publicspeakingcoach

“But it’s some of my FAVORITE MATERIAL!”  

We want to give our audiences ALL our wisdom and experiences. But that’s not always the best decision. Today Darren and Mark expound on three reasons why our favorite material must sometimes end up on ‘THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR.’

SNIPPETS:

• Your stories, anecdotes and references must serve your ‘PREMISE PURPOSE’

• The WEIGHT of your story may be heavier than your message

• Your content shouldn’t overshadow your premise

• Consider the RELEVANCE to your audience

• Your liking a story doesn’t mean the audience will

• If a story is too long for the allotted time, you may need to cut it

• Store Cutting Room Floor material in your Story Folder for later

• You can use Cutting Room Floor material to create handouts

• Test your content

The term ‘Selfish Presenter’ may seem harsh, but today Mark and Darren talk about one way we deny our audiences the full experience of our presentations. We give great value when we use the spaces between our words wisely.

SNIPPETS:

• Give your audience time to process your questions

• Without reflection there is no connection

• Place wisdom on the ‘Pause Pedestal’ and ‘put some air around it’

• Pause in HEARTBEATS, not SECONDS

• Your audience needs space to absorb you points

• Use the pause to acknowledge the audience or affirm eye contact

• Don’t step on your audience’s thoughts

• The most important part of the presentation is the thought process in the audience’s mind

No matter how pithy your point may be, you have to PROVE it to your audience. Today Darren and Mark offer nine ways to do so, while establishing a deeper connection to your audience. You need not use all nine at once, but when chosen selectively and used effectively, they will help to make your presentation unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• Personal stories help you to establish a relationship with your audience

• Connect to your audience’s world

• There are ways to keep your audience fully engaged

• It is important to SHOW your method or process

• Infuse your data with human characters

• Give your audience a representation of your expertise and experience

• Involve your audience with tools like Mentimeter

Mark and Darren have oft said that the first step to an unforgettable presentation is A CLEAR MESSAGE, but what is Step #2? In this episode they describe your Foundational Phrase and explain how a well-crafted Foundational Phrase can make your presentation unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• Create a Foundational Phrase to make your message memorable

• It should be rhythmic

• 10 words or fewer are easier to remember

• A well-crafted Foundational Phrase has weight and influence

• It should run like thread throughout your presentation

• It can be rhyming or alliterative

• Connect your Foundational Phrase to your message

• Brainstorm with a friend to craft each other’s Foundational Phrase

A key element in a story is the hero’s journey, and it must end in transformation. There are ways to make the transformation clear, and meaningful, to your audience. Darren and Mark talk about that transformation and offer simple but practical techniques for doing so.   

SNIPPETS:

• If there is no transformation, there is no story

• Establish an emotional connection between the hero and your audience

• RELATABLE - Your audience should relate to the hero’s struggle

• DESIRABLE - Your audience should want the hero’s transformation

• Include the right details and paint the right picture of the hero’s ‘THEN’

• Let the audience witness the change and see the hero’s ‘NOW’

• Show a vivid contrast between the ‘THEN’ and the ‘NOW’

• Let another character see and acknowledge the transformation

• Revisit your story and make your character transformation clear

“Don’t give a speech; deliver an EXPERIENCE!” is an exhortation that co-host Mark offers frequently. Today he and Darren dive into the ‘3-D’ technique they used with a recent coaching client. They discuss how this technique will help you to authentically recreate and relive the scenes in your stories, elevate your audience’s experience, and make your story unforgettable.  

SNIPPETS:

• Go beyond stage-ology

• Recreate and re-live your stories

• Anchor scene locations in your speaking area

• Anchor points of wisdom to specific locations in your speaking area

• Use post-its to represent and rehearse specific locations in a scene

• Use stage depth for realistic distances in scenes

• Use angles to correctly depict the location of objects and characters

• Realistically show character height differences when standing, sitting etc.

• Visit speaking location beforehand and map out post-it locations

Burned over 100% of his body at 9 years old, John O’Leary lives a story of great inspiration. Today he talks with Darren and Mark about his life’s journey and speaking career. John also dispenses advice on how to be a relatable and unforgettable presenter.

SNIPPETS:

• Don’t think ‘marketing’; think ‘service’
• The smaller the audience, the more difficult the talk
• Be radically authentic and highly relatable
• Begin with the audience’s need in mind
• Taking risks allows you to be great
• Change the temperature in the room
• Our best stories have very little to do with us
• Respect your audience; meet them where they are
• Keep leaving breadcrumbs for your audience to follow
• Move the audience to laughter and tears; share trauma and drama

“When should I use dialogue in my speech?” Darren and Mark have fielded this question numerous times. Today they provide answers…and a bonus: WHY it’s important to use a combination of both narration and dialogue. The reasons that they provide and the techniques that they recommend will help you improve your presentation and enhance your audience’s experience.  

SNIPPETS:

• Convert NARRATION to CONVERSATION
• Don’t RE-ENACT; RE-LIVE
• Let the audience ‘hear’ from characters
• Narration sets up the dialogue
• Use dialogue when a character experiences a change
• Use dialogue when the story has emotional shifts
• See Ekman’s SIX BASIC EMOTIONS
• Add the emotions that the character feels
• Share the internal dialogue of the characters

You’ve worked hard, you’ve rehearsed, you’ve delivered your presentation…perhaps several times…and it’s GOOD. But is it good ENOUGH? Today Mark and Darren take a look at the dangers of thinking a presentation is ‘good enough’ and offer suggestions for avoiding the confidence that can become arrogance. They also discuss the mindset and strategies that can help you make a good presentation UNFORGETTABLE.

SNIPPETS:

• How do you define ‘good enough?’
• Ego gets in the way
• Confidence can be your enemy
• Is your presentation as good as it can be?
• How good COULD it be?
• It’s never good enough
• Deliver like it’s the last time
• Perfection is a dream; improvement is a reality
• Be coachable
• Prepare Properly
• Test, test, test

Every endeavor starts with Version 1.0. Today Darren and Mark present Version 1.0 of their podcast livestream using StreamYard for the first time. They speak with guest presenter Amanda Mae Gray…their StreamYard guru…about the importance of taking the first step in every endeavor. Together they offer solid suggestions for creating Version 1.0 of YOUR unforgettable presentation, testing it, and making adjustments along the way.

SNIPPETS:

• Don’t try to make Version 1.0 perfect
• It’s not wise to test new content on a paying audience
• There’s no such thing as a ‘practice speech’
• Any audience that you trust can tell you how your speech affects them
• Your audience helps you to write your speech
• Take the FIRST STEP in your speech and your business
• Version 1.0 is instructive and can show you what needs to be changed
• Version 1.0 leads to Version 2.0 and beyond
• Crave feedback

New Year Resolutions have become commonplace, and all too often, these resolutions don’t last. In this brief episode, Darren and Mark outline the difference between a resolution and a decision. They offer suggestions for the decisions you can make to change the trajectory of your growth as a presenter and become unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• Don’t make a resolution; make a decision
• It starts with a decision
• Be willing to ‘burn the boats’
• The critical decision is to take action
• Your decision precedes your transformation
• The decision affects your mindset
• Get a coach
• Take classes and courses
• Recommit to being unforgettable

Following up on last week’s episode featuring Australian international speaker coach Jennifer Leone, this episode features live coaching. Mark takes the client’s hot seat as Jennifer and Darren deliver insight on one of his previously untold stories. Using the questions discussed in last week’s episode Jennifer and Darren dig deeper into his story to unearth metaphors and messages that will magnify the impact of his story. Witness first-hand how working with a qualified coach can help any presenter…even seasoned professionals…to be unforgettable.

How does a coach help their client get to the root of a story? How do they help uncover the gems hidden layers deep within a story? Today Mark and Darren find out from Australian international speaker coach Jennifer Leone, a faculty member at Stage Time University. Jennifer reveals that unforgettable questions are the key to finding gold in our stories, and shares three specific questions that she asks, knowing that the answers will help any presenter to be unforgettable .

SNIPPETS:

• People often tell only half of their story
• What is the OTHER half of the story?
• What is the benefit of a negative experience?
• What is the other person’s point of view?
• Ask deeper questions
• Ask another question
• What do you say to yourself in painful situations?
• Is there a present in your pain and a gift in your grief?

With experience comes the risk of being comfortable and too casual. Today Mark and Darren look at areas where presenters can become casual, and how costly it can be. They share behaviors to avoid…and confess to having been guilty of some…and offer practices that can help any presenter stay on their ‘A’ game to be unforgettable, both on and off the stage.

SNIPPETS:

• Don’t neglect to write your own introduction
• Don’t fall into trap of thinking you can ‘wing it’
• Don’t ‘phone it in’; show up and shine
• You can never over-communicate with clients and meeting planners
• Use custom visuals and avoid clipart and public domain images
• Examine the image you project off-stage; at the airport, in the hotel, etc.
• Ask yourself if it’s time to update your profile photo and wardrobe
• Re-assess your on-stage persona
• Engage an image consultant if necessary

You’ve invested hours preparing to deliver your unforgettable presentation, and you are READY! Right before you take the stage, the MC recites your bio, or decides to ‘wing it’ after a quick glance at your LinkedIn profile. Maybe they decide to tell a 4-minute story about the time they met you, and you can feel the air being sucked out of the room as the audience ‘checks out’. How do you avoid this? Darren asks Mark about his 7-Step Process for creating an engaging introduction, and they discuss the benefits of writing your OWN introduction. They also explain how a bad introduction will make any presenter unforgettable…for the wrong reasons.

SNIPPETS:

• Write your own introduction
• Set up the listening
• Give the audience a reason to lean in before you say a word
• Send your intro to the introducer and meeting planner
• Have a call with your introducer before the event
• Remember the meeting planner is handling several issues; make it easy
• Panic-proof the process for your introducer and meeting planner
• Bring two copies of your introduction with you

As important as our unforgettable presentations may be, let’s not neglect the impact of our relationships and our network. They help us make connections with our audiences, our clients, and our world. This is just one nugget of wisdom that Mark and Darren get from author, podcaster and Certified Speaking Professional Thom Singer, an expert in the areas of engagement and connections. Tom also explains how we can become memorable by the stories we tell and how we tell them. Most importantly, he proves that by connecting with event planners and audiences before and after our presentation, we can be unforgettable.

SNIPPENTS:

• Your network should not just be about the next sale
• Business relationships are not just about business
• Likes, links, shares and follows are not the key to business success
• Digital connections are not the same as shared experiences
• Knowing you doesn’t mean they like, trust and respect you
• Don’t show up, speak and leave
• Attend every event networking opportunity, like VIP mixers and dinners
• Your speech is not the only way to connect with your audience
• We react to stories more than to data
• Use stories to touch the audience’s emotions and inspire them

In this final installment of a three-part series, Mark and Darren are joined by guest coach Mike Davis to review the presentation of the 2022 World Champion of Public Speaking Cyril Junior Dim. With a live webinar audience bearing witness, they discuss all aspects of this winning speech and point out techniques that can make any presentation unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• ‘Own’ the physical stage confidently
• Use references with which the entire audience is familiar
• Audience participation and interaction are assets
• Emotional shifts magnify your audience connection
• When portraying characters, show their emotions
• When using a metaphor, callback later
• Movement must be congruent with words
• Stand still when delivering key points
• Claim center stage for your closing
• Look at the camera in a hybrid environment

The Toastmasters International Speech Contest draws the interest of thousands each year, and in this second episode of a three-part podcast series, Darren, Mark, and guest coach Mike Davis review the virtual presentation of 2022 First Runner-Up Alexandre Matte. They identify his many strengths and make suggestions that will help any presenter to be unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• Answer the question in the audience’s minds early
• Establish characters by their location in your speaking area
• Portray characters using voice and mannerisms
• Be naturally conversational
• Use camera proximity to maximize microexpressions
• Genuine emotion resonates with your audience
• An accent can be an asset
• When speaking online, use camera proximity that serves your audience best
• Props are powerful when used effectively

Each year, 35,000 people enter the Toastmasters International Speech Contest with the dream of becoming the World Champion of Public Speaking. For this special three-part podcast series, World Champions Mark and Darren are joined by guest coach Mike Davis and a live webinar audience as they review the speeches of the top 3 winners in 2022. In this episode, they review the in-person presentation of the second runner-up, Mas Mahathir Bin Mohamad, highlighting what he did well and offering recommendations for enhancing his presentation.

• Unique but tasteful attire is an asset
• Dialogue enhances the audience’s experience
• In dialogue, characters communicate with each other, not the audience
• Consistent portrayal of characters makes them more real
• A foundational phrase makes the message memorable
• Identify scenes in your speaking area and remain consistent
• Couplets like UNCONVENTIONAL/UNCONDITIONAL are very effective
• Be very clear with your main message
• The camera is another person in the room

We all want a great audience, and most of the time, that’s what we get. However, sometimes we must face a tough crowd…unsmiling, stone-faced, and seemingly disengaged. What do we do? Today Darren talks with Mark  about a recent experience with a tough audience. Using lessons they both learned from being in that situation, they share common speaker mistakes and break down strategies for identifying and connecting with a tough audience.

SNIPPETS:

• It’s not if, but when you will face a tough audience
• Some audiences don’t emote; not emoting doesn’t mean not enjoying
• Focus on serving your audience, no matter what happens
• Identify and address their top three frustrations and pet peeves
• Use before rapport to understand the atmosphere, mood and environment
• By failing to research you can create your own tough audience
• Avoid investing all your time trying to win over a few disengaged attendees
• Focus on those who are engaged
• Create a strong connection early
• Be willing to get physically close to the audience