New Authenticity Rules E-Book

The new Authenticity Rules E-Book is here.  Following are just a few of the questions answered in this complete speaking and facilitation handbook.

• What is the best way to control nerves?
• What are your three biggest enemies?
• Why is authenticity so important?
• What is the CVS Formula?
• What makes a great keynote?
• How do you keep an audience engaged?
• Why does it matter how you give driving directions?
• What can you learn from a kangaroo?
• What is the Can’t Ignore Club?
• How do you make boring content engaging?
• What is the 7-Minute Rule?
• What are energy gaps?
• What is the difference between effective and non-effective coaching?
• How do you establish credibility?
• What are the steps to effective workshop planning?
• How do you handle difficult audience members?
• How do you know what the audience wants to hear?
• Why does your personality determine how you should build a speech?
• How is a surfer like a great presenter?
• What is the MOVE Formula?
• What do you do when a herd of water buffaloes attack your presentation?

Click here to purchase your copy today ($5).

Top 6 Tools to Engage Literally Any Audience

Your audience needs you to be skilled at earning, managing and maximizing their attention. Whether they pay attention to you and/or retain your message or not is primarily your responsibility.  The following six tools are invaluable resources for highly effective trainers, speakers and teachers needing to engage any audience of any demographic - students or adults.  Especially in today's noisy world, just asking your audience to sit and listen is not enough.  If you want them to hear, process, retain and take action on your material, you must be skilled at getting them actively involved in the experience of the moment, not just the content of the message. 

6 Audience Engagement Tools

1. Turn to a partner and...
(Social and physical engagement)

The audience members interact with someone next to them.  This interaction could involve talking about a content piece or doing a two-person activity. Remember to allow groups of three if necessary, give clear instructions on what they are supposed to do and be extra clear on how they know when their interaction is supposed to end.

2. Have you ever...
(Emotional engagement) 

High-level interaction doesn't always mean getting up and moving around or doing an experiential activity with a partner or a team.  Engagement can also be emotional.  When you tell stories they can directly and emotionally relate with, you are painting them into the picture of your message instead of simply asking them to watch you paint it.

3. When I start the music...
(Social and physical engagement) 

Obviously an effective method for getting them engaged in your presentation is to lead an activity.  Always have music available to set the mood of the activity and to intensify the experience. Two of our favorite resources you can access to find great activities to lead are:  The Activator book - includes our top 50 activities with instructions, material needed, debrief options and more.  Thesource4ym - this site includes a search query that lets you quickly filter through their hundreds of activities and games. 

(To access the music we play at our programs, just search "YourNextSpeaker" in the search box in the iTunes Music Store.)

4. Take a second and write down...
(Emotional engagement.) 

We don't learn at a high level by just hearing something or doing something - we learn by talking, reflecting, processing and/or writing. These are the elements that allow inputs to sink in and become part of who we are.  If you can, have your audience members take notes or do reflective writing during your presentation. This also gives your message legs as they take their notes back home.

5. Raise your hand if...
(Physical and emotional engagement) 

Similar to "Have you ever...", this technique involves the audience actually responding to you as you ask questions or run through a list.  Getting the audience to physically demonstrate their connection to your message or a portion of it also serves to break down any barriers between you and the audience.

6. This is difficult to say, but...
(Emotional engagement)

When you are bold and transparent and share a personally moving story (tragedy, failure, etc.), you earn a load of attention points from the audience. Make certain it is the right time and place for it though. This is difficult to read, but there are certain venues or events where it isn't professional to share deeply. However, if you believe in your heart it is the best way to get your message across and it fits the venue, go for it.  When you risk big, the audience can win big.


WARNING...

If you read this post thinking, "These techniques would never fly with my group because this is not how its always been done," it is probably because your group has historically been subjected to presenters who either simply talk at them or talk at them while also talking to a PowerPoint. These are safe, acceptable and, most of the time, horribly boring experiences.  Be better than most, include some audience interaction, watch your presentations turn into turbo-charged learning machines and your way will become the new "this is how its always been done." Good luck!

Leadership Quote Cards

There are so many positive outputs from an engaging conservation about leadership and related topics. I have put together a new tool for you to lead your groups in this effort - The Leadership Quote Cards. Feel free to print these poster size and hang on the wall for big groups or print postcard size to use with small groups. They are a powerful tool to get discussions and thoughts started on multiple (there are 28 cards) topics.

Download the PDF here.

APPLICATION IDEAS

• If you are using them with a big group, have everyone pair up, stand up, roam around the room and go up to each poster and share whatever comes to mind.
• For a small group, pass out the cards, give each person a few minutes to write down their thoughts and then go around the room asking each person to share their thoughts.
• For a small group, hold up a poster and have everyone share a thought or question related to it.
• For a big or small group, go to reflection time. Post the posters on the walls and, with pen/paper in hand, have each person walk around and quietly journal an initial thought response to each quote.
• Get the group into teams of 4-6. Give each team a card. Have them design and present a skit/commercial/speech/etc. based on the card's quote.

New Delicious Account Tag - Slides!



We are excited to announce a new tag in our huge (over 1,300 links) Delicious database.  Delicious is the most prolific website in a genre called social bookmarking.  Our Delicious account is designed to be a master's degree in leadership.  Most of the tags are based on our PLI curriculum's Essentials of Leadership. 

The largest tag (the one with the most links) is Masterful Communication - over 350 links.  The topics contained within this tag range from public speaking to team communication to listening skills. I combed through them all and tagged the ones with PowerPoint, Keynote or presentation design tips and added a tag to each called Slides.  There are around 40 links contained within the tag now, but it will grow quickly as I am spending more of my time working with clients (banks, speakers, corporate leaders, student leaders, etc.) on helping them design remarkable slide banks.  Enjoy!

The Slides database in our Delicious account

New Leadership and Presentation Skills Book

My new leadership book is now available for purchase. It is a powerful study guide to improving your personal leadership, team leadership and presentation abilities. Learn more about this great new resource and order your copy today - http://leadersingear.blogspot.com/. 

"A must read with powerful tips on every page to shift your leadership gears into overdrive and genuinely impact who you are, who you will become, and non-stop, real-life “how to’s.” I'd recommend this book to managers, speakers, consultants, and organizational leaders; everyone who cares about becoming more effective--now. Rhett literally hands the reader an entire career of experiences devoted to building character, skill, and personal impact. With Leaders In Gear, you’ll find yourself in the driver’s seat.”
Steve Roesler, President and CEO
Roesler Consulting Group
www.steveroesler.com

Where Do You Get Your…?

One of the most common questions I get after a program is, "where do you get your music, images, videos, activities, etc. So, here is a quick list of my favorite and most used resources to help make my programs interactive and a rich experience.

MUSIC

I use music in 99% of my programs. It is one of the best tools available for setting state of mind, filling an empty room and taking the experience of the event to the next level. Now, you should know that I love music. I have 3,000+ songs in my iTunes library. I am a singer/songwriter. We even put speakers in almost every living space in our new home to continuously pump tunes. Here are my top music resources:

1. iTunes Playlists. Even if you don't own an iPod, you can get value out of Apple's iTunes music player. It is the cleanest and most functional music player for your computer. I use set playlists in iTunes to quickly access the music I need during my programs. I have published a few of those playlists into the iTunes music store as iMixes. This allows you to view the songs we play and purchase/download them. Go to this post to learn how to access these iMixes

2. Pandora. This is a free streaming music service that allows you to find new songs that closely match the style of songs you like. They have a powerful database. Go to www.pandora.com/ and check it out.

[Playing music during your presentations requires you to pay a licensing fee to the organization's that represent the artists. Read this article to understand what this means and how to do this.]

IMAGES

I use images just in the few Power Points I do every year. I use Power Point more now than I used to, because I learned how to use them to add to the presentation's effectiveness. Even though I only use them sparingly, I still make sure each one is visually-based instead of textually-based. Here are my favorite photo finding sites - some are free and some are paid sites. The fees are based on per image download and the size of the image you want.

1. www.sxc.hu - A free site that is affiliated with a pay site - www.stockxpert.com.

2. www.istockphoto.com - One of the more expensive sites I use, but it definitely has higher quality and cooler pictures.

3. www.canstockphoto.com - This one is part free and part fee based. They have less expensive pictures than other sites, but the database isn't quite as large.

4. Google Images - While on the Google homepage, you can click on the Images link and search for pictures. It isn't as simple as going straight to a picture purchasing site (where all the images are designed for design use), but you can find a wider range of image types.

5. Flickr - Advertised as the largest online image database, it is filled with pictures from amateur photographers, professionals, proud parents, flower lovers, etc. Each image author can set the copyright. Some are usable and some are not. You can tell once you are at the image and read the creative commons info.

VIDEOS

Just like the images, I don't use video very often in my programs. However, when I do they almost always come from one source - http://www.ted.com/. The TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference happens every year and all the speakers can only speak up to 17 minutes max. The videos are also free to share in educational and training environments - as long as you credit TED and aren't selling them. The speakers are inspirational and moving for many different ways. I did a post about some of my favorite TED videos here. Also, in my delicious link-sharing database, we have started tagging certain TED videos based on the leadership lesson you can pull from them. You can see that tag list here.

ACTIVITIES

My favorite activity resource is my 15-years of being in the speaking and training business and the activities we have created over the years. We have actually put many of those activities into a book you can purchase over at our PLI site. Beyond that, I primarily use one site to find new activities (always credit where you find activities if you use them exactly as you find them.)

1. The Source - They have a huge database of fun and meaningful activities and games. They also have a powerful search tool that allows you to narrow down your search results significantly.

These aren't all the tools, but they are the big ones. Good luck and remember, the audience will forget what you say, but they will remember how you said it!

Authenticity Rules #4 – Know Your Tools

Authenticity Rule #4
The Surgeon Rule - Know Your Tools.

 

(Review AR #1 – Know Thyself, AR #2 – Know Your Content, AR #3 – Know Your Audience, AR #6 – Know Your Enemies)

 

You are in the unfortunate position of needing surgery.  Its not the favorite chapter in your life, but you know you have to go through it. 

You are on the table. Everybody is ready to go.  Right before they put you under, the doctor comes in and you hear her say to her staff, “What does this thing do?   How do you turn this one on?  What are those numbers for?” 

The last thing you remember thinking before you slip off to la-la land is, “Goodnight room.  Goodnight moon.  Goodnight life.”  You are scared to death you will not wake up.  You have been given a rookie surgeon.

 

This scenario will, of course, never happen.  Unless our modern health system goes entirely off-course, surgeons not only know how to use the tools of their trade, but they will be complete masters of them.  You wouldn’t even consider going to a doctor that didn’t have hours of experience and absolute confidence using their tools.  So, why would any presenter ask their audience to sit through a presentation where the speaker didn’t know how to use their stuff?

 

Authenticity Rule #4 states:  Your authenticity can show through more powerfully when your presentation tools become natural self extensions.

Here is a quick, non-comprehensive list of this “equipment”:

• Microphone
• Music
• PowerPoint
• Projector/Laptop
• Handouts
• Flipcharts
• Tape/Pins/Velcro (anything you are using to secure visuals to the wall)
• Props
• Room set-up
• Interaction techniques with audience
• Interaction techniques with co-presenter(s)
• Stories

 

What are the downsides of not having total command of your tools?

1. Damages Credibility – Trust between you and your audience is the foundation of everything.  The moment you are vulnerable because of a lack in competency, that foundation begins to crumble.   We don’t care if you are perfect, but we do expect you to care about being close.
2. Distracts – You can only have your focus on one thing at a time.  That one thing should be connecting with the audience.  If you are wasting your “one thing” on how to get your laptop to talk to the projector, someone in the room is getting ignored.  Plus, you want your audience’s attention to be on the message and how it applies to their life, not on the flipchart that keeps falling down because you didn’t think ahead of time to bring push-pins with you.
3. Drains Time – Your audience has chosen to give you two of their most valuable resources – their time and attention.  If you don’t spend time before the presentation getting your tools right, you will have to waste time during the presentation doing it.  This is disrespectful to your audience and is the same as saying to them, “My time is more valuable to me than your time.”  Not good.

How do you get better at using your tools?

1. Learn Great Techniques – Read some books, blogs, tweets, etc. written by ninja level presenters.  Seek these people out personally and ask them how they use ____ successfully.  Here is a great portal for finding great presenters – Speaking Alltop.
2. Practice – After you learn good techniques, practice them.  The best speaking practice is in front of an actual live audience.  In front of the mirror is better than nothing, but not the best practice.  After you finish a presentation, sit down right then and do a Plus (what you did well), Minus (what you didn’t do well), Delta (what you are going to change or find out how to change) list. 
3. Do Recon Work – Call ahead and find out what the room is going to be like.  How is the audience going to be seated?  Are there tables?  What are the walls like?  Can you put things on them?  Do they have a screen, projector, wireless microphone, corded microphone, podium, etc.?  Everything about the room impacts your presentation and should be included in your “tools list.”
4. Start here.

Developing Your Stories

I just picked up a great book that every speaker should digest: The Story Factor by Annette Simmons.

Here is a strategy from Annette on how to develop two of your six important stories:

Developing “Who Am I /Why I’m here” Stories:

Step One: What personal qualities make you a trustworthy person? Are you compassionate, smart, courageous, honest, etc?

Step Two: Since you can hardly walk into a room and expect people to believe “I am a trustworthy person”, choose one of these qualities and develop a three-minute story that delivers evidence of that quality:

A time in your life when this quality was tested.
A person/event in your life that taught you the importance of this quality.
A time when you failed your own standards and decided to never let it happen again.
A movie/story/event that exemplifies this quality for you.

Step Three: Find someone to listen to your story. Ask them to tell you what they like about the story and what this story tells them about you. Ask them to refrain from making suggestions or giving a critique. Tell it again to someone else.

Step Four: Tell your story the next time you give a presentation or try to influence someone…if it works, tell it again.

If you found that valuable, you will love her book!

Phenomenal Storytelling Tutorial!

Storytelling 101

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: rockstar maverick)

The Authenticity Rules Book

The book is done.

Huge thanks to my business partner, friend for life and best wife I have ever had for hours and hours and hours of hard work on this project. I would probably be digging ditches somewhere instead of living my dream job of speaking if I didn't have you.

More info to follow....

4 Books You Need

I have read, studied and use the techniques from all four on a daily basis. A phenomenal $60 investment...

Slide:ology on Amazon (Used from $20.95)

Presentation Zen on Amazon(Used from $17.86)

Made to Stick on Amazon(Used from $14.00)

Brain Rules on Amazon (Used from $17.78)

Research-Based Presenting

One of the 100 blogs I read daily is from the British Psychological Society and their Research Digest Blog. I encourage you to read through their posts and look for articles on brain studies and human development research. It can help you think about your audience members as varieties of the same machine, the human being. One valuable technique I use is to take a look at child behavior and development studies. Our personality, core learning style and internal attitude setting (are you generally a positive or negative person) is almost matured by the time we are six. These are just a few factors that impact an audience member's ability to get, retain and potentially act upon your content.

Studying research information is also important as a trainer/speaker because there are many techniques you can employ in direct response to key research findings. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

Why psychologists are asking children to touch their toes

What do your thoughts reveal about you?

We see things differently when they're near our hands

Real-life examples may not be best for teaching maths

How to interview children

We're more likely to listen to expensive advice

Fold your arms to boost your performance

17% Zone Slide Show

Here is a quick example of slides done right. This is for a 45-minute presentation at a luncheon of business professionals. I will include music and table interaction to drill home the points.

As always, the slides are visual-heavy, text-light and only offer support for the conversation between the audience and me.

Intro Slide

Initial Interaction Activity Slide

Key Concept Slide

Question 1 Intros Key 1

Question 2 Intros Key 2

Question 3 Intros Key 3

Question 4 Intros Key 4

Question 5 Intros Key 5

Question 6 Intros Key 6

Recap Slide of the 6 Big Keys

Workshop Planning

* Find out as much information as possible about the workshop specifics (length, audience member make-up, room set-up, content expectations, AV at your disposal, etc.)

* Create a Statement of Purpose. This is a specific, concrete, and short statement that sums up what you want the audience member's to learn during your session.

* Research quotes, activities (please peruse www.thesource4ym.com), facts, handout possibles, stories, personal stories, etc. that could possibly make it into the final flow for your workshop.

* Start a three-ring binder

* Make sure everything you put in your binder is closely related to your workshops' statement of purpose.

* If you find something on a web page, bookmark it, print it out and put it in your binder.

* If you come across something that you find very interesting or you think might work for a different workshop, print it out and put it in your binder behind a "to use later" tab.

* Get as much stuff as you can find. At this point, the more the merrier. If you have a tight Statement of Purpose, everything you put in the binder has a good chance of being valuable.

* If you are giving a leadership or life skills related workshop, chances are good you might find some content you can use at my leadership blog (www.PersonalLeadershipInsight.com). Type in a related word in the search field on the home page of the PLI blog.

The PLI Blog is indexed by Essential (Vision, Integrity, etc.). Scroll down on the right-hand side of the home page and you will see a section called Links. You can look at just the posts (there are over 250 total) for each Essential. If one of the Essentials looks like it might contain some content relevant to your workshop's Statement of Purpose, browse the posts and see if you can find some gems. For example, if you are doing a networking session, you will find some great posts on that in the Fostering Relationships posts. If you are doing a team communication workshop, obviously you will find some great posts in the Masterful Communication posts. Etc.

(WARNING - the links for these posts are NOT the Del.icio.us links that are on the rightIhand column. The links where you can look at all the posts filtered by essential are under the section titled Links. Although, if you want to peruse the Del.icio.us links, they are indexed by Essential and there are over 600 posts there! Great stuff.)

Concentrate Your Training Room

Your audience has a ton of noise going on during your training session. The learning and retention of your content hinges on a number of factors, some big - some small. One big factor is your willingness and ability to get everyone physically plugged into the session.

Concentrating the Room is about controlling the learning environment to produce the greatest chance for success and it is so simple to do. Just follow the techniques below. Does it take more time? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Five quick benefits of Concentrating the Room:

1. Removes energy gaps.

2. Removes distractions, especially when you have a round table set-up.

3. Gets the audience physically engaged in the session and thus creates a boost of attention via heightened awareness, blood flow and brain activity.

4. Creates the perfect environment for Passionate Paul and helps Hostage Harriet to get plugged in.

5. Encourages growth in the trainer's confidence because the audience will be more attentive. Guaranteed.


Five ways to concentrate your round table training room:


Table Work: You roaming the room. Audience seated at round tables facing each other.

Unfortunately, most trainers who have a round table set-up just keep the audience members seated like this throughout the entire session. Everyone is facing different directions and many have their back to the trainer. If they are not looking at the trainer, they are facing a table full of distractions. You should keep the audience in Table Work position only when they are doing group work.


High Receive: You in one spot. Chairs and audience members at tables, but facing directly toward you.

We use high receive all the time to make key points, video presentations, slide presentations, and big group discussions. High receive can easily be overused since the audience members remain at their tables. Don't overuse it. The point of any concentration technique is to make a significant directional change in their body language to create a more focused learning environment. If you overuse any one of these techniques, the technique becomes the norm and attention fatigue will set in.


Movie Time: You in one spot. Audience members seated in amphitheater style around you.

If you are planning a longer group discussion, illustrating a point with a story, or teaching from an easel, bring the audience forward and have them sit close to each other and close to you.


Corner Cram: You in the corner. Audience members seated in corner with you.

Same as movie time, only in a corner.


Play Time: You and the audience standing in an open area.

If you are using an activity or exercise to illustrate a point, get the room set up like you need it by concentrating where the audience is standing as you give the directions. Push the tables and chairs out of the way, get all the audience members standing together in one place, get attention and go for it!

The PowerPoint Show

The images I use for my leadership PowerPoint show can be viewed and downloaded here...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23898824@N08/sets/72157604142424437/

Enjoy!

PS - The song I use is by Mat Kearney - Won't Back Down.

Indirect Can be More Powerful

Sometimes a more indirect approach in your presentations can be more powerful than the direct route. I started thinking about this principle after changing the audio set-up at my office's laptop station. The first image below shows how my computer speakers have always set - pointed straight towards me. Loud is loud. Soft is soft. Very direct and very much in my face.


This second image shows how they set now. They are turned away from me and angled. If you look close you can tell that my laptop station is in the corner of the room. With the speakers turned away, the sound isn't blaring right at me and because they are pointed at an angle toward the corner, the sound bounces a few times before it gets to me. This produces a richer, more complex arrangement. I have no idea where I got the idea to do this, but it blew me away. Now I need the new BOSE Computer MusicMonitor speakers and my ears will literally die and go to heaven.


The presentation lesson here is by being indirect (i.e. - engaging different tools and resources instead of just coming right out and saying your point) you can add layers, richness and power. Your point still needs to be said. This is not a diversion or avoidance strategy. This is an experience strategy. The experience of listening to my laptop station music is greater now than before. The experience of your presentation (the sounds, the sights, the feel, the interaction, the emotion, the logic, etc.) will stay with your listeners long after your words are gone.

So, how can you apply this "indirect is powerful" dynamic to your presentations? Here are a few suggestions...

1. Show a picture without text and let the picture tell the story.
2. Give one strong statistic instead of ten weak ones.
3. Start with a metaphor from your personal experiences highlighting your point instead of starting with your point first.
4. Have a self-running slide show running in the background providing visual context and extensions to your words.
5. Use a simple prop.
6. Engage the audience in an experiential interaction allowing them to experience your point, not just hear it.
7. Show a video.
8. Ask for audience responses.
9. Have the audience talk to each other about one of your points.
10. Use music to set the mood. Remember to angle the speakers. :)

I would love to see some comments on other "indirect" strategies you have used or seen.


Men love women.
Women love diamonds.
Bloggers love comments.

Thoughts From An Expert on Authenticity

Norma Hollis is the recognized expert on authenticity. Her web site has a number of relevant and actionable tools for developing your authenticity as a presenter. Here are her overview thoughts on what authentic communication means:

You are speaking or presenting from the deepest part of your being – not simply reciting words.

You present your ideas in a way that others can understand and find meaningful.

You connect with your audience, staff, or customers in a way that leaves a lasting impression.

Your message is credible because it doesn’t hide the truth – it is comprised of facts, not hype.

Your presentation is designed around your audience’s needs and not your personal agenda.

Your communication style is transparent and believable.

You walk your talk.

http://normahollisspeaks.com/authenticity.html

Great Communication Strategies Book for Women

Click here to buy it directly from Amazon. Great $7 investment for any woman interested in developing their communication skills.

Tips for Putting Together a Powerful Slide Show

I am currently working on a project to help Windtime Country Products maximize their presence at a National FFA in-service. Part of my responsibilities is to develop a slide show for a luncheon. Windtime has a package offering for the National FFA that includes chapters windmill assembly, windmill history, a wind generation laboratory, pond aeration education, teaching curriculum, fundraising, and public relations. It is a very exciting opportunity for both parties.

The following strategies are what I used while putting together the slides:

1. Visually Based - The pictures should be crisp, clear and have some level of "wow" factor. They should also tell a story without any text. The pictures should take up the full screen.



2. Simple, Large Text - The words should be common, the sentences should be brief, the font should be simple (and the same throughout) and the font size should be between 24 and 64. I used Helvetica font here.



3. Appropriate Colors - Even though the slide show is in PowerPoint, the slides were put together in Adobe Photoshop. This allowed me to get the color of the text to match colors in the picture. For those images that didn't fit the full 10 by 7.5 inch screen, I matched the slide background with a primary color in the image. This text is the same color as one of those hereford cows in the back pasture.



4. Simple Pictures - Almost all of the pictures in this show have a central focus (windmill, turbine, etc.) and then the rest of the picture is either the sky or just a solid background. This makes it easier for the eye to focus on the main subject. Busy picture equals confused viewer.



5. Only a Few Slides - This show has 17 slides that run at either :05 seconds, :10 seconds or :20 seconds, depending on the amount of text on the slide. This particular show will repeat itself for about 60-minutes (as the background visual at the luncheon.) Whenever Dale stands to speak at the luncheon, the show will freeze on just one slide so the audience members' attention can only be on Dale.

You can view all 17 slides (and learn more about Windtime and their products and services) here.