“In public speaking, we must appeal either to the prejudices of others, or to the love of truth and justice. If we think merely of displaying our own ability, we shall ruin every cause we undertake.”
William Hazlitt
Tag Archive for: persuasion
So What? How to communicate what really matters to your audience
Mark Magnacca
The people a business tries to communicate with, sell to, or convince don't really care about the business. Nor do they care what it is offering them—until they understand exactly how it will benefit them. In this book, world-renowned sales consultant Magnacca shows explains how to answer the "So What?" question brilliantly, every time. => http://bit.ly/Zxn7TI
Carmine spoke to an audience of grad students at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. His topic: The New Rules of Persuasive Presentations pulled from his best-selling book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Here's an excerpt.
by David Booth
Don't Just Present. Persuade, Inspire, and Perform!
Powerhouse presentations that engage and move your audience
Own the Room is written by a unique set of authors with the expertise perfect for creating vivid narratives. Own the Room shares how to excite your audience's emotions and intellect. And Own the Room will give you a communication toolkit to make any presentation lively, compelling, and memorable. => http://bit.ly/OIMYh4
I am spending time on other writing projects and restructuring my business, so will not be writing new articles for this blog for a while. Enjoy this and the others to come from other writers! I just love Si Yuan's style in this one ...
10 Habits of Effective Speakers
1. Positive thinking
Hang on... isn't this too much of a cliché? You might have heard umpteen times from people all around you. While it is true that many of us have came around this advice of thinking positive. How many of us actually know how to do it? How many of us believe in this phrase and have seen it in action?
Allow me to demonstrate this point with an exercise you can do in the comfort of your own home. Take a time-keeping devise such as an alarm clock or a stopwatch with a beeping function. (So that it could alert you when the time is up). For the next one minute, think of nothing but a pink elephant. Any pink elephant will do. Think of the size, contours, the intensity of the color "constructed" image in your mind. Do so for the next minute. Do not stop thinking of that pink elephant. Time your with your devise Do so until the beeping sound echoes in your ears. Next I want you to think of anything else except the pink elephant.
That means to say DO NOT think of the pink elephant even for a split second. Do that for another minute. What is the outcome? Can you stop thinking of the elephant? It is IMPOSSIBLE to do so. Why? The reason being our brains are wired in such a way that it is not possible to process negation. When I told you "DO NOT" our brain still thinks it is a "DO" The above example clearly shows that our brains is able to retain what we visualize. Therefore it is important that we do not dwell on negative thoughts. You do not want the images of the pink elephant to stick to your mind.
2. The Act of Repetition
Studies have shown that repetition can increase the rate of retaining of information in our brains. The key here is to lead the audience in repeating the message of the speech like a mantra. An example could be found in the Bible: When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. (I Corinthians 13:11)
The stage on which you are on in the exact place where you can make use of this technique. This applies when you have two complimentary speech messages. You may want to stand one side (say the left when delivering one message and the right when delivering the second message. This ensures the effect of repetition as audience will be able to recall the speech message readily by visual association of the stage positioning of the speaker.
3. Establishing Rapport
Let me touch on what rapport is first. Why? Rapport to many people, seems to take the notion of getting people to like them, whereas in fact, you can be in rapport with someone and they don't like you. All rapport means, according to the dictionary definition, is that it is a relationship harmonized by accord. You can in accord with someone and not like them. The pursuit of liking takes you in the wrong direction, what I am aiming to do here is to make the audience easier to follow us. One thing to note is that in order for rapport to work, the person on the receiving end must have a similar experience in his mind so that we are deemed credible by the other party, THAT increases our powers of persuasion. We must not say anything that will challenge their worldview, thus making establishing rapport easier.
There is a certain pattern in linguistics whereby when a statement is true and the next is true and still the one following it is also true it makes any statement preceding it more probable with each passing statement. By giving them A, B,C and therefore D, it makes the audience easier to follow us. Let me give you one example, what we want to do here is to give our audience a series of truisms, that is some statements that will elicit a series of yes, yes, yes responses wherefore they can validate in their sensory experience or something where the facts cannot be challenged. This is what is known as the "Yes "set in sales, however it is not necessary that we must get a conscious Yes response, but it is necessary that they must be able to validate the statements to be true in their minds. THIS IS where persuasive powers reside.
You can also establish rapport with the audience by asking rhetorical questions. A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked in order to make a point and without the expectation of a reply. The use of this question will enhance rapport. For example in your speech you want to talk about success in public speaking. You can go like this "How many of you grab opportunities to speak EVERYTIME it occurs?" In your mind you might think" hmm it was... " You then follow up with a statement such as this "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is important because it is the only way to succeed in the public speaking arena."
4. Use Pauses with Power.
Pauses allow the audience to digest what you are saying so that they can understand the message of your speech better. However you must use pauses at the correct moment so that your speech will have the maximum amount of impact:
Generally you should pause when
1. You are invited on stage and getting ready to deliver your speech,
2. After each main point
3. and before making a very important point.
I want to stress the third point. This point is also known as the power button technique.
For example " Let me tell you again what I always tell those critics of Singapore... [pause] I will... " The words that come before the pause is the power button. The pause here is very important because it separates the "power button" statement with the rest of the sentence. In this way, the pause allows the successful setup of the power button, because the power button prepares the audience for something impactful or important to come. The pause creates the suspense and the rest of the sentence blows the audience away.
5. Engage the audience with a story.
This is known as the story telling framework. It is made up of 5 questions. Namely,
1)Where are we and when is it?
2)What roles are we playing in the setting.
3)Why are we here?
4)What do we want to see happen (goal) and lastly
5) How do we get from here to there? (process)
The first point is obvious. The second point relates to the protagonist of the setting who is your audience. Put the limelight on them and make them the hero of your story. This is a sure fire way to increase your powers of persuasion.
The next point gives them the reason of why they are listening to you in the first place. As in a sales setting, you would want to create a pain point. In short, it must be a problem that your audience is facing. The way to do this is to address the pain point, so that you will remind them of why they are listening to you in the first place. As in a sales process, there must a solution to a given problem. You have to propose a solution to help the audience get what they want. It could be something as straightforward as:
"Buy how to become Persuasive in public speaking!"
6. Always keep a word, phrase, funny incident, Story Bank
This technique is recommended by me as it is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to prepare your speech. Because good speech materials could not pop up overnight, they have to be accumulated. It will serve you well in case you plan to be a professional speaker in the future. Memorable stories are few and even if you could remember them, you will not be able to remember the details. A bank could be as simple as a notepad or book that you bring with you WHEREVER you go. With the advancement of technology, you could also easily store your BANK on your smart phones.
7. The 3Ps - Practice, Practice and Practice
This seems easy but it is one of the most difficult habits to acquire. More often than not, we cram the preparing of our speeches to the last minute, because of other commitments and there is no worse lesson to learn than this: Your speech will not be able to flow without enough practice, at most you will only remember the content of your speech. Smooth delivery can only be acquired through practice.
8. Grab every single opportunity to speak
After the 3Ps comes the 3s(es). What is it? World Speaking Champion in 2001 Darren LaCroix coined this term. It simply means Stage Time, Stage Time and more Stage time. In essence, in order to increase your persuasive powers, you must acquire any opportunity that allows you to speak. Because without it you cannot get any better than you last spoke. To turn down a speaking opportunity is tantamount to losing one chance to improve your persuasive speaking skills
Joining a Toastmasters Club is an excellent way to increase that stage time. That was what happened to me. I was initially very scared of even speaking to a crowd, let alone standing in front of them to give a speech. But over the years, I realized that the ONLY way to be a better speaker is to JUST DO IT!
9. Start with Achievable goals
In order to be a persuasive speaking you have to start with small goals. Each small step you take with take you closer to your larger goals. This is called accumulating small wins for yourself. With each small win, you confidence level will grow.
What I mean by achievable goals not only apply to yourself, it also means giving the audience small achievable goals(step towards the goal) so that they are immediately apply what they have heard as soon as they leave. In this way, your powers of persuasion would also increase tremendously.
10. Learn to analyze the excellent speeches
This last habit is the culmination of all the previous 9 habits. In order to effectively analyse speeches, you will have to know what's good about it. You must be able to identify the areas of improvement that can be effected in a speech to make them even better. It will therefore allow you to adopt a critic mindset of a speech so that it will give insight as to how to substitute certain words or phrase to make them even more powerful, thus increasing your persuasive powers in delivering the speech. It is also important to learn from these speech, so that if need be you can even use them in your own speeches.
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Si Yuan is a Toastmaster's competent communicator who lives in Singapore. He has recently embarked on his journey to help others in the area of public speaking.
For more resources as to how you can improve your public speaking skills and free ebook Visit his site at http://lets-learn-self-improvement.com/
and Grab his free ebook at http://lets-learn-self-improvement.com/speaking-power/
It’s terribly important for most people to fit in, to belong, to be part of a group. Our clothes fashion industry depends on it, our politicians depend on it and cliques everywhere thrive on it.
I know – it’s not terribly smart to always follow the herd, but when we are not sure of ourselves or want to find out the best way to do things, we tend to find out what everyone else is doing and try it on for size.
And of course, this applies to your audiences as well.
If you want to introduce a new idea or persuade them to think, act or feel in a new way, then you can tap into this herd instinct.
People don’t want to feel an outcast because their beliefs and habits are different.
They also tend to believe that the more other people do something or believe something then the more likely it is to be true or worth doing. This is why you can use polls and survey results to support your ideas.
We also tend to have a case of “I want what she/he’s having”. We want to be like someone else who has the lifestyle we think we want. Maybe they are rich and famous, confident, a celebrity, a superstar, a guru. So if you can associate your idea or point or product with someone who is famous or a celebrity, then people are really tempted to adopt it. Celebrity endorsement is a great persuader.
Social proof is a powerful support in your efforts to persuade.
Testimonials are a fantastic way to provide social proof. If I hear somewhere that 36,000 people are listening to a speaker, then I think he must be worth hearing. If a book is outselling “Harry Potter” I should investigate it.
Those testimonials are using the power of numbers.
If people believe a testimonial comes from a neutral third party, that testimonial will be more powerful for them.
It is especially powerful if your audience believes it is coming from a person who is similar to them. If the testimonial tells about how someone overcame the same problem, or it tells how someone just like them achieved what they want it will be powerful. And of course if you tell a story about someone just like them who overcame the same problems to achieve what they want then you can sell that solution. Align yourself with your audience from the beginning of your speech and that someone can be you. Tell your own story.
If, on the other hand, you aren’t seen as an authority, yet, align yourself with someone who is. That”s why we use quotations in our speeches, to align ourselves with that other person’s wisdom and sometimes wit! If we choose someone the audience admires as an authority, then we increase our own credibility.
The final way to use the social side of your audience’s nature is to create a group. You can create a group of the whole audience, have them relating to each other, feeling that they have much in common, that they have similar problems and similar dreams. Then create emotion so that they feel that together. Crowd behaviour can be a powerful way of tipping someone over to support your idea.
I have also seen a speaker create a group within the audience. Get some indication from your audience as to who believes in a particular point you are making, or supports a particular role model you hold up. Maybe they find something easy, that the rest of the audience finds difficult. Then you can take advantage of the feeling of being left out that attacks the rest of the audience, and give them the opportunity to join the group you set up.
I know this may sound to be bordering on unethical. I have seen these methods used by the unscrupulous in ways that just made me angry and I certainly don’t want to recommend that approach. But from watching those presenters at work and then reading up on what they had done and why, I have discovered that it is something we all do, unconsciously.
If you are not using people’s social senses in your speaking, consider it, and how you can fit it into your own ethical, authentic presentation style.
Author: Bronwyn Ritchie If you want to include this article in your publication, please do, but please include the following information with it:
Bronwyn Ritchie is a professional librarian, writer, award-winning speaker and trainer. She is a certified corporate trainer and speech contest judge with POWERtalk, a certified World Class Speaking coach, and has had 30 years' experience speaking to audiences and training in public speaking. In just 6 months time, you could be well on the way to being admired, rehired as a speaker, confident and sucessful, with the 30 speaking tips. Click here for 30 speaking tips for FREE. Join now or go to http://www.30speakingtips.com
Every day we face the challenge of persuading others to do what we want. But what makes people say yes to our requests? Persuasion is not only an art, it is also a science, and researchers who study it have uncovered a series of hidden rules for moving people in your direction. Based on more than sixty years of research into the psychology of persuasion, Yes! reveals fifty simple but remarkably effective strategies that will make you much more persuasive at work and in your personal life, too. => http://bit.ly/JzqjVU
Secrets Of Superstar Speakers: Wisdom from the Greatest Motivators of Our Time
Lilly Walters
Top speakers such as Anthony Robbins and Lou Holtz reveal how they work their magic. Using the same winning formula that propelled her Secrets of Successful Speakers to sales of over 85,000 copies, best-selling author Lilly Walters examines what makes the cream-of-the-crop motivational speakers stand above the rest. She interviews or does detailed profiles 19 superstars--including Maya Angelou, Les Brown, Jack Canfield, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Covey, Sir Winston Leonard Spenser Churchill, Elizabeth Dole, Mark Victor Hansen, Lou Holtz, Vince Lombardi, Sr. and Jr., Earl Nightingale, Norman Vincent Peale, Christopher Reeve, Anita Roddick, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Dottie Walters, and Zig Ziglar. Perhaps more importantly, she interviews hundreds whose lives have been changed when they heard the words of these superstar speakers.
You've got great ideas trapped in you. You know the importance of public speaking and you want to use your speaking skills to make your audience's lives better. The problem is that if you aren't careful, what you say during your speech will just go in one ear and out the next. How can you make your next speech more "sticky"?
Everyone Loves A Good Picture
Considering how hard we speakers work to get our words right, you'd think that our audiences would have the common courtesy to develop the listening skills that will allow them to remember what we tell them, right?
Unfortunately, remembering words that we've been told is very hard for any audience to do. In fact, trying to remember a particular set of words when we've been hit with a bunch of different ideas during a speech can almost be impossible.
The good news here is that there is something else that works: pictures. Call it a fluke of evolution or whatever, but we humans do a much better job of remembering images than we do words. What this means for us as speakers is that we need to get better at creating mental images in our audience's minds.
You might be thinking that all you have to do is to find the right image to put on a PowerPoint slide and then you'd be home free. Well yes and no. Doing this can certainly help make your message more memorable; however, it's not where the real power comes from.
Instead, it's the images that your audience create in their own minds that will stick for the longest time. These are the images that they build upon hearing the words that you say. What this means for you is that you need to start to use words that will describe the image that you want your audience to be imagining. Talk about how things look, what they would feel like if you could touch them, what color they are, how big they are, and of course what makes them unique or memorable when you look at them.
If You Can Tell A Story, You Can Make An Idea Stick
Painting images in your audience's mind is a great way to start to make what you are telling them stick. However, you can take this one step further if you are willing to tell stories.
This is one area where you do need to be careful. Just telling any old story isn't going to be enough. Instead, you need to tell stories that are going to connect with your audience and you need to make sure that those stories relate to the points that you are trying to make in your speech.
The stories that you tell need to be memorable. In order for this to happen, you need to make them be both emotional and unexpected.
The reason that you want to make your stories emotional is because if you can appeal to your audience's emotions, then you will have found a way to make your story "sticky". Long after you are done telling your story, your audience will remember what you said.
The worst kind of story that you can tell is a boring story. This means that you need to make sure that your story contains unexpected elements. By doing this you don't allow your audience to become complacent and start to think that they know how your story is going to turn out. Keep showing them that they haven't heard this story before!
What All Of This Means For You
All too often when we give a speech, our speeches which appear to us to be fantastic are loaded with too much information for our audiences to absorb. What we say goes in one ear and out the other. Clearly something has to change here.
As speakers, we are always looking for presentation tips that will allow us to share the benefits of public speaking. Getting our ideas to stick requires us to use two presentation tips: creating mental images and telling stories. The images that we can build in our audience's minds are what will cause our key points to stick. We can enhance the "stickiness" of our message by adding stories to our speech. Long after the speech is over, the stories will be remembered and retold by our audience.
In today's busy, busy world, it is no longer enough for us to give a good speech. We need to take the time to add presentation tips such as mental image building and the telling of stories to our speeches in order to make them stick. Doing so will transform your next speech from forgettable to life changing!
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Dr. Jim Anderson
http://www.blueelephantconsulting.com/
Your Source For Real World Public Speaking Skills?
Do you give speeches today, but want to learn how be more effective? Dr. Jim Anderson believes that great business skills are no substitute for poor presentation skills. Dr. Anderson will share with you the knowledge that he has gained while working to improve the speaking ability of both individuals and teams of speakers for over 20 years. Learn the secrets of effective speakers and really connect with your audience during your next speech.
If you want to follow Dr. Anderson on Twitter, he can be found at:
http://twitter.com/drjimanderson
Being able to communicate persuasively with any audience is not just about what you say, it's also about what you do. Here are four tips for making your communication more persuasive
1. Take Time to Build Rapport
When rapport exists, there is a sense of trust and confidence between people that makes each more likely to respond positively to the other. Although there are techniques you can use to accelerate rapport, it has to be earned.
You create rapport by being willing to meet the other person where they are rather than trying to drag them where you want them to be. The biggest mistake most people make in any type of communication is trying to communicate from their own perspective rather than trying to relate to where their audience currently is.
If you take time to understand your audience, whether it's one person or a thousand, you will find it much easier to build rapport and communicate with them more successfully. You create rapport when you use that knowledge to change the way you communicate to suit your audience.
2. Model Successful Communicators
One of the best ways to improve your communication skills is to notice what works well for others and then to incorporate elements of what you see into your own behavior. Modeling is not about copying people. That's often illegal and it doesn't usually work. However, if you learn what makes other people good at something, you can use that experience to improve your own performance.
The key to successful modeling is that it's not just about watching what people do, it's as much about understanding how they think and what they believe. Take advantage of any opportunity to talk to speakers you admire and read as much as possible about them.
3. Always Be Authentic
To become a great presenter, you need to be yourself. One of the secrets of the best speakers is that they appear natural. They are the same on stage as they are in person. Too many people try to invent a persona that they use in presentations as they think that's what is needed. And many people hold off from speaking because they compare themselves unfavorably to other people. The truth is it doesn't matter. People are interested in what you have to say not in your speaking abilities.
Former US President Ronald Reagan is now called the Great Communicator but that's as much for the way his natural personality shows through as for great public speaking skills.
You can improve your speaking skills by enhancing your abilities. But speaking successfully is about using your existing abilities to their full advantage. Just be yourself and you will get the results that you want.
4. Value and Respond to Feedback
Like most things in life, giving presentations is a process of constant improvement - no matter how good you are.
In order to be able to improve, you must:
- Be willing to accept feedback constructively: If you want to improve, listen to what people say and incorporate it next time. Accepting feedback doesn't mean you have to do what others say but all feedback helps you be aware of what works for you most of the time and what doesn't.
- Actively seek opportunities for feedback: If you seriously want to improve your presentation skills, you should actively encourage feedback. Hand out surveys at the end of a presentation or ask someone you know well in the audience for some comments. Try to find people who will be both honest and encouraging.
- Keep doing more: The best way to improve is to keep getting more practice so that you improve your skills, incorporate more of what you learn and build your confidence.
Following these four secrets will help you build your persuasive presentation skills easily and confidently.
Robert Greenshields is a copywriter and marketing coach who helps consultants, coaches and other independent professionals attract more clients and make more profit by packaging and promoting their expertise as a high-value product. Download his free Profit from Presentations report at www.persuasivepresentationpower.com
