Tag Archives: public speaking

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Finding stories to use in your business speaking

Have you had an experience like this one?  A speaker is giving an educational and motivational speech to some GCSE students. He tells a story about a childhood friend, someone who lived life on his own terms and went on to play guitar in one of the biggest 80s punk rock bands. The story illustrates motivation, grit and determination.  However, the story falls flat.  The young people know nothing about the band and get distracted whispering to each other “Who is he talking about?”

We know that human beings love stories and that there is scientific evidence showing that people are more likely to retain factual information if it is supported by a story.  However, the story needs to be tailored to the audience.

Let me share some tips for finding stories for your own business presentations, speeches and talks.

Gather a gallery of stories and anecdotes

Before you start delivering your presentation it is important to have a curated gallery of stories to choose from.  One approach to doing this is to start by picking an emotion, for example, let’s take joy. Take a moment to think about the most recent time you felt a sense of joy. Then write this memory down. Include everything that happened before you felt that joy, and everything that happened after you experienced that feeling. (It may help to ask Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?)

Guess what? You now have a relatable story about joy.

Next, practice telling this story. Record yourself and see if you can deliver it in a more engaging way. Then think of another time you felt joy and build another story.  Repeat the same activity with different emotions both positive and negative.  By the end you will have a few go-to stories that illicit different emotions.

Once you have a gallery of stories, you can pick and choose different stories to include as part of your next presentation or speech.

Look from the audience’s point of view

With stories ready, think about who is in your audience and their values, interests and challenges. Try to really empathise with how they may be feeling. This will help you to decide what story best fits them.

When you empathise with their struggles and challenges, they will want to hear more from you.  One story may work for one particular type of audience, but may have a different impact on a different audience.

For example, when I am speaking to an audience of men, I am going to tell raw, personal stories to show that is it acceptable to display emotions as a man. However, for a business audience my stories will be geared around overcoming hardship and being resilient whilst facing uncertainty.

Try out different angles

If you are still struggling to find the right story that will have a lasting impact on an audience, then try mixing existing stories up. Try telling the story in a different way, perhaps from a different perspective or with a different narrative structure. Let’s take for example the classic children’s nursery rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty’. We know that Humpty fell off a wall and that the King’s men tried but failed to put him together again.  The rhyme is told by an impartial observer.  What would change if you told it from Humpty’s point of view?  Or from the perspective of one of the King’s men?

The key point is that you don’t need to deliver your information or stories in the same way every time. You can try a different angle.  Mix it up!

 Use a process of trial and error

You might not know the right story to tell straight away. You might not deliver it with the impact that you had originally intended.  You might struggle to get started with a story gallery. That’s all ok! Don’t be hard on yourself.

Sometimes, it’s a process of trial and error to find the perfect story or combination of stories. You can practice with recording yourself in front of a camera or in front of friends. You’ll probably have moments when the audience doesn’t get a joke or a reference and that is completely fine. Just pause, compose yourself and carry on.

Be courageous

I urge you to use personal stories. Take a moment to think about stories from your life. I guarantee there will be plenty that your audience will be able to relate to and learn from.  They will be unique and interesting, and you and your business message will be remembered.

News

How to include more humour to your business presentation

By Glen Savage, Toastmasters International

In any business presentation you need to engage your audience and then hold their interest. Effective one-to-one communication depends on building rapport, creating a connection and building trust, and the same is true for presenting. Demonstrating relatability and building a connection with the audience are fundamental to getting a message across, and humour is an excellent way to do this. Humour displays a human side which generates likeability and builds trust in the speaker.

A 2015 study by Microsoft (https://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/) concluded that the human attention span had dropped to eight seconds (shrinking from 12 seconds only 15 years earlier), emphasising the challenge of capturing and sustaining people’s attention when presenting. Engaging and re-engaging the audience is key. Injections of humour punctuating the presentation will re-focus the listeners’ attention.

Research (2020, Mohebi and Berke. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-019-0492-7) has shown that dopamine is important for both goal-oriented motivation and long-term memory. Laughter, as an embodied experience, significantly increases the memorability of a moment, the entire presentation and the speaker.

Humour usually creates a response – a smile, giggle, or laugh, but used inappropriately can generate a negative reaction. Levity should only be designed for a presentation once the speaker has a good sense of the potential audience.

What makes something funny?

A difficult question to answer, given that we don’t all have the same sense of humour.

It is useful to bear in mind that puns and frivolity that are directly related to the subject matter at hand can work very well. Stand-alone jokes of the ‘three men walk into a bar’ kind, are the territory of stand-up comedians and rarely work in other contexts.

In my experience, there are a number of things that audiences find funny which can be sprinkled into a presentation or talk.

Surprise

Something unexpected, a twist in the tale, an exaggeration, or the speaker making a joke at their own expense when done well, delight the listeners.

 Relevance

People will laugh at things they can relate to, whether it’s an observation of something in the room, their own experience, current affairs or more.

 Links

Humour that unfolds from the subject of the presentation, creating a flow between the serious parts of the message usually lands well and easily with the audience.

Personal anecdotes

A story about the speaker’s own fallibility, maybe a mistake, or a surprising event or some other anecdote relevant to the message, conveyed wittily, improves relatability and builds connection.

Exaggerations

Exaggerating points, with a smile, raised eyebrow or chuckle puts a lighthearted spotlight on something to amuse the audience and underline a point.

 Humorous titles

Create anticipation, curiosity and get a laugh before you even reach the stage with an amusing title for the session – if it seems appropriate.

To give you an example, I recently changed a session title from ‘Sales training’ to ‘Are you selling it or keeping it? Modern sales considerations.’. Attendance at the master class doubled!

It’s the way you tell ‘em

In my experience, humour only works when executed well. Here are my top tips for delivery.

Practice

Run through your presentation several times so that the humour feels natural and flows.

Test

Try out the talk in advance with someone you know and trust to gain some honest feedback on the humour you’ve included.

Show animation

Use your facial expressions, voice and gestures to emphasise the humour – or use them to provide the humour with a smile, raised eyebrow, body movement or change of voice tone.

Be bold

Stretch out of your comfort zone and say or do things that you might not normally be confident enough to do. (I once told an amusing story about a purple gorilla in a presentation on ‘Health & Safety’. I ran into someone years later who said. ‘Hey, I still remember that story you told about the purple gorilla.’)

Feed off the audience

Focus on audience members who are smiling and laughing to fuel your energy of delivery.

Read the room (or the screen)

Watch and listen. If people aren’t laughing, move on and if necessary, adapt what you are planning to say in the moment. Remember not everyone has the same sense of humour!

And most importantly:

Let people laugh

People like to laugh. Pausing until the laughter has quietened means laughs can ripple around the room without interruption, and the next thing that you wish to say will be heard.

Well-judged humour is the secret weapon that connects, engages and holds an audience. You’ll also find that humour makes your business message memorable.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Glen Savage DTM is a member of Toastmasters International, a not-for-profit organisation that has provided communication and leadership skills since 1924 through a worldwide network of clubs. There are more than 400 clubs and 10,000 members in the UK and Ireland. Members follow a structured educational programme to gain skills and confidence in public and impromptu speaking, chairing meetings and time management. To find your nearest club, visit www.toastmasters.org

Business Advice, News, Thought Leadership

Improve your business presenting with a dynamic expressive voice

Written by Andrew P Bennett, Toastmasters International

If you give speeches and presentations, you want your audience to find your voice easy to listen to, dynamic and engaging.  That way your ideas will land effectively.

The key to an attractive, dynamic speaking voice lies in breathing – or more precisely, in finding a depth in our breathing so that our voices are nourished by a steady flow of breath as we talk.

To help you find your true voice and enhance your presenting, let me share some tips about posture and breathing:

 

Start with your posture

Posture counts – it is always important. Whether we are seated or standing, we need to achieve the best conditions to take a breath.

So how do you stand? Your feet should be no more than shoulder width apart, firmly feeling the ground. Align your posture so you can imagine a line proceeding up your legs, continuing up your spine. Your shoulders are back and relaxed, hands and arms comfortably by your sides. You can imagine your head crowning your body.

You should feel springy, active, alert – ready to begin speaking.

 

Calm ‘Low rib’ breathing

Maintaining your good, flexible posture place your thumb under your lowest rib at the side of your rib cage, shoulders are still back and relaxed. Gently and slowly take a deep breath through your nose, feel a slight expansion at the rib cage. Then calmly breathe out.

This kind of breathing is the opposite of the shallow, high in the chest breath many people use in everyday conversation.

It is good for speakers to have easy access to drinking water because your vocal folds (or vocal cords as they used to be called) only work well when you are hydrated.

 

Increasing your breath span

Take a low breath, then in your mind count to 5 slowly breathing out gradually: 1 2 3 4 5!

Rest for a moment, then take your ‘low rib’ breath and breathe out counting slowly in your mind to 6 this time.

You can continue all the way up to 10 or eventually beyond. But remember only 1 or 2 minutes of this type of exercise at a time before taking a pause (you don’t want to get light-headed).

If you continue this exercise over time your body will accustom itself to a more settled, longer span of breathing out. You need this gentle, flowing span of breath to sustain a fine quality in your voice when speaking.

A bonus is that if you feel nervous before a speaking presentation of any kind, be it an online client call or a formal or social occasion speech, you will only need to focus on your breathing like this to remind your body of the healthy breathing reflex you have established with the exercise. This will reassure you and you’ll appear poised to your audience.

 

From breath to speech

With good posture and breath established it is time to transform that breath into words and expression. You can extend your breath span so that even longer sentences can be delivered comfortably without a feeling of running out of breath.

Here is a warmup routine using your settled, flowing breath:

  • Firstly, set up your good posture, take a low breath and hum a tune. I like to use ‘Happy Birthday to You’.
  • At first breathe at the end of lines as you need to, but gradually try to do the first two lines in one breath.
  • Then, maintaining good, poised posture and ‘low rib’ breath sing out loud with the words.

 

Alternatively, there are tongue twisters and word rhymes that you can use in a warmup as you steady your breath flow and extend your vocal range. Here’s one with a great range of vowels and consonants. Allow the pitch of your voice to rise or fall naturally with the meaning of the words.

Does the man in the moon like music?

Does he tootle on his flute, or does he croon?

Does he slip in something lunar in the way he plays his tune?

Or does he simply sit and doodle on the moon?

 

  • Finally say the first few lines of your speech/presentation twice, out loud.

 

Lastly

If you have any physical issues, a bad back or neck for example, make sure to do the exercises in the way that’s safe for you.

With this preparation you be ready for your next business speech/presentation and be fully able to create a relationship with each of your audience members. Your message will not only land it will be remembered long after the meeting is over.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew P Bennett is a member of Toastmasters International, a not-for-profit organisation that has provided communication and leadership skills since 1924 through a worldwide network of clubs. There are more than 400 clubs and 10,000 members in the UK and Ireland. Members follow a structured educational programme to gain skills and confidence in public and impromptu speaking, chairing meetings and time management. To find your nearest club, visit www.toastmasters.org

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Why you will regret keeping your mouth shut

Written by Jon lam, Toastmasters International

We are often reminded of the old adage that we “were born with two ears and one mouth for a reason.” It is so we can listen more than we speak. However, after missing out on many business opportunities by simply being a ‘good listener’, I realised that I needed to start opening my mouth more. As the saying by Mahatma Gandhi goes, “if you don’t ask, you don’t get it.” This does not mean that you will instantly win business deals by simply asking for it though, since it depends on how you communicate the ask.

And that is why I decided to start working on my communication skills by exploring the world of public speaking. If you are a leader in your organisation, read on to learn why keeping your mouth shut might be ruining your opportunities to get ahead in the world of business.

 

You will miss out on key leadership opportunities

 Successful businesses are often spearheaded by strong leaders and it’s often those who speak up that get elected for leadership positions. Susan Cain, author of the book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” explains that “extroverts are routinely chosen for leadership positions and introverts are looked over, even though introverts often deliver better outcomes.” This is because they are not considered as “leadership material”.

There is therefore a strong case to develop your public speaking skills so that you can communicate across ideas that truly inspire others. By doing this, you will gain more visibility in your organisation and strengthen your credibility among your peers too. Start developing this skill by taking on any speaking opportunity that arises at work, even if you feel apprehensive. After speaking, be open to receiving feedback so you know where you can improve in your next speaking opportunity. With consistent practice, you will find it increasingly comfortable to speak with impact in public.

 

You may be losing out on opportunities to collaborate

Finding common ground with others is often a crucial step taken when trying to build partnerships. Unless you meet someone who can mind-read, you’ll most likely have to tell them about your ideas. Again, this is where public speaking comes in. I recall practicing my speaking skills, specifically voice projection and good body posture before volunteering to talk at events. And after sharing my ideas at these events, I was approached by like-minded attendees who resonated with my ideas. These meaningful connections resulted in new business partnership opportunities that would not have happened if I had not learned to communicate my ideas in an engaging manner.

When speaking at any event, it is important to first have a grasp on the audience that you are speaking to. After this step, leverage techniques, such as humour to share your ideas in an engaging manner. By doing so, you will increase the chances of creating new connections with others who resonate with your ideas and who might turn into potential business partners.

 

Mentor others

By practicing how to speak publicly, you will be harnessing communication, one of the most important skills any leader can possess. However, practicing alone will only give you one angle on how to speak. Successful businesses were not built single-handedly by one person, therefore it’s paramount to also take up opportunities to mentor inexperienced speakers in your organisation. By doing this, you will gain a fresh perspective and new ideas on how to improve your own public speaking style. Additionally, you will be able to help build a stronger and more impactful team that can help propel the organisation forward. As with anything, do not wait and start taking up speaking and mentoring opportunities whenever you have the chance as you will only grow through experience.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jon Lam is a member of Toastmasters International, a not-for-profit organisation that has provided communication and leadership skills since 1924 through a worldwide network of clubs. There are more than 400 clubs and 10,000 members in the UK and Ireland. Members follow a structured educational programme to gain skills and confidence in public and impromptu speaking, chairing meetings and time management. To find your nearest club, visit www.toastmasters.org

News

How to give a brilliant pitch when you have to give it remotely

Pitching a product or service to a client is traditionally done face to face. But how can you ensure you deliver the best pitch and win the client over through the medium of video conferencing?

Know Your Audience
Ensure you research the client or clients you will be presenting to. What motivates your audience may be different to what motivates you and it is important to recognise this as part of the pitch.

Avoid a long biographical introduction. A better idea can be working elements of your background into the pitch, for example: What my MBA didn’t teach me are the lessons learned from failures – these came from industry experience.

Be in Control
If you know in advance or are concerned that an individual may derail your pitch or ask an awkward question at the outset, using a simple phrase like, “If there are no objections, I’m going to give a brief overview for five minutes to set the context before inviting questions” is appropriate. This shows that you are in control.

Engage with Your Audience
When delivering a pitch in person, there are tell-tale signs of a disengaged audience, including people looking at their phones or their eyes glazing over. It is more difficult to judge interest levels through a remote presentation as attendees may be working on something else in parallel. For this reason, it is important to create a pitch that encourages questions throughout, not just at the end.

Use Authenticity to Build Rapport
The initial few minutes while attendees may be joining the video call offers you an opportunity to build rapport. Consider showing interest in your client’s business. Make it about them and not about you, and at all costs avoid dead airtime or simply displaying disinterest by looking at a different screen. Finally ask “Let me know when you are ready to begin”.

Rather than hiding behind the screen encourage your audience to relate to you. As an example, if the call is facilitating a different time zone, add to your good morning/good afternoon/good evening with something personal about you that your audience can empathise with.

Technology Usage
Performing a sound check of your mic and speakers in advance of the call is important. Soft furnishing can be used to address any echo. Do not draw attention to issues around video technology, instead mention that you look forward to meeting the client in person.

While many stock images are available as a background for use with video conferencing tools, these lack authenticity. It is important that your background complements your pitch without being distracting. Another tip is to wear clothes that don’t blend in with the background, and your clothing needs to be appropriate for the occasion.

Camera Usage
Think of the camera lens as your sole audience. This is counter intuitive to much of what you may have learned about including the whole room as part of an in-person presentation. The camera should be horizontal to your eye level with you framed from the chest upwards. It is important to remember that although you may be presenting to a number of people, each individual member of your audience is experiencing a one-to-one situation. In a room full of people, you can become both the presenter and part of the audience by joining them in looking at a slide, but in an online presentation, if you read from a source to your side, you are not looking directly at the camera. Maintain eye contact with your camera lens. Having notes in bold font, close to the camera, may be helpful, but treat them as a back-up.

Preparation Pays Off
Avoid falling into the trap of assuming that preparation means working on PowerPoint slides. This should be the last thing that you consider. Verbalising your ideas before attempting any script is crucial, as the spoken word is different from the written word. Develop your muscle memory, by delivering your pitch out loud many times. Everyone has a different style of delivery and the more you practice, the more you will be comfortable with discovering your own natural style. If you are more comfortable standing and using charts in your home office, this approach can offer a welcome diversion from PowerPoint slides, while also allowing you to use appropriate hand gestures as you speak.

When you are comfortable using the technology and building rapport with your audience you’ll be ready to give an impressive pitch online.

Michael Collins is a member of Toastmasters International, a not-for-profit organisation that has provided communication and leadership skills since 1924 through a worldwide network of clubs. There are more than 400 clubs and 10,000 members in the UK and Ireland. Members follow a structured educational programme to gain skills and confidence in public and impromptu speaking, chairing meetings and time management. To find your nearest club, visit www.toastmasters.org