Archive for April, 2009
Technical Presentations that Will Win Your Audience
April 29th, 2009 | Public Speaking
This is a transcript of an audio program located in the membership area of EffectivelySpeaking.Com. To get access to this audio program, as well as many other materials, you can sign up for a free membership at
http://www.EffectivelySpeakingMembers.Com
Hi this is David Mudie and I would like talk to you about technical presentations.
I want to take a personal experience of mine as an illustration for technical presentations. As many of you know one of my first public speaking engagements was before a large audience at a software conference. Now I did not want to speak at this software conference – but I did want to make business contacts there. I could not afford the admission price – it was $3000 US, and my company was going out of business. Speakers however, got in for free – so as much as I did not like speaking, I did not like being unemployed more.
The topic of the presentation was a security methodology I had developed, and a piece of software I had written that would support this methodology.
I was accepted for the presentation and I had about five months between receiving acceptance and having to deliver the presentation.
I slowly started working away at the presentation, procrastinating a little bit, because I really didn’t want to do it - but for the most part getting on with it because I realized that I really wanted to get there.
I made a very technical presentation. At the same time I was learning as much as I could about public speaking. It was during this time that I came across a little tidbit of wisdom that I found to be incredibly valuable.
The individual said, “Don’t try to impress your audience with how smart you are… impress your audience with how smart they are.”
I took this piece of advice to heart and realized that the presentation I had been composing was for somebody with my background, my understanding.
It wasn’t going to be useful to the majority of the audience – and so I threw it out. I took my presentation and I boiled it down to two clear, concise points. Points that anybody could understand – even somebody who had never used the software that I was supporting.
The points were:
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Posted in Presentations, Public Speaking | Tags: Admission Price, Audience, Business Contacts, Business Speakers, Five Months, Free Membership, Going Out Of Business, Illustration, Little Bit, Membership Area, Mudie, Personal Experience, Piece Of Advice, Security Methodology, Software Conference, Speaking Engagements, Technical Presentation, Technical Presentations, Tidbit, Wisdom
Free Presentations Training
April 28th, 2009 | Public Speaking
I have pointed out that one of the leading causes of stress in our society is being held accountable for an outcome without having control of the situation. In business situations this is commonly caused by office politics. An employee is expected to deliver a particular result, but not allowed to make the changes that would allow such a result.
Another cause of this situation occurs when an individual is held accountable for performing a task – without the proper tools or training.
I can think of a couple of situations where this happened to me.
| When I was in University I had a work placement with one organization that did not have a computer for me. That would have been fine other than the fact that my job was to learn a particular tool and program databases for them.
I was told to read the manuals for three weeks until they found a computer for me. |
As silly as that sounds, it doesn’t compare to the second example.
| One of my first job placements involved my manager putting me on the accounting systems support team. That too would have been fine if weren’t for the fact that I only had a rudimentary knowledge of accounting principles, a less than rudimentary knowledge of COBOL (which the systems were written in) and no knowledge of the mainframe computer that they were running on.
I asked my manager for training, to which he responded with, “Don’t worry, you’ll pick it up.” The good news was that this company reorganized itself more often than it produced quarterly results. After several months of slogging my way through my assignments, I was assigned to a new department. I didn’t know this system either – but then again no one else did either. The first thing my new manager did was arrange for proper training. I Felt Instant Relief It was like I could once again breathe. |
The feeling I had is not unfamiliar to those who have the responsibility of a presentation thrust upon them.
You have no presentation skills, but we expect you to do the job anyway. We’re not going to give you training – or even explain what would make your presentation successful. We just expect you to do it.
All of a sudden you are being judged – that is being held accountable – for something you have no control over. You have no control over the success or failure of your presentation because you don’t have any presentation skills.
But What if?
Can you imagine how you would feel? |
An Easy Source of Presentation Skills
I created EffectivelySpeaking.Com to provide people with the information they need to overcome the fear and go on to excel at speaking in public. With that in mind, I have created this section to hold a number of articles about delivering an effective presentation – I will be adding more over time.
A Free Course on Presentation Skills
In addition, if you are in a situation that is similar to the one I described, then I would encourage you to take my S.C.P. presentation course. It will only take you a few minutes each day for six days, and then about 45 minutes on the seventh. By the time you’re done, you will have a solid understanding of what goes into preparing and delivering an effective presentation. Best of all, I have made the course available for free to Effectively Speaking Members.
If you want to experience the same relief that I described, then head on over to EffectivelySpeakingMembers.Com and sign up. You’ll find a whole lot more “relief generating” information – and best of all, you can sign up for free.
Posted in Presentations, Public Speaking | Tags: Accounting Principles, Accounting Systems, Business Situations, Causes Of Stress, Cobol, Control, First Job, Free Presentations, Job Placements, Leading Causes Of Stress, Mainframe Computer, Office Politics, Presentation Skills, Program Databases, Proper Tools, Quarterly Results, Rudimentary Knowledge
So What is Leadership?
April 28th, 2009 | Public Speaking
John C Maxell, an authority on leadership, describes leadership as the ability to influence others. I would respond by saying that the word influence has a negative connotation in our society, it can imply selfishness. When I examine Maxwell’s description I feel that it is important to clarify that the influence is for the benefit of all; the leader, the individual (or team) being lead, and the organization that they are all a part of.
The description that I prefer to use for leadership is the ability to inspire others to follow, for the benefit of all.
(The reason I prefer it may have something to do with the fact that I came up with it.)
To help get a better understanding, let’s take a look at the leadership strategies of an organization whose responsibilities go beyond delivering a project on time or making a profit; They make the difference between life and death.
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Posted in Leadership Training, Public Speaking | Tags: Armed Forces, Coalition Forces, Desert Storm, Difficult Situations, Enemies, Enlisted Soldiers, Exercises, Fear, Gulf War, Harsh Punishment, Iraqi Army, John C, Leadership Strategies, Leadership Style, Life And Death, Maxwell, Negative Connotation, Saddam Hussein, Selfishness, Soldier