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Hola!!
I'm a ham. I love getting on a stage in front of an audience and delivering a presentation.
But my very first public speaking appearance would have been DISASTROUS if not for the coaching of a very generous and talented public speaker and colleague (Gary Berman shout-out: thanks Gary!)
And now with all the events and conferences and chambers and networkers I attend, I've been noticing that others share some of the same challenges as I did (and do!) so I put together:"Wow The Crowd - 5 Easy Ways To Transform Your Public Speaking."
Also in this
email, I've included a short
video from "How To Communicate More Powerfully (Without Being A
Bit$%)" by Emilia Anguita, Andromeda Productions, and the slide show, for
those of you who missed it.
Scroll down for the goodies - and perhaps slow down a bit and check out
the events coming up for May and June (MBA In A Day, Headshot Workshop VI, and The
Empowered Woman Success Summit).
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Upcoming Events & Programs
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MBA In A Day
May 28th, 2010, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Midtown Miami
A fast-paced, interactive, 1-day seminar to help you transform your business. You'll develop concrete skills, and learn strategies and tactics to increase performance and enjoyment of your business... and your life.
The best day you'll spend on your business all year, guaranteed!Details and registration information here.
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Mivista Women's-Only
Marketing Mastermind
Tuesday, May 11, 2010,
AnexOffice, 1000 5th Street, Miami Beach
Jo in an intimate group of ambitious and intelligent women to learn about marketing, branding and
business-building techniques, while giving and getting honest, critical
feedback.
MAY TOPIC: Turn all those business cards into business. You will develop a process to manage your network, stay connected & ensure that all those networking efforts aren't wasted.
Download the Mastermind Overview here.
Hosted by:
Virtual office solutions & rentals for
small businesses that dream big!
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The Empowered Woman
Success Summit, Miami
Friday/Saturday, June 11th & 12th, Coconut Grove Women's Club
 The premier woman's business event of
the year.
A FREE 2-day business extravaganza featuring workshops, networking exercises, expo tables, gifts, shopping, VIP packages & more! You can also get involved as an exhibitor or sponsor, for information on pricing & sponsorships, download the event deck. |
Headshot Workshop VI
May 21 & 22, 2010 (or by appointment)
Within
the first 3  seconds of seeing you, people have already made decisions
about you.
And with so much business now conducted online, your online image is as
important your in-person image.
We will help you brand
yourself online with a
professional headshot that captures your unique personality, plus coaching to help you deploy your brand online far and wide.
See before & after images from our latest Headshot Workshop
with Bill Wisser here!
Visit www.HeadshotWorkshop.com
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Le Petit Grand Tour For
WomenSeptember 2010, England, France, Italy, Spain
A 4-star, 2-week tour of
Western Europe with
life-changing self-improvement classes, etiquette training, and lessons
in art, culture, society and history - from
the oft-overlooked female perspective. Originally intended for young women just getting out of high school or college, this trip has been revised for women over 25 because that's who keeps asking about it!
Visit here for more info.
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Speaking Engagements
Putting together a conference? Hire me as a speaker. Need fun, interactive breakout sessions? I facilitate those too. Board retreat? Keynote? Yes. Yes. Contact us to check availability & get pricing.
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Marketing & Sales Consulting
Need to figure out creative ways to SELL MORE STUFF? Just say the word... Contact us for more information on areas of expertise and pricing. |
Individual Coaching
Want some one-on-one help with your Marketing Strategy? Sales Skills? Public Speaking? Packages start at $250/month. Contact us for more information.
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Corporate Training, Business Skills Workshops & Team Building
We offer interactive, fun and engaging corporate training programs, particularly for sales professionals and teams of people in the marketing and sales fields. Off-the-shelf programs start at $770 and prices increase depending on number of attendees, degree of customization and length of program. Contact us to set up a consult and get a quote. |
Team-building, Personality Assessments & In-House Consulting
Creating an in-house personality type program can help you and your team communicate more effectively, sell better, get along, manage conflict, make better hiring decisions, and be happier overall! The Myers-Briggs is the #1 Personality Type Testing Tool in the world for
business applications, and I am qualified to administer and interpret
it. Contact us to set up a consult and get a quote. |
Mivista Newsletter
May 2010
| "Wow The Crowd: 5 Easy Ways To Transform Your Public Speaking Skills"
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As I attend more and more networking
events, chamber events, board meetings and chapter meetings, it's clear not everyone loves to speak in public. In
fact, lots of people dread it, hate it, or are just plain bad at it.
 The urban myth is that people fear public speaking
more than they fear death. While it turns out that isn't quite true,* most of us probably agree that getting in
front of an audience and delivering a message effectively is daunting.
And while you could try to avoid it altogether, the fact is that effective public speaking an essential business skill that provides a competitive advantage to you - whatever your business.
It's not only about being at a podium
in front of a huge audience, either. Every day there are opportunities to use effective presentation
skills to run better meetings, give better chamber "commercials," or to motivate and inspire others.
Fear be damned. Let's go!
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Rule #1. Don't read. Ever.
When people read to me, I nod off... and I'm not the only one.
People want to interact with you, not just listen to you. So instead of reading off slides or notes, give yourself some key bullet points that will jog your memory and put them on note cards, then tell your story.
By the way, note cards are my best friend. I start with the entire presentation on them (sometimes 40 or 50 cards!) and just keep whittling down and whittling down until all the major points are summarized on one or two cards. This ensures I'm not tempted to read them, and helps me learn the material inside and out. I also keep my note cards for future reference, which comes in handy.
 Here's an example of an awful speech ABOUT speeches (oh the irony) in which the speaker reads all his slides.
And this was from Toastmasters!
(Clicking
the image will take you to my wordpress blog where you can view the
video and continue reading this article.
Rule #2. Practice.
This is the most obvious piece of advice. It's also the most ignored piece of advice.
I myself have ignored it because I hate practicing. But you know what? It makes more of a difference than ALL the other tips combined. No joke.
If you really truly can't bring yourself to practice by yourself in front (I can't either), then call or meet with someone - an honest someone - and do at least one quick run-through. I ALWAYS find problems with my presentations when I do this. And I ALWAYS regret when I don't.
And yes that was a plug for my services because I can coach you through your practice runs ;)
Rule #3. A picture is worth 1,000 words.
 Stop using slides full of bullets and text!! I admit, I was guilty of this once upon a time. NO MORE!! It's FAR better to simply illustrate a principle using an image, chart or story.
This guy (right) really gets it, so I'll let him explain it better than I can.
(Clicking the image will take you to my wordpress blog where you can view the video and continue reading this article.
Rule #4. Speak from the heart.
No matter WHAT your topic, you must be passionate about it or at the very least, invested in it.
 Even when we aren't perfect (who of us is?) the authenticity of speaking from the heart will compensate. Here is an example of a very passionate speaker, who perhaps isn't perfect, but is effective at inspiring her audience.
(Clicking
the image will take you to my wordpress blog where you can view the
video and continue reading this article.
Notice how she gets the crowd riled up and the mood crescendos from beginning to end. Very powerful.
Rule #5. Speak up!
(Corollary to Rule #5: Whenever you can, use a mike.)
There's nothing worse than a speaker who you can't hear! Not only will you lose people, but they will likely start talking to people next to them, and then you've REALLY lost them.
So if you're offered a microphone... take it. Embrace it! Microphones are awesome because they allow you to speak in your normal tone of voice, rather than pushing you beyond your comfort zone - this is helpful because it frees you up to focus on content.
I also highly highly highly recommend that if you're giving a big talk, ask for a lavalier mike ("lapel mike") because holding a mike is awkward. Freeing up your hands also allows you to use them for emphasis.
***
That's it for now - though that's nowhere NEAR an exhaustive list of what you can do to improve your skills. Some other ideas:
- Eliminate "verbal filler" like "um" and "ah" and "you know" and "like") altogether. Try pausing instead. Pauses are great for effect.
- Know your audience. I like to use Constant Contact to take polls/surveys of my audience before speaking, this also allows me to prepare by incorporating answers to audience questions into my presentation.
- Interact! Take polls, ask questions, try some role play. Adults learn better when they "discover" rather than are "taught."
- Tell stories - good, short stories that illustrate a point
- If you're projecting a slide show, use a remote slide advancer (they're only $40) and never, ever rely on someone else to advance your slides for you, it's a recipe for disaster.
- Get feedback. Afterward, see if you can get honest feedback, with a feedback form (don't look over people's shoulder while they're filling it out!)
- Test your equipment ahead of time. 'Nuff said.
***
If you really want to step up your game and take your presenting to the next level, give me a call. By popular demand, I'm now offering public
speaking coaching.
Good luck!! And send me YOUR tips - I
want to hear them. You can post them on my blog.
Also, you can share this article by clicking the "share" button below.
That's all!
Michelle Villalobos
(vee - ya - LOW - bos)
(888)
531-3830
michelle@mivistainc.com
* It's an urban myth because fear of public speaking was listed in The Book Of Lists (from the '70s) as the #1 most reported fear, and death came in as the #6 most reported fear. However, that's very different from "Which of the following things do you fear most? Public speaking or death?" Even if you are terrified of public speaking, if someone puts a gun to your head and says "I'll kill you unless you get up on stage and speak in front of 500 people" - what would you do? Exactly.
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"How To Communicate More Powerfully
(Without Being A Bit$%)"
Video Clips & Slideshow
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Video
Slideshow
(note it's downloadable if you go into Slideshare)
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