A Word of Caution

This is why the title of the book is Authenticity Rules: How to be a Real (and real good) Presenter. Don't forget the real good part...

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....

Preparation = Separation

If you want your presentation to sound like, look like and be like every other speech, training, class or workshop, then only put a little bit of effort into preparing.

If you want to separate yourself from the rest and have greater impact, an authentic performance, more creativity, fresher ideas and a remarkable presentation, invest more time on the front end.

Never settle for your first ideas. They are just the seeds to more authentic-rich ideas. It is funny how long it takes and how much preparation goes into being an authentic presenter.

World Championship Advice

Big thanks to Andrew Dlugan over at the Six Minutes blog for posting an interview he did with the recently crowned 2008 World Champion of Public Speaking, LaShunda Rundles. She is the first woman to gain the title since 1986 and the first African-American woman ever. I haven't heard her speech, but the interview is both inspiring and informative.

Here are three answers highlighting Authenticity as a critical factor in her success (and yours)...

Question: Having gone through six separate speech contests this year, what lessons have you learned from competitive speaking?  The thing I learned most from competitive speaking is that you have to stay genuine.

Question: Studying other speakers and developing self-awareness are necessary to grow as a speaker. What do you consider your greatest strengths as a speaker? How about weaknesses: what speaking skills or habits are you currently striving to improve?  My greatest strength as a speaker is the ability to stay truthful. I find my message and I let my words guide me from there. Also, I don’t try to become too staged. I work to have a conversation with the audience not a one-act play.

Question: What other advice can you give to Six Minutes readers who are striving to become more confident and effective speakers?  To become a better speaker I encourage people to just practice, practice, practice. You have to get comfortable in your own skin.

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)

A Lesson from Lisa Braithwaite and Alice Adams

Click over to Lisa Braithwaite's Speak Schmeak blog to read her insightful post about being in love with the real you.

Marvelous Advice from Sam Horn

Sam Horn writes a blog about how to make your marketing, presentations and literally any other form of communication POP! She recently posted three connected posts about how to capture an audience's attention in the first 90-seconds. It is well worth the study...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Funny quote from Part 1...

"My job is to talk; your job is to listen. If you finish first, please let me know.” - Harry Herschfield

Willy's Green Kangaroo's Unusually Silly - Your Messenger for Message Development

Successful message development, like most elements of giving presentations, is an art form. However, if you are looking for a powerful formula to inch you closer to developing an effective message, this post is your guide.

A. Remember this phrase:

Willy's Green Kangaroo's Unusually Silly

Use this phrase as your association trigger to remember the five elements of message development. Memorize the phrase and you will have a better chance of remembering them.

B. There are five basic goals of every effective message and messenger. You want your audience to do these five things with your message...

1. Want it
2. Get it
3. Keep it
4. Use it
5. Share it

C. What do each of these mean? What action are you trying to get your audience to take for each element?

1. Want it - Anticipation. This first elements's action depends entirely on the venue. The message anticipation of a blockbuster movie is easier to create than a conference workshop. However, there are ways to create a strong "I want it".

2. Get it - Motion. Element number two is all about moving your audience from point A to point B. The points are up to you, but the motion is up to both you and the audience. What do you want them to learn, understand, experience, etc.? What do you want them to get?

3. Keep it - Retention. It is difficult to imagine a messenger who doesn't want their audience to remember at least a portion of their message. Rememberability is a function of message structure and delivery and is a fun challenge to work.

4. Use it - Application. Many messengers will never know whether or not their words turned into application. However, every great messenger is either an optimist at heart. They truly believe their message will be heard and applied. And it is this almost naive belief that fuels many of the powerful intangibles of great communicators.

5. Share it - Participation. This is different from application as it involves an audience member telling someone else about the great message they heard. This final element is how great messages become viral as the sharing then creates anticipation in others and continues the cycle.

D. What creates these actions? Each element must contain these simple, but powerful qualities to produce the desired effect...

1. Want it - Anticipation - Desirable
2. Get it - Motion - Understandable
3. Keep it - Retention - Memorable
4. Use it - Application - Tangible
5. Share it - Participation - Remarkable

E. How do you get to desirable, understandable, memorable, tangible, and remarkable? Again, this depends entirely on your specific message and your goals as a messenger. However, here are a few starter thoughts. (NOTICE - there are literally thousands of ways to apply Willy's Green Kangaroo's Unusually Silly.)

1. Want it - Anticipation - Desirable

Attach a reward relevant to their life and desires. If the reward is a tangible item, it can't be something you would want (unless your demographic profile matches your audience). It must be something they will organically want. You also can't produce a desire in them for this element to work. I.e. - "four audience members will win a copy of my book" will not work. They don't even know what your book is all about. It must be a reward that has built-in desirability like an iPod, cash, etc.

For some great ideas for "Desirable" wording, click here.

2. Get it - Motion - Understandable

Use common language. Avoid using jargon, random acronyms, or "big words just to impress." When you keep the words simple, the audience can use their brain power thinking about how they are going to apply your message.

3. Keep it - Retention - Memorable

Repetition is the key. Repetition is the key. Repetition is the ________.

4. Use it - Application - Tangible

We need to make our messages very tangible for audience members, especially in today's busy, noisy and information-rich environments. Give them examples, space to ask questions, paper and writing tools to take notes, and ask specific questions that makes them put thought into how/where/when/why they will apply the message.

5. Share it - Participation - Remarkable

If you are a fan of Chip and Dan Heath's ground-breaking book, Made to Stick, or of Seth Godin's work, you will recognize this point. If your audience is going to share your message with others, it must be remarkable. Meaning it must be something worth remarking about. There are an unlimited number of creative ways to accomplish this. I suggest you do something unexpected. Get them out of their comfort zone. Now, in order for this technique to not leave the wrong taste in their mouth, you have to make a strong connection between the tool and the message. I.e. - throwing a bucket of water on an audience member might be unexpected, but unless your point is so emotionally or intellectually strong as to validate this action, your message will be remarked about, but for all the wrong reasons!

The Big Secret to "Actionable" Modern Day Communication

(Print out and give this picture to yourself and as many teachers, speakers, marketers, executives, leaders, parents, married people, and students as you can.)

How I "Widen"...

1. Personally - Actively listen in one-on-one conversations.

2. Socially - Ask people questions (friends and strangers).

3. Technically - Use Google Reader to read 100 blogs, click on my browser's StumbleUpon button periodically and listen to/watch the following podcasts - Ted.com, This American Life, NPR Story of the Day and Fresh Air from WHYY.

How I "Narrow"...

1. Start all my keynote speeches, workshops and blog posts with answering, "what is the big idea/concept here?"

2. Take my own advice and talk/write using the CVS formula (use Concrete, Visual and Simple language).

3. Listen more. Talk less.

(If you need more information on any of these techniques/tools, either Google them, search my blogs or comment back.)

Nervousness: It's a Piece of Cake!

When it comes to public speaking, nerves are just like audience members - always there, a necessary part of the process and not always pleasant.

However, just like our audience members, nerves can either help you or hurt you depending on how you think about them. Follow these rules to turn handling nervousness into a piece of cake...

C - Change your perspective
Anxiety and excitement are chemically the same thing. The only difference between the two is how you think about them. You can quickly convert your nervousness into excitement by simply changing the way you think about what is going on. This is a great example of "change your mind and the rest will follow." Also, nerves are a necessary part of the process. It is your body's way of telling you this is important, critical, interesting, different than normal, etc. Therefore, to harness the power of this natural response, change your goal from getting rid of your nerves to controlling your nerves. Zig Ziglar said it best, "D0n't get rid of your butterflies. Get them to fly in formation." The rest of the CAKE is about how to control the butterflies.

A - Audience-focused
Get your mind off of you and your content and put your focus on your audience. If you are pacing behind stage or sitting anxiously in class just thinking about how you don't want to mess up or how you wish you could stop your knees from knocking, you are only adding to the problem. You need to decompress. Do this by putting all your thoughts about what is getting ready to happen into the back of your mind and get to thinking about your audience. Talk to them, be in their space, ask them questions, just sit in the room like one of them, etc. It helps to remember your audience wants you to do good. No one likes to sit through poor presentations. They want you to be worth listening to. I know at times it doesn't always feel like it, but they are on your side. Your job is to get on their side.

K - Knowledge
Knowing your stuff top to bottom is the number one way to control your nerves. If you need to memorize your content to reach this level of control, then do so. Some say that memorizing content makes you look like a robot. That is not true. Robotic delivery of memorized content is the enemy here. Does your favorite actor/actress look like a robot on the screen? No. Are their lines memorized? Yes. In the research for my upcoming presentation skills book, Authenticity Rules, I discovered from at least three top-level presentation coaches that many of the best presenters memorize a large portion of their content. The presentation doesn't feel memorized because they invested a large portion of time on their delivery skills.

E - Experience.
The more you do a task, the better your body and brain gets at responding to the emotions and physical elements related to it. Speaking in public is very much a physical, mental and emotional art form. Getting up and speaking A TON is the best medicine for a bad case of the nerves. Of course, you need to be practicing and doing the right things. There are literally millions of golfers who have been golfing for years, but still are horrible golfers because their experience only allowed them to perfect their bad habits. To get good experience, you have to get good coaching. Seek out someone who knows what to look for (the expert eye), have them watch you, coach you and then work on their suggestions. The key here is to find someone who knows what to look for. Everyone has an opinion on what they like or dislike about speakers. Only an expert presentation coach knows HOW to look for what you need to specifically do to get better.