"Don't Make PowerPoint Your Higher Power"
from "Tips and Tales", The Quarterly E-Newsletter
of Successful Speaker, Inc., Volume 4 – April 2008

by Maria Guida
© copyright 2008 by Successful Speaker, Inc.
All rights reserved.

PRESENTATION TIPS (The Summary)

1. When using PowerPoint, position yourself front and center; be sure that the position of the laptop and screen allows you to take audience focus throughout the presentation.
2. Plan how you will maintain audience focus on yourself while the slides are being changed gracefully.
3. Draw audience attention to your slides as infrequently as possible; when necessary, do it briefly and refocus audience attention on yourself as quickly as you can.
   

PRESENTATION TALES (The Story)

Successful business speakers command audience attention and project authority.  They know that PowerPoint and other presentation software are no more than support systems.  In order to persuade an audience -- to “sell” any idea, product or service -- the speaker should be the “star of the show” throughout the presentation.

When I attended a presentation given by Martha, an attorney with a major New York law firm, I observed a problem found in much public speaking today:  a weak performance caused by an over-dependence on PowerPoint.  

Unfortunately, many business speakers use presentation software when it is unnecessary, and others use it poorly when its effective use could be helpful.  Within many organizations, the use of PowerPoint has become an unexamined habit, rather than a considered choice.

»Read more
 

---

"Take Stage!"
from "Tips and Tales", The Quarterly E-Newsletter
of Successful Speaker, Inc., Volume 3 – November 2007

by Maria Guida
© copyright 2007 by Successful Speaker, Inc.
All rights reserved.

PRESENTATION TIPS (The Summary)

1. When addressing a business audience, situate yourself in the position of power (usually front and center). 

2. Begin with both feet planted firmly on the floor and imagine that your feet are tree roots that extend deep into the ground. Stand away from furniture and other temptations to lean for support (when at a podium, stand tall).  Keep hands/arms open and available for natural gestures.

3. Take stage at every moment:  at the end of your presentation, pause to receive and experience your applause with a smile.

PRESENTATION TALES (The Story)

How do actors get the audience’s attention and keep them riveted to the action of a play?  One answer is that actors "take stage":  they inhabit the space with a "do or die" purpose and an attitude of complete belonging.

Business speakers, too, need to take stage during every speaking event.  They must command the space and project passion about their message in order to persuade and inspire the business audience.  The speaker's position on stage, body language/gestures, and comments must all further this objective.

»Read more
 

---

"Aretha Sang About R-E-S-P-E-C-T"
from "Tips and Tales", The Quarterly E-Newsletter
of Successful Speaker, Inc., Volume 2 – July 2007

by Maria Guida
© copyright 2007 by Successful Speaker, Inc.
All rights reserved.

PRESENTATION TIPS (The Summary)

1. Enunciate with clarity and pace that are respectful of the audience and appropriate for the complexity of ideas being expressed

2. Use a speaking style that communicates respect for diversity: use your authentic speech at its best

3. When referring to the audience and to third parties, choose words that honor their professionalism and sophistication

PRESENTATION TALES (The Story)

Effective public speaking for business communicates a respect for the audience’s intelligence, professionalism, sophistication, and diversity. Word choice, speech patterns, and the way we use our voices are all important aspects of public speaking that contribute to our success or failure in front of an audience.

»Read more
 

---

Persuade Your Business Audience by Building Belief:
Lessons From the Theater

by Maria Guida
© copyright 2006 by Successful Speaker, Inc. All rights reserved.

Persuasive business speakers have a lot in common with actors. They know that the key to successful public speaking is to inspire belief within the minds and hearts of an audience. This is the founding principal for Successful Speaker training programs, which help business people achieve their goals for effective speaking. For application to the corporate arena, Successful Speaker has adapted and employs training techniques from the theater, so that business speakers can learn to persuade and inspire an audience the way the best actors do.

Persuasive business speakers and actors understand the key finding of a study conducted by the Harvard Business School:

»Read more
 

---

Reprinted from HR Techknow
(Published by the Society for Human Resource Management)

Foreign-Born Professionals in American Business:
Communication Breakdowns Can Take a Heavy Toll

by Maria Guida
© copyright 2005 by Successful Speaker, Inc. All rights reserved.

Directors of Human Resources and Training routinely contact me with compelling tales of the communication challenges of some of the foreign-born professionals at their organizations and the negative impact these problems have on business relationships and the projection of a positive professional image.

When a Foreign Accent Isn't Charming

The foreign-born professional with a significant pronunciation problem can cause distraction, confusion, and misunderstanding in business conversations, meetings, presentations, and phone discussions. Most non-native speakers of English do not receive the benefit of separate pronunciation classes during their study of English in the native country. To compound the problem, many who do attend such classes study with instructors who, themselves, are non-native speakers of English, speak English with a foreign accent, and have nevertheless been hired to teach American English pronunciation! One of the many difficulties faced by native speakers of other languages is that American English is not pronounced the way it is spelled. Without proper training, many foreign-born speakers use our spelling system as a pronunciation guide. This strategy usually causes mispronunciation and/or miscommunication, which can jeopardize one's professional image.

»Read more