Great Speaking Coach

Speaking about Leverage and Accountability

Two of the least favorite words that populate business presentations are 'leverage' and 'accountability.' How do I know this? Because the majority of business speakers I coach tell me how they hate those words--that is, until they want to use them in there own presentations.

What do these words mean and what can you say instead?

1) "Leverage' is used as a component of best value: "we will leverage our expertise to create a new solution for you." The idea is that the new solution won't cost quite so much as it seems because the company is going to re-use some stuff.

Customers and prospects do respond to the idea that they will be getting a "best value." This means a really high input for their not-so-high output (money). But when you use the term 'leverage' you are using a shortcut and missing a tremendous opportunity to describe in textured and glowing detail how your offer is truly a best value.

You would be much better served by doing some actual comparisons. What did the original solution cost, and how much will they save because of your re-use? You can go far beyond money to talk about time, human resources, getting the bugs out, schedule delays and other issues.

2) Can you imagine yourself ever offering your products or services to a customer and saying that you will NOT be accountable? I hope not! So what is the point of bragging about your accountability?

Instead of using that meaningless word, draw a clear (word) picture of two things: lines of communication and responsiveness requirements. How often are people expected to read email, listen to voice messages or go online for social networking updates. What standards are they expected to meet; how will you know if they do, and what will happen if they don't?

Some business audiences are filled with people who want to the cheapest product/service out there. If you compete on low price, this advice is not for you. If you want to be prosperous tell them how what your company offers is so far from the commodity-level market that cost becomes a small or non-existent factor in their decision-making. Get away from the meaningless jargon and lazy shortcuts and become eloquent and inspirational. That will make the sale.

Forget 'Best of Breed' in Your Presentation

How many times have you heard a sales or marketing team tell you their solution is less than the best? Has anyone ever claimed to be below industry standard, or poor value?

Of course not--these negative statements would be ridiculous. I also think that claiming to be "best of breed," the "industry standard" or "best value" is equally ridiculous. These phrases have no meaning exactly because no one would ever claim the opposite.

Consider "best of breed." This idea was borrowed from dog conformation competitions. What it means in the context of dog shows is that the winner is judged to be closest to the standard or perfect specimen of that breed. The dog is not deemed to be perfect--just better in terms of the standard than all the other dogs there on that day.

Is this the message you want to send your audiences of prospects and customers? "We're close to perfect and we're better than the others who showed up." I don't think so.

My other argument against these common claims is that they show you are lazy. You are relying on pat phrases--cliches, really--instead of devoting the time and effort to describing what your solution is all about. And your audience hears these short cuts and wonders what short cuts you will take if you were to work for them?

If you want to impress your audiences, talk about your products and services in terms of solving their problems and helping them achieve their goals. Make of list of the audience's needs and goals. Make a list of how your products and services meet what's on their list. Talk about that in real language and ask for the business in terms of their future.

You'll never need to default to meaningless slogans again. Unless you're selling puppies!

Market by Speaking About Your Company Values

What values is your company or department known for? Values are the organization's principles or tenets that never change no matter what happens in the market, the economy or with leadership.

Which of these (more than one) are among your organization's values?

• You stand behind your product or service
• You offer the highest quality-good enough is not good enough
• You are honest in all your dealings
• Each customer is the most important customer
• You offer high value consistent with fair profit
• You are easy to do business with
• You are accessible
• You are welcoming
• You are attentive
• You are respectful
• You appreciate every employee in every position no matter where the stand on your org chart

Now imagine you are speaking to an audience of prospects. Instead of deluging them with data, or processes, or technical specifications, why not talk about your company's values?

Here's an example: "Customers always have questions that need to be answered. We have taken three steps to guarantee that when you call, your questions will be answered to your satisfaction.

Step 1 - We regularly recognize our customer service reps with well-publicized awards and cash bonuses.

Step 2 - Our customer service reps stand at the top of our organization chart because without them we have no business

Step 3 - Customer service reps write and lead their own training. They know better than anyone what problems they face n a daily basis and what skills they need to deal with those problems."

With these three steps you have demonstrated that you live your values every day, every month and every year.

You have also shown your audience what they will experience when they do business with your company. You are likely not alone in offering your product or service, but you will stand out from the crowd with these values and you'll attract people who want what you stand for.

How do you use speaking to market your company values? Share your suggestions through our comment link.

What Now? Making Good News After the Bad News Comes

Can you write a list of the top ten ways to make good news after you've been hit with bad news? How about 7 ways, or even just 3? As a leader and business speaker it is up to you to make good news and communicate it with your audiences.

Making good news is not just a trite expression along the lines of as "when life sends you lemons, make lemonade." Serious people will dismiss that message as so much pablum.

Making good news means:

1. Take a longer view
2. Analyze your weaknesses and find your strengths
3. Seek help or support from places you don't typically look
4. Speak about the bad news and the good news in real, human language, not in business speak/jargon
5. Create new and fresh approaches; don't rely on "the way we always do things"

Take a longer view: bad news feels very powerful because it is immediate and present. First acknowledge this. Then tell a true story about a similar time in the past when bad news was huge, yet after weeks, months or even years, you and the company made good news. The story will be more compelling than any data, logical arguments or planning.

Analyze your weaknesses and find your strengths: You cannot fix things that you don't fully understand and recognize, so an inventory of your weaknesses is the starting point. Then look for your strengths--either as the opposite of your weaknesses or as an antidote to them.

Seek help or support from places you don't typically look: When you're weighed down by bad news it is especially hard to go looking for help. You want to hunker down and regroup, yet most of the time it is fresh thinking from an outsider that will most quickly and powerfully lead to making good news.

Speak about the bad news and the good news in real, human language, not in business speak/jargon: I hate the phrase "re-engineering" and I know for a fact that everyone who has ever been on the receiving end of that activity hates it too. It is a word or concept that makes the perpetrators feel better-- impersonal, so no real people are affected. People can handle the truth when it is plainly and clearly spoken.

When you do make good news, talk about it in real language too. Business speak and jargon do not impress anyone. Prose that draws vivid pictures that people can imagine, and elicits emotion that people can feel will contribute immensely to the value of your speech to a business audience.

Create new and fresh approaches; don't rely on "the way we always do things": bad news is the best time to get out of your ruts and old habits. If you have a strongly hierarchical organization, shake it up. If you always use limited colors and corporate slide templates, get rid of them and speak from notes. If you limit your content to data, logic and strictly business examples, broaden your content to include human interest stories from the broad spectrum of people's lives.

How do you make good news after the bad news comes? Share your ideas through our comment link.

7 Uncommon Power Point Techniques

7 Uncommon Power Point Techniques…That will make your audiences sit up and take notice

1.    Insert blank black slides

2.    Mix up the colors

3.    Embed sound

4.    Use video instead of still photos

5.    Use photos instead of graphics

6.    Use build capability to create visuals with depth and texture (not because something is too complex)

7.    Increase the ratio of visuals to text slides

Top Ten lists of most hated things about power point are heavy with one word—boring, boring, boring.

Next on the list are “the speaker reads the slides” and “I can read faster than the speaker can speak, so just send me the deck and let me get out of there!”

By reading to the end of this article you will have 7 uncommonly powerful techniques to incorporate into your next presentation that will pretty much force you not to be boring, and will keep the audience’s attention.

Choose Some Coaching-You'll be 150% Better

"We did better by far than we would have without your coaching" the Senior VP exclaimed as he recounted his team's presentation to a desirable customer.

He cited two reasons that you should consider when preparing a presentation for an important customer:

1. An outsider can say things and be heard in a way that an insider cannot/will not. If the feedback comes from a boss, it's threatening and critical. If it comes from a peer, it can be heard as competitive. And the risk of hard feelings that linger is high.
2. An speaking expert who coaches provides a skill and depth of knowledge that the team simply does not have. A working speaking coach who does this day after day develops and eye and ear for all the details and learns how to deliver feedback and recommendations in ways that an member of the team or an executive can't.

Your team has the subject matter expertise, the management skills and the knowledge of the customer or prospect. Bringing those things to the table along with an experienced presentations skills/speaking coach magnifies your chances of wowing the customer audience.

Before you think it costs too much or takes too much time consider this recent engagement: I spent 2 hours on the phone with the team as we looked at a draft slide deck. Then I spent 6 hours thoroughly reading the proposal, the slides and the requirements and writing up about 5 pages of recommendations which I emailed to them. I spent one day (9 hours) face-to-face with the team. We finalized the slides, then they practiced their 2 hour presentation two complete times, with feedback and comments following each practice.

The result of these 17 hours was a presentation that was, by the client's own estimate, at least 150% better than it would have been without my contribution.

What are you hesitating for? When you have an important presentation to a desirable client, bring in a full-time, professional speaking coach to help you with your slides and your presentation. You will absolutely improve the likelihood of winning the sale.

Use Multi-Media as Models for Your Presentations

What words come to mind when you think "multi-media"?

Quick, ever-changing, colorful, active, visuals, sounds, the unexpected...

Your audiences live with--have embraced--multi-media in their daily lives. They gravitate to more color, more action, more variety, more stimulation. Why can't presentations be more like multi-media?

They can if you allow yourself to use multi-media as a model for your presentations. Here are 3 tips to do that.

1) Reduce the desire to explain everything. Your favorite app doesn't explain itself, it works and you learn how to use it by just using it. When you're introducing a new idea or product or service, just start. The typical jargon-laced introductions and the old and boring "tell' em what you're gonna tell' em" rule is out the window these days. Jump right in with a colorful story or example, or a challenge, or a hard question. Your audiences are ready for this.

2) Mix up the visuals in your slide deck. Corporate rules about design parameters are counter-productive to the goal of getting connected with the audience. A fixed three-color scheme, slide templates where everything is exactly the same on every slide, perfect photos or stylized graphics--none of these attract the audience. The human brain's efficient filing cabinet says to itself -"I've seen this before, know what it means..NEXT!" so instead of increasing awareness of the brand, these corporate looks decrease interest.

3) Add sound and movement to your presentation deliberately and thoughtfully. Sounds can be embedded in your slides--show a process or flow and embed a sound that suggests movement. This can be fairly subtle--no roaring plane engines--but your audience will pick it up and their attention will be stronger than otherwise.

Incorporate movement by asking the audience to raise their hands, to write something on a handout, or to handle and use a promotional product or gift. Something small makes a big difference in the course of a 30-60-90 minute presentation.

Multi-media doesn't sit still and doesn't lecture. It moves and it grabs and it makes you participate. Do the same with your presentations and your audiences will be eager for more.