I just gained a new client because her current service provider takes too long to get back to her.
Not because my product is better, or because I am more skilled. It was simply because I am a better communicator than her previous supplier.
I have been using Microsoft Office 2010 for a few months now. When I closed Word the other day, the following dialogue appeared on the screen. Basically Word had made a list of words that I commonly use that are not in the Word dictionary, and gave me the option of uploading them to their spell check database.
I am sure that they are using the community-gathered information to add new words to the dictionary to make for an ultimately better product.
This is a simple and elegant way to make a better product, and to have happier customers.
You often hear me speaking about the value of impromptu speaking, and why learning to speak off the cuff is as important as learning to speak prepared.
Here is a great resource; an entire website dedicated to the art of “table topics”, or speaking impromptu.What I like about the site is that he gives you a lot of templates, or outlines you can use for practising unprepared topics.
Here is an example:
Split Personality
Number of participants: Two
The majority of the information we convey doesn’t come from what we say, but from how we say it. Bodily gestures are a large part of this. The goal of this template is to separate these different aspects of communication between two people. One participant does the talking, the other does the gesturing.
There are two ways to use this template. Either one participant talks, and the other creates the corresponding gestures, or one uses gestures, and the other talks about what the gestures are indicating.
Doing this effectively requires a reasonable amount of cooperation from the participants. It can weaken the delivery if both participants end up gesturing (once you do it, it can be a difficult thing to put down temporarily!). This should possibly be made clear to the participants.
It’s interesting to see the different ways people can take this, sometimes you may have one participant controlling the flow of the entire topic, while others will work together to figure out how the talk or story will evolve.
The purpose of this template is to give people the chance to carefully consider what their gestures are saying to an audience.
Thanks to Andrew William’s for creating the resource.
Last week, I ordered a couple of cases of wine from Getwine.co.za. When the wine arrived, Getwine alse gave me a free 100g slab of Lindt chocolate. They didn’t tell me about it when I ordered, they didn’t tell me in the delivery note, the driver didn’t mention it.
It was just tucked quietly away inside one of the boxes. That is also not the first time they have done this.
I am often asked for my views on keeping the stories in a speech completely accurate as to what happened, as opposed to embellishing the story to make a great speech. My response is that while you need to be true to your stories, you must also be true to your message. Make sure that your audience remembers your message.
But it can be a fine line between embellishing a story to make it a great story, and telling an outright lie.
Darren la Croux has written a great blog post on this subject, explaining that your stories should at least be “Based on a True Story”. He says,
Have you ever noticed that Hollywood blockbusters always start off, “based on a true story?” They never start, “this is exactly how it happened.” If they told it exactly how it happened, we’d be bored!
Are you perfectly accurate when you tell your stories? The truth is important, yes. I’m not saying to lie or make things up. I just want your stories to be so memorable that people walk away clearly understanding your message.
If you are unsure how to approach this issue in your speeches, read his post; he gives a very clear an concise answer.
Gary Bailey
Some tips I picked up from Gary (ex goal keeper for Manchester United) at our Toastmasters conference. Enjoy!
Manchester United:
The principles of a good soccer team apply to business as well…
Ali Bacher and ,me
Dr Ali Bacher spoke at our Toastmasters conference in May. Here are a few lessons from him.
A guest post by Louise Baker
Many people are afraid of speaking in public or have trouble doing so effectively. With today’s technology, the job of a public speaker is becoming easier. Here are 5 iPhone apps that you can use the next time you are giving a presentation.
“Presenter Pro” is available for $1.99 is designed to improve your public speaking abilities. It covers body language, the content of your presentation, the audiovisuals that you use, and many quick tips. By making use of ability of the iPhone to seamlessly blend text, pictures, and sounds, this application is ideal for a public speaker who is looking to improve his or her skills.
If the thought of public speaking makes you start sweating, try the “Public Speaking Hypnosis” application ($0.99). This application claims to use hypnosis techniques to reduce anxiety before your big presentation. It uses beats and soothing music to allow you to attain a state of relaxation.
“Speech Timer Premium” ($4.99) offers large, color coded timers for your speech. A light on your phone will indicate green, yellow, red, or flashing to alert you when you reach pre-set times. See at a glance whether you are on track or use the vibrate feature and keep your phone in your pocket. If you give a variety of presentations, you can save the timing information for each of your presentations. This application also comes in a “lite” version for $0.99 if you don’t need all the features of the full application.
4. iSpeechCards
“iSpeechCards” ($1.99) is a full featured cue card application that allows you to plan out your presentation on a series of notecards which you can flip or tap to turn allowing you to refer to your notes as you speak. You can also set a duration for each card to display and then “turn” automatically. The notecards can also be easily rearranged or edited.
5. iUmmm
“iUmmm” ($0.99) is a unique application which allows you to record your presentation and take note of your verbal tics or bad habits. You can set whatever habits you want to track and use an easy click to record each time it occurs. If you have a tendency to allow “um” or “like” to interrupt your speech or a nervous habit of clicking your pen, this application can make you more aware of the habit and track your progress in ridding yourself of it.
Public speaking is your opportunity to present yourself with confidence and professionalism. With the help of some new applications, you can be more in control of how you present yourself so that your next public speaking engagement will make a positive impression on your audience.
Louise Baker is a freelance blogger who usually writes about online degrees for Zen College Life. Her most recent article ranked the best online schools.
Everyone Communicates, few Connect by John Maxwell
Published by Thomas Nelson
***look below for a free copy – contest closed
Many of us have intentions to read more self-development books, but by the end of the work-day we are simply too tired, so we end up in front of the TV or reading a light novel.
This book is one of those that you can pick up at the end of the day. It is filled with stories and anecdotes drawn from his own experience and from others; all of which illustrate the points that he is trying to make. The story telling style makes it easy reading; yet still a book of substance. This is typical of what I have come to expect from his other books. At 250 pages it is not a long read, but you can always go back to it again and again.
The main premise of the book is that while we spend a huge amount of time communicating, we are not necessarily making the right effective connections that are crucial to effective communication and leadership.
The book is divided into two main sections; principles and practices. It is self explanatory, but he gives a few simple principles on making better and effective connections, and then shows how to implement them.
The book is aimed at anybody wishing to make better connections; and could be applied in both your personal or business life. He gives simple tips at the end of chapter, divided into three main areas, namely one-on one, a group or an audience.
For the public speakers out there; some great tips (and affirmation of some things you already know), for those of you in corporate business, some tips on working with colleagues, in teams at or in a group environment, such as at meetings. And one-on one communication is important to us all.
An unusual feature of the book is that John Maxwell posted the manuscript of the book on his blog www.johnmaxwellonleadership.com, and he received over 100,000 view over eleven weeks, resulting in over 70 quotes, stories and anecdotes from readers which resulted in over 100 revisions. Every contributor is acknowledged in the book.
I am a fan of John Maxwell, so it is difficult to be unbiased, but as a communicator and public speaker, this is a great book, and it is going to help you to become even better.
It is available from Amazon in hardback for $17.15.
The folks at Thomas Nelson have kindly provided 5 free copies to readers. Leave you name in the comment section below, and I will randomly draw 5 names on 28 July who will each receive a copy.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the (signed) review copy.
Here is a brief extract from an interesting list of 10 things to never say to your customer. It is from”the amazing service guy”. How many of these have been said to you?
“We’d like to help, but it’s our company policy…”
“You’ll have to talk to the corporate office about that.”
“No one else has complained about…”
How many of them have you said yourself?
