How to Add IMPACT

Here's a tip I picked up from Patricia Fripp. If you want to add impact to your sentences, make the most important word in the sentence the last word.


For example, instead of saying:
"You have to make a decision today!"you can add more impact by switching it around and changing the noun "decision" to the active verb "decide":


Today, you have to decide!


Key Takeaway
To add impact to your sentences, make the most important word the last word in the sentence. 


P.S. Only 6 seats left for the awesome two-day Unleash Your Persuasion Power seminar! Prices go up to HK$697 next month, so register now and save money. Save your seat by sending an email to akash.speaker@gmail.com with the Subject Line: Registration for Unleash Your Persuasion Power. You might not want to miss this event because you're going to pick up some valuable tools: http://bit.ly/iFS5Jq


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Laptops: Your Worst Enemy

Imagine you're standing in front of a room full of people who've got their laptops opened, and you're supposed to deliver an important presentation.


Last week, I went through the exact same experience. At 9.00 a.m. in the morning, I tried delivering my Marketing presentation to a sleep-deprived group of students, most of whom had their laptops open. Big mistake!


I believed that I could use my humorous opening and exciting delivery skills to capture their attention and get them to focus on my presentation. Although a few of the students looked up and made eye contact when I started speaking, most  continued to browse the internet. After an agonizing 5 minutes, I brought my presentation to a premature end, wrapped things up and walked away defeated. 


Afterwards, I came up with a brilliant idea! What if I simply asked the audience members to turn of their laptops? This may sound like a simple thing to do, but most speakers don't actually do this. Instead of politely asking their audience members to put away their laptops, they immediately proceed to compete for attention.


If your audience members have laptops in front of them, you will always be competing for attention. 


Unfortunately, not even world-class speakers can deliver a fantastic presentation when they have to compete for attention. The best way to ensure success would be to eliminate the competition for your audiences' attention by asking your audience to kindly put away their laptops.


This may sound like obvious advice, but think about how many times you've heard people use it. I've personally not heard anyone else ask audience members to put their laptops away. Sure, speakers will ask audiences to turn off their mobile phones. But not many will explicitly ask audiences to put away their laptops because they're uncomfortable about asking. [Below, I'll show you get audiences to comply with your request without offending them].


Today, I was the emcee for an event where many of the audience members had their laptops open in front of them. As an emcee, my job was to make sure that the audience was ready to listen to the speakers who were going to be speaking that day. After a quick 30 second "Welcome", I proceeded with the following request:

• I can see that many of you are busy on your laptops and I can imagine that you have lots of stuff to do. I do believe that this event will be better for both of us if I could have your full attention and in return I promise to make tonight an entertaining evening for you. Now, you don't have to do this, but I think that it will be more respectful for the speakers if you could put away your laptops so that we can give the speakers the undivided attention they deserve. 

After I made this request, everyone in the audience except for one lady proceeded to turn off their laptops. I had successfully managed to gain everyone's full attention simply by asking them to get rid of a device which would prevent them from doing so. There will always be people in the audience who don't want to be there and who don't want to comply with your requests, but most people will comply if you make a legitimate and straightforward request.

Most speakers and emcees will, at the start of their presentation, ask audience members to turn off their mobile phones. At your event, you may also want to respectfully ask your audience members to put away their laptops because laptops result in divided attention, and that results in a poor presentation.

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P.S. Only 6 seats left for the awesome two-day Unleash Your Persuasion Power seminar! You might not want to miss this event because you're going to pick up some valuable tools: http://bit.ly/iFS5Jq

Why You Might Not Want to Miss Out

37 second video about the upcoming Unleash Your Persuasion Power seminar. You might not want to miss out on this folks:
http://public-speaking-hong-kong.blogspot.com/2011/05/2-day-training-event-unleash-your.html

P.S. Only 6 seats remaining now! Prices go up to HK $697 next month, so register now and save money.


To save your seat, please send an email to: akash.speaker@gmail.com with the Subject Line: Registration for 'Unleash Your Persuasion Power'

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Unleash Your Persuasion Power Highlights

How would you like to discover scientifically proven principles which will change the way you communicate? Results Guaranteed! 

BTW, act fast because there are only 6 seats left for the Unleash Your Persuasion Power seminar. 

P.S. Ticket prices go up to HK $697 next month (currently only HK $497 for 2 days training), so reserve your seat now and save money (HK $200 in savings for acting now)

Unleash Your Persuasion Power Highlights

12 Power Words You Can Use to Easily & Instantly Influence People: What If someone handed you a list of “magical words” which you could easily substitute into your daily conversations and increase your chances of getting people to say “Yes” to your request? Yes, such a list does exist but unfortunately very few people know about it! In this workshop, you will learn words which are scientifically-proven to increase compliance rates.

Adding Depth & Personality to Your Presentations: Many speakers fall into the habit of simply memorizing their scripts and vomiting information on their audiences. Your audience, however, wants to know you as a real person, an interactive person. So you'll learn 4 principles for making your presentation a special experience for your audience based on your personal presentation style.

Finding Your Voice & 'Presence’: Why is it that some speakers seem to have a natural ‘presence’? While exploring this question, you will learn fun body-language basics. Learn what your non-verbal behavior is (or isn’t) saying about you. In this section, you will play an insightful game and be able to review your performance on video. 

6 Proven Persuasion Principles which you can use to influence friends, family and colleagues

6 Step Instant Influence Formula: What if you had a scientifically proven 6 step system which would win people over to your way of thinking? Even if this is the only thing you learn during the workshop, then this workshop will have been many times over worth the admission price! 

Details

Date: Saturday & Sunday (20 August & 21 August 2011)

Time: 10.30am to 5.00 pm

Venue: HKUST, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon

Cost: Only HK$497 (H$397 for full-time students). Prices go up HK$697 next month

(Full Money Back Guarantee, No Questions Asked)

LIMITED SEATING: Only 6 seats left!

To save your seat, please send an email to: akash.speaker@gmail.com with the Subject Line: Registration for 'Unleash Your Persuasion Power'


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Speaking Advice from the Champ!

Today, I was lucky to have dinner with Rory Vaden, his beautiful wife and several other prominent Toastmasters in Hong Kong. Rory Vaden, who is the 2007 First Runner Up for the World Championship of Public Speaking, shared some valuable speaking advice with us which I'd now like to pass onto you:

• The thing that differentiates good speakers from brilliant speakers is a thousand speeches. I cannot overemphasize the importance of stage time! Get as much practice as you can.
  

• Find your uniqueness and exploit it. Let your unique personality shine through on stage as opposed to trying to imitate someone else. While it's fine to incorporate elements of other people's speaking into your presentations, do stay true to your uniqueness.
  

• Read as much as you can about a topic before you speak on it. People don't want speakers, they want experts. Devour every possible source of knowledge that you can - books, audio tapes, seminars - so that you can become an expert on your topic.

P.S. Only 8 seats left for the awesome two-day Unleash Your Persuasion Power seminar! You might not want to miss this event because you're going to pick up some valuable tools: http://bit.ly/iFS5Jq
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Unleash Your Persuasion Power: 2 Day Training Event

There are 12 words in the English language which are scientifically proven to increase compliance rates because they exploit a loophole in human psychology. Do you know these words?

There are 6 proven persuasion principles which you can use to influence friends, family and colleagues! Do you know what they are?

What are the secrets of powerful public speakers who can command attention and charm audiences?

Body language is 80% of communication. Do you know what your non-verbal is (or isn’t) saying about you?

Do you know the answers to these questions? Probably not because these are things that are not taught in schools, Universities or even in Toastmasters! If you do know the answers, then well done because you’re in the top 5% of persuaders in the world!

Details

Date: Saturday & Sunday (20 August & 21 August 2011)

Time: 10.30am to 5.00 pm

Venue: HKUST, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon

Cost: Only HK$497 (H$397 for full-time students)
(Full Money Back Guarantee, No Questions Asked)

LIMITED SEATING: First come, first served basis because I'm planning to keep this event very small in order to allow for personal coaching. 

To save your seat, please send an email to: akash.speaker@gmail.com with the Subject Line: Registration for 'Unleash Your Persuasion Power'

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Don't Criticize UNLESS...

I recently attended a "training for trainers" session by Dale Carnegie. One of the most important concepts that the Master Trainer taught us was this:

Don't criticize unless you've offered at least 2 positive comments first

Why is this important?

• Because people become defensive if you start with criticism. While he may pretend to be listening to your ideas, he's mentally checked out of the conversation.
  
• People are much more likely to accept negative feedback if they first hear something positive about themselves
  
• Everyone has at least 2 positive things about them that deserve to be praised. When you praise those strengths at the beginning, the person receiving your evaluation will continue improving his strengths if you let him/her know what they are.

 KEY TAKEAWAY

• Don't offer any negative feedback until you've first said at least two positive things about the person

For Toastmasters:

• If you're a Toastmaster and you're offering an evaluation about a speech, begin by acknowledging two things that you enjoyed about the person's speech before you move onto the areas where the speech can be improved

For Your Relationships

• When you're talking to your spouse regarding what you'd like him/her to do better, first begin by acknowledging at least two positive things that he/she does for you: "Honey, I love that you...Also, I am so appreciative of you when you...It would help me out if you (offer point of improvement here)" Share
  

"I Hate This...and I Hate That Too!" How to Handle Negativity

Imagine your friend says to you, 


Friend: "I hate this project/job. Our group meetings always take so long!"


Now, the best way to reduce your friend's negativity as well as making him feel that you understand what he's going through would be to mirror his emotion and then focus on a positive outcome. So, here's what you might want to say to your friend:


You: I can sense that you're upset. [This is the part where you mirror his emotion]


...and you'd like to have shorter meetings, right? [This is the part where you focus on the positive outcome, i.e. you focus on what he would like to have rather than focusing on what he doesn't like].




FORMULA 


1. Mirror the Emotion
"I can sense that you are ___________" (Insert emotion: upset, angry, disappointed)


2. Focus on what she'd like to happen
"and you'd like to _____________, right?" (insert the positive outcome she's expecting). Adding the "right?" at the end of the statement shows that you're clarifying with her that you've understood correctly.


This formula will help you reduce the other person's negativity because it'll make him/her feel understood, and it'll help your friend focus on the solving the outcome rather than simply complaining about it.


*
My hope is that if you feel that you've learned something useful on this blog, then you will decide to share it with your friends because it would help me gain enough readers to so I can share this knowledge with them. Thanks! Share

How To Make People Feel They've Been Understood

Sometimes, someone might say to you something which you completely disagree with! 


Say, for example, that someone is very angry about the new company policy (which you actually support!). In this case, the best way to let the person calm down would be to listen to him and make him feel understood. You don't want to tell the other person "You're completely wrong, I like the company policy!" because that would just aggravate him further. You want to show him you understand his arguments, but you don't want to agree with him just for the sake of calming him down. 

For example...

Your friend says: I hate this new company policy, and the management is just implementing it because they're trying to screw us over. I don't think I should have to work overtime to clean up someone else's mess.

Your Reply: I hear that you're frustrated with the new policy, and you think it's unfair because you don't feel that you should have to work overtime. 

Notice that in this scenario, you've simply reflected back what the person is saying. You've acknowledged that you understand what the other person is saying, but you haven't admitted that he has a point. 

KEY TAKEAWAY

Reflecting back is a great technique for making people feel understood. When you make people feel understood, it helps them let go of their negative emotions. So, if you get into a fight with a friend/spouse/colleague, be sure to reflect back what he/she is saying ("I hear that you feel I haven't been giving you the attention you deserve and that makes you feel..."). When you do this, the other person feels understood and finds it easier to let go of their negative emotions. 


After you've reflected back what the person is saying, you can go on and add your own opinion ("I know that's how you feel, but I assure you that I never meant to make you feel that way..."). 

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If you like, you can share the article with your friends because this site is meant to help people communicate better. Combined, all the articles on this site have been shared close to 1,000 times! And thank you for the growing number of likes =)

Why MOST Persuasion FAILS...

Imagine the following scenario:

You: "If you continue eating such unhealthy food, you're going to die an early death!"

The Reply: "My grandfather ate worse than I do, and he lived to be ninety-two!"

Now, lets have a look at what happened here.

You offered a logical argument, but your argument was shot down by the recipient. On a deeper level, the person you were trying to convince probably knows that you're right...he's not willing to take advice from you because that would mean admitting that he's living his life the wrong way and that is a painful thing to admit.

The reason that many such persuasion attempts fail is because we try and impose our views on the other person, such as:

"If you don't get good grades, you'll never get into college"

"Unless you get more organized, you'll be a failure"

"You're going to get fired unless you start working hard!"

While our views may be justifiable, they won't be accepted because it requires the other person to accept that you're right and he's wrong.

So what can we do in this case?

Luckily, we do have an option. Instead of force-feeding our views on the other person, we can instead ask them questions and get them to come to the same views themselves, such as:

"I'm curious. With grades like these, what do you think will happen to your plans for college?"

"Let's talk through this. If you continue to come late to work, what do you think will happen?"

"If you keep making plans for both of us without asking us first, how do you see our relationship going?"

The hope is that the person you're speaking with will realize the consequences of his actions and make genuine choice to improve. At the very least, the person will go away and think about the question you've just asked them and begin to formulate his answers in the privacy of his home.

Statements such as "You're setting yourself up for a heart attack unless you start exercising!" cause the other person to become defensive; Questions instead (when asked in a friendly tone) cause the other person to consider through the consequences and arrive at his own conclusions...

Key Take-Away:

Instead of force-feeding your opinions on other people, ask them questions instead which will cause them to think about the consequences of their actions. By asking questions, you're allowing the other person to come to his own conclusions and find his own motivation for change. 

So, how about this? Next time that you want to influence a positive change in someone else, instead of pointing out the consequences, ask a question which will cause the other person to take responsibility for his own life.

Article Inspiration:

The inspiration and idea from this article came from the book I'm currently reading, "Instant Influence" by Michael V Pantalon (Psychologist at Yale University)

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P.S. WOW! Thank you for the 240+ likes on www.public-speaking-hong-kong.

blogspot.com. Combined, all the articles have been shared close to 1,000 times!!!

Lean Forward to Look Lean

There are many simple, yet not common sense, tips for appearing on TV in the best light possible.  For example, you know that you should look comfortable and relaxed when you appear on TV; you don't want to look uptight.  But if you sit back and relax in a chair or couch on a TV set, you will look TERRIBLE.

If you sit back and relax, your head will be further away from the camera than your abdomen.  Unfortunately, the camera latches on to whatever is closest. If the camera is closer to your gut, it will magnify your stomach.  The result?  You will look 20-30 pounds heavier than you do in real life.  Even if you have six-pack abs, you will look as if you have a large tummy roll.  To make matters worse, you will look like you have a double chin, even if you've had more face-lifts than Michael Jackson.  So don't lean back in a couch or chair when you are on TV.

Your next option is to sit up perfectly straight, just like your mother taught you when you were in first grade.  In this case, your mom's advice won't work.  If you sit up perfectly straight while in front of a TV camera, you will look as stiff as a board, nervous, scared and highly uncomfortable.  Don't sit up perfectly straight either!

So where does this leave us?

The last - and best - option is to hold yourself up high and lean forward about 15 degrees toward the camera.  This will make you appear taller, thinner, younger and leaner, while accentuating your jaw line.  Because the camera latches on to whatever is closest, it will now give more prominence to your head and mouth, and less to any excess padding you may have below (a major plus for many well-fed business executives, myself included).

So for seated TV interviews, always lean forward about 15 degrees toward the camera. If you are standing, don't lean forward quite that much or you might fall over. Just make sure you don't stand up too rigidly straight, or you will appear nervous and stiff.

The final thing to remember about your body during a TV interview is to move slightly.  Don't remain stiff.  You don't want to move around in a quick, jerky fashion, but you do want to exhibit subtle, natural movement.  Occasionally move forward, backward and to the side 3 to 6 inches, just as you normally would when having an animated conversation with a friend.

By leaning forward and moving slightly in a full range, you will look your very best in every TV appearance.


Article by TJ Walker
from "Media Training A-Z"http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com/mediatrainingaz.html


www.mediatrainingworldwide.com
212-764-4955

Seth Meyers Kills Donald Trump

Seth Meyers killed Donald Trump - so to speak. In case you missed Seth's speech at the White House Correspondent dinner, here's the best of the best:

• Donald Trump said that he was running for president as a Republican. That's funny, because I thought he was running as a joke.
  
  
• Donald Trump often appears on Fox, which is ironic because a fox often appears on Donald Trump's head. If you're at the Washington Post table with Trump and you can't finish your entree, don't worry, the fox will eat it.
  
  
• Donald Trump owns the Miss USA pageant, which is great for Republicans because it will streamline their search for vice president
  
  
• On the Royal Wedding: As I was watching the festivities I couldn't help thinking how wonderful it is to live in a country where people don't have to wear hats like that
  
  
• Just look at the options Republicans are kicking around: Palin. Huckabee. Gingrich. Trump. That doesn’t sound like a field of candidates -- that sounds like season 13 of Dancing With The Stars. And not the stars -- the dancers
  
  
• [Trump] said he's got a great relationship with 'the blacks'. Unless the Blacks are a family of white people, I bet he's mistaken.

 Watch Seth's speech here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YGITlxfT6s    Share

Report Card from Hell

Several years ago, I came back home with a letter from my school teacher. Imagine the pride and joy on my parents faces when they opened the letter and read:


Dear Mr. and Mrs. Karia,


Akash's academic transcript is like a festival of F's. However, I am very proud of him. He works hard, and sooner or later - usually later - he ends up getting an answer. Unfortunately, it's sometimes - by which I mean always - not the correct one. 


While Akash struggles academically, I would love to say that sports is where he excels. But he does not. 


Regarding his acting talents, he does a very convincing impression of a cabbage. As for whatever singing talent he possesses, it remains hidden - which is how I would prefer it to stay. 


What worries me most is Akash's lack of memory (or, to put a positive spin on it, his surplus of forgetfulness).


Finally, I would like to say that Akash is a very likeable guy. I would like to say that. Unfortunately, many of the people whom he thinks are his friends find his face slightly frightening. 


Best,


Mrs. Beata 


P.S. I know that your son/daughter will make a brilliant career out of whatever s/he chooses. I don't know if that's really true. I just write that on every report card. 




Note
P.S. True Story! In case you're wondering: this is EXACTLY like the report card I brought home, but just very different. Okay, fine, some of the parts - by which I mean all of the parts - are slightly (by which I mean extremely) exaggerated. Anyway, the point is - wait, what was the point again? I'll get back to you soon...my surplus of forgetfulness sometimes works against me.




About the Author:

Looks wise, this was the cutest I ever got. After this, everything went downhill...


Okay, so this picture isn't really of me! The point is, my parents never really took any pictures of me as a kid...so we just cut out some pictures from a magazine. My little sister, on the other hand, has so many pictures of her that you can flip through her photo-album and it's like one of those animations where she grows right in-front of you. 


Anyway, the point is - wait, you're still reading this? 


Copyright: Akash Karia
Yeah, I know, you're just dying, to reprint this aren't you? Aren't you? All right, all right, since you insist go ahead and share this Share

Find Your Core Message

    

When you first start preparing your presentation or speech, the most important thing you must do is to figure out the core message of your speech. What is the one thing that you are trying to achieve with the speech? Which one concept/idea do you want your listeners to understand and remember? Or, alternatively, what one single action do you want your listeners to take after they’ve heard your speech? 

·        Finding your core message is about forced prioritization. What’s the most important thing that you want to convey to the audience?

·        Write out your core message on a piece of paper in less than 20 words

·        Your core message will help you decide what to include and what to discard. If a story/statistic emphasizes the core message, include it; otherwise, save it for another speech

·        Ruthlessly cut out anything that is not directly related to the core message. You will have a highly focused speech which the audience will remember and thank you for. 

Bottom Line:

If your audience was to forget everything else that you said, what is the one single thing that you would want them to remember? Share

Stupidest Presentation Mistake

Warning: 

This is a rant, and it's a venting of my fury about the biggest mistake that most presenters make when preparing for an upcoming presentation. As such, strong opinions are contained in the paragraph below. Don't expect me to be nice. Don't expect me to be considerate of your feelings. Heck, don't even expect proper grammar or punctuation...this is a rant, and it's one that most presenters deserve to hear. 

"Let's Make a Powerpoint" 

At University, students get the opportunity to practice their presentation skills. I've been a part of these groups. The Professor announces, "Next week, each group will present their proposals". And without fail, one of the team members will immediately turn to the rest of the group and say, "Great, let's make our Powerpoint!"

What's Wrong with this?

• Content creation should come first. Powerpoint should be the last thing you do.
  
• Brainstorm your ideas first and then decide whether you REALLY need Powerpoint. Creating a Powerpoint, most of the time, isn't the best method to persuade and inspire.

"It's Visual Aid"

• The most frequent excuse people give me as to why they create Powerpoints is that "It's visual aid for the audience". My response? Bullshit...
• You are using your Powerpoint as a crutch! Students use the words, "Let's make a Powerpoint" not because they believe that it will help the audience, but simply because they want the safety of being able to continually refer to the Powerpoint in case they forget what they have to say. 

"Everyone ELSE uses it as a Crutch, but NOT ME"

• You say that you don't use Powerpoint as a crutch? You say that you use it simply because you want to help the audience remember the information better?
  
  Okay, let's see. If you're correct, then you should be able to give the presentation WITHOUT having to refer to the Powerpoint. If you refer continuously to the Powerpoint, then Powerpoint is your crutch. Instead of using notes that you hold in your hand, you're simply using notes that you project on a screen...

Okay, Please Give me a Solution!

• Prepare your CONTENT first. Brainstorm your ideas. Create a structure. Decide on which points you're going to use and what anecdotes and quotes you're going to use to support those points.
  
• After you've got your content, decide if it's appropriate to use Powerpoint. Many times, it probably isn't.
• If you are going to use Powerpoint: keep Content Creation and Powerpoint design as two different stages. Don't use your Powerpoint to create your content! Content first, powerpoint later... 
• Stop using Powerpoint as a crutch. You should know your content inside out without having to refer to the screen. Try this...during your practice run, turn off the Powerpoint. See if you can give the presentation without needing the help of "notes projected on the screen".

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