BE THE CHANGE - Tips for Speakers/Trainers on Championing Change

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The 3 P's of Authentic Speaking

Public Speaking has been a very intimidating pursuit for many. Experienced speakers have established countless forbidding guidelines that make many aspiring speakers cringed and at times, give up. The gurus have dictated their defined "rules" as if they are proven scientific facts: the way a speaker looks, the way a speaker moves, the way a speaker talks, and a million other pointers. These have made it so impossible for some potentially great speakers who may not fall within the common standards. I have seen some speakers with life-changing messages give up because their foreign accents, the way they look, their voices have been criticized so mercilessly that they withdraw from sharing their messages to audiences who may need their words of wisdom. We cannot all be Tony Robbins or Katy Couric. Following tips from experts isn't bad at all, it may even be very helpful. But not if it sabotages the authentic you; take what applies to you and improve your skills within what is possible for you. We have our own unique style, and it might be just what the world needs to hear and see. Let's simplify speaking by letting our authentic self with our authentic message shine through with these simple 3 P's tips.

Passion. You've heard this many times, I know. But really, this is where it all begins. If you do not believe in your message, it will come through and you will immediately lose your credibility with the audience. Speak about what you believe in, speak about your loves, your convictions, your joys, your causes. Faking it just because a topic happens to be "hot", even if you don't believe in what you are speaking about, will not cut it. So, find your true passion and let that be the foundation of your speaking.

Personality. Your personality is a combination of your life and work experiences, your knowledge and education, the way you look, your voice, your humor, your personal stories, your family history, your culture of origin. For many years, I've tried to copy female newscasters - Katy Couric, Sharon Tay, and a few others. Although my speeches were well received, they were just okay. These speakers are a hit with audiences because they are who they are. I was trying to be but a poor copy. I can't really identify the point when I decided to speak as who I am, it has been a few years ago, but I got up and loosened up. I looked at the audience as my close friends and talked to them as if I was at the dinner table, let my hair down and be me. Modestly speaking, I grew exponentially in my speaking. Many times, I was a hit :-)! Though professional, I am a bit mischievous and brought out the friendly bantering that I enjoy sharing with friends. I've never thought of myself as being funny, but when I loosened up, the audiences were laughing with me. I discovered a part of myself that enhanced my speaking.
Discover your strengths and project those in your speaking instead to trying to copy somebody else's style. Do you tell picturesque stories about your country of origin? Are you good with the oratorical style or the more conversational mode? Are you serious or laid-back? Are you great at humor? Use your own strengths. You have many, ask your friends and family to help you identify them. Give those gifts to your audience in your speaking.

Play. We take ourselves (our egos) too seriously. We need to take our work, the preparation that goes with good speaking, and our messages seriously. But when the time comes to deliver, why not try to play with it. Play brings out the fun in us. It allows us to relax about ourselves and keep our focus on the game. Basically, it allows us to park our egos and devote our attention to reaching the game's goals - in this case, having your audience receive your message. When we play team games, we work with the team. In public speaking, your team is your audience. With the spirit of play, you involve your audience, you allow them their space and their moments of glory, too. You may be the captain at this game, but your audience rises from the passive bench warmer to a team player. You look at your audience differently when you realize that you cannot force them to receive your message, but if you allow them to play on the team, they are now also involved in achieving the goal. Needless to say, they will have more fun listening to you and you will have more fun speaking.

Next time you are tempted to mold yourself after someone else, think about these 3 P's of authentic speaking, and be the best YOU that you can be.
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Virtual Training, Webinars, Teleseminars -Something's Missing - Let's FACE it!

Many are asking "What's Missing?", in virtual training, webinars, and teleseminars. When we take our face-to-face presentations to virtual space, somehow we leave a piece of us behind, and our interaction with the audience isn't quite as dynamic as they are in person. Webinars and teleseminars are gaining more and more popularity because of the ease of technology, the elimination of the need to travel, and the flexibility that they offer. However, we need to be ever so conscious about the way we deliver in these new environments to make sure we keep the attendees involved. When we take our face-to-face delivery to virtual space, what's missing? The FACE, of course. We miss the visual feedback that tells the presenter how s/he is being received and perceived by the audience. Therefore, we often miss the clues as to how we adjust our presentation techniques to keep the audience engaged. Whether we facilitate virtual training, virtual meetings, or deliver teleseminars, it's good to remember to keep our FACE.
F - Fun factor
A - Activities
C - Collaboration
E - Energy


F - Fun Factor. We love to see our audience having fun, laughing, and smiling at us in face-to-face presentations. Could it be that because we do not get that reward virtually, we forget to infuse our virtual events with fun? Often times, we miss the stories, the humor, and the friendly banter. Make notes on your script to include these elements and it will really help you come alive virtually.
A - Activities. It is so boring for me to just sit and listen, sometimes watch the computer screen, when I attend these virtual events. In the classroom, we ask the participants to raise their hands, stand up and stretch, take notes, answer questions, and other activities (some of these are very creative and engaging) to reinforce learning, and yes, keep them awake. There are many underused techniques in virtual space that presenters are ignoring. Even the really user-friendly emoticons and chat features are often times left untouched. Sophisticated attendees will often use these on their own. The presenter needs to bring these to the audience attention and remind them that these are available for their use and prompt them to use these features by asking questions. There are many more activities that we can include in virtual events -- breakout sessions, whiteboard, blogging, interactive workbooks, and many others. Activities keep our audience engaged, awake, and interested.
C - Collaboration. Notice how participants in the classroom might whisper something to those sitting next to them? Or maybe scribble a note? Do they come alive when we divide them into small groups so they can talk to each other and exchange ideas? People love to come together and collaborate to learn from each other. What are we doing to include these in our virtual events? Many of the attendees have great information to share. Are we making time and encouraging the collaboration? Even a simple Q&A session can encourage this to happen naturally. Often times because of time constraints, we forego this exchange of ideas. Build it into the time, it is so essential for participants to feel they are really a part of the event.
E - Energy. Many of us (we may not realize it) do not project our voice energy over the air waves like we do in face-to-face presentations. Somehow, it gets toned down. Realize that when our audience just have the audio to go by, we need to really focus on energizing our presence. In face-to-face events, the audience see our gestures, our body language, and our eye contact. Not so over the air. Our audio, specifically, our voices, can make or break the event. How is your voice energy? Record yourself and see if you are coming across as the alive, passionate, and enthusiastic facilitator that you are. Is your smile coming through? Is your passion coming through? Try this - smile, walk around, gesture while you speak through the mouthpiece or the microphone. This will make a great difference on how your voice comes through.
On the other hand, if you come across with too much energy, you may drain your audience as they try to keep up with extremely high energy level. In face-to-face, too much energy can be easily defused by visual elements. Your gestures, body language, other visual props in the room can balance high level auditory input. Over the air waves, the focus is so strong on your voice that a long high-energy delivery can be exciting at first, but draining, if not tempered.
Achieving a balance is essential. Mix it up!

So what's missing when we transition from face-to-face to virtual? Most of these events leave the FACE behind, remember to keep yours. Have Fun, Activities, Collaboration, and Energy, and watch :-) your virtual presentations come alive. Read Full Article!