforgettable presentation? Mark and Darren explain how and why holograms help you to vividly create scenes in the minds of your audiences. This simple but potent technique will allow you to transform your speech into an experience.

SNIPPETS:

• Holograms appear in the audience’s mind whether you’re aware or not

• Holograms establish characters and scenes

• You can point to a hologram and the audience will recall the scene/story

• Holograms have experiential value

• Holograms have emotional impact

• Use the depth and width of the platform to make holograms more vivid

• Use hula hoops – INSIDE is dialogue; OUTSIDE, speak to your audience

• BLOCK spots on stage. Use them to show MOMENTS of TRANSFORMATION

• Time progresses audience left to right

• Decide what scene/character/story each hologram represents

Avoiding mistakes and adopting the right practices are keys to successfully growing your business. Today Darren and Mark talk with business growth expert and Hall of Fame speaker Mark LeBlanc as he shares four decades worth of wisdom on finding your niche, developing your content, connecting with your audience, and much more.

SNIPPETS:

• If you quit 1,000 times, start again 1,001 times

• You must earn the right to speak

• Avoid thinking that you’re better than you are

• Raise your hand and get help

• Engage minds, touch hearts, stir souls, and make them laugh

• Focus on a singular idea and build your speech around it

• Frame your content

• Build an ‘accordion’ presentation

• Create a great defining statement

• Find your sliver of the market

A new year often brings New Year resolutions. Today Mark and Darren offer four unforgettable habits to help you take your presentations…and your business…to a new level in 2024 and beyond.

SNIPPETS:

• Take a TOP 5 Inventory

• Disconnect to reconnect

• Marketing has changed; find a way that works today

• It is our job to reach out to clients and stay TOP of mind

• Share fresh ideas

• Reach out, and reach back

• Get TOP Level professional feedback on your marketing and presentation

• Change sales calls into RAPPORT calls

• Go ALL IN to TOP it off

• Attend GAME CHANGERS in April 2024 using discount code EVENT25

Go to: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/workshops/game-changers/

As presenters, our words are our most important tools. Preparing an unforgettable presentation requires some wordsmithing. Darren joins Mark…our resident wordsmith…to discuss this critical aspect of the script editing process. They offer several wordsmithing techniques, explain how to use them, and reveal why they are extremely effective.  

SNIPPETS:

• Say it in a more VIVID and VIBRANT way

• Edit for impact by asking, “How can I say it better in fewer words?”

• Monosyllabic words are easier for the audience to remember

• Use rhythm and rhyme have more impact in less time

• Use impingement words

• Choose, use and lose words as necessary

• Use rhetorical devices

• Find funny words, and words ending with a ‘K’ sound

• Craft your Foundational Phrase, Elevator Pitch and Value Proposition

• Use tools like https://wordhippo.com

“I thought you would come out with more ENERGY!” Imagine hearing THAT from a meeting planner! (Ask Darren!) He and Mark talk about matching the audience’s energy as they share techniques for connecting quickly and delivering an unforgettable experience.

SNIPPETS:

• Read the room and match the energy

• Always connect first

• Research the audience; learn what is top of mind for them

• Arrive hours or days early and have conversations in the corridor

• Keep your finger on the pulse of the event

• Avoid get caught thinking, “I didn’t see THAT coming!”

• Avoid starting with energy too low or too high

• Look at the audience as you speak and check their body language

• See the audience’s perspective

Getting referrals after a presentation isn’t always easy, but a new tool called TALKADOT is a game changer. Mark and Darren talk with professional speaker and TALKADOT co-founder Arel Moodie about his own speaking journey and the power of TALKADOT to get referrals and grow your business. Arel also shares principles for building relationships with prospects and creating a win/win/win for you, your clients and your audience.

SNIPPETS:

• Leave an indelible mark on people’s souls

• Always elevate your audience

• Be clear on the problem you solve

• Don’t show up, blow up and giddy up

• Focus on a singular idea and build your speech around it

• The money is in your e-mail list

• The secret to speaking success is to consistently be top of mind

• Plant seeds today to serve your future self

• Your job is to make your audience remember you; use keywords

• Add a call to action to every e-mail and newsletter

Mental Health. Suicide. Comedy. Those topics don’t seem to flow seamlessly together…unless you’re talking with 10-time TEDx speaker and comedian Frank King. Darren and Mark have a heart-to-heart with Frank, as he reveals his techniques for addressing such a tough topic, including vulnerability and humor. He also shares sage advice for securing, preparing and presenting TEDx talks. This powerful conversation delivers emotional and inspirational information that will help you to deliver an unforgettable presentation.

SNIPPETS:

• Find your idea worth spreading

• Avoid bringing too many ideas

• Don’t say too much about too many ideas

• Sell your idea in 90 seconds or fewer

• Be passionate about your idea

• Your title and subtitle must contain a ‘hook’

• Stand in your truth

• You can’t be inspiring if you aren’t inspired

• Use funny, personal stories instead of jokes

• Making people laugh prepares them for your next serious point

Your presentation is over, you’ve delivered great content, and you’ve served your audience well. But is there a way to add value IMMEDIATELY? Darren and Mark discuss the concept of CORRIDOR CONVERSATIONS…how getting an audience to continue engaging and interacting with each other can provide added benefit.

SNIPPETS:

• Ignite corridor conversations

• Use stories as conversation-starters

• Invite attendees to ask: What’s the problem, and what story has the solution?

• Create questions that spark conversation

• Hang around to gauge the impact

• Debrief corridor conversations in your post-event call

• Arrive a day early to learn what questions will spark conversation

• Add stimulating questions to a slide

• Follow up before the end of the event when you can

“To be unforgettable, you must have calluses on your head and your hands.” So says Dr. Jeff Magee, one of the world’s foremost leadership and marketing strategists. In a brutally honest conversation with Mark and Darren, Dr. Magee opens his treasure trove of wisdom and passionately reinforces the value of solid content.

SNIPPETS:

• People pay for your wisdom

• Make sure your content stands up

• What are your calluses on your head and your hands?

• Play the student

• Ask: “How can I become better?”

• Knowledge isn’t enough; learn the craft of rhetoric and speaking

• Your presentations come from your history; search your mind’s archives

• How will your audience be different on Monday morning?

• Make time to think

• Provide content that meets people where they are mentally

No two audiences are alike, so how can you ensure that you connect with every audience, especially when you deliver the same presentation frequently? Darren and Mark share personal experiences as they talk about ways to connect with every unique audience, keep your presentation fresh, and get glowing testimonials.

SNIPPETS:

• Every audience is different

• We are 100% responsible for our connection with the audience

• Interview audience members in advance

• Identify  and honor the company’s ‘patriarch’ and ‘matriarch’

• Identify and edify NEW employees and team-members

• Invest extra effort to find out what resonates with each audience

• If you’re not connected your audience feels neglected

• Stay connected; you won’t be rejected

Did you know that there are world class techniques embedded in the structure of speeches and stories? Today Mark and Darren discuss several of these techniques, which, when applied, can make your next presentation unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• Never devalue the power of a well-told story

• Assign names to your characters

• Provide at least one physical characteristic

• Give the audience a reason to emotionally connect with the main character

• Show characters’ ‘BEFORE’ condition (body language, emotion, demeanor)

• Make the main character ‘likeable’

• Apply the ’Rooting Principle’ – make the audience WANT to support them

• Show the character ‘AFTER the Disaster’

• You don’t need expert feedback to understand emotional impact

After your presentation, an audience member tells you that you said something that offended them. What should you do? What should you say?

In a candid, vulnerable conversation, Mark and Darren hear first-hand from speaker, business leader, entrepreneur and grandma Margaret Page as she shares her faux pas, and her journey to redemption. Margaret offers sage advice to help any presenter avoid offending their audience, and to recover if they do.  

SNIPPETS:

• If you offend, don’t make excuses

• Listen to your audience

• Don’t place blame elsewhere

• Accept responsibility

• Learn from the experience

• Make amends. Ask “How can I make it right?”

• See through your audience’s eyes

• Learn taboo topics and be open to diverse life experiences

• Look for commonalities, but never disregard cultural differences

• What would a leader do? Be a role model

Unforgettable presentations have FOUR basic, core elements and today Darren and Mark drill down on CORE 3: HUMOR and CORE 4: DELIVERY. Learn how to use humor well and deliver with impact…to be unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• Humor is a key to engagement; they work together

• The problem is funny; the solution is serious

• Find the audience’s frustration

• Comedy cuts down; humor lifts up

• Use appropriate humor

• Intention is part of delivery

• If you’re in your head, your emotions are dead

• Take your time at key moments.

• Pause to let the audience reflect

• Bring your personality to every presentation

Unforgettable presentations have basic, core elements that help to make them unforgettable. Today Darren and Mark discuss CORE 1: CONTENT & STRUCTURE as well as CORE 2: STORIES. Their principles will set you on the path to delivering your unforgettable presentation.

SNIPPETS:

• The CORE 4 lay the foundation of your presentation

• Use a strong structure on which to hang your presentation

• Strong structure makes your presentation digestible and unforgettable

• Choose content that serves the audience best

• Visuals and stage use should reinforce your presentation’s structure

• Stories are the heartbeat of your presentation

• Stories should pique curiosity

• Stories must elicit emotion

• Stories should include emotional shifts

• Well-told stories deliver ‘moments’ in your presentation

There will likely be times when you must present, but you are not at your best. Perhaps you’re not feeling well, facing a personal challenge, or exhausted because of a lengthy flight delay. Mark and Darren prove that they know this all too well as they share their experience and advice about how to be unforgettable…even when you are ‘a little off.’

SNIPPETS:

• Inform the event planner

• Remember that you’re there to serve the audience

• Acknowledge the ‘elephant in the room’ and ask for grace

• Focus on what you CAN do instead of what you cannot

• Commit to delivering the best that you can under the circumstances

• Consider herbal throat sprays to keep your voice healthy

• How you respond will affect your reputation

• If you must, pass the gig along to an associate

• Ask a seasoned pro for options to handle the situation