Blog Archives

Does Death by PowerPoint Really Exist?

2/27/2015

For all of you who keep insisting on using PowerPoint, Key Note or any other such program, and there are over 40 million of you worldwide, here is some really shocking news for you. In studies conducted at Purdue University researchers found that a person’s effectiveness as a presenter was significantly enhanced by turning OFF the projector. You read that right--OFF.

Researchers found that when PowerPoint was used, the audience had nearly 30 per cent less retention than if the presenter had eliminated the PowerPoint entirely and just talked with his or her audience. Just by eliminating PowerPoint alone, they became significantly better and more effective presenters.

Purdue researchers delivered a course entitled “Human Factors in Engineering”. It was open to both graduate and undergraduate students from the following majors: engineering, management, humanities and technology. Three times a week for 16 weeks, researchers divided the classes into two lecture formats. One format delivered with PowerPoint the other without. Researchers then tested the students in four categories: oral, graphic and alphanumeric information presented during the lectures and information presented orally with visual support.

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10 Tips: For More Effective Phone Conversations

2/19/2015

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10 Tips: For More Effective Phone Conversations

I am always amazed at some of the messages I receive on the phone. The phone is one of the most powerful communication tools we have in business and yet the stakes are higher when speaking on the phone. For one thing people lie more often on the phone than by any other means of communication. In-person communications make it more difficult to tell a lie because it is easier to spot. Letters, email and text messaging leave a paper trail allowing the lie to jump off the page. Because of this, the importance of how one goes about placing a phone call cannot be diminished.

The number of non-verbal cues we deliver is staggering. Without the visual reference which usually plays such a large part in communication, the listener is more tuned in than ever to your volume, pitch, pace, vocal inflection, overall speech patterns and the words themselves. Many research studies say our nonverbal communication is 4 times more powerful than the words we use. The old adage “It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it” has never been more true than in a phone conversation.

How effective would you say your phone conversations are? Do you get the interview, make the sale or get the referral? How would you rate yourself in the following areas from 1-10?

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Your Words Have Energy

2/11/2015

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We hear a lot about how our Words make up only 7% of our message. We hear that it is not so much about what we say as how we say it. In acting, we tell people learning a script to set the intention before they say the words. By setting the intention, you know what the character was trying to convey when they spoke the words. Unfortunately in our day to day interactions we often speak without thinking or speak with the wrong intentions.

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

You can learn how to stand, gesture, use body language, how to dress appropriately, shake hands correctly, mix and mingle but at the end of the day your words will not cover for you. Our word choices carry power. We can look the part, but if we don’t sound the part, we are not going to get the job, the raise, the advancement etc. You see our words may only be 7% of the message, but they are a stronger 7% than you might imagine.

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The Do's and Don’ts of Notes

2/1/2015

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In the speaking business, there’s a lot of controversy over whether or not a person should use notes. Some trainers tell their students that using notes makes them appear less sure of their material and not as confident. While I disagree with this philosophy, I must admit that all too often I see people use notes incorrectly. They are either so focused on their notes they forget to have a conversation with their audience, they’re using their PowerPoint as their notes or they have succumbed to the notion of no notes at all. In fact, one of the most common questions we get in our workshops is “How do you feel about using notes?” Our response is always the same—notes are fine as long as you use them properly. There are, however, some guidelines for using notes and once you know them you’ll actually be in greater control of the material you’re delivering and as a consequence you’ll appear more confident. So let’s get down to the business of notes.

Let’s first talk about what not to do.

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