It’s often been said that time is our most precious commodity, so you should always be respectful of that when speaking.

Psychological experimentation has shown that the two different hemispheres of the brain are responsible for different manners of thinking.  The left side deals with the logical, sequential, rational and analytical.  The right side is more subjective and deals with intuition, creativity, aesthetics and feelings.  These are generalizations, but the findings are based in fact.  The left/right brain needs to be addressed when dealing with the 3 B’s.

According to Toastmasters one of the biggest mistakes a speaker can make is “starting with a whimper. Start with a bang! Give the audience a startling statistic, an interesting quote, a news headline – something powerful that will get their attention immediately”

Be Bold
You need to have an opening that grabs the listener’s attention. Whether it’s a joke, story, alarming statistic, current event or a quote that appeals to your audience.  This opening speaks to the right brain of your listener(s).  Keep in mind that we listen, have relationships with and do business with people we like.  Give your audience a chance to like you from the beginning with some sort of bold opening.  You only have one shot to make that all-important first impression.

Be Brief
“Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening!” The ability to be brief in your desired remarks shows that you’re sensitive to the importance of time.  All too often when asked what time it is, speakers will try and tell you how to make a watch, rather that just tell you what time it is. One of my favorite quotes is, “A speech is like a woman’s skirt: it needs to be long enough to cover the subject matter, but short enough to hold the audience’s attention.”

Be Gone
Once you’ve said what you need to say, the 3^rd B is to be gone! We’ve all heard the old adage, leave them wanting more.  Since I focus a lot on the sales aspect of speaking, you definitely want to leave them with some sort of specific action step for them to take.  If they don’t do something, or take some sort of action after you’re done speaking, then you were just a conversationalist.

Hire a speaking coach or  trainer to help you be bold, be brief and be gone.

I go into depth on the 3 B’s and much more in my 2 day presentation skills seminar.

Please visit my website at: www.impactspeakers.com and sign up for my newletter and get my 10 free tips for getting immediate engagement!

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Color change signals a chameleon’s physiological condition and intentions to other chameleons. They show darker colors when angered, or attempting to scare or intimidate others, while lighter or multi-colored patterns indicate they are courting.

Why would this knowledge be important when discussing presentation, communication and sales skills?  Because in order to understand and deal with different types of audiences, it’s important to be a chameleon of sorts.

Here are 5 factors to consider when composing your desired remarks to different audiences.

1) Research and prepare for the geographic area are you speaking in. In the south, a little slower pace, with more eye contact is imperative. In the northeast, they may want you to be higher energy and “jump to the chase’!  They may be more concerned with their time and not want the small talk.

2) What tasks does your audience perform? People in sales tend to be a little more demonstrative and sociable. Those who work with numbers or statistics want more factual information given to them without any bells or whistles.

3) What position do they hold?  What’s their title?  When speaking with a manager or owner, you would be smart to speak about not only what you can do for them, but also for the folks who work for them.

4) What type of relationship do you have with your audience going into it? Your personality and delivery style should reflect your current relationship with the audience, client or prospect. Always pay considerable care to the fact that your professionalism always takes precedence in your ongoing relationship with them. Your closing technique will evolve as you get to know them better.  You’ ll be able to read their buying signals easier and act on them accordingly.

5)  There are always going to be extenuating circumstances which will govern how you speak and react in certain situations.  Be flexible and be able to change your approach or delivery as the situation unfolds.

Preparation, customization and being appropriate for your audience, the industry and region they are in can go a long way in delivering a knock out presentation they will long remember!

These  factors are general observations I have learned through trial and error. I cannot stress enough the  importance of doing the proper due diligence to uncover as much as possible about the listener or audience prior to composing your remarks.  The more you tailor your presentation to the people you’re speaking to rather than the territory you’re speaking in, the better it will be received.

What do you do to prepare for your audience and be a chameleon?

You can get my 10 FREE Tips for Getting Immediate Engagement here!

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In part 1 we talked about The Body, and in part 2 we talked about The Mind.

The final part of the “Power of 3″ is the is the Soul.

This is the part that can’t be taught.

In teaching and focusing on the Body and Mind in our two day seminars, there are several exercise we do to re-enforce the importance of those two areas. When it comes to the Soul, you either have it or you don’t. Everyone has a soul, but when it comes to public speaking that soul has to be sincerely passsionate about what it’s talking about!

The passion, humor, energy and confidence that comes through from a speaker who truly believes in their topic, has probably experienced it and is able to   expresses those emotions, does so because they believe themselves!

If you don’t have the passion to express those feelings, then speaking is probably not the right  job or vocation for you.

The Power of 3 includes the body, the mind and the soul. They are each so important and integral for effective, impactful and memorable communication and public speaking. Practice making them work together to deliver just the right blend of visual, humor, and heart can ensure you will get the attention, engagement and results you desire from your presentations.

During our two day seminars, we explore all of these aspects. Attendees are not only critiqued by me, but the other participants as well in a safe, nurturing and fun environment.

Are you using the Power of  3 in your presentations?

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Here is part 2: The Mind.
When dealing with the Mind there are a few key ideas to focus on.

Taking Action
The most important aspect of any presentation is to make sure you’re asking your audience to take some sort of action when you’re finished speaking.  In sales, people always talk about this magical term called the “close”.  Make sure you’re specific about what you need the audience to do.  The more specific you are, the greater the chance they’ll do what you’re asking them to do.

What’s The Benefit?
Once you know what you want them to do, you should give them a benefit as to why they would do it.  Tell them what’s in it for them.  We all respond to a reward in some way.

How we Remember Things!
The ‘Power of 3′ is further illustrated by how we remember things in 3′s.  Two may seem too trivial. Four might be a little overwhelming and not as easy to remember, but, we do remember things that come in 3′s. Think about the titles of the first children’s stories we heard and the first we read to our kids! 3 Blind Mice, 3 Pigs, 3 Bears, 3 Musketeers.  We watched the 3 Stooges, learned about the 3 Wise Men.

When you make your speaking topics short, succinct and concise and  stay with the rule of three,  your topics, presentations and speaches have the greatest chance of being recalled and remembered.

Let’s not forget the 3 Little Ladybugs, or The 3 Little Butterfly Brothers!

Did we forget any other story titles that demonstarte the power of 3?

Next up The Power of Three part 3-The Soul.

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The “Power Of 3″ refers to the body, the mind and the soul, our three key systems at work in the human being that impact how we communicate. Here is the first in a three part blog series about how the Power of 3 are essential in working together when presenting a message to an audience so that they get the full impact of what you’re speaking about.

The first power is the body. Here are a four things to consider in using your hands, movement, eyes and voice to engage and get attention your audiences attention.

1) We’ve all seen presenters with their hands flying around constantly while he/she is speaking. After a while, the audience focusses on the hands and almost stops listening to what is being said. The hands become “background noise”! We should be using our hands to gesture, visualize, describe and emphasize. After you make your broad gesture, the hands need to be put away on your hips, in a pocket, behind your back, or clasped, so that they rest to give the audience time to grasp what you’re saying, before making the next gesture.

2) Your movement needs to be purposeful. Move for a reason, then anchor yourself there for a while before moving again. Otherwise, the movements come across as dancing, pacing, rocking and may be another distraction for the audience. A good rule of thumb is to begin speaking front and center, then purposely move around the room. When you’re at the end of the speech, come back to front and center to end your remarks.

3) We all trust the person who, “looks us in the eye when they talk to us”. Yet, we’ve all seen the individual who has fleeting or shifty eyes. We even tell our kids to, “look at me when I’m speaking to you”. The listener gets a feeling of being spoken with, rather than at. Being spoken with helps with establishing the rapport with the audience. You, the speaker, get to read their reaction to see if they’re engaged, tired or quizzical. Make sure you try and make eye contact with all in the room. Think of the eye contact as “visits” with each person.

4) “Bueller…..anyone?”. Who can forget the student drooling in the back of the room during this famous movie scene?! The voice needs to be modulated. Modulation just means change. People pay attention to change. If you speak quickly, a good pause or slowing down will get their attention. Try to control and change up your voice from speaking loudly to softer, change your pitch, range, volume and speed, all make a difference in keeping people interested interested and engaged.

Using your body, including your hands, movement, eyes and voice can make you an Impact Speaker, and get you the attention, engagement and results you desire from your audience!

Coming up next, the second power of three: The Mind!

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Everybody has heard throughout their lives that we only have one shot to make a first impression.  Yet, very few of us take advantage of that opportunity. This statement is true for one-on-one meetings, small gatherings and addressing larger groups too!

The vast majority of presentations I see begin with the speaker jumping immediately into their desired remarks.  They put no thought into connecting with their audience first. We all usually do business and build relationships with the people we like yet the speaker makes no effort to be liked!

There are several different types of presentation openings you can utilize and each one  comes with pros and cons. It’s up to the speaker to determine which one can work best for each audience.  Most times it a trial and error process.

Here are 3 specific pros and cons for 3 types of presentation openings.

1. Opening with a Joke
The Pro is people people love to laugh and it lightens the mood. Using humor is an instant connector.

The Con is it might be inappropriate with that particular group. Know your audience. It also may seem like you’re not giving the subject matter the serious attention they think it deserves.

2. Opening with a Quote
The Pro is quotes are sometimes referred to as “borrowed wisdom”.  It shows you did some research to come up with one that’s appropriate for the subject matter. In addition, there are so  many great websites to find quotes.

The Con is to be very careful not to misquote. Make sure you attribute the quote to the proper person. The quote should be from a person you know the audience respects.

3. Opening with A Story
The Pro is people can relate especially to personal stories, as it humanizes you.

The Con is if stories go on too long, then the audience can’t relate and the main point becomes unclear. Make sure your story is short and to the point.

Presentation Openings be it jokes, stories, quotes, current events, statistics, the use of props and even magic tricks are all designed to capture the audience’s attention, give them an idea of what they are there to hear about and most importantly make a bold, lasting first impression.

Here are 3 tips for how to make great openings equal immediate engagement:

1. Be careful that the opening is tied into your presentation and isn’t just gratuitous.

2.  Don’t take too long in your opening. Get to the point of the presentation as soon as possible.

3.  Try and build in some audience interaction, if possible.

What presentation openings work for you to engage your audience?

 Contact me to learn more about my new public 2 day Presentation Seminar Series .

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Experts say that 7 percent of human communication comes from words, while 38 percent is from a person’s tone of voice and 55 percent comes from body language.

More often than not people spend a vast amount of time working on WHAT they need to say when preparing a speech or presentation and virtually no time on HOW to say it.  That means that the audience tends to tune out, not remember what is being said, or has no affinity for the speaker.

These results are completely opposite to the desired effect the speaker hopes to achieve.  Of course I’m not saying that the content isn’t important, it’s just that to be truly remembered and be more persuasive, it’s more important how something is said than what is said. 

Think of the most memorable speakers you’ve heard in your lifetime and I’m sure you’ll agree the one’s that were more memorable had more purposeful movement, hand gestures, voice inflection, eye contact, etc.

Here are 5 tips for delivering the HOW in your presentation or speech!

1. Eye contact should be meaningful.  It should be like little “visits” with each listener.  Try and make eye contact with everyone in the audience if possible.
2. When you move, do it for a reason.  Make sure the movement is purposeful and not constant.  Be careful of pacing, shifting, rocking, etc.  Start off front and center when you begin and make sure you end up in the same spot when you finish.
3. You should change the inflection in your voice when you have something important to say that you want them to pay attention to.  Things to work on are speed, tone, volume, pitch, etc.
4. Gestures should be broad and dramatic when emphasizing a point.  When not make a meaningful gesture your hands should be still.  There are many places to put your hands when you’re not gesturing.  You can put them by your sides, in your pockets, crossed in front of you, on your hips, behind your back, just to suggest a few locations.  I would vary where you rest your hands…..then, make your bold gesture, followed by putting them in a different resting position until the next gesture.
5. Visual Aids are exactly that…….Aids.  Some people make their visuals the focal point of their presentation.  There are several different mediums such as handouts, PowerPoint, flip charts, brochures, etc.  Just use them for reference, so people can process what you have to say.  Don’t let your visuals overpower your message.

Remember that the HOW can Wow when delivering a speech, sometimes More Than The What You Are Talking About!

Visit us to learn more about our 2-Day Speaking Worshops, to help you or your employees WOW their customers!

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