Get Rid of Your Notes!
One of the first tips that we give to participants who go through our Fearless Presentations® program is to Get Rid of Your Notes and you’ll be shocked at how much more confidently that you will present. Most people believe that having notes in front of you will help you speak more confidently or help you remember all of the fantastic details that your audience really wants to hear. Both of these conclusions are false. In fact, making notes either on paper or in your PowerPoint slideshow is one of the fastest ways to make you more nervous!
Here's what happens. When you design a presentation that has too much data, all of those points can get confusing and difficult to deliver. You are also likely to sound boring and have a difficult time connecting with the audience. When all of those things happen at one time, nervousness will shoot through the roof.
So, what can you do about it? First, change the way that you design your presentations. Most people sit down with paper or PowerPoint and begin to catalogue everything that they know about the subject. Next, we alter the slides or notes by cutting out all the stuff that doesn't fit the particular time frame. The less time that we have to speak, the more of the material that we cut. What happens when we use this technique is that we end up with a Swiss cheese presentation that is difficult to remember and more difficult to deliver.
Now when you speak, you only have to remember a few key points. Everything else in your presentation is just evidence of your previous statements. If you forget a little of your evidence, no big deal, because you will have still been able to prove the point. Also, no one really knew exactly what you were going to say anyway. However, if you are delivering a long list of data points and you forget something, everyone will know.
Follow these key steps in designing your presentation and free yourself from the notes!
Step #1: Start with just a few key points to cover. Figure out what the absolute most important points that you need to cover are, and limit your presentation to just those key concepts. For most presentations, three, four, or five points is about as many as you want to cover in one sitting.
Step #2: Add stories, examples, analogies, and other proof of your key points instead of just adding more data. These types of evidence are more interesting and easier to remember when you deliver your presentation. (They will also make you feel more comfortable when you speak.)
Step #3: Practice a couple of times without notes with a friend or coworker. Once you can present to a friend without notes, your confidence will grow, and it will be easier to present in front of your real audience as well.
Design your presentations a little differently, and you'll be able to reduce your nervousness and not have to refer to notes!
Doug Staneart, doug@leaderinstitute.com, is CEO of The Leaders institute® (www.leadersinstitute.com). His Fearless Presentations® class focuses on overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Limit Your Presentation to a Few Key Points to Reduce Stage Fright
One of the big challenges that we have to overcome as speakers is that we tend to think that if we don't get the audience to understand EVERYTHING that we know about the subject that we are speaking on, then we have failed as a speaker. That is an impossible standard to live up to, but it is what most of us have in mind when we are designing our presentations.
For most people, we begin to design our presentations by thinking about everything that we know about the subject, and then trying to catalogue that information either on paper or into a PowerPoint slideshow. Once we get everything written down, the next step is to try to figure out how to get ALL of that information into the timeframe that we have for the speech.
This type of preparation makes it very difficult for your audience to come away with a concise understanding of what you covered, and makes it extremely difficult to deliver. (By the way, it makes you BOOOOORING too.)
One of the things that we know about the human mind is that we like to compartmentalize things, and the brain likes to focus on just a few key pieces of information at a time. So instead of trying to pack your presentation with a ton of data, focus on just a few key items at a time.
The brain can comprehend one item pretty easily. Two items are not so tough to remember. Three items give a balance between variety and precision. Four or five items in one sitting are okay, but make it more difficult to retain the information. Once the information that you are covering exceeds five key points, it will be extremely difficult for your audience to remember the items that you covered. Since that is the case, limit your talking points to just a few key concepts, and then back up those key points with data, stories, analogies, etc. to add some meat to your presentation.
If you have a lot of information that you HAVE to present to your audience and it is critical that the audience remembers the information, then it’s a good idea to give them the information in bite-sized pieces. A good way to do this is to take breaks from time to time to limit the data that is being delivered in one sitting. For instance, if you have ten things to cover in a morning meeting, cover three points and take a ten-minute break. Then come back and cover three or four more points, and take a ten-minute break before coming back and finishing the talk. When you design your presentations this way, you’ll get your audience to retain much more of the material that you deliver.
If you are limited on time, and you have to deliver a bunch of data, then you have to manage your expectations. Your audience is much less likely to remember the information, so you might want to prepare a handout with a summary of the data. Regardless, realize that no matter how good of a presenter that you are, if you data dump on your audience, they will be fairly distant from you and likely to be bored.
In public speaking, less is more!
Doug Staneart, doug@leaderinstitute.com, is CEO of The Leaders institute® (www.leadersinstitute.com). His Fearless Presentations® class focuses on overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.
For most people, we begin to design our presentations by thinking about everything that we know about the subject, and then trying to catalogue that information either on paper or into a PowerPoint slideshow. Once we get everything written down, the next step is to try to figure out how to get ALL of that information into the timeframe that we have for the speech.
This type of preparation makes it very difficult for your audience to come away with a concise understanding of what you covered, and makes it extremely difficult to deliver. (By the way, it makes you BOOOOORING too.)
One of the things that we know about the human mind is that we like to compartmentalize things, and the brain likes to focus on just a few key pieces of information at a time. So instead of trying to pack your presentation with a ton of data, focus on just a few key items at a time.
The brain can comprehend one item pretty easily. Two items are not so tough to remember. Three items give a balance between variety and precision. Four or five items in one sitting are okay, but make it more difficult to retain the information. Once the information that you are covering exceeds five key points, it will be extremely difficult for your audience to remember the items that you covered. Since that is the case, limit your talking points to just a few key concepts, and then back up those key points with data, stories, analogies, etc. to add some meat to your presentation.
If you have a lot of information that you HAVE to present to your audience and it is critical that the audience remembers the information, then it’s a good idea to give them the information in bite-sized pieces. A good way to do this is to take breaks from time to time to limit the data that is being delivered in one sitting. For instance, if you have ten things to cover in a morning meeting, cover three points and take a ten-minute break. Then come back and cover three or four more points, and take a ten-minute break before coming back and finishing the talk. When you design your presentations this way, you’ll get your audience to retain much more of the material that you deliver.
If you are limited on time, and you have to deliver a bunch of data, then you have to manage your expectations. Your audience is much less likely to remember the information, so you might want to prepare a handout with a summary of the data. Regardless, realize that no matter how good of a presenter that you are, if you data dump on your audience, they will be fairly distant from you and likely to be bored.
In public speaking, less is more!
Doug Staneart, doug@leaderinstitute.com, is CEO of The Leaders institute® (www.leadersinstitute.com). His Fearless Presentations® class focuses on overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
High Impact Leaders: 28 Days to Influence People
Day #1: Avoid Criticizing and Complaining
Step one of being a more influential person is to avoid doing things that turn people off and shut down cooperation. Most people believe that criticizing people lets the person realize the mistake so that corrective action can be made. However, when we criticize people, even constructively, they tend to resent the advice and are less likely to do what you suggest.
My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Lofton, used to say, "Misery loves company." I didn't really understand her wisdom until I was a manager. A manger who complains or nitpicks employees might gain temporary compliance, but in the long run, morale will drop. Employees will complain about you behind your back. Why not? That is what you taught them to do.
Doug Staneart has been a speaker and trainer for over twelve years specializing in public speaking, sales training, and team building. Doug is CEO of The Leader's Institute and author of the books 28 Ways to Influence People and Fearless Presentations. His current book, Give me an "O," a Standing "O." will be released later this year.
He has accumulated over 1,700 hours of classroom coaching and training. His experience with these other programs makes him a well rounded instructor. Over 85% of Doug's class participants say that his training exceeded their expectations.
Doug's clients rave about his enthusiasm and his ability to "sneak up" on his audience and teach them while they're having fun.
My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Lofton, used to say, "Misery loves company." I didn't really understand her wisdom until I was a manager. A manger who complains or nitpicks employees might gain temporary compliance, but in the long run, morale will drop. Employees will complain about you behind your back. Why not? That is what you taught them to do.
Doug Staneart has been a speaker and trainer for over twelve years specializing in public speaking, sales training, and team building. Doug is CEO of The Leader's Institute and author of the books 28 Ways to Influence People and Fearless Presentations. His current book, Give me an "O," a Standing "O." will be released later this year.
He has accumulated over 1,700 hours of classroom coaching and training. His experience with these other programs makes him a well rounded instructor. Over 85% of Doug's class participants say that his training exceeded their expectations.
Doug's clients rave about his enthusiasm and his ability to "sneak up" on his audience and teach them while they're having fun.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Become a Strong Leader - Throw Out The Creative Filters, and Get Buy In!
A great new idea is like striking gold for any leader and team. It can be collected, examined, enriched and sold. But the process of finding the gold can be difficult even for the best of leaders and managers.
Creative Filters that thwart creativity - “I will not offer my idea until I am sure it’s what my boss is really looking for.” “The last time I offered an idea my colleagues ridiculed me.” “My ideas are too off the wall for my manager.” “My ideas never get accepted, so I will not try.”
What risk is there in sharing ideas? Many, you say, theft, betrayal, ridicule, doubt? Oh yes, and let’s not forget jealousy and ego. As Albert Einstein said,
Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds!
Remove the Filters
We have learned to layer ourselves with filters that we believe protect our professional life. With training and coaching, a leader will be able to help his team feel safe during the creative process, strip off the filters, get the best ideas, and return the creative process to the most basic.
Give a child a shovel on the beach and he will create a dream castle. Give an adult a shovel and he will most likely store it in the garage. Millions of ideas have been stuffed into garages, attics, drawers, or abandoned in corners.
Tap Into Creativity and Gain Buy In
Access both sides of the brain - unlock your team’s fears of being a little “wild.” Give them a green light to express their ideas. A strong leader will encourage every idea, while focusing on core principles like:
• There are no wrong answers - Encourage your team to put a lid on the left side that is always telling you, “Be careful, do not take professional risks, don’t share your ideas or someone will take them.”
Encourage every idea no matter how wild it might seem- At the age of fourteen Filo T. Farnsworth saw the idea for electronic television in the parallel lines of his father's potato field in Idaho. He battled with David Sarnoff of RCA until the bitter end. Sarnoff became rich and Farnsworth won only the title of “The father of television.” But while watching Neil Armstrong step on the moon, he said, “it was all worthwhile.”
• Rub one idea against another - Jim Henson created Kermit while home with the flu. He was inspired by his mother’s old green coat. He got the scissors, added a tennis ball, and Kermit was born! Having shared Kermit, his concept of a whole troop of lovable creatures got team love and development. Henson helped his crew rub one idea on the other to come up with the best ideas and characters.
• Defer judgment – keep comments positive. As the team leader you wield power over individuals. Your opinion influences advancement and stature. You have implicitly promised to keep ideas and people safe in the brainstorming session.
Gaining Buy In
Lead through discussion
• Focus on quality – which idea has monetary value, can be implemented and will advance the project.
• Analyze all possibilities - Grow and play with each idea. A better football, NERF balls, play dough, slime, all came from playing with an idea. The more they kicked it around and played with it the bigger the idea grew. Love the process – Stephen Spielberg said,” I dream for a living.”
• Lead your group to the best solution – “No, that does not mean – tell them what the best solution is.” Work through the ideas with the group until you come up with a common consensus that incorporates bits from many ideas that evolved during the creative session.
Every new idea is a great one. Learning how to become an effective leader, who knows how to manage his people and get the best ideas from his team, will help you advance your professional course.
Bill Gates - We are not even close to finishing the basic dream of what the PC can be.
Taking a risk on your team’s ideas, giving the ideas flesh and voices, may be a bit daunting. But ideas will never be brought together and grown if they remain silent. We can help you learn how to be a highly effective leader, who can turn ideas into gold.
Connie Timpson, is an instructor and personal coach for The Leader's Institute®, Management and Supervisor Training. Her classes focus on overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. She can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.
Creative Filters that thwart creativity - “I will not offer my idea until I am sure it’s what my boss is really looking for.” “The last time I offered an idea my colleagues ridiculed me.” “My ideas are too off the wall for my manager.” “My ideas never get accepted, so I will not try.”
What risk is there in sharing ideas? Many, you say, theft, betrayal, ridicule, doubt? Oh yes, and let’s not forget jealousy and ego. As Albert Einstein said,
Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds!
Remove the Filters
We have learned to layer ourselves with filters that we believe protect our professional life. With training and coaching, a leader will be able to help his team feel safe during the creative process, strip off the filters, get the best ideas, and return the creative process to the most basic.
Give a child a shovel on the beach and he will create a dream castle. Give an adult a shovel and he will most likely store it in the garage. Millions of ideas have been stuffed into garages, attics, drawers, or abandoned in corners.
Tap Into Creativity and Gain Buy In
Access both sides of the brain - unlock your team’s fears of being a little “wild.” Give them a green light to express their ideas. A strong leader will encourage every idea, while focusing on core principles like:
• There are no wrong answers - Encourage your team to put a lid on the left side that is always telling you, “Be careful, do not take professional risks, don’t share your ideas or someone will take them.”
Encourage every idea no matter how wild it might seem- At the age of fourteen Filo T. Farnsworth saw the idea for electronic television in the parallel lines of his father's potato field in Idaho. He battled with David Sarnoff of RCA until the bitter end. Sarnoff became rich and Farnsworth won only the title of “The father of television.” But while watching Neil Armstrong step on the moon, he said, “it was all worthwhile.”
• Rub one idea against another - Jim Henson created Kermit while home with the flu. He was inspired by his mother’s old green coat. He got the scissors, added a tennis ball, and Kermit was born! Having shared Kermit, his concept of a whole troop of lovable creatures got team love and development. Henson helped his crew rub one idea on the other to come up with the best ideas and characters.
• Defer judgment – keep comments positive. As the team leader you wield power over individuals. Your opinion influences advancement and stature. You have implicitly promised to keep ideas and people safe in the brainstorming session.
Gaining Buy In
Lead through discussion
• Focus on quality – which idea has monetary value, can be implemented and will advance the project.
• Analyze all possibilities - Grow and play with each idea. A better football, NERF balls, play dough, slime, all came from playing with an idea. The more they kicked it around and played with it the bigger the idea grew. Love the process – Stephen Spielberg said,” I dream for a living.”
• Lead your group to the best solution – “No, that does not mean – tell them what the best solution is.” Work through the ideas with the group until you come up with a common consensus that incorporates bits from many ideas that evolved during the creative session.
Every new idea is a great one. Learning how to become an effective leader, who knows how to manage his people and get the best ideas from his team, will help you advance your professional course.
The only bad idea is the one that stays in your heart and head.
An effective leader can convert those creative nuggets into gold.
An effective leader can convert those creative nuggets into gold.
Bill Gates - We are not even close to finishing the basic dream of what the PC can be.
Taking a risk on your team’s ideas, giving the ideas flesh and voices, may be a bit daunting. But ideas will never be brought together and grown if they remain silent. We can help you learn how to be a highly effective leader, who can turn ideas into gold.
Connie Timpson, is an instructor and personal coach for The Leader's Institute®, Management and Supervisor Training. Her classes focus on overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. She can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Analyze the Personality of your Audience
Ask anyone… It just makes sense that each time you prepare to deliver a presentation, you need to pay attention to who will be in your audience. But, how often have you really considered what impact the individual personalities of members or your audience will have on the outcome of your speech?
Psychologists tell us that our individual personalities are revealed in the characteristic patterns of our thinking, feeling and acting; that our personalities shape how we develop, perceive, learn, remember, think and feel. You display your own characteristics (personality) as you deliver your presentations. And, the members of your audience will display their personality (in terms of their individual wants and needs from your speech), though perhaps less notably, while you speak. Identifying and addressing the specific needs of your audience is one of the keys to success as a public speaker.
There have been a number of psychological testing methods developed to assess personality traits; our characteristic patterns of behavior and conscious motives. One popular approach to describing and classifying personalities, frequently used in business and career counseling, was developed by Isabel Briggs-Meyers and her mother Kathleen Briggs. They developed the “Myers-Briggs Type Indicator” which is a 126 question survey designed to identify preferences in management style and decision making. To get an accurate perspective of decision making preferences, in addition to completing your own survey, similar surveys are confidentially submitted by your superiors, peers and subordinates and are analyzed collectively and comparatively. Participants choose between characteristic responses such as: “Do you usually value sentiment more than logic, or do you value logic more than sentiment?” The process then calls for counting your preferences and labeling them as “feeling” or “thinking” types. Feeling types tend to be sensitive to values and are sympathetic, appreciative, and tactful. Thinking types tend to prefer an objective standard of truth and rely on analysis of available information before making a decision. The result of the analysis is to determine your preferences (personality) as primarily tending to be revealed as one of four personality types: Expressive, Driver, Analytical or Amiable.
Another method of factor analysis, developed by Hans Eysenck and Sybil Eysenck involves comparative rating of your preferences of extraversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability. In this method participants are rated (personally and by others) according to where they rank on a horizontal scale between being introverted on the left and extraverted on the right. The participant is then also rated on a vertical scale between unstable at the top and stable at the bottom. The results are shown in a two dimensional chart that provides insights into the participant’s behavioral characteristics:
• Introverted/Unstable – moody, reserved, anxious, sober, quiet, pessimistic
• Extroverted/Unstable – touchy, restless, aggressive, excitable, changeable, impulsive, active
• Introverted/Stable – passive, careful, thoughtful, peaceful, controlled, reliable, calm
• Extroverted/Stable – sociable, outgoing, talkative, responsive, easygoing, lively, carefree
In 1986, McCrae & Costa, in American Psychologist, 41, p.1002, offered what they believe tells a more rounded story about someone’s personality. They identified a set of factors called the “Big Five”. Their premise was that by asking five questions about someone you can reveal a lot about that person. These questions focus on emotional stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. The results plot a person’s preferences such as: calm vs. anxious; secure vs. insecure; self-satisfied vs. self pittying; sociable vs. retiring; fun-loving vs. sober; affectionate vs. reserved; imaginative vs. practical; preference for variety vs. for routine; independent vs. conforming; soft-hearted vs. ruthless; trusting vs. suspicious; helpful vs. cooperative; organized vs. disorganized; careful vs. careless; and disciplined vs. impulsive.
All of these assessment techniques and the focus on traits are simply intended to profile a person’s behavior patterns, not to reveal extensive personality dynamics. These techniques can provide quick assessments of a single trait such as (referring back to Myers-Briggs) the tendencies of
• “Expressive” to be bold, visionary, confident, energetic, enthusiastic, and just plain fun! Many marketing and sales people exhibit these behaviors.
• The analysis, even at a cursory level, shows how “Drivers” tend to be direct, bold, goal oriented, decisive, strong-willed, and confident.
• An “Analytical” will display traits of being steady, dependable, high integrity, detail oriented, orderly and potentially a bit of a perfectionist.
• And, of course, the “Amiable” will also tend towards being steady, dependable, consistent, empathetic, high integrity, and trusting,
Expressive people help gain cooperation – they are the cheerleaders in an organization. Drivers” focus on achieving the bottom line and provide leadership. Analytical people are very effective at resolving ambiguity and conflicts. Amiable people are great at building trust.
As we point out in our public speaking classes, we have found that a person’s dominant personality type (we use the Myers-Briggs categories) usually determines what strengths and weaknesses a speaker has during presentations and which of the four sets of leadership principles we share with them will be most helpful and more natural for that person. When you determine which temperament you feel is your most dominant, and you couple that with an assessment of the probable temperaments of members of your intended audience, you are much better prepared to deliver your speech in a manner that they will find to be relevant and interesting. You will be answering a very important question that every person in your audience is ALWAYS asking themselves: “What’s in this for me and why should I pay attention?”
Some closing thoughts: For a characteristic to be a genuine personality trait it must persist over time and across situations. People don’t always act with predictable consistency. Your average creativity in helping others to think “outside the box”, your usual focus on building trust and rapport, or your typical focus on the “bottom-line”, over many situations is predictable. It’s the same for your audience. At any given moment, the immediate situation (internal and external factors) can be powerful influences of a person’s behavior, especially when the situation makes clear demands. It’s easier to predict what a person driving a car will do at a traffic light based on the color of traffic lights than from knowing their personality. But, individual differences in some traits, e.g., amiable vs. analytical, can usually be fairly quickly perceived. I repeatedly state to my “Fearless Presentations” students that “It is not about me and what I think I need to say; it’s about the members of my audience and what they need to hear!”
Al Pillarelli, LLC, is an instructor and personal coach for The Leader's Institute®, Management and Supervisor Training. His classes focus on overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.
Psychologists tell us that our individual personalities are revealed in the characteristic patterns of our thinking, feeling and acting; that our personalities shape how we develop, perceive, learn, remember, think and feel. You display your own characteristics (personality) as you deliver your presentations. And, the members of your audience will display their personality (in terms of their individual wants and needs from your speech), though perhaps less notably, while you speak. Identifying and addressing the specific needs of your audience is one of the keys to success as a public speaker.
There have been a number of psychological testing methods developed to assess personality traits; our characteristic patterns of behavior and conscious motives. One popular approach to describing and classifying personalities, frequently used in business and career counseling, was developed by Isabel Briggs-Meyers and her mother Kathleen Briggs. They developed the “Myers-Briggs Type Indicator” which is a 126 question survey designed to identify preferences in management style and decision making. To get an accurate perspective of decision making preferences, in addition to completing your own survey, similar surveys are confidentially submitted by your superiors, peers and subordinates and are analyzed collectively and comparatively. Participants choose between characteristic responses such as: “Do you usually value sentiment more than logic, or do you value logic more than sentiment?” The process then calls for counting your preferences and labeling them as “feeling” or “thinking” types. Feeling types tend to be sensitive to values and are sympathetic, appreciative, and tactful. Thinking types tend to prefer an objective standard of truth and rely on analysis of available information before making a decision. The result of the analysis is to determine your preferences (personality) as primarily tending to be revealed as one of four personality types: Expressive, Driver, Analytical or Amiable.
Another method of factor analysis, developed by Hans Eysenck and Sybil Eysenck involves comparative rating of your preferences of extraversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability. In this method participants are rated (personally and by others) according to where they rank on a horizontal scale between being introverted on the left and extraverted on the right. The participant is then also rated on a vertical scale between unstable at the top and stable at the bottom. The results are shown in a two dimensional chart that provides insights into the participant’s behavioral characteristics:
• Introverted/Unstable – moody, reserved, anxious, sober, quiet, pessimistic
• Extroverted/Unstable – touchy, restless, aggressive, excitable, changeable, impulsive, active
• Introverted/Stable – passive, careful, thoughtful, peaceful, controlled, reliable, calm
• Extroverted/Stable – sociable, outgoing, talkative, responsive, easygoing, lively, carefree
In 1986, McCrae & Costa, in American Psychologist, 41, p.1002, offered what they believe tells a more rounded story about someone’s personality. They identified a set of factors called the “Big Five”. Their premise was that by asking five questions about someone you can reveal a lot about that person. These questions focus on emotional stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. The results plot a person’s preferences such as: calm vs. anxious; secure vs. insecure; self-satisfied vs. self pittying; sociable vs. retiring; fun-loving vs. sober; affectionate vs. reserved; imaginative vs. practical; preference for variety vs. for routine; independent vs. conforming; soft-hearted vs. ruthless; trusting vs. suspicious; helpful vs. cooperative; organized vs. disorganized; careful vs. careless; and disciplined vs. impulsive.
All of these assessment techniques and the focus on traits are simply intended to profile a person’s behavior patterns, not to reveal extensive personality dynamics. These techniques can provide quick assessments of a single trait such as (referring back to Myers-Briggs) the tendencies of
• “Expressive” to be bold, visionary, confident, energetic, enthusiastic, and just plain fun! Many marketing and sales people exhibit these behaviors.
• The analysis, even at a cursory level, shows how “Drivers” tend to be direct, bold, goal oriented, decisive, strong-willed, and confident.
• An “Analytical” will display traits of being steady, dependable, high integrity, detail oriented, orderly and potentially a bit of a perfectionist.
• And, of course, the “Amiable” will also tend towards being steady, dependable, consistent, empathetic, high integrity, and trusting,
Expressive people help gain cooperation – they are the cheerleaders in an organization. Drivers” focus on achieving the bottom line and provide leadership. Analytical people are very effective at resolving ambiguity and conflicts. Amiable people are great at building trust.
As we point out in our public speaking classes, we have found that a person’s dominant personality type (we use the Myers-Briggs categories) usually determines what strengths and weaknesses a speaker has during presentations and which of the four sets of leadership principles we share with them will be most helpful and more natural for that person. When you determine which temperament you feel is your most dominant, and you couple that with an assessment of the probable temperaments of members of your intended audience, you are much better prepared to deliver your speech in a manner that they will find to be relevant and interesting. You will be answering a very important question that every person in your audience is ALWAYS asking themselves: “What’s in this for me and why should I pay attention?”
Some closing thoughts: For a characteristic to be a genuine personality trait it must persist over time and across situations. People don’t always act with predictable consistency. Your average creativity in helping others to think “outside the box”, your usual focus on building trust and rapport, or your typical focus on the “bottom-line”, over many situations is predictable. It’s the same for your audience. At any given moment, the immediate situation (internal and external factors) can be powerful influences of a person’s behavior, especially when the situation makes clear demands. It’s easier to predict what a person driving a car will do at a traffic light based on the color of traffic lights than from knowing their personality. But, individual differences in some traits, e.g., amiable vs. analytical, can usually be fairly quickly perceived. I repeatedly state to my “Fearless Presentations” students that “It is not about me and what I think I need to say; it’s about the members of my audience and what they need to hear!”
Al Pillarelli, LLC, is an instructor and personal coach for The Leader's Institute®, Management and Supervisor Training. His classes focus on overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Kickstart Your Confidence
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines confidence as:
Confidence is a mesmerizing quality. When we have it we don’t think about it. When we don’t have it we want it, and when we observe it we admire it. (To a point, anyway.)
True confidence is displayed in a way that begets trust in those that observe it. But some confidence (false) shows up as overplayed, overstated and down right arrogant. Most people have little trouble distinguishing between the two. But often times we wish we had confidence, genuine confidence so we could move forward and be les intimidated by those around us. The sad fact is that we begin to compensate, or even worse, we are taught to compensate by acting confident, instead of learning to be confident.
Here are some simple steps to increase your confidence in yourself, in a genuine way that will help you deal with issues in your life when confidence is at stake.
1. State Your Purpose. More easily said- what do you value? Find out what is really important to you. Make a list of what you want others to think about you. This isn’t an exercise to find out what you think impresses others, but rather to discover what is really important to you that you want others to understand and see in you. Simply make a list of the character qualities you want others to notice in you. In other words, when people talk about you behind your back, what do you want them to be saying?
2. Talk to Yourself. Train yourself to think concerning those values you have listed. Find motivational resources that will help you develop those qualities. Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t- have a positive attitude about what you are becoming. Make your progress a matter of choice, not default. Take charge of your input. That is to say, make sure the things in your environment enhance you and don’t reduce you. Commit yourself to learning and growing. Don’t take it for granted but be intentional on what you are becoming. Be in control of your expectations and raise them.
3. Be Nice. This may sound a little strange, but being good to those around you helps you feel better about yourself. When you hold the door open for someone, offer to carry heavy packages, help someone pick up things they have dropped, let a car go in front of you, give someone your place in line, drop extra change into a help bucket, make a donation to a charity… all these things make you feel better about yourself and increase your confidence. Be generously generous. Try this and see how it makes you feel. The next time you go through a restaurant drive through, buy the person behind you their meal. Next time you’re in line at your favorite coffee place, by someone else their coffee as well. When you go through an automatic car wash, pay for the next person in line. When you go through a toll way pay for the person behind you. If you have a “buy one get one free” coupon, find someone to receive the free one. Be nice and practice generosity- it will make you fell better about yourself and increase your confidence. One big thing to remember, expect nothing in return.
4. Don’t Just Do It, Do It Justice. Remember your mom saying, “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” It’s true. Don’t just do it, which is merely getting it done because it is a responsibility, or you feel you ought to. But do it justice. Always make sure your work is marked with quality. Don’t do the best you can, increase you capabilities, work a little harder and do better than expected. Don’t go the extra mile, go two. Remember, to make an impression you have to exceed expectations. When this becomes your attitude, people will notice and your confidence in yourself and others confidence in you will increase.
5. Stay In Motion. I believe Sir Isaac Newton said something about an object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest. Keep moving forward. When you find that you confidence has increased, don’t stop- keep moving forward. It has far-reaching effects. If you get to the point where you think you have achieved confidence, then it won’t take long that resting in that your confidence will become an act, superficial and arrogant to those around you. If you keep growing, your confidence will be in yourself, not what others think. And, paradoxically, your confidence will be in helping others and making a difference to your community and those you come in contact with.
If you are a leader, or aspire to be one; maybe confidence is what is holding you back. Try these steps and see yourself grow, enjoy the journey and keep it up. Maybe you’re confident in some things, but have a lack in other areas. Try these things and you will become confident about yourself and not things. Even if public speaking (a regular on the top five things that people are afraid of) displays your confidencelessness, these things can help, because it builds you and affects every area of your life. That’s right, make these things a part of your everyday life and it will even help you public speaking.
For confidence to be authentic and appreciated it must come from within. It comes from a genuine, honest and authentic integrity.
Craig Wagganer is an instructor and personal coach for The Leader's Institute®, Management and Supervisor Training. His classes focus on overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.
1 a: a feeling or consciousness of one's powers or of reliance on one's circumstancesb: faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way 2: the quality or state of being certain: certitude
True confidence is displayed in a way that begets trust in those that observe it. But some confidence (false) shows up as overplayed, overstated and down right arrogant. Most people have little trouble distinguishing between the two. But often times we wish we had confidence, genuine confidence so we could move forward and be les intimidated by those around us. The sad fact is that we begin to compensate, or even worse, we are taught to compensate by acting confident, instead of learning to be confident.
Here are some simple steps to increase your confidence in yourself, in a genuine way that will help you deal with issues in your life when confidence is at stake.
1. State Your Purpose. More easily said- what do you value? Find out what is really important to you. Make a list of what you want others to think about you. This isn’t an exercise to find out what you think impresses others, but rather to discover what is really important to you that you want others to understand and see in you. Simply make a list of the character qualities you want others to notice in you. In other words, when people talk about you behind your back, what do you want them to be saying?
2. Talk to Yourself. Train yourself to think concerning those values you have listed. Find motivational resources that will help you develop those qualities. Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t- have a positive attitude about what you are becoming. Make your progress a matter of choice, not default. Take charge of your input. That is to say, make sure the things in your environment enhance you and don’t reduce you. Commit yourself to learning and growing. Don’t take it for granted but be intentional on what you are becoming. Be in control of your expectations and raise them.
3. Be Nice. This may sound a little strange, but being good to those around you helps you feel better about yourself. When you hold the door open for someone, offer to carry heavy packages, help someone pick up things they have dropped, let a car go in front of you, give someone your place in line, drop extra change into a help bucket, make a donation to a charity… all these things make you feel better about yourself and increase your confidence. Be generously generous. Try this and see how it makes you feel. The next time you go through a restaurant drive through, buy the person behind you their meal. Next time you’re in line at your favorite coffee place, by someone else their coffee as well. When you go through an automatic car wash, pay for the next person in line. When you go through a toll way pay for the person behind you. If you have a “buy one get one free” coupon, find someone to receive the free one. Be nice and practice generosity- it will make you fell better about yourself and increase your confidence. One big thing to remember, expect nothing in return.
4. Don’t Just Do It, Do It Justice. Remember your mom saying, “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” It’s true. Don’t just do it, which is merely getting it done because it is a responsibility, or you feel you ought to. But do it justice. Always make sure your work is marked with quality. Don’t do the best you can, increase you capabilities, work a little harder and do better than expected. Don’t go the extra mile, go two. Remember, to make an impression you have to exceed expectations. When this becomes your attitude, people will notice and your confidence in yourself and others confidence in you will increase.
5. Stay In Motion. I believe Sir Isaac Newton said something about an object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest. Keep moving forward. When you find that you confidence has increased, don’t stop- keep moving forward. It has far-reaching effects. If you get to the point where you think you have achieved confidence, then it won’t take long that resting in that your confidence will become an act, superficial and arrogant to those around you. If you keep growing, your confidence will be in yourself, not what others think. And, paradoxically, your confidence will be in helping others and making a difference to your community and those you come in contact with.
If you are a leader, or aspire to be one; maybe confidence is what is holding you back. Try these steps and see yourself grow, enjoy the journey and keep it up. Maybe you’re confident in some things, but have a lack in other areas. Try these things and you will become confident about yourself and not things. Even if public speaking (a regular on the top five things that people are afraid of) displays your confidencelessness, these things can help, because it builds you and affects every area of your life. That’s right, make these things a part of your everyday life and it will even help you public speaking.
For confidence to be authentic and appreciated it must come from within. It comes from a genuine, honest and authentic integrity.
Craig Wagganer is an instructor and personal coach for The Leader's Institute®, Management and Supervisor Training. His classes focus on overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830.
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