"Andrea Nierenberg is the ‘Queen of Networking’! She seems to know everybody – and everybody seems to know (and love) her. Not only does she have an amazing network of contacts that all think so highly of her, but she somehow manages to create and maintain sincere, genuine, and caring personal relationships with each and every person in her extensive rolodex. How does she do this? By practicing everything she preaches. And not only is she great at building her own network, she is incredibly thoughtful and generous when it comes to helping others build their networks by acting as a connector between and among the people in her circle. Her latest book is called, Savvy Networking, which is a perfect title, as no one I’ve ever met is a “savvier” networker than Andrea Nierenberg!"
What's common sense is not always common practice. In spite of the fact that we're always presenting, most people need to refresh their presentation skills. The goals of the presentation is to build confidence for presenting, identify specific improvement goals and enhance your presentation skills. The three components of a successful presentation are presentation skills (visual & audio), organization skills, and preparation & content. All of this is easy to understand, the difficulty is implementing it.
Every time you go up in front of a group of people you must consider who your audience is... who are they, what's in it for them, how much do they know, how much do they need to know, what are the possible questions? There are three types of people that will come to your presentation: "prisoners" (they're there because attendance is required), "tourists" (it gets them out of their office), and "explorers" (they're there to get one tip or bit of information).
You only get one chance to make a first impression, and most people make a snap judgement about you in the first 3-9 seconds.
55% of our communication is visual, 38% is the tone of voice. "Actions speak louder than words." People hear but they don't always listen. Learning to listen means turning down the chatter in our minds.
Presenting isn't just showing or telling, it's a back and forth communication with your audience. In order to effectively engage in an idea exchange, there must be a "meeting of the minds" A key element of any presentation is getting the audience's attention with the Grabber. It hooks the viewer and lets them know why they should pay attention.
Everyone has their own personal style for perceiving the world and making decisions. How do you appeal to the variety of personality types that comprise an audience? A factor that may affect your style is fear. One tip for controlling your fear is to realize that you're always presenting. You're always practicing and improving your presentation skills. Voice and intonation is part of a skill skill set we're working on all the time.
Your body language, including all of your gestures, are a visual aid. YOU are the visual. Everything about you conveys and image. (Visuals are 55% of the message). Simplicity is the art of sophistication, so Keep It Simple Sweetheart. A confused mind always says no.
The Q&A is your opportunity because it's the time when people are really listening. Your audience pays attention during the Q&A because they're asking what they're interested in and they know it's the end of your presentation. Public speaking is a process of continual practice and improvement. Always debrief after every presentation because your audience will tell you what you need to learn about how to connect.
