Communications
Excerpts taken from the book "Make Yourself Memorable" written by Stephanie G. Sherman with V. Clayton Sherman will be ITALICIZED.
Communication
Communication is the most important thing for having a successful project, job interview, and relationship. If there is no communication, the lines that hold your organization together will fall apart. I hear over and over again that communication is one of the top priorities for organizations when they decide what they need help with the most. If everyone has their own agenda and they don't share it with the rest of the group, then tension will build and arguments could come from that. As most of you know, there are three types of communication. There's Verbal, Non-Verbal, and Written. These three things can make or break an organization, a relationship, a job opportunity.
Although communication is not a unique element in the winning formula to make yourself memorable, it is a significant influencer. The content of a communication reflects on the substance of your image, and the manner in which the communication is delivered reflects on the style you represent. For both elements, the dramatic importance of effective communication cannot be overstated. Consequently, one must focus on the qualities and characteristics of every communication effort.
An old Oriental proverb says, "The first ten words you say when meeting someone are more important than the next 10,000. If the first ten fail, 10,000 will not then avail." Whether you say the words by using your vocal chords, or say the words with ink on paper, the principle is the same. Your image and success depend on your ability to concisely and effectively deliver a message. There is no room for error, because words once spoken, or written, cannot be retrieved. In the following paragraphs the principles for effective individual communications are presented. These principles are universally adaptable to all forms of communication, verbal, written, and otherwise.
Principles for Effective Group Communications
Here are some great tools for speaking to a group, whether it be at the membership meeting, board meeting, training session, town hall meeting or anything like that. Use this list to your advantage, expecially if you're nervous about speaking.
- Know your audience - their likes, dislikes, problem areas, and areas of pride.
- Avoid offensive comments and stay clear of highly sensitive subjects. Sex, religion, and politics are on the '"do not discuss" list of topics. You would do well to ferret out other sensitive areas and be prepared either to avoid them or to address them in the light of their sensitiveness. In any case, be aware of them.
- Know your material. Refer as little as possible to note cards. Are all your facts verifiable? Be prepared to provide sources of information if you are asked.
Arrive in advance. One hour advance time is adequate to review the placement and working order of audiovisual equipment, microphone, props, and handouts, as well as to become familiar with the surroundings in which you will be presenting.
- Meet the audience in advance. Casually walk among audience members or greet them at the door. As you become familiar with some of the members, the nervousness you may be experiencing will dissolve.
Arrange seating and supportive equipment. Every seat should have a clear view of the speaker and visual aids. "Not a bad seat in the house" is the goal.
- Provide the host with an interesting introduction of yourself. Make it entertaining as well as informative, and definitely brief.
- Fill the emptiness. Use music in the room as a way of welcoming guests, as an interlude during breaks, and to signal the conclusion of the meeting. Choose music that fits the theme and mood of your topic.
- Check the basics of your personal appearance. Zippers up?
- Check your state of mind. Think of yourself as a winner!
- Review your goals.
- Fill you mind with energy. Ready, set, go!
- Clear your voice. Keep a glass of lemon water on hand at the podium or near the stage with which to clear your throat and voice.
Have you thought of each of these things before you handled your speaking engagement? These things can help you with your presentation and appearance and make your speech better!
Create a Memorable Presentation
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "To be simple is to be great."
How many of you remember the presentations you have seen this year?
How many of you remember the LAST presentation you saw and can give a brief synopsis of it?
How can you make you presentations memorable so when YOUR AUDIENCE is asked these questions, they can answer them fully?
A common set of simple elements consistently appears in the truly memorable, influential presentations.
Include as many of the following influential elements as possible into your personal presentation, no matter how large or small the audience, and assuredly you will be viewed a WINNER.
- Make passion work for you. The most effective presenters clearly believe their message and want to share it. They express a sense of passion for the topic, a passions that the audience can feel.
- Use empowering and influential words. Some of the most powerful words are
- valuable
- purposeful
- successful
- unique
- profitable
- timely
- championship
- world-class
- creative
- intriguing
- winning
- strategies
- solutions
- excellent
- advantage
- new / improved
- best of its kind
- action-packed
- cost-contained
- efficient
- convenient
What other words mean something to the people you are trying to influence? Use the language they know and understand. Work as many of those words into your presentation as possible to ensure that your message is positively received.
Here are some more interesting ways to keep your message upbeat and exciting.
Make your message sensational (meaning use the five senses; sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.)
Use drama. Drama creates an excitement.
Exaggerate for effect.
Most importantly, involve your audience!!!!!!!! You'll get more interest and a good reaction from people when they participate in your presentation. Don't you hate it when you have a speaker that just goes over the same blah material in the same blah way? Don't you want to take a nap? Well, if you get your audience involved, they won't be thinking these same things.
Speak positively. Talk about qualities or aspects of people and any incidents relating to them in a positive light.
Acknowledge all points of view. There is no need to discuss alternative points of view, but acknowledging their existence makes you appear knowledgeable, forthright, and well-rounded. Be honest. Present the facts without distortion. Prefer the simple to the complex. Use easily understood analogies to make a point. Relate your presentation to audience experiences. Translate key points into real life incidents and stories that bring the message closer to the audience's personal experiences. Add humor. Demonstrate a sense of joy in your message. Compliment the audience. Refer to their intelligence, vision, values, insight, or other applicable attributes. The compliments should be sincere, not artificial.
Thank the audience. A gracious "thank you" to the audience for its time and attention, leaving people with words of encouragement, direction, and enthusiasm, establishes your control over the meeting and signals the conclusion of the presentation. Provide take-away gifts. A small gift or token that the audience members take with them as they depart from the presentation is a perfect way to conclude the meeting, yet keep the experience alive in the audience's mind for some time to come.
Adding Quality to Your Presentation
The following characteristics and techniques are consistently found among top-rated executives and presenters as they interact with audiences of various sizes. The more of them you can include in your presentation the more memorable it will be.
- Use props. Whatever you are going to talk about, have something to show that goes with your talk. In written communication, include samples of some kind for your reader to see, feel, or touch. If a sample is unavailable, include a photo or other type of illustration.
- Be animated. Move about the stage or mingle with the audience. We are an animated people who are quickly bored with stillness. In written communication, various formatting changes and typefaces help to give the document more interest.
- Gesture. Use you hands, arms, facial expressions, and body gestures to emphasize certain points and to assist in communicating your message. In written communication, use the words to describe gestures or motions.
- Control your voice tone and quality. Nervousness tends to raise voice pitch, or add quiver to voice quality. This can be controlled by slowing your breathing and rate of speech. Then your voice pitch will return to normal.
- Articulate and enunciate. Speak slowly. Effective speech is more deliberately and slowly delivered than the things we say in ordinary conversation. Articulate each syllable to clearly communicate the message. Write succinctly.
- Employ changes in voice volume. Diversify voice volume to include the full range of normal, loud, and soft volumes in order to emphasize points or draw attention to something. In a written communication, use adjectives to describe the intensity of what your voice volume would be if you were verbally communicating in the same message.
- Pause for punch. Use dramatic pauses to hold audience attention, and strategically set a concept apart from the balance of the message.
- Look at your audience. Slowly rotate your head from side to side around the room in an effort to scan the entire audience, making all attendees feel included in the message. Make eye contact with several people throughout the room.
- Stick to time frames. Respect your allocated time. Extensions beyond scheduled time frames are annoying, and diminish the total effect of the presentation.
- Finish early if possible. It's a pleasant surprise to the audience, and makes you look more organized than if you run overtime. In written communication, keep the message as concise as possible. Less is often more.
- Appeal to audience emotions. Emotional links are fundamental to creating a memorable experience. The stronger the emotional link to your audience is, the more memorable the event will be. Common emotional links include such things as caring, compassion, safety, personal growth and development, children, peace, the human race, values, and respect.
- Ignore distractions. Common distractions such as late-comers, coughers, gigglers, and other noisy interruptions should not be viewed as personal attacks but rather as common occurrences. Ignore them and proceed as if they did not exist. Attention paid to a distraction breaks the flow of communication and audience attention.
One-on-One Conversation Skills
Things are different when speaking to a group than when speaking one-on-one. Special skills are needed to handle personal conversations. Sometimes listening often gives you the advantage over speaking.
Listen more than you speak. The art of good conversation is to let the other person do most of the talking. Ask questions and note the answers.
Get your audience to draw "natural" conclusions. Through the process of information exchange and the prompting of key questions, it is possible to have your audience draw the conclusions you desire them to come to.
Don't let personal weaknesses or biases show. Everybody loves a winner, and weaknesses, though natural, detract from the winning image you are creating. Avoid the use of self-deprecating comments or language that indirectly or directly puts you in a down position. Never affirm a negative.
Use positive language. Express negative messages in a positive manner. How you say it is as important as what you say.
Make connections that you can refer to. Even if the connections are distant, you can use them to command attention and steer the conversation. Having met someone influential, gone somewhere special, or experienced something connected to the conversation gives you a relaxed command of the situation and establishes a communication link between you and others.
Use positive body language. Lean forward and nod positively to indicate your feelings of compassion, understanding, and encouragement to continue the conversation.
Ask opinions and advice. To be asked for one's opinion or advice is viewed as an honor. Thus, to ask someone for his opinion is to bestow some level of honor upon him.
Use "we" rather than "I". "We" is an inclusive concept that indicates the representation. "We" also avoids the trap of talking about yourself, because it inherently implies the inclusion of others. When talking about a problem or conflict, never use the words you or your, which suggest finger pointing, and will therefore raise defenses in the other person.
Personal conversations are an excellent way to build relationships. They allow people to befriend one another, break down barriers, build relationships, and show versatility. To build a base of relationships, tactically plan to engage in as many personal conversations as possible. Practice conversation and presentation skills in each aspect of your daily routine. Conversation is a learned skill that progresses with practice.
How to kill a message. When you are speaking to a person or group, whether it is professional or personal, there are several things you want to avoid that will kill your message.
- Talking about yourself / Bragging
- Using too much technical jargon
- Talking down to your audience
- Making it hard to hear or see your message
- Making claims that are unbelievable
- Presenting your topic from your point of view only
- Appearing messy, dull, or unorganized
So, what do you think? Can you handle speaking and personal conversations now with more ease? Communications is an area that we all can use a little help and I hope that this presentation gives you a few helpful hints in this area.
If you want more information, all you have to do is email the Training Program Manager.
