Is your organization going through change? Have you recently merged, downsized or adopted a new vision? These are times when organizations, both large and small, do well to consider a booster shot of resilience for their employees. Recently, we have been approached by all types of organizations who want to help employees and leaders alike feel more capable versus overwhelmed, more optimistic versus negative, more resilient versus stressed. From government agencies, to Fortune 500’s to mid-sized companies, a heavy pace of change can lead many of us to despair that we will never get caught up or regain our balance point. Fortunately the One Day Resilience At Work Training Program offers an interactive way to bring your team together while boosting their personal and professional resiliency. Next time you feel overwhelmed, do a quick inventory of the changes you are experiencing, plus the successes you are experiencing. If the balance is too heavily weighted to taxing changes, then it’s time to consider how a resilience re-boot could work for you. Contact us to ask about scheduling a Resilience At Work training session at 1-800-501-1245 today.
Category Archives: Blog
Advance Your Presentation Skills with Questions
When you think of delivering a presentation, you might think it’s all one-way with you as the lecturer sharing key facts and graphs, while the audience listens intently. Actually, you couldn’t be much further from the truth, especially if you want to be an engaging presenter. When you watch a powerful presenter they have a way of weaving lots of interactive techniques into their remarks, with questions being one of the most powerful tools in the tool chest.
Sounds simple but in reality it helps to sort out the different ways you can use questions to keep the audience focused. Let’s take a look at three question techniques including:
Starting Broad
One way to start a presentation is to start with broad, general questions. Let’s say you’re going to give a talk on driving a foreign car on the autobahn. You might start with a broader question first such as – “Who here has ever driven on a busy highway?”. By asking this broad question you are establishing a common topic and you can drill down from there. Some people think of asking a series of questions much like a funnel; beginning from the top of the wide top of the funnel then working to the narrow end. With this in mind you can start with broad questions at the top of the presentation then work your way toward more specific questions. In this case, after having asked a broad question in the first moment of your talk, you might later add in more specific questions about driving cars in Europe, driving on the right side of the road, or ultimately driving on the autobahn in Germany.
Asking For Examples
To get your audience more involved in a topic it really helps to ask them for examples as they relate to your key messages. Not only do participants like to be more involved, the whole session benefits from the sound of different voices and opinions on a topic. You might say “Who here has an example to share with the larger group?”. It can be helpful to let the group know you value their expertise; in fact most professionals respond very well to opportunities to share their experience. For example, if you are talking about strategies to resolve conflict in the workplace you might ask participants for examples of strategies that have worked for them. You can even make a list on a whiteboard or flipchart to summarize the examples provided. By gathering examples from your audience you can also assess how to better customize your comments to meet their real life needs.
Connecting the Dots
Questions can be used very powerfully to connect your various sub-points and tie them back to the larger theme in your presentation. If you understand that most audiences need assistance connecting all the various ideas in a logical fashion you will see how the following question will be a crowd pleaser. When you come to the end of a section of your speech, pause then ask “Why is this important to us here at Company X?”. Look around the room. Hopefully someone in your audience will have understood the points you’ve made well enough that they can summarize them for the crowd. Alternatively, you might do a quick summary by answering your own question. People want to know how all the information you share will change their lives, transform their workplace or generally make a difference.
By using questions throughout your presentation you will help your audience understand the topic more clearly, prompt interaction, and connect messages to your overall theme. And that makes for a presentation worth listening to.
Boost Your Projection for Impact
Why Should You Boost Your Projection?
This aspect of voice is by far the most important as it correlates to your audience’s ability to hear your remarks. Even the most intelligent presenter can not have their desired impact if the people in the room can not hear their key points. With projection, everyone can hear your comments without having to strain their voice. However, there is still value in varying your projection to add intrigue and interest to your comments. For example, you might want to soften your voice to emphasize a key point and then later increase the volume for another point. In either case you must ensure that all members of the audience can hear each and every point.
Sounds simple right? In reality, about 90% of the people we coach don’t project loudly enough – but they think they are doing well. Practice, feedback and coaching are required to really excel at projecting your voice. Practice projecting your voice by imagining that everyone is sitting against the far wall in the room. Ensure they can hear you and that you are speaking from your diaphragm. In fact if you could only improve one skill in voice dynamics, we would say make it Projection. The very act of speaking more loudly will change your breathing, slow your pace, and add more intonation – all of which are great outcomes for your vocal variety. So practice! And ask a colleague to sit at the back and give you a sign if more volume is required.
If you would like additional information on how to hone your presentation skills please visit our website to get a free copy of report on how to Master Your Presentation Skills at https://boldnewdirections.com or at http://www.presentationtraininginstitute.com
Boost Your Management Skills by Walking Around
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all you have to do? You have a thousand tasks to accomplish. You have too many people to supervise. You have a team that needs attention. Where are you spending your time?
These days of “do more with less” is challenging every manager on the planet. The Adair leadership model shows three interlocking circles representing Task, Team and Individuals. Most managers I’ve asked say they take care of Tasks 80-90% of their day. And yet the definition of a “Manager” is “someone who gets work done through others.” How can you get better at getting work done through your team?
Unless you have a team consisting of 100% Stars, and Stars who also know how to work collaboratively, you are probably getting yourself in trouble by sitting at your computer instead of getting out amongst your people. What are they doing? How well are they doing it? How much are they improvising? What shortcuts are ultimately causing you trouble? And most importantly, what do they think of their relationship with you? These are all important questions to consider as you work on your management skills.
It is time to reconsider how you are spending your time? Time management is not a given for everyone. Go to a Time Management course once every few years to see how you are doing. Do you link every action you take to a goal you have set? Where are you off task? Similarly, consider taking a Management training course to brush up on the fundamentals of management.
Are you delegating well and often? Are you the only one who can possibly do every job you are currently doing? What are your hesitations? Not everything is delegable but probably many more things are than what you’ve delegated to date. How is it hurting some of your team members to not have the opportunity to do things they have potential for but are never asked to do? If you freed up 10% of your management time and spent that time visiting your staff, how would that inform you? What might happen to your management skills and your relationships with staff?
What you don’t know may very well be hurting you. Find ways to get out of the poor habit of answering that next email, telling yourself that only you can do “that” job and plain old laziness. Stand up, walk about, and go see your people. That is why you are member of the management team.
Learn more about mastering your management skills by visiting our website at www.boldnewdirections.com or go to our sister site www.managementtraininginstitute.com to get free resources.
Jim Hornickel is co-founder of Bold New Directions, a transformational learning company that works with companies to transform people and performance through training solutions including seminars, webinars, coaching and keynote events. Bold New Directions specializes in training solutions that build leadership skills, communication skills and resilience at work. You can learn more about Jim Hornickel and his work at Bold New Directions by visiting www.boldnewdirections.com or www.managementtraininginstitute.com