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Poor presentation skills are expensive
- They destroy reputations
- They sap confidence
- They reduce morale
- They create suspicion
- They waste time
- They block sales
- They don't achieve buy-in
- They make everyone feel miserable
It doesn’t have to be like that. How would you feel about public speaking if -
- You engaged the audience with your pace and delivery
- People were persuaded by your words
- You were an agent of change
- You felt on top of your game
- You spoke with passion and conviction
- You felt in charge
- You didn’t worry about stumbling
You can enjoy those winning feelings every time, if you know the Talkitout Technique.
People who have learned the technique say it transforms their ability to engage and hold an audience; and more than that - it changes them as communicators. The Talkitout process helps them find their true voice. And that gives them the confidence to speak with passion and conviction.
A lot of coaches teach tricks to make better speeches.
Podium Coaching makes better speakers.
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Talkitout® in action
Our coaching sessions are transformative – and fun. Want to see? This video takes you inside one of Halina’s workshops. Her challenge: to train a former NBA star on stage at a Black Business Initiative Summit.
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Power of Talkitout®
Imagine you have been asked to speak to 500 people. You have to persuade them to change the way they work, or behave, or the way they think about an issue.
In the past you were nervous, even in front of small groups. You worried about forgetting your script. You got flustered if you made a slip of the tongue. You had trouble maintaining eye contact.
This time things are different.
You deliver a powerful speech that truly reflects your beliefs and your passion.
The audience leaves the hall talking about change.
That's the power of Talkitout®.
"I've been looking for a long time for a method of public speaking that would allow me to communicate my ideas in a compelling and exciting way. I found that with Talkitout®. It's the best leadership investment I have ever made."
Fred Morley
Executive Vice President, Greater Halifax Partnership
Is You Body Giving You Away?
Experts believe 93 per cent of human communication is non-verbal. In other words, we understand very clearly what others are saying (and thinking) - even when they are saying nothing.
That is why it is so important that our authenticity - our true self - shines through when we seek to persuade, motivate or win any audience.
The way to success is to use the Talkitout® technique. By using words that flow naturally from your heart, your message goes straight to the hearts of your audience.
And by being comfortable delivering those words, your non-verbal signals reinforce your message.
Are You Throwing Money Away?
Talkitout training saves you money.
People who communicate better with each other and with customers save money. The return on investment for a presentation skills course also shows up as greater morale within the team - because more effective communicators avoid mixed messages and misunderstandings.
Author and PowerPoint expert Dave Paradi investigated how much poor presentations were costing a company with 800 staff.
They had around 50 internal presentations each week.
About 25% of those presentations needed more work because the message was unclear.
Paradi looked at the time it cost to fix them, and came up with the cost to the organization.
More than $133,000 a year.
And that's just one company. Microsoft has calculated there are more than 30 million PowerPoint presentations every day.
"Talkitout® is a fun and practical way to become an effective communicator, whether you are talking to an audience of two or 2000."
Jamie Baillie
President & CEO, Credit Union Atlantic
Words alone are not enough
We use three languages to communicate when we make presentations or give interviews for radio and television.
With Podium Coaching you will learn to use all three languages to put power, passion and persuasion into your presentations.
Words, by the way, account for just 7% of your impact. Our customized coaching will help you make the best of the other 93%.
Are you Chanel No. 5, or Old Spice?
Are you Rolex or Timex; Harrods or Walmart; Dior or Old Spice? You don't think of yourself as a brand? Maybe it's time you did. Because you can be sure others are branding you, every time they see you and listen to you.
So first, think about how you see yourself? Mickey Mantle or Mickey Mouse? Think about some of the people who have become brands in recent years. Michael Jordan. David Beckham. Donald Trump. Paris Hilton. Britney Spears. Love them or hate them, we only have to hear their names to conjure up a list of qualities we associate with them.
What qualities do you want to be known for? If you are not clear about who you are, then you may be sending mixed messages to others.
Good speakers are brands. Your brand is what sets you apart from everyone else. So take some time to work out what your brand is. And then make sure you present yourself in line with your brand image.
A Talkitout® Success Story
At Podium we love to hear from people who have benefited from our workshops. Especially when the letter starts as this one did:
'Your workshop has been the most useful for me so far in my professional life.'
The letter is from Christine LeBlanc. She is a provincial coordinator with a mother and baby project run by the Victoria Order of Nurses, a non-profit national health organization in Canada.
She told us why she wanted to learn the Talkitout technique for powerful presentations: 'I became paralyzed when asked to speak publicly and would most often procrastinate preparing my presentation - which in turn made things worse because I was even less prepared.'
Then Christine took a Podium workshop. And it changed her life: 'It has been one month since your workshop and I have already used your Talkitout technique at least three times. Once I was asked at the last minute to prepare a presentation for a conference call. I used your Talkitout technique to prepare and deliver my info and as a result it worked beautifully. I felt well prepared and not nervous as all.
'I have also incorporated this technique in my personal life. As team manager for one of my daughter's sport teams, I even use it to prepare group voicemails and have had comments from the other parents as to how organized I am and my voicemails are so pleasant. Go figure.
Thank you so much.'
" With Halina's engaging presentation style and the simple advice and instructions in the Talkitout technique, your presentation skills cannot help but be greatly enhanced. Buy the book, and better yet, go take one of Halina's sessions and learn directly from her."
Nil d'Entremont
Corporate Controller, The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
All of our tips to make you a better communicator are archived here. If you are not already a subscriber to our Newsletter, please use the sign-up form on this page to ensure you receive tips as soon as they are published.
Newsletter 1: Passion, authenticity, and keep those sentences short
Hello and welcome to a new series of tips from Podium Coaching to make you a more powerful and compelling communicator.
I'll begin by re-stating what I believe is the starting point for all successful presentations: passion and being true to yourself.
Being passionate means believing and caring about what you say. It's all about speaking from the heart. When you speak from the heart, you win the hearts of your audience.
The second key element is authenticity - being true to yourself. Your own true self is much more convincing than an imitation of the speaker you think you ought to be. As Judy Garland said, 'Always be a first rate version of yourself, instead of a second rate version of somebody else.'
And here's a tip for all you writers out there. Fall in love with the period key. Don't rattle off too many words without a full stop. In other words keep those sentences short. Really short. Try staying under 20 words. You will be delighted at how much impact you add to your writing.
Warm Regards, Halina St.James
Newsletter 2: The Power of the Pause
Today's tip gives you probably the most powerful tool used by anyone who speaks for a living - the pause. Jack Benny, the great comedian, used to say: "Timing is not so much knowing when to speak, but knowing when to pause."
A well-know professional speaker told me when he was getting started in the business, he hired a presentation skills coach. I asked what was the most important thing he learned. He said he learned to pause. He paid $7000 to get this tip! I'm giving it to you for free.
"Never miss a good chance to shut up." (Will Rogers, actor)
It's your ability to shut up that will determine how great a speaker you are. The pause helps the audience understand what you've just said. You can't keep bombarding them with information. Your audience needs time to digest the information and stories you are giving them.
Here are a few other good uses for the pause:
- Pause just before your most important point.
- Pause when you're going to change your direction of thinking.
- Pause for dramatic effect.
- Pause to catch your breath.
- Pause to recover when you've lost your train of thought.
Use the pause strategically and you will be a powerful and amazing speaker.
Newsletter 3: Simplify for Success
I once heard the CEO of a big multinational corporation say: "Now maximizing value drives us to invest in our assets and move our resources to opportunities that generate the greatest returns and position us for continued growth."
I had no idea what he meant. Would you, if you only heard that sentence once?
This CEO was successfully running a powerful corporation. But when he spoke, instead of persuading and inspiring us, he had us dozing in our seats. Why?
The answer is easy. Just look at his words, and the sentence he wrapped them in. The sentence is long, it wraps itself around several ideas, and it's loaded with jargon.
So today's tip is this: use simple sentences and simple words when you speak. (And I'd offer the same advice if you are writing. Keep those sentences under 20 words. Most people skim-read now, so make sure they understand your point).
The elegance of simplicity
Cherish the elegance of simplicity. If you do, you show a real consideration for your listeners and readers. And you make sure your message is likely to stick.
If you need more persuading, remember the words of Albert Einstein: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
The simpler the sentence the more powerful you are as a speaker. Simple does not mean simplistic. It means you're smart enough to understand that small words are easier to understand than big words.
When we talk, we usually use small words. We instinctively know that delivering our messages in simple words and small sentences makes sense. Often we don't use complete sentences. Just fragments.
No one speaks the way that CEO did in his speech. So why - when we make presentations or speeches - do we revert to this kind of elaborate language?
Well, we think that's the right way to do it. We believe it'll make us look smarter and more important.
The truth is, this kind of language alienates our listeners.
Stick to simple sentences. Use small, familiar words. Stay clear of jargon. Trust me, your audience will thank you. And your call to action is more likely to be heeded.
Newsletter 4: Understanding Communication Impact
I'll borrow a line from actor/director Woody Allen to set up today's tip: "She wore a short skirt and a tight sweater and her figure described a set of parabolas that could cause cardiac arrest in a yak."
Whether we like it or not, the way we look has the strongest impact on our audience. So today's tip is all about Communication Impact. That's the impact you have on your audience when you speak. And that impact has three components.
The first impact is the way you look.
This is the strongest impression on the audience. It's all about your clothes, hair, makeup, accessories and body language. So you need to pay attention to all of these when you speak.
The second impact is the way you sound.
Do you speak too quickly? Too slowly? Too loudly? Do you mumble? Do you pause when you speak? Do you vary your tone and pace? Listen to a recording of yourself or get some people whose opinions you trust to listen to you. Make sure you sound good.
The third impact is your words.
That's right. The audience only deals with what you actually say after they've checked out the way you look and sound.
So your strongest impact on the audience is the way you look and sound. If you don't control that, the audience may not hear your words - your all-important content.
The content is vital. It's what your audience has come to hear. But to get your message understood, you have to have total mastery of the way you look and sound.
Pay close attention to Communication Impact if you want to become a powerful speaker.
Newsletter 5: Good Speakers are Good Storytellers
The truly successful speaker understands the power of story. Most speeches or presentations overflow with facts, figures and information. We're bombarded with data.
I'm confident most of you have not been asked to give a speech or make a presentation simply to deliver information.
You are speaking because you need to engage, or persuade, or excite, or provoke your audience. You probably want to bring about a change in behaviour or attitude.
Stories create believers
Before your audience can believe in your facts, they need to believe in you. Telling stories is a good way of helping your audience get to know you, which is the first step towards believing you.
The stories you tell about yourself, or the stories you choose to tell about others, help the audience assess who you really are.
Talk about how wonderful your latest product is, and people may think you are a braggart. Tell a story about the struggle behind the creation of the product and the perception of you changes.
Stories don't have to be long. You can weave the thread of a simple narrative in a few seconds. Or you can keep coming back to the story throughout your presentation. Just make sure the anecdote or
story is simple, clear and relevant. (And make sure it won't alienate any group within your audience).
Chosen well, and delivered naturally, stories do several good things for your presentation:
- A story is a good way of engaging the audience at the beginning of a speech or presentation;
- A story is a good way of letting the audience know you can be trusted;
- A story gives a structure to information and makes data memorable;
- A story is a good way of making sure the audience is constantly engaged;
- A story is a wonderful teaching tool;
- A story touches us in a way facts don't.
Parkinson's Disease is a fact. Actor Michael J. Fox's struggle with Parkinson's Disease is a story that drives medical research, agitates for political change, and has people reaching into wallets
and purses to finance the search for a cure.
Try to tell a story at least every 5 minutes in your speech or presentation.
Even accountants have stories
I worked with one group who said, quite seriously: "Halina, we are accountants. We don't have stories." Believe me, even accountants have stories - as we discovered in the workshop.
Anyone who achieves a personal or professional goal, but has to overcome difficulties to do it, has a story. Because at the heart of story is a character confronting difficulties to achieve something worthwhile.
What holds us spellbound is the overcoming of difficulty, the element of conflict.
Remember that when you are telling a story about your product, or company. A story about the development of your product will be more
compelling if you recount some of the obstacles that had to be overcome. An account that delivers a rosy picture of a perfect company operating in total harmony probably won't ring true.
Turn facts into faces
Everything has some good and some bad. So tell your story honestly.
Put a human face on your data. Convert your facts and figures into a story people will remember and your audience will hang on to every word you say.
Newsletter 6: Know you audience, and know who is the star of your show
I want to share two tips with you today. In a moment, some advice about using PowerPoint or any other slide show system. But first, let's think about your audience.
First, who are they? What do they like? Where do they come from? Why do you think they're coming to hear you?
Second, do you know the answer to the one question every one in the audience will want answered: What's in it for me? What am I going to get out of this?
People are giving you their precious time. You had better have something to give them in return.Let them know what it is as early as possible in your presentation. Even if you think the benefit to the audience should be clear, it's still a good idea to actually spell it out. Every word you speak should have your audience in mind. The speech or presentation is not all about you. It's all about them.
So always keep a mental picture of your audience in your mind. Focus on them. Connect to them and you'll always be successful.
How to use PowerPoint successfully
Now I want to give you a bonus tip about making PowerPoint presentations. Many people abuse PowerPoint. I don't want you to make the same mistake. In my book Talkitout: Become A Commanding Speaker In One Day, I call PowerPoint evil. Why? Because, if we're not careful, it makes us lazy communicators. It's a crutch.
Too often, we make PowerPoint the center of our presentation when it should be just a tool to support what we have to say.
Edward R. Tufte, of Yale University, once said: "PowerPoint is a competent slide manager and projector. But rather than supplementing a presentation, it has become a substitute for it. Such misuse ignores the most important rule of speaking: Respect your audience."
Tufte is right. As speakers we must respect our audience. Here are two suggestions to help you harness the strength of PowerPoint:
First, never turn your back to your audience and read aloud the words projected on the screen. You are insulting your audience - and probably putting them to sleep.
Second, never prepare your PowerPoint by doing the slides first. Always begin with your content. Prepare an outline of what you plan to say. Talk it out, write it out, rehearse it. Then - and only then - prepare your slides based on the content.
Always remember, you're the star, not PowerPoint.
Newsletter #7: How to create a dynamite start to your presentation
As soon as you stand before an audience, any audience, you will be judged in the first 3 to 7 seconds of your presentation. This can happen even before you open your mouth.
So in those critical first seconds, you must capture your audience's attention. And if you don't, you will have to really work hard to connect to them.
You want to have people listening to you and wanting to hear more from the very minute you stand before them. There's a way you can do that.
You need to hook them. A hook is the first thing you say. It's very important because it leaves the most powerful impression.
What makes a good hook?
Your hook can be a story, it can be a question, or it can be one word. Most importantly, it must be creative. Your hook has to grab the audience - and hold them.
A hook is not saying "We're talking today about..." or "The objective of our talk is..." or "I'd like to talk to you about...". All of that is, as one CEO told me, blah, blah, blah. Empty words that waste a listener's time.
A hook is not opening with a joke. It's almost a cliché to do that.
I once trained a dynamic woman who had to make a very important speech in front of the Board of Directors, the CEO, and all the senior managers of her company. They were launching a new program that would deal with their clients from cradle to grave.
Don't rush it
I worked with her on the hook. We wanted to make sure the opening of the presentation was dynamite. She got up there in front of the whole crowd - mostly men. She stood there. She let everything go quiet.
She looked around the room and said: " I want to talk about babies". There was almost a gasp in the room as everyone looked around and said "what?" She said: "You heard me. I want to talk about babies". That was her hook. She had the audience's attention. And she held it throughout the presentation.
Would you like to have the same thing happen to you? Would you like to have an audience eating out of your hands? You can. Just get creative and start with an amazing hook.
Newsletter #8: Harness the power of three
No matter how sophisticated we are, how technologically advanced, there is no tool as powerful as the spoken word when it is used well.
But you need to know how to use the spoken word to your best advantage. You need a speaking style. And there are some useful techniques you can use as you develop your personal style. Barack Obama has a powerful, winning style to deliver his message. Part of his style is to take full advantage of what I call 'The Power of Three.'
The Power of Three is using three examples of something to drive home your point. Obama uses this a lot. He used it at the beginning of his election victory speech in Chicago. He said:
"If there is anyone out there
who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible;
who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time;
who still questions the power of our democracy,
tonight is your answer."
The triplet of 'who doubts, who wonders, who questions' is what I mean by The Power Of Three.
Later on in the same speech he said:
"Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began
in the backyards of Des Moines
and the living rooms of Concord
and the front porches of Charleston."
Obama's speeches are peppered with examples in threes. It's a great device to really drive home your point. It sounds good. It elevates you as a speaker. And on another level, it gives you time to pause and slow your pace.
So next time you prepare a speech or a presentation, look for a chance to use The Power of Three.
The Power of Three has long been a rhetorical tool. It works. Look for an opportunity to try it. I think you will be delighted with this simple device.
Newsletter #9: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
A lot of my clients ask me about repetition. They worry about saying the same word twice in one sentence or paragraph. My advice is simple: you can never repeat enough when you speak. As a matter of fact, you should always repeat an important word or phrase. There is a big difference between repeating words or phrases when you write and when you talk. Writing favours using synonyms. But when someone is listening to you, repeating key words and phrases is best. Why? People will remember what you said. Don't forget when you speak, people only get to hear you once.
They may have been distracted just when you said something important. Or they may be listening but they didn't understand. If something is really important, then you will want to repeat it - to make sure the audience gets it.
Use repetition as a strategic tool. There are different styles of repetition.The most obvious is to repeat a single word a few times where you want it to make an impact. But you can also repeat a key phrase throughout your whole presentation intentionally so your audience says it too.
U.S. President Barack Obama does this a lot in his speeches. His most famous one is the slogan "Yes we can". He peppered his speeches with that to such an extent that he trained his audience to say the slogan not only with him but often on their own before he said it.
Is there an important phrase you want to reinforce? Place it strategically in your presentation and keep repeating it.
The phrase you repeat doesn't have to be a slogan. For example Winston Churchill made a speech in June 1940 that became famous for
his use of the phrase "we shall fight".
He repeated that phrase six times.
"We shall fight on the seas and ocean. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the coast may be. We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender...."
This simple phrase lives on long after Churchill's death. So don't be afraid to repeat. Use repetition to drive home your point, to create a magic moment, and as a call to action.
If it's important, saying it once is never enough.
Newsletter #10: Hi Mum
I have two little magic words that will change your presentations and speeches for the better. These two little magic words are the biggest hit with my clients. They love them because these two words let them know instantly if they're being conversational and understandable.
The two little magic words are "Hi Mom". That's it. "Hi Mom".
Here's how you use "Hi Mom". Let's say you've got a sentence and you're not sure if it's really conversational. So say "Hi Mom" and then flow into the sentence in question. If it sounds like something you'd say to your Mom, then use it in your presentation or speech.
Let's take this sentence from the New York Times newspaper.
"Criticized for its plan to pay billions of dollars in bonuses this year, Goldman Sachs took steps Tuesday to improve its battered image."
This is a perfectly fine sentence if you're reading it. It's meant to be read. But if you were saying this out loud to an audience, you'd never say it this way. We don't speak like this.
The way to test it is to say the sentence out loud starting with "Hi Mom". Try it. It will sound ridiculous. You'd never speak this way to your mother, or friend, or colleague, or boss. It's just not the way we speak.
You'd probably say something like: "Goldman Sachs was really criticized because they wanted to pay billions of dollars in bonuses this year. So on Tuesday they started to take steps to improve their battered image."
By the way, you don't have to say "Hi Mom". You can say "Hi John", "Hi Honey", "Hi Juan". Whatever works for you.
So "Hi Mom" is an excellent way to test what you're saying - to make sure it works for the ear not the eye.
I hope you are finding this archive useful... Halina
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