| |
The Art Of Speaking
Winning The Mental Game Of Presenting
Bill Cole, MS, MA
How many of your speeches could be considered in the artistic
category? Do your audiences view you as a master speaker?
What would you have to do to boost your speaking to the next
level?
Highly experienced speakers not only know their subject, they
know themselves, their audiences and their craft. They know
how to write, stage and organize winning presentations that
engage the audience at all levels.
To kick your speaking up a notch, take any of these 13 tips
on as a project and watch your investment in yourself as a
speaker grow.
13 Strategies For Making Your Speeches Masterful
1. Go beyond telling your audience about your subject. Be
passionate and become engaged with your subject.
2. Demonstrate your credibility and your right to be on the
platform by recounting your experiences as an expert and how
you solved problems and helped people and organizations.
3. Masterfully customize your material for each audience so
they know absolutely that you are there for them.
4. Refine your voice control and turn your throat into a musical
instrument your audiences love to listen to at length.
5. Speak from your heart and touch the hearts of your audience.
Take risks by being vulnerable, imperfect and your audience
will see you as a real human being, as one of them, not just
as "the speaker".
6. Speak the truth and your audience will respond. Avoid any
inconsistencies or incongruencies between your "real life"
and your "platform life".
7. Tell more stories and give fewer statistics. Reduce the
PowerPoint and get more personal and people will respond eagerly.
8. Connect with your audience, one person at a time. Begin
the personal touch before you take the stage by "being with"
people in the audience, not "talking at" them.
9. Have fun as you speak and so will your audience. To get
in the fun mode, stop focusing on yourself, and instead be
audience-centered.
10. Respect your audiences and they will respect you. Never
insult or disrespect anyone in your audiences. Show your regard
for everyone.
11. Stop writing your speeches and start living them. Find
your best material from your travels, your work, your friends,
your family and the real world around you.
12. Create multi-media presentations to engage people the
way they are used to -- with modern media. Coordinate your
talk points with particular moments in the media show and
you will WOW people.
13. Create and deliver your talk from the A-V-K matrix. This
means your talk should be approximately 25% auditory, with
45% visual and 30% kinesthetic. You want to speak to everyone's
learning styles in the audience.
Now you have a better idea how master speakers make it look
so easy. The hard work is in the preparation and in the crafting
of the message. Enjoy your journey in the speaking world and
you will reap the many benefits of this exciting calling.
To learn more about how presentation coaching can help you
become a better, more confident speaker, visit Bill Cole,
MS, MA, the Mental Game Coach™ at www.mentalgamecoach.com/Services/PresentationCoaching.html.
Copyright © Bill Cole, MS, MA 2005, 2008 All rights reserved.
This article covers only one small part of the mental game.
A complete mental training program includes motivation and
goal-setting, pre-event mental preparation, post-event review
and analysis, mental strengthening, self-regulation training,
breath control training, mental rehearsal, concentration training,
pressure-proofing, communication training, confidence-building,
breaking through mental barriers, slump prevention, mental
toughness training, flow training, relaxation training, psych-out
proofing and media training.
For a comprehensive overview of your mental abilities
you need an assessment instrument that identifies your complete
mental strengths and weaknesses. For a free, easy-to-take
66-item presentation skills assessment tool you can score
right on the spot, visit http://www.presentationskillscoaching.com/presentation_skills_assessment.html.
This assessment gives you a quick snapshot of your strengths
and weaknesses in your mental game. You can use this as a
guide in creating your own mental training program, or as
the basis for a program you undertake with Bill Cole, MS,
MA to improve your mental game. This assessment would be an
excellent first step to help you get the big picture about
your mental game of speaking and giving presentations.
Bill Cole, MS, MA, a leading authority on peak performance, mental toughness
and coaching, is founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching
Association, https://www.mentalgamecoaching.com.
Bill is also founder and CEO of William B. Cole Consultants, a consulting firm that helps
organizations and professionals achieve more success in business, life and sports.
He is a multiple Hall of Fame honoree, an award-winning scholar-athlete, published
book author and articles author, and has coached at the highest levels of major-league
pro sports, big-time college athletics and corporate America. For a free, extensive
article archive, or for questions and comments visit him at www.MentalGameCoach.com.
Article Source: www.PresentationSkillsCoaching.com
Return to The
Mental Game of Speaking and Presentations Articles directory.
|
|
