New Persuasive Presentations Blog
Thank you for following me on The Grab
My blog has now been incorporated into my website, you can view it here www.persuasivepresentations.com.au
I look forward to seeing you there!
Regards
Sharon Ferrier
Stand Up, Speak Up & Persuade 22nd July 2015
Does the thought of delivering a presentation scare you?
Do you want to learn how to be confident in front of a group, think on your feet and deliver a persuasive and engaging presentation?
Then this course is for you!
I only do a few public workshops per year – my next one is at the end of July – Stand Up Speak Up and Persuade works and the lessons learnt stay with you for life.
“I was fortunate enough to attend the “Stand Up, Speak Up and Persuade” course at Scholle. Have attended many courses during my career, but this one has been a clear stand out, and has really stood the test of time. It has continued to resonate with me, and I continue to use the principles when preparing any presentation I do. I couldn’t recommend this course more highly to organisations and people who want really want to make an impact.” Randall Pearce – strategic Sales and Marketing Professional
Now is your time to shine – and I can help.
For more information or to discuss your in-house training needs, flick me an email:
Stand Up, Speak Up & Persuade – March 26th 2015
Does the thought of delivering a presentation scare you?
Do you want to learn how to be confident in front of a group, think on your feet and deliver a persuasive and engaging presentation?
Then this course is for you!
I only do a few public workshops per year – my next one is at the end of March – Stand Up Speak Up and Persuade works and the lessons learnt stay with you for life.
“I was fortunate enough to attend the “Stand Up, Speak Up and Persuade” course at Scholle. Have attended many courses during my career, but this one has been a clear stand out, and has really stood the test of time. It has continued to resonate with me, and I continue to use the principles when preparing any presentation I do. I couldn’t recommend this course more highly to organisations and people who want really want to make an impact.” Randall Pearce – strategic Sales and Marketing Professional
Now is your time to shine – and I can help.
For more information or to discuss your in-house training needs, flick me an email:
Stand up, Speak up & Persuade – July 29th 2014
So you want to be a confident speaker? You want to be able to think on your feet? You want to be able to put together a persuasive presentation easily and quickly?
Great! I’ll see you at my Stand up, Speak up and Persuade workshop!
- Date: Tuesday July 29th 2014
- Venue: Education Development Centre, Milner St, Hindmarsh SA (Only 5 mins out of the city)
- Still only $550.00!
This workshop is limited to 10 participants only – so I can focus on your needs.
“Sharon is able to transform people into good presenters that thought they might not otherwise be”
Want more information? Email me for a flyer or call me as I’d love to have a chat.
Snipers, Hijackers and Clowns – Managing the tricky personalities when you present
It’s what people fear most during a presentation: Some smart Alec up the back hijacking your presentation, the clown that leads your audience into a giggling fit and the sniper who wants to shoot you down. We have all experienced them at some time. But you can prevent them from occurring.
Here are 3 reasons you may have a disruptive audience and what to do about it.
1. They’re experiencing cognitive overload
Pitching your presentation at the right level is vital. Too much jargon and acronyms quickly increases the cognitive load and can leave your audience feeling overwhelmed. Too simplistic and they get bored and before you know it, the clowns take centre stage to relieve the monotony.
The solution:
- Do your homework. Speak to as many people as you can to gauge their understanding of your topic
- If in doubt, eliminate jargon – as it can alienate people
- Use stories, metaphors and analogies to explain your topic
- Watch the body language of your audience and check constantly for understanding
2. They’ve been sitting too long
Have a look at the people in your audience. What is their normal job? If it’s not sitting for eight hours a day you better get them moving!
The solution
- Get ’em up. Especially after lunch
- Get them to demonstrate what it is you are discussing
- Have exercises where they can practice the skill rather than talk about it
- Move them around the room to interact with other people. An easy way to do this is with coloured stickers on name tags or workbooks
3. They need to talk and contribute
Adult learners bring a lifetime of experience to the table and they all have Google in their pockets. They need to be able to tie in their experience to your message. Talking enables them to develop the link and cement the learning.
The solution
- Small group interaction. (Don’t ask ‘any questions?’ to a large group as you you will hear the sound of silence)
- Give them challenging topics to discuss
- Ask them how they would apply this to their workplace
- Ask them what they think – Yes? No? and if not why not?
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Good luck with handling your snipers, hijackers and clowns and if you have a particular challenge you have, let me know below and I’ll share some recommendations.
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Question: What do all these movie quotes have in common?
• “Hasta la vista, Baby.”
• “I’m king of the world!”
• “May the force be with you”
• “You can’t handle the truth!”
• “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
• “I want to be alone.”
• “After all, tomorrow is another day!”
Answer: They engage you, generate an emotion and are highly memorable.
Now, think back to the last workshop you attended or the last speaker you heard. Can you remember the title of their presentation or workshop? Hmmmm? Probably not.
Your presentation title is an opportunity to create a ‘pow’ first impression. It’s a chance to win then over and get them excited about you and your topic.
Here are three ways to ‘get them at hello’ for your next presentation.
1. Think like a journalist
One of the things that Jeremy Clarkson does really well is have a catchy title for his columns. Past titles have included:
• ‘I’ve spayed my wasps with glue, not what?’
• ‘I’m going to cure dumb Britain’
• ‘Concussion is what holidays are all about’
• ‘Please carry on filming, I’m only burning to death’
• ‘Burial? Cremation? Boil-in-the-bag?’
Like him or hate him, these titles make you want to read. Just like you need a grab for your talk, think like a journalist and create a hook in your title.
2. Use what, why, how and when
Two of my most popular workshops are ‘How to escape PowerPoint purgatory’ and ‘Staple it to their heads – how to make your training stick’.
When I ask people why they chose to attend, they often reply, “It sounded practical and fun.” You may well have a serious topic – but put a unique spin on it and make it your own.
3. Please don’t bore me!
Are you going to be happy attending a talk entitled ‘Interpretive Guidelines to the model WHS Act – section 27’? Or like me, would you rather stab your left eyeball out with a blunt pencil?
Think of your presentation title like the cover of a book. If you wouldn’t buy it at the airport when about to depart on a 10 hour flight, then don’t use it as a title for your presentation.
NEW Presentations skills Workshop 25th September 2013
Stand up, Speak up & Persuade Workshop
Last one for 2013 – Registrations open now!
Facts tell, stories sell
Do you like being TOLD what to do? I don’t. If people start saying to me “you should: you need to: you must:” I tend to shut down. But if they share a story from their experience and engage me in the moment, I’m more inclined to act on what they say.
People always say to me, “But how do I include a story – my topic is so boring?”
Here are five ways to weave stories into your presentations.
1. Link a personal story to your message
Last year I heard Dr Fiona Wood speak on leadership. She told us that at the height of the Bali bombing emergency when her department was struggling to care for the victims, she came home to discover her four children tucking into a chicken casserole that she had not made.
The conversation that took place went something like this:
Fiona “Umm, Hi kids – what are you eating?”
Kids: “Oh, this is a casserole that Sue’s mum made – It’s FABULOUS! We’ve asked her to make us another and she’s dropped in a choccy cake too!”
Fiona was horrified. She told us how she rang up Sue’s mum and said that she really didn’t need to feed her children. Sue’s reply was priceless.
She said, “Fiona, I can’t treat people with severe burns, I can’t make artificial skin, but I can cook a damn good chicken casserole. You contribute in your way and I’ll contribute in mine.”
It was through that event that Fiona realised that great leaders don’t try to do it all. Great leadership means letting people contribute and work at what they’re good at.
2. Take us with you
The story was highly engaging and humourous. Fiona shared an insight into her life – which allowed us to feel empathy for her, and she related an experience to the message.
Because we could relate her story and imagine us in a similar situation, iit made it memorable.
Here are some other examples from my clients.
3. Think of a metaphor
A client from a law firm I was working with told me how hard it was to bring her topic to life. Outside of work she was a master cupcake maker, so I asked her to explain the parallels between cupcake making and conveyancing.
She then went on to explain how conveyancing was like a cupcake – you need a good foundation and expert preparation before you put on the icing, how experience and attention to detail pays off and produces the best results.
She finished off the presentation by hanging out cupcakes (incorporating reciprocation – one of Cialdini’s 6 pillars of persuasion) to really make her message stick.
4. Bring the facts to life
A trainer challenged me with making a story out of GST, so I grabbed the nearest thing to me which was a glass and I said “I want you to tell me the lifecycle of this glass. Was GST charged when the silica was mined? What about when the glass was produced and sold to the wholesale and then retail outlet? What happened when it was sold to the customer? And then after when they sold the glass at a garage sale?”
By relating the theory to a product people can visualise the GST journey and better understand its application.
5. Get your audience involved
Include personal stories or cases that have caught the public’s attention and then generate the emotional connection by asking a couple of these questions:
• How would you feel if this happened to you?
• How would you feel if you caused this to happen to someone else?
• How would you feel if this happened to your Sister, Mother, Son or Father?
• How would you feel if it was your company on the front page of The Australian newspaper?
The power of the story creates an emotional connection that make you care, it makes it memorable and it moves you to action.
Rules of Engagement
The first step in selling is to get people’s attention – you can’t sell anything until you get people to look and listen to you. As trainers, we are not selling products or services, but we are selling ideas. Hence the rules of engagement apply.
Rule 1 – First impressions count
Put yourself in your participant’s shoes. This maybe the first time they have attended a workshop in a while. They are going to a strange venue, to be taught by someone they have never met and to sit and interact with people they don’t know. Emotions, anxiety and nerves are flying high. Make it easy for them to connect. Send a welcoming video, make a pre workshop phone call and then welcome them into the room as you would welcome them into your home.
Rule 2 – It’s all about rapport
One word that is overlooked by many trainers is ‘trust’. Trust can be earned by building a rapport bridge. Rapport = positive interaction + frequency. Try and create as many positive experiences with your participants as you can.
Rule 3 -Make it about them
It has been said that in today’s world we process more information in a day than our ancestors did in a year. This leaves us feeling like our brain is a bomb ready to detonate and that just one more bit of information will do it!
Be ruthless with your information. Tailor it to suit their learning style, get rid of the boring slides, reduce cognitive load and relate everything to their world.
Rule 4 – Facts tell stories sell
There is no such thing as a boring topic – only boring delivery. We have all experienced great teachers who have made their subject sing. It’s our job to convince the audience that what we are talking about matters. Good story telling is about the emotional connection. If you need an example have a look at Tyler DeWitt’s talk on http://www.ted.com
Rule 5 – And a little persuasion doesn’t hurt
In his book ‘Influence, the psychology of persuasion’ Robert Cialdini outlines the six pillars of influence.
They are:
So… increase engagement, increase uptake and increase outcomes.
THE GRAB - How to grab their attention and make your message stick! 