If you fold like an orgami swan at the idea of making a birthday toast in front of a group of people or going to a party by yourself, then you might like self-improvement blog Dumb Little Man’s tips for overcoming shyness.
Whether you’re an Apple devotee or not, it’s tough to argue that Steve Jobs isn’t an extremely polished and charismatic public speaker. Check out this video to lift a few techniques from his playbook.
Getting up on stage, taking a microphone and facing an expectant audience scares the crap out of most mere mortals. Scott Berkun’s new book, Confessions of a Public Speaker, explains why, how, and what goes on before and after a great speech.
If your presentation skills at work are shakier than the economy, you can’t pass up a single opportunity to make them better. Fortunately, the skills you learn on the job can serve as a great foundation for the speaking and presenting skills you need to hit a home run on a dream project or make a great impression on your bosses. Here are some of the responsibilities you can grab hold of at work that will pay off when you are in front of a room full of your friends, your peers or the people who can help make your dreams come true. Photo by lewro.
You may have a great idea bouncing around in your head. It may be something that could revolutionise the company that you work for, or even change your own career. But if you can’t find a way to get that idea out and in front of others, you and it will be forever stuck. The key is to have the ability and the courage to get up in front of a room—full of your friends, your peers or your bosses—and tell them what you know. Once you are able to speak your passion, you can pass it along to others and begin to make a difference. Perhaps you are just plagued by shyness, like I was way back in the seventh grade, when everyone was getting called to the front of the classroom for the spelling bee. Gulp! That was my worst nightmare! But as I grew up, I learned more and more ways to speak effectively. These days, I speak all over the world many times a week. But getting there wasn’t easy. Today, I’ll share with you some of the ways you can work on your own to become a dynamite presenter. Next week, I’ll share some tips on learning great presentation skills at work. Photo by James Hoang.
The Wired How-To Wiki asks Nancy Duarte from Duarte Design—the company that put together Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth slide show—to share her tips and tricks for creating a successful slideshow. For example: Presentations work best when the presenter uses it as a mnemonic device to help the audience remember a message. The message suffers when its used as a crutch for the presenter. Nobody wants to see the back of a presenter and nobody wants to watch someone read a list of bullet points from a slide. When they do, it makes the presenter look lazy and distills the emotional message.
Many of the tips are common sense, but there are a few gems worth taking note of if you’re looking to boost your presentation chops. If you prefer the presentation flair of a Steve Jobs to Gore, check out how to give a presentation like Steve Jobs. Make a Presentation Like Al Gore [Wired How-To Wiki]
Do you have difficulty offering constructive criticism because you fear that your words may be too offensive or nearly not as impacting as they should be? AskMen.com says that the best blend of constructive criticism combines both the negatives and still emphasises the positives. Avoid pointing out personal character traits; don’t turn it into something personal. If there’s a problem with a specific action, focus on that instead. You’re probably not a fan of being on the receiving end of criticism yourself, so put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. Empathise with them. Chances are, they’re feeling vulnerable and may even become defensive. This leads to another excellent tip: keep your emotions in check. Don’t humiliate the recipient.
BusinesssWeek gets a communication coach to analyse Steve Jobs’ latest Macworld keynote speech and pull out 10 tips that us mere mortals can apply to our own presentations. One strategy in particular seems to be what makes Jobs’ product introductions stand out from the typical “gee whiz” events: Sell the benefit. While most presenters promote product features, Jobs sells benefits. When introducing iTunes movie rentals, Jobs said, “We think there is a better way to deliver movie content to our customers … most of us watch movies once, maybe a few times. And renting is a great way to do it. It’s less expensive, doesn’t take up space on our hard drive…” Your listeners are always asking themselves, “What’s in it for me?” Answer the question. Don’t make them guess.
Sage advice, and also worth noting for the next time you have to pitch a software purchase to your boss. Hit the link for nine more bits of Jobs-ian advice.Photo by Roberto Garcia.
Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs [BusinessWeek via TheJobBored]Your first time in front of the podium is usually a tough one. If you’ve ever had to speak in front of hundreds of people, it’s terrifying. Weblog Mother Tongue Annoyances has a few words of advice on how to overcome the hurdle of your first speech. The goal is to conquer your emotions by keeping your physical self in check. To do so, loosen your body. If you’re sitting, sit erect. Avoid folding your arms across your chest as it conveys defensiveness and nervousness. You should also wiggle your toes as it drives the anxiety away. Finally, breathe deeply to maintain a sense of serenity before you get up on stage. If you’re still nervous on stage, conquer your public-speaking jitters by interacting with your audience.
Public speaking is a hurdle at first, but there are many ways to overcome it and you’ll grow stronger and more confident as each presentation passes. I speak from experience.
How to Attain Serenity Before Giving a Speech [Mother Tongue Annoyances]Web site CuePrompter takes any chunk of text (up to 2000 characters at a time) and displays it TelePrompTer-style in an auto-scrolling, high-contrast window. You can adjust the TelePrompTer speed, text size, and display mode (normal or mirrored, if you are actually going to set it up with a reflective glass for full-on TelePrompTer duties. The web app does exactly what it says, and though you may not regularly emcee large events or hand out Academy awards, it could at the very least come in handy next time you’re practicing up for a presentation. CuePrompter claims to be Windows and IE only, but I had no problem using it on a Mac in Firefox (display mirroring was the only feature that was IE-only).
CuePrompter [via eHub]
