Tag: Communication

PowerPoint Presentations – a wishlist for 2009

I was recently asked by a fellow public speaking blogger, Olivia Mitchell from Speaking about Presenting what I would like to see in PowerPoint presentations this year. The answer to me is quite simple – LESS.

  • Less Slides
  • Less Text
  • Less Complexity

Less Slides

The trend in 2008 has largely been to replace lines and lines of bullet points with pictures illustrating the points. This is great because pictures have a powerful ability to illustrate points that text never will have. Hence the large and vivid pictures commonly used on newspaper front pages.

However, pictures are only part of the solution to giving an effective presentation. I still feel that most presentation need to be simplified and to have fewer slides. Remember that if a slide does not add to your message, it probably detracts from it.

Less Complexity

If you push the capabilities of PowerPoint (esp version 2007), you can create some amazing effects and transitions. Here is a great example. However, the more effects and transitions you add to your presentations, the more complex they become, and greater the chance of you messing it up. So, unless you really know what you are doing, or you have some great designers and PowerPoint experts working with you, you might want to cut back on the complexity.

I have also seen very few transitions, effects and animations that add to a presentation.

Less Text

We still need to see less text. Far to many presentations are text heavy. Laura Bergells makes a great point about going picture crazy and replaceing every single line of text with graphics. We do need to find a balance, but I would still rather see a presentation with too many graphics than with too much text.

So, lets cut back on the slides,simplifiy the slides that we keep, and use less text. Here’s to some great PowerPoint presentations in 2009!

43 Dos and 35 Don’ts of Public Speaing

In some ways, public speaking has changed dramatically over the last 100 years, but in others it as barely changed at all. 

Read about 78 lessons in public speaking from 1916 that are still as relevant today as there were in 1916.

These lists are from the book Talks on Talking by Grenville Kleiser. It was originally published in 1916, and it is amazing how almost 100 years later, the principles hold.

DON’TS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS

  1. Don’t rant.
  2. Don’t prate.
  3. Don’t fidget.
  4. Don’t flatter.
  5. Don’t declaim.
  6. Don’t be glib.
  7. Don’t hesitate.
  8. Don’t be nasal.
  9. Don’t apologize.
  10. Don’t dogmatize.
  11. Don’t be slangy.
  12. Don’t antagonize.
  13. Don’t be awkward.
  14. Don’t be violent.
  15. Don’t be personal.
  16. Don’t be “funny.”
  17. Don’t attitudinize.
  18. Don’t be monotonous.
  19. Don’t speak rapidly.
  20. Don’t sway your body.
  21. Don’t be long-winded.
  22. Don’t “hem” and “haw.”
  23. Don’t praise yourself.
  24. Don’t overgesticulate.
  25. Don’t pace the platform.
  26. Don’t clear your throat.
  27. Don’t “point with pride.”
  28. Don’t tell a long story.
  29. Don’t rise on your toes.
  30. Don’t distort your words.
  31. Don’t stand like a statue.
  32. Don’t address the ceiling.
  33. Don’t speak in a high key.
  34. Don’t emphasize everything.
  35. Don’t drink while speaking.
  36. Don’t fatigue your audience.
  37. Don’t exceed your time limit.
  38. Don’t talk for talking’s sake.
  39. Don’t wander from your subject.
  40. Don’t fumble with your clothes.
  41. Don’t speak through closed teeth.
  42. Don’t put your hands on your hips.
  43. Don’t fail to stop when you have ended.

DOS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS

  1. Be prepared.
  2. Begin slowly.
  3. Be modest.
  4. Speak distinctly.
  5. Address all your hearers.
  6. Be uniformly courteous.
  7. Prune your sentences.
  8. Cultivate mental alertness.
  9. Conceal your method.
  10. Be scrupulously clear.
  11. Feel sure of yourself.
  12. Look your audience in the eyes.
  13. Be direct.
  14. Favor your deep tones.
  15. Speak deliberately.
  16. Get to your facts.
  17. Be earnest.
  18. Observe your pauses.
  19. Suit the action to the word.
  20. Be yourself at your best.
  21. Speak fluently.
  22. Use your abdominal muscles.
  23. Make yourself interesting.
  24. Be conversational.
  25. Conciliate your opponent.
  26. Rouse yourself.
  27. Be logical.
  28. Have your wits about you.
  29. Be considerate.
  30. Open your mouth.
  31. Speak authoritatively.
  32. Cultivate sincerity.
  33. Cultivate brevity.
  34. Cultivate tact.
  35. End swiftly.

47 Phrases to avoid when speaking

This list is from the book Talks on Talking by Grenville Kleiser. It was originally published in 1916. While many of the phrases have fallen into disuse, it is amazing how many are still being used today! What do you think we should add to the list?

  1. I rise with diffidence
  2. Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking
  3. By a happy stroke of fate
  4. It becomes my painful duty
  5. In the last analysis
  6. I am encouraged to go on
  7. I point with pride
  8. On the other hand (with gesture)
  9. I hold
  10. The vox populi
  11. Be that as it may
  12. I shall not detain you
  13. As the hour is growing late
  14. Believe me
  15. We view with alarm
  16. As I was about to tell you
  17. The happiest day of my life
  18. It falls to my lot
  19. I can say no more
  20. In the fluff and bloom
  21. I can only hint
  22. I can say nothing
  23. I cannot find words
  24. The fact is
  25. To my mind
  26. I cannot sufficiently do justice
  27. I fear
  28. All I can say is
  29. I shall not inflict a speech on you
  30. Far be it from me
  31. Rise phoenix-like from his ashes
  32. But alas!
  33. What more can I say?
  34. At this late period of the evening
  35. It is hardly necessary to say
  36. I cannot allow the opportunity to pass
  37. For, mark you
  38. I have already taken up too much time
  39. I might talk to you for hours
  40. Looking back upon my childhood
  41. We can imagine the scene
  42. I haven't the time nor ability
  43. Ah, no, dear friends
  44. One more word and I have done
  45. I will now conclude
  46. I really must stop
  47. I have done.

Are you an expert communicator?

Expert_2I have always believed that to get ahead in life, you need to be an effective communicator, regardless of what your field of work is. You need to be able to communicate to:

  • your peers
  • your boss
  • your clients
  • your prospective clients
  • your service-providers
  • your subordinates
  • your partner
  • your children
  • your parents
  • your …

There is an interesting article by Dustin Wax on Lifehack, "How to be an expert", in which he speaks to this.

Dustin says that

"expertise without the ability to communicate is practically pointless",

and you need to 

"learn to use whatever technologies you need to present your expertise in the best possible way",

and

"an expert should be able to explain to you exactly what they?re doing and why".

It all boils down to the ability to communicate. No matter how knowledgeable you are, your knowledge is worthless if you cannot communicate. Here are a few ways to improve your communication:

  • Practise
  • Get coaching
  • Watch and listen to great communicators
  • Join Toastmasters
  • Get to the point
  • Listen to others

Good luck

(image source)

Do you leave effective voicemail messages?

This week I received two voicemails which I were unable to answer. One was because there was too much background noise for me to make out the message, and the other was because I had no idea who had left the message, it sounded like:

“Hi Craig, this is Carwfhsa, and my number is 08dkasldkasd, bye”

This got me to thinking about how voicemail can often be a barrier to effective communication, and not an aid. This is because of the poor quality of messages that we leave.

There are two types of really annoying messages. The first is the long and convoluted message, and the second is the short and garbled message.

So, here is the BCD to leave an effective voicemail, and to get away from those annoying messages.

  1. Be brief. A simple headline as to the purpose of the call is enough. When the call is returned, you can discuss the details. With a long message, I have probably forgotten most of the message by the time you get to the end anyway!
  2. Be clear. Speak slowly and clearly. Telephone quality is not that great, so make it easy. Please don?t leave a message when you are in a noisy place ? understanding the message is just that much more difficult.
  3. Leave your details. Unless you are leaving a message for a personal friend or family member that you are certain has your number, please leave your number. Repeat it if necessary.

For example, this is fine (some people prefer to leave the date & time as well ? also not a bad idea):

?Hi this is Craig, I would like to discuss the proposal you sent me, please call me on 082 xxx xxxx?

Finally, please don’t wait until the beep to start leaving a message until you hang up – blank messages are really annoying.

So remember, be brief, clear & leave your details.

Is lack of communication killing us?

A few days ago a colleague of mine committed suicide. It was completely out of the blue, leaving many people very shaken at what happened. He had a good job, a nice house, a brand new car, and seemed to have so much going for him.

I find it really difficult to understand why somebody who was doing so well for himself decided to end it all. What was happening? Did he have nobody to turn to? Of all his friends, family and associates, was there nobody that he felt he could speak to, to share his problems with?

There must have been things going on in his head that were not showing on the outside. Things that he was bottling inside of him, until he could no longer take the pressure, and exploded in a very tragic manner.

I wonder what would have happened if he had somebody ? just one person ? that he could share his worries with. Would he still be here, or would we still be saying goodbye?

I find it very sad that in this modern world of instant messaging, emails, cell phones and sms we still are failing to communicate with each other. Is it that we are forgetting how to communicate to such an extent that when we really need it, we are unable to do so. Is the modern technology and modern lifestyle making it easier to communicate, or are we forgetting how to communicate to such an extent that when we need to, we simply cannot?

This is one of the reasons that I am so passionate about helping people to communicate ? because we are forgetting how to do so when we most need to be to do so.