|
One of the best-selling books of all time is Napoleon Hill's classic, Think and Grow Rich. In fact, much of what you find in today's self-help sections comes from the principles the famous author and speaker wrote almost 100 years ago. Perhaps the most profound is, "the most powerful instrument we have in our hand is the power of our mind."
Speak Like Churchill
On the eve of World War II in 1937, Winston Churchill was in a cab to a dinner party in London where members of his Conservative Party were dining. When they arrived and Churchill didn't get out of the cab, his confused driver said, "We're here, Governor."
"Please wait a moment," Churchill replied. "I'm still going over my 'extemporaneous' remarks."
With this response, one of the most powerful orators of the 20th century highlighted one of the most powerful - and underutilized - tools at our disposal: Thinking. Now I'm not a big fan of it myself, but few actions will help you prepare for a speech, meeting, sales pitch, interview, difficult conversation or budget request more than a bit of cogitating about your purpose and goals.
Child Punishment
The most effective punishment for children, according to many child psychologists, is sitting them in a corner without any toys or distractions and making them think about what they have done. No yelling, no spanking, no threats. Just sitting and thinking. The reason for this, if you think about it, is that thinking can be difficult and often painful. A child would much rather take his lumps up front and move on.
But the result of shutting the door, silencing the phone and focusing your mind can often be very powerful. Last week I watched a woman give a presentation in one of my Presentation Skills workshops, and she stopped several times in her talk to say things like, "The take-away here is..." and "What I want you to understand from this is..." and "What I'm trying to say is..." She took one sentence to summarize otherwise boring slides so that we could easily understand her message.
Simple, but do you do it?
You're probably thinking, "That's not very profound, Robert." But having watched thousands of rambling presentations over the years, I can assure you that a clear, uncluttered presentation with a memorable message is as rare as spotting Steve Jobs in a suit.
When I poll people in my workshops as to how many practice presentations out loud, very few hands go up. That's because thinking through your presentation, then speaking it out loud takes mental energy. It's much easier to cut and paste PowerPoint slides together (most people's idea of making a "presentation"), than to go over them in your head. The result is another rambling, unclear, over-loaded talk.
Thoughtful questions
Next time you have to speak, sell, inform or lead, ask yourself these questions:
- What is your main message?
- How are you organizing your presentation? Do you have 3-4 points that divide your content into memorable chunks?
- What are you trying to accomplish with your talk?
- What would you like people to DO as a result of your talk?
If you can answer these questions clearly, you are on your way to having a successful talk. Then ask yourself one more question:
"So What?"
Everyone in your audience is asking that same question to themselves. They're wondering what your message has to do with them and their interests. Now if you can answer all five of those questions, you can do some real damage.
- Robert Graham
Robert Graham is the Principal of GrahamComm, LLC (www.grahamcomm.net), a consulting and training company that helps clients increase their sales and deliver outstanding presentations. He can be reached at 415-652-0763 or Robert@grahamcomm.net.
Re-Print Conditions
We offer this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint or repost this material as long as Robert Graham’s name and contact information is included. Robert@grahamcomm.net, 415-652-0763, www.grahamcomm.net.
Back to Articles |
