Voice Lessons Learned From the Presidential Campaign

•   Fellow citizens, we are seven weeks away from electing our new president! As a result, we are all hearing a lot more speeches and talks than we normally do. It's time to take a moment to reflect on how we, mere business and entrepreneurial mortals, can benefit from these public faux pas!

1. Don't compare yourself to any kind of unpleasant animals. Alway stick with the reliables: puppies, kittens and bunnies. Anything else and you risk upsetting more fringe groups than I can list here.

2. Resist the urge to be strong and definitive about everything. No one knows everything, and no one can relate to someone who says they are confident about how they can handle every situation.

3. Be transparent. Say what you mean, and make sure that the facts are there to back it up. Don't get caught trying to play to a small group when it doesn't meet your own beliefs and business practices.

4. Behave consistently. When you decide to talk publicly about your ideas, make sure you are consistent with that every time you speak. For example, if you say you believe workers deserve an annual pay raise, commit to that whenever the subject comes up. Don't try to change the facts later when the pay raise is not forthcoming; just say that you still believe in it, but you can't deliver due to circumstances. And then be clear what those circumstances are!

The people you do business with are listening to you. Take care that you know what you have said, and say what you believe. They are noticing!

Til next time,

Anna

Friends Don’t Let Friends Give Presentations!

  We hate writing them. We hate reading them. We hate delivering them. We hate listening to them. The presentation is really under attack in corporate America today!

I have been thinking a lot about how to fix presentations, and I have a few ideas. See if any of these help you stir up some creative juices.

• Just the facts, ma'am. Leave the minute detail out of it. If your audience requires facts and figures, email them separately.
• Begin with the end in mind. What are the most important ideas you need to communicate? Keep your presentation limited to these, and cut away the chaff.

• PowerPoint, shmowerpoint. If you must use PowerPoint, try images instead of words. If you put up an image, the audience will turn to you for interpretation. This actually uses different parts of their brains then just reading words on a slide. Your audience will perk up, and their brains will enjoy the exercise of fitting an image to an idea.

If you have an original idea for presentations, please share it! America needs it!

Until next time,

Anna

DNC: Obama, Clinton, Clinton & Biden all give ‘pause’

Last week at the Democratic National Convention, the main speakers all made great use of 'the pause' during their speeches. They left time after a sentence for the audience to take in the meaning of their words.

This made them appear like accomplished, sophisticated leaders.

Taking a pause between your sentences will make you appear like an accomplished, sophisticated leader, too! Take this opportunity to choose a role model for your speeches and presentations. Remember to take pause: it's for the benefit of your audience, and they are the most important part of any speech you make.

Until next time,

Anna