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 =)

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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How to Open Your Speech

If you want to set yourself up for success, then it’s vital that the first 30 seconds of your speech catches your audiences’ attention, arouses their curiosity and makes them feel that your speech is worth their time. Use these principles to get your audience hooked onto your every word right from the beginning:

 Do NOT open with a standard ‘Thank-you’ introduction. You can thank your hosts and audiences later, after you’ve built a connection with them.


Avoid opening with a Joke, especially if you aren’t a gifted humorist and haven’t tested the joke before. To add humour to your speech, use a witty quote instead. 

Use one of the four proven Opening Gambits to open with a bang:       

 

o  Start with a Story

o   Use Questions to Create a Knowledge Gap

o   Use Quotable Quotes to gain extra Credibility

o   Open with an Intriguing/ Startling Statement 

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Choosing Your Presentation/Speech Title

It's important to choose an important title for your presentation/speech. Here's a list of questions to ask yourself when choosing a speech title. If you can answer YES to a majority of these questions, then voila! you've found your perfect presentation title.

• Does it stress benefits or results for the audience?
  
  
• Does it stress WIIFM (What's In It For Me)?
  
  
• Does it reflect the theme of the program?
  
  
• Does it create curiosity for the audience?
  
  
• Does it play off a well-known title or phrase?
  
  
• Is it easily remembered?
  
  
  Bottom-line...does it sound like something you don't want to miss?
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Metaphor, Simile and Analogy: What’s the Difference?

Now that we know metaphors can be powerful persuasion tools, let’s make sure everyone is on the same page from a definitional standpoint. Common sources of confusion for the metaphorically inclined include the simile and the analogy.

While all three are closely related, it’s smart to understand the differences. The distinctions among metaphors, similes and analogies will also help to underscore why you may want to use one and not the other in certain situations.

Let’s take a look at definitions:

Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that uses one thing to mean another and makes a comparison between the two. The key words here are “one thing to mean another.” So, when someone says “He’s become a shell of a man,” we know not to take this literally, even though it’s stated directly as if this person had actually lost his internal substance.

Simile

A simile compares two different things in order to create a new meaning. In this case, we are made explicitly aware that a comparison is being made due to the use of “like” or “as” (He’s like a shell of a man). For fun, the next time someone corrects you and says “That’s a simile, not a metaphor,” you can respond by letting them know that a simile is a type of metaphor, just like sarcasm is a type of irony. Resist the urge to be sarcastic in your delivery.

Analogy

An analogy is comparable to metaphor and simile in that it shows how two different things are similar, but it’s a bit more complex. Rather than a figure of speech, an analogy is more of a logical argument. The presenter of an analogy will often demonstrate how two things are alike by pointing out shared characteristics, with the goal of showing that if two things are similar in some ways, they are similar in other ways as well.

About the Author
The above article has been republished from Copyblogger. You can check out the Copyblogger blog by visiting this link: http://www.copyblogger.com/ Share

Best Marketing Advert Ever!

What can the "Best Marketing Gimmick Ever" teach you about effective communication?

As you'll see for yourself soon when you "play" the advert (link at the end of the article), you'll realize the communication skills lessons.

1. Audience Involvement - people learn best when they are involved. In this marketing gimmick, you are physically involved (controlling the right, left keys on your keyboard) and don't even care that you're prey to a clever marketing gimmick. When you give a presentation, involve the audience by asking them questions, getting them to physically move around, playing games with them

2. People like Games! People like fun things. The marketing gimmick is fun. During the game, you get to drive around, jump into different hotel rooms. When you give a presentation, keep it fun...use lots of humour, keep the atmosphere "light", use games to get your point across

3. Go try out the marketing gimmick for yourself (It may take a while to load), but it'll be worth it: http://pleasurehunt.mymagnum.com/
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Raise the Energy: Discuss and Debrief

Discuss and Debrief (Video Example above)

If you want to quickly raise the energy of your audience, get them to remember and buy into your message, and break the monotony of you simply standing there speaking, use the Discuss and Debrief method. Most speakers ask their entire audience questions like, “What are some important factors to successfully undergoing change in your organization?” Chances are the audience will initially struggle to respond and the speaker will face an awkward silence.

The solution is to give them oil by loosening up their minds in the following way: “For 45 seconds, I want you to turn and talk to two neighbors of yours and discuss what you feel are some of the most important factors to undergo a successful change in your organization. You have 45 seconds. Ready? Go.” This is the Discuss part of the Discuss and Debrief method.

Immediately the energy rises as bodies move and people start communicating. The modality changes from you speaking to them speaking, thinking, and listening to each other. Remember, your audience wants to be heard too and this is a great way to accomplish that. Finally, after the 45 seconds are up, you say something like the following: “Okay, please turn back around up front. Let’s hear what you had to say. What are some of the most important factors for having a successful change?”

At that point, it might even surprise you how rapidly and effortlessly they shoot out responses. This is because they have loosened up their minds. They have gone from listening mode (when they listened to you) to thinking mode and their responses will most likely align with your point. Therein lies the genius of this method. If youget them to say it, rather than simply saying it yourself, they end up buying into your message much more fully and quickly. Plus, they have fun doing so. This is the Debrief part of the Discuss and Debrief method.

Why Does this Work? These are 4 Reasons to use This Method

1. It loosens up their minds so they can easily give answers during the Debrief section
2. It breaks up the speech and changes the modality
3. It facilitates movement into a more kinesthetic experience, which is how some people learn best
4. It raises their energy

About the Author
Craig Valentine is the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking. You can take advantage of his wealth of public speaking resources on http://www.craigvalentine.com/