[the_ad_placement id=”adsense-in-feed”]
Sunday Mindgames
-P. Shivanand*
Impossible to ‘I am possible’
Do you want this to happen when you speak?
..…Or this?
[the_ad_placement id=”content-placement-after-3rd-paragraph”]
Do You want to speak to One person or to One Thousand people?
Join me, a reformed person who lived with the dreaded Glossophobia for over 3 decades!!
To make impossible…possible – Look at the word itself IMPOSSIBLE and read it is as ‘I am Possible’
Also Read: Glossophobia : Fear Of Public Speaking
Yes it is very much possible and also most desirable too, let us examine how?
- Make up your mind that you can and you will like to overcome Glossophobia
- Prepare, Prepare and Prepare
- Practice, Practice and Practice
Having overcome my personal deficiency, I have not just converted it but made it my principal strength…I am glad to assist you, so pay attention and do try out these time tested techniques regularly used by me with above 500,000 people.
Decide on a topic of your choice for the speech or the presentation. It must be one which is close to your heart and also relevant to your audience. Here is how you can go about it step by step.
Step 1: Prepare- Who?
Answer the following preliminary questions to get started
- Who is my audience (receiver)?
- Their general profile –age, gender, nationality, background, academic level, experienced or otherwise?
- Logistics related items like –size of the audience, venue, time allotted to me, infrastructure facilities, forenoon, afternoon or evening time?
- How much time do I have to collect the basic matter and decide the final coverage and content?
Step 2: Prepare – The 5 Ws
Having already answered the Who – Let us now proceed to work on these now:
What: Purpose/Context
- What is the purpose of my communication? What do I hope to achieve?
- Is it to:
- Inform
- Educate / Instruct
- Persuade / Propagate / Sell
- Entertain
- Inspire / Motivate
- Is it to:
- What is it in it for them (audience)?
-
- Why should they listen to me?
- What, if any, will they get out of my communication
-
Where does my presentation lead them?
Why: Why me?
- Why am I speaking to them?
-
- How am I the right person to speak to them?
- What, if any, is my involvement with this topic?
- What can I do to provide the personal touch so as to make it come alive in their mind?
-
Which: Content/ structure
The ideal way is to follow the ‘bullseye’ or the Target concept as under
-
-
- What all I can cover? – list out the broad content outline
- What should I cover? – this will ensure editing, better focus and prioritizing
- Finally, what is my main message? – What do I leave my audience with?
-
The Bulls Eye or the Target concept of preparation
When: Time of my presentation – Morning, Afternoon, Evening or Night?
- The time schedule will impact the selection of the actual matter
- Morning – one can include relatively ‘heavy’ stuff, data analysis, graphs, charts, facts and figures
- Afternoon – it will have to be less of one way communication like a speech, PowerPoint based talk
- Evening – more interactive, participative, subtle humour, sufficient use of anecdotes, incidents.
- Night – this is the toughest of them all, adopt a storytelling mode with more emphasis on Q & A
Where: The location, venue, infrastructure – facilities available / not available?
- Ensure that you check with the organizers in advance and plan accordingly…do not leave it to chance or luck
-
- Do clearly mention your requirements – collar mike, projector, screen, need for sound system with speakers
- Categorize as essential / desirable / optional
- Keep back-up ready (you can imagine what all presenters have had to carry ☺) remember it is your image which is at stake.
-
Step 3: Prepare – How
If you have done well with Step 1 and 2, you are almost ready!! Almost I said
How, it is all about?
- Delivery
- Style – attitude, enthusiasm, conviction, self-belief and self-esteem
- Language – simple and easy to understand, aim it at the lowest in the group -free from jargons /clichés; must avoid discriminatory words /phrases, sexist remarks or profane examples
- Body-Language – posture, gestures, eye contact appropriate facial expressions
- Voice and tone – assertive yet polite, modulated, non – accentuated, well-articulated with natural pronunciation
- Interactive and participative
- Structure- use the Concepts like:
- The Four Ts – Tell, Tell, Tell, Tell
- The Four Ps – Position, Problem, Possibilities, Proposal
Structure – this visual tells you a story, one visual with apt caption is worth 1000 words
The Four Ts – for all occasions
- Commence by telling the audience what you are going to TELL them? – get their attention; explain what is it for them?
- Now TELL them – human mind moves faster than any flying object so clearly and quickly state what you have to say; corroborate it with facts, figures, verified or verifiable examples / illustration, add a personal touch
- At this juncture, TELL them what you have told them! – revise key points, derived conclusions, key considerations
- Now comes the crux of your efforts – TELL them what you want them to do!!
The Four Ps – best suited for presentations
- Position – state clearly the status of the issue on hand
- Problem – enunciate the present or possible / potential impact
- Possibilities – elucidate the possible solutions / alternatives that can be considered; stipulate the impact of each alternative with comparisons where required
- Proposal – give your explicit recommendation or recommendations with priorities, brief action plan…emphasize the decision that is required and by when?
Cue Card Technique:
These have been my secrets of success as a presenter / facilitator par excellence…If I can do it so can you…make impossible possible…any topic, anywhere and at any time.
*P. Shivanand is a renowned management Guru based in Bengaluru. He is Co-Founder and Director Accord Consultants Private Limited, Bengaluru, India. In these columns he provides professional guidance on self-development topics. Readers can write to him for more consultations. For globalbihari.com readers, his first three consultations would be totally free of cost.
[the_ad_placement id=”sidebar-feed”]
