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. New Public Workshop – August 19th, 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:

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Want to be a leader? Then you’d better speak up!

There are many skills you will need to master if you want to be a leader. You will need to be able to manage change, be a strategic thinker, have high integrity and of course, be an exceptional communicator.

Great leaders listen, empathise and consult, but they also need to be confident and have the ability to inspire and influence people. This is where public speaking comes in. In leadership, it is a deal breaker – if you are not seen and heard you cannot lead.

 

Here are three examples of people speaking up and demonstrating their leadership.

1. Fix the feelings

What would you do if you were piloting the first flight after the Germanwings flight 4U9525 was purposely crashed into the side of a mountain?

This is what pilot Frank Woiton did.

He greeted and hugged each passenger as they boarded the plane. He openly spoke about the incident and said:

“Sure, I will take your from Dusseldorf to Barcelona. You can rely on the fact that I want to sit this evening with my family at the dinner table.”

Another unnamed pilot on a different flight stood at the front of the plane and spoke about how the incident touched him and the whole crew, how queasy they were all feeling but they all volunteered to be here. He spoke about his family and that ‘..he was going to do everything to be with his family again tonight.’

It’s hard when you need to speak when emotions are high. Great leaders don’t ignore how people are feeling,

they speak up.

2. Own it

Great leaders deliver clear, strong messages. They do not mince their words, and they do not shy away from delicate issues.

When Chief of Army General David Morrison addressed the issue of reports of abuse of women in the army he made his stance very clear:

“Female soldiers and officers have proven themselves worthy… they are vital to us maintaining our capability now, and in the future.. If that does not suit you, get out!”

“Show moral courage and take a stand against it..the standard you walk past is the standard you accept”

I also like the medium he chose to deliver the message. Speaking on national television wan’t enough, he posted the speech on YouTube and it now has over 1.6 million views

If you haven’t seen it yet, it only goes for three minutes and it will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. You can view it Here

3. Be true to yourself

Regardless of your political stance you can’t help but admire Julie Bishop. As Australia’s first female Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs she is highly educated, smart as a whip and has a travel schedule that would bring Richard Branson to his knees. And she manages all of this in pearls, heels and a killer suit.

She is not afraid to say what is on her mind and speak up.

“…women can’t have it all. They can have plenty of choices, but at the end of the day, they choose something which means they can’t have something else…”

“I’m a great supporter of free speech, but there are limitations on free speech. There are legal limitations on it, and we’re trying to strike a balance in this country. But if someone is promoting (terrorism)… we want to make that an offence in Australia.”

And if you ask her a stupid question, be prepared for her famous death stare!

                                              ******************

I’ll also sneak in a special commendation to Pat Rafter from Tennis Australia who was verbally assaulted earlier this month by Bernard Tomic’s father for his ‘hard line funding stance.’
He came back and said:

“We’ve talked amongst our team and we have decided we are now not going to support kids whose parents are vocally against everything we’re trying to do.”

and followed it up in The Weekend Australian with:

“Tennis Australia is about opportunity not entitlement.”

Well said Pat!

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:

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Δ

Is It Time To Ban PowerPoint?

Last month in the Australian Financial Review Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer was quoted as saying “I think one of the dangers in large companies is that people start to think that their job is to create PowerPoints, [rather than] to make decisions and improve things for customers…. I am seriously considering turning PowerPoint off completely,”

He is not the first CEO to feel this way. In 1997 Scott McNealy, then president of Sun Microsystems, banned the use of PowerPoint throughout his company.

Should you be doing the same?

Or maybe you just need to get a big stick and empower your team and beat PowerPoint into submission

 1. Look at your company communication culture

Often when I suggest to a client that they need to change the way deliver their PowerPoints they respond with “Oh, we can’t do that. Our manager supplies the templates and slide headings and we MUST do it this way!”

Forcing people to use PowerPoint is forcing them into ‘lecture mode’. People start telling rather than selling and presentations become predictable long winded and boring.

Your company communication culture starts at the top. Are your managers delivering great presentations or are they presenting with PowerPoint circa 1995?

2. Put PowerPoint last

Many people, when asked to deliver a presentation, open their laptops and start cranking out slides. Instead you should be:

1. Setting an objective
2. Tailoring your message to your audience
3. Developing your topic
4. Structure your presentation
5. Making it persuasive
6. Including a call to action

PowerPoint should be the last thing on your list before you start practicing and you may find that your presentation is better off without it!

3. ‘Flip’ your meetings

This idea comes from the flipped classroom model, where instead of teachers delivering lectures, information is sent out before for the students to read and class time is dedicated to discussion which the teacher facilitates.

How this would work for you

Instead of your team delivering a PowerPoint presentation they would instead email an executive summary of their recommendations and then facilitate discussion on the pros, cons and recommended improvements for the idea.

So there is no need to ban PowerPoint – you just need to learn how to use it to your advantage. If all this sounds a little scary, it’s okay, I’m here to help!

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:

Name(required)

Email(required)

Telephone number

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

Stand up, Speak up and Persuade – Exclusively for Women

Women do have special needs when it come to public speaking. Studies show that women are heard less at meetings and tend to self promote less as well.

Everyone is capable of giving a persuasive presentation.  All you need are the stories/facts, skills and confidence.  If you work on the first two, the third, i.e. your confidence, will definitely improve!

Please see information below on my first specialised public speaking course for women which is being hosted in Adelaide by Behind Closed Doors.

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In response to overwhelming feedback we have received from our behind closed doors members on presentation and public speaking workshops conducted by Sharon Ferrier, we are planning a Persuasive Presentations Workshop specifically for business women during May.

If you report to boards, manage teams, pitch for business or venture/angel capital, are in sales and business development roles, conduct meetings and need to make presentations or do public speaking, these workshops are a must for you.

Sharon Ferrier has agreed to conduct a special two session workshop for business women who want to speak up, deliver with confidence and be persuasive.

Date: Wednesday, 15 May and Wednesday, 22 May 2013 (you must attend both sessions)

Time: 9am – 12.30pm each session

The investment is a special BCD price of $495 plus GST 

Contact Kristy Ashton from Behind Closed Doors (BCD) for more information 

 t  08 8333 4303  e kristy@dwbottomline.com

Stand up, Speak up & Persuade – National public workshops

Hobart – August 30^th 2012 

Brisbane – September 4^th 2012

Darwin – September 5^th 2012

Canberra – September 13^th 2012

Sydney- September 12^th 2012

Adelaide – October 11^th 2012

Melbourne – October 12^th 2012

Perth – October 25^th 2012

Please refer to the IBSA website for more information: www.ibsa.org.au

See you there!