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presenting like a rock star
Broc does an awesome job discussing why presenting is so critical to your success. I realized this several years ago when I joined Toastmasters. Broc and I are online friends now, and his content “rocks”!
Does anyone else go to concerts and try to figure out how to do your job better? No? A side effect of being a presenter and facilitator is that I cannot attend any training, speech, or event without noticing what is done well, what could be better, and what I can learn from it.
Eighteen months ago I wrote a post called “Rock and Roll Presentation Skills” after seeing one of my favorite European bands perform. As a presenter, this band inspires me more than any other with their stage presence, energy, and connection to the crowd. By sheer coincidence the same band was performing in Dallas the same weekend I was there to attend HRevolution and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them again.
Reflecting on what I took from this performance, the presentation lessons hold true with what I learned from their last performance.
1. There…
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To Give Or Not To Give…
That is the question 🙂
Ever see people handing out business cards like they are dealing a deck of cards?
“Come one, come all, everyone gets a card!”
The important question is…
did you get a card from the prospect, or the networking event connection?
When you get a card, you are in control. You control your own destiny.
When all you do is hand out cards, and often forget to get their card, you wait – hoping one day that they reach out to you.
Uh-oh! Your card may end up in the garbage but you still can connect if you have theirs!
The Baseball Beer Dude That Rocked!
So, like – there are lots of us on earth right?
Many of us are trying to stand out from the crowd and do “out of the ordinary stuff”. Heck many of us are trying to do ordinary stuff but still get noticed.
Like delivering beer to people’s seats at a baseball game.
There is no way to stand out from the crowd doing that right?
WRONG!
I had the pleasure of attending a Chicago Cubs exhibition game in April of 2011, and did not realize how much of a treat I was in for from watching a beer vendor work. His coverage of our section immediately caught my attention! He was more charismatic, more outgoing, more energetic, and more fun to watch than any other beer concession worker than I had ever seen before. I caught myself watching him work more than the game itself!
But that was not even the best part. When he left our section for a bit, I followed him and we had a bit of a conversation. I was captivated by his stories of working in the industry for many years. When I left with my drinks, he gave me his “business card”. It was a laminated baseball-like card with his picture on the front working at a game. On the back it had all of his “statistics”. By statistics I mean all the venues he had worked at during his career, and events that he attended.
I still have his “business card”, and look at it from time to time to remind me what it truly means to have a well-developed personal brand.
- What do you do to stand out from the crowd?
- Where do you know that you can improve to increase your exposure?
Developing your personal brand is not a “when I feel like it” thing. It should be ongoing. Daily if possible.
Be memorable, be engaging, be caring and for goodness sake have some fun!
The Five Star 5 – Why Public Speaking Sucks!
Many people are terrified to speak in public and/or give presentations. Here are five reasons why public speaking and presenting can suck:
- You were not prepared / did not understand your content
- You did not practice ahead of time
- You did not know your audience well enough
- You did not have a back up plan when things like visual aids had technical issues
- You have not at least visited your local Toastmasters Club as a guest, to see how they can help develop your speaking skills
Public speaking and presenting can be a rewarding experience if you address these five points, and several others.
- Are you due for a public speaking “makeover”?
- What is the greatest challenge that you face getting up in front of a group?
How Bad Do You Want It?
I spoke at a local Toastmasters Conference over the weekend and had a tremendous time! My discussion focused on the basics of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and how to use the social website “MeetUp” to attract guests to local club meetings.
When my presentation was over, I continued to chat with several attendees.
A couple of people took particular interest in what I was doing online with social media to build my brand. I recall comments like,
- “You obviously don’t have kids. How could you do all this other stuff and work full-time?”
- “What kind of day job do you have?”
- “How much time do you spend on social media per day”?
They commented on their busy lives, and how utilizing social media to improve their future seemed nearly impossible.
I was getting nervous and was not sure what to say next. My instincts finally kicked in . I proceeded to say one phrase in a very confident (but non-confrontational) tone,
“How badly do you want it?”
“Actually I do have kids; a seven-year old and a 13 month old. I work full-time out of the house. We are as busy like most families, seemingly running all the time. But I make it all work. I have blogged for two years, spent at least 15 minutes per day building my brand most days over the past 3 years.
I focus on doing my “social media brand building” before the family gets up in the morning, or late at night. If it is on a weekend, I sneak away from them for short periods of time. The only reason I can commit to the crazy hours is that I LOVE WHAT I AM DOING!”
I continued to discuss the “Little Bit Everyday” mantra that I learned from Jeb Blount over at Sales Gravy.
I love the gym analogy. People think that they have to buy a gym membership and workout at least one hour per day to get in shape. Small chunks of time on a regular basis makes a difference as well. Some days I spend hours on my online presence, others only a few minutes. But I show up ALL THE TIME. You can’t start engaging with social media, get all excited, then disappear for weeks at a time. If I see profiles like that, I am gone!
When that conversation was done, one of the attendees said to me, “I never thought of it like that“!
I am happy the message resonated with them, once I explained balancing family life, and moving my consulting opportunities forward.
- How do you balance everything if you are working full-time with a regular “day job”?
- How much time do you spend daily on social media, blogging and building your brand?
- What struggles do you face as you try to move your business forward?
Would love to hear your thoughts on this very important topic. Most people are struggling just to get through the day, and it would be nice to share ideas how successful people are able to manage all of their commitments!
My Favourite 5 Posts of 2013 – #2 “The Beer Dude”
So, like – there are lots of us on earth right?
Many of us are trying to stand out from the crowd and do “out of the ordinary stuff”. Heck many of us are trying to do ordinary stuff but still get noticed.
Like delivering beer to people’s seats at a baseball game.
There is no way to stand out from the crowd doing that right?
WRONG!
I had the pleasure of attending a Chicago Cubs exhibition game in April of 2011, and did not realize how much of a treat I was in for from watching a beer vendor work. His coverage of our section immediately caught my attention! He was more charismatic, more outgoing, more energetic, and more fun to watch than any other beer concession worker than I had ever seen before. I caught myself watching him work more than the game itself!
But that was not even the best part. When he left our section for a bit, I followed him and we had a bit of a conversation. I was captivated by his stories of working in the industry for many years. When I left with my drinks, he gave me his “business card”. It was a laminated baseball-like card with his picture on the front working at a game. On the back it had all of his “statistics”. By statistics I mean all the venues he had worked at during his career, and events that he attended.
I still have his “business card”, and look at it from time to time to remind me what it truly means to have a well-developed personal brand.
- What do you do to stand out from the crowd?
- Where do you know that you can improve to increase your exposure?
Developing your personal brand is not a “when I feel like it” thing. It should be ongoing. Daily if possible.
Be memorable, be engaging, be caring and for goodness sake have some fun!
My Favourite 5 Posts Of 2013 – #5 “Confidence”
“You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky, ex National Hockey League Super Star.
My sales spin is,
“If you don’t ask, there is no chance that you will get the answer you want”.
Confidence in the sales profession is paramount to success, but does not happen over night. If you are not in sales, please keep reading. This post has merit for whatever you may be “selling” in your personal or professional life. We have all been selling and negotiating from the moment that we could speak as toddlers!
Confidence allows people opportunities in life that they may not experience if they are tentative and uncertain. When people feel good about themselves, are not afraid to ask questions and involve themselves in potentially challenging situations, they will generally like the outcomes.
Do not mistake confidence for arrogance though. I have seen both, and one is very appealing in business and personal interactions. The other… well not so much!
When you combine confidence with most (or all) of the characteristics below in sales and/or life, very cool things can happen!
- Driven to succeed
- Persistent
- Diligent
- Independent worker and thinker
How did I know if somebody would make it in sales?
I have seen a lot of outside sales reps (retail reps too) come and go during my career. It took me a few years to really get a sense of what the signs were if they would succeed. I was quite certain most of the time, after our first couple of meetings.
What typically tipped me off?
- How they carried themselves (do they have a bounce in their step?)
- Dressed neatly (not necessarily the most expensive clothes) and cared about how they looked
- Solid handshake
- Maintained good eye contact
- Engaged well in conversation
- Wanted to learn / Inquisitive
- Enthusiastic / Excitable
- Personable / Outgoing
If you take a moment to digest that list, many of those attributes can be directly related to being confident. Imagine how different that list would be if you did not feel good about yourself and your abilities?
I urge you to start networking with people who are working towards similar goals if you are not already. It has become common knowledge that you start to portray similar characteristics to the 5 people who you are the closest with. Work on feeling more confident in areas of your personal and professional life that you don’t feel as comfortable in as soon as possible.
For me, getting up in front of crowds to speak was frightening for many years due to my stutter, and now there is nothing I would rather do. It was a long road, but I am glad that I am getting closer to where I need to be thanks to a strong support group of family, friends and Toastmasters.
Confidence does not happen over night, and you cannot push a “magic button” to change how you feel about yourself and your abilities. If you don’t try, you will never know what the outcome could have been. Once you “flip the switch” to knowing you will succeed, and not being afraid to fail, you will see positive changes in your life.
Would love if you “liked” my Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed
The Five Star 5 – Leadership Lessons From Coaching Kids Hockey
I never thought being an assistant coach for my son’s six-year-old hockey team would be easy, but there is more to it then I thought!
I have learned many leadership lessons from the experience, and here are my favourites:
- Patience – Many of these kids still sleep with teddy bears. They are very young and their development takes time
- Encouragement – “High-Fives, pats on the back, and a “great job” goes a long way for their confidence
- Focus On The Positive – We tend to focus on what is being done wrong, that we sometimes forget to reward what is being done right
- “Sandwich Method” – Put a suggestion for an area of improvement between two positive comments
- SMILE – Then laugh with them, and make them feel comfortable. It is truly about having fun, developing skills, and learning what it means to be part of a team
As I was writing this, I realized many of these points can be related to managing in the corporate world, or business in general. At least, I thought I could inspire other coaches who may need some new perspective!
If kids are not inspired by their coaches, there are many other activities that they can do these days. Each interaction with them is critical to building that connection.
Is it time to tweak your coaching, managing or general leading philosophies?
Saturday Music Memories – Garth & Billy!
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Garth Brooks play live in the mid 1990’s – and I was blown away! He is on a shortlist of artists that I would pay anything to see live again.
His passion for his music, his fans, and life in general is contagious!
My wife and I tried to see him in Las Vegas over the past few months, but it did just not work out.
The next best thing was on TV last night. He aired a two-hour concert from his recent stint at the Wynn in Las Vegas.
Here is a live cut of “Shameless” with Billy Joel live at the historic Shea Stadium in New York!
Keep on enjoying your weekend…
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 