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body language in public speaking, Books, gestures in public speaking, persuasion in public speaking, public speaking, Public speaking

Power Cues: The Subtle Science of Leading Groups, Persuading Others, and Maximizing Your Personal Impact

Nick Morgan

ISBN 978-1422193501
Format Hardcover
Publisher Harvard Business Review Press
Published 2014-05-13

Take control of your communications — before someone else does

What if someone told you that your behavior was controlled by a powerful, invisible force? Most of us would be skeptical of such a claim—but it’s largely true. Our brains are constantly transmitting and receiving signals of which we are unaware. Studies show that these constant inputs drive the great majority of our decisions about what to do next—and we become conscious of the decisions only after we start acting on them. Many may find that disturbing. But the implications for leadership are profound.

In this provocative yet practical book, renowned speaking coach and communication expert Nick Morgan highlights recent research that shows how humans are programmed to respond to the nonverbal cues of others—subtle gestures, sounds, and signals—that elicit emotion. He then provides a clear, useful framework of seven “power cues” that will be essential for any leader in business, the public sector, or almost any context. You’ll learn crucial skills, from measuring nonverbal signs of confidence, to the art and practice of gestures and vocal tones, to figuring out what your gut is really telling you.

This concise and engaging guide will help leaders and aspiring leaders of all stripes to connect powerfully, communicate more effectively, and command influence.

About the Author: Nick Morgan, founder of Public Words Inc., is one of America's top communication and speech coaches. He is a former Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, where he was affiliated with the school's Center for Public Leadership. From 1998 to 2003, he served as editor of the Harvard Management Communication Letter. He is the author of the acclaimed book, Working the Room, reprinted in paperback as Give Your Speech, Change the World.

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audience attention, fear of public speaking, public speaking, public speaking anxiety, public speaking confidence, public speaking nerves

[Quick Public Speaking Tip] Oops, how embarrassing, you're boring your audience

It’s a moment that nervous speakers dread – to realise that most of your audience is bored.

They’re glassy eyed, maybe even falling asleep, chatting or texting.

Horrors!

Worse still and more embarrassing is the presenter who becomes frantic, attempting to regain attention.

It has happened to me twice.

The first was early in my speaking career when I became aware of a lady in the front row, slumped, with her head back and her mouth open, quietly snoring. The second was later, during a presentation, and I watched with increasing concern as one after another, the people in the audience got that glazed look. They were too polite to nod off or chat, but the evidence was there. I had been asked to present on the subject and had failed to research that audience and their needs, which, it turned out, were on a different level altogether.

I well remember the panicky feeling. Fortunately I managed to turn the situations around. As the snores gently increased, we moved quickly into small group discussion so that the people around the sleepy-head moved and woke her up to participate. And in the presentation, as it became increasingly obvious that the material I had prepared was just not appropriate, I was able to drop the script, and work with the audience to find out their needs and present something they needed and got quite excited about. But I will never forget that initial feeling of losing attention.

Avoid the whole situation if you can by researching your audience and make sure you address the What's In It For Me factor.

Avoid the whole situation if you can by embedding signposts so that your audience can follow the road of your presentation with you.

Avoid the whole situation if you can by ensuring you have variety wired into your presentation, and have something up your sleeve that you can move into if necessary.

Introduce a new visual.

Involve the audience.

Ask questions.

Change your stance, body language or walking pattern.

Stop.

Stand still.

Change from a complex approach to the subject and create pure simplicity. Change direction entirely.

Ask for directions to take.

Whatever you use, it will become a smooth, professional piece of your presentation instead of a situation that embarrasses you and your audience.

Books, public speaking

You can … Talk Like TED

I have a huge amount of respect for Carmine Gallo because of the quality of the research he conducts and how he manages to distill that research down into really useful insights into speaking ...

Talk Like TED

by Carmine Gallo

Public speaking　coach and bestselling author of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, Carmine Gallo has broken down hundreds of TED talks and interviewed the most popular TED presenters as well as the top researchers in the fields of psychology, communications, and neuroscience to get their cutting-edge insights and to reveal the　nine secrets of all successful TED presentations. From "Unleash the Master Within" and "Deliver Jaw-Dropping Moments" to "Stick to the 18-minute Rule," Gallo provides a step-by-step method that makes it possible for anyone to create, design, and deliver a TED-style presentation that is engaging, persuasive, and memorable.

http://bit.ly/1g24w65

Books, presentation, public speaking, speech writing, speeches, using notes in public speaking

Focus your ideas for a speech on: The Back of the Napkin

The Back of the Napkin

by Dan Roam

Management consultant and lecturer Roam begins with a watershed moment: asked, at the last minute, to give a talk to top government officials, he sketched a diagram on a napkin. The clarity and power of that image allowed him to communicate directly with his audience. From this starting point, Roam has developed a remarkably comprehensive system of ideas. => http://bit.ly/SDH4D0

audience, public speaking

Public Speaking Tips: The More You Know, The More It Will Flow – Tips For Knowing Your Audience

The more you know about your audience, the better your presentation will go.

Read on ...

public speaking, Public speaking

Speaking to ESL audiences

When speaking to an audience that includes people who speak English as a second language, you may notice that some people keep whispering to the person sitting next to them.

They're probably not being rude or inattentive.

Indeed, the whispering may be a compliment: it is likely that the whisperer is translating for the person next to him or her.

When several people start whispering at once, it's your cue to rephrase whatever you just said.

-- Resli Costabell(Resli@Costabell.com)

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash