If you watched the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, you noticed that there was a snafu with the display of the Olympic rings, when an electronic snowflake that was supposed to expand into the fifth ring never opened.
I've written in the past about elite and Olympic athletes who don't dwell on mistakes, but get up from a fall or crash and keep performing, sometimes going on to achieve even more than expected. Well, clearly, Olympic ceremony designer Konstantin Ernst has the same die-hard spirit.
In the closing ceremony, the rings were formed by a group of dancers wearing glittering costumes. As the rings formed, one group of performers instead stayed in a small, tight circle (to represent the opening night snowflake) for a few hilarious moments, parodying the opening night mishap. But unlike the opening ceremony, the fifth ring finally expanded and joined the rest.
By incorporating his mistake and poking fun at what initially was probably somewhat embarrassing, Ernst shows his sense of humor, his flexibility, his willingness to laugh at himself, and his ability to take a mistake and make something even better out of it.
We're all going to make mistakes on stage. For most of us, millions of people around the world won't be watching. But for our audiences who are, demonstrating grace and resilience under pressure, a sense of humor, and the understanding that we're all human will go far to entertain and connect with the audience -- and perhaps give our presentation that extra luster that people will remember long after it's over.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
Not only should you never START your presentation with any of these statements, you should never END with them or include them ANYWHERE in your presentation.
Ready?
1. People fear public speaking more than they fear death.
It's trite, and the only study to ever come up with this conclusion was a survey posted in the Sunday Times of London, in a tiny blurb with no citation, in 1973. Get over it -- it's not true.
2. People would rather be in the casket than delivering the eulogy.
This is Jerry Seinfeld's clever version of #1. Again, not original (it was funny when Seinfeld said it... the first time), and not true.
3. Communication is 93% nonverbal.
How many times have you read this in an article about communication or public speaking:
* 7% of communication comes from our words
* 38% of communication comes from our tone of voice
* 55% of communication comes from our body language?
Or, in other words, "our words make up only 7% of the meaning of our communication."
Well, it's bunk.
Albert Mehrabian, the originator of the research that is so often misinterpreted, was studying incongruent verbal and nonverbal communication when a person is expressing feelings. He looked at how subjects responded to images with different facial expressions and recordings of a voice saying a single word with different inflections conveying like, dislike and neutral emotion.
Nowhere in his research does he say that words make up only 7% of communication.
Listen to Mehrabian himself talk about how frustrating he finds this constant misrepresentation of his research in this brief audio interview. This quote says it all:
"Whenever I hear that misquote or misrepresentation of my findings I cringe, because it should be so obvious to anybody who would use any amount of common sense that that's not a correct statement."
Please, for the love of audiences everywhere: If you want to present yourself as stale, unimaginative, derivative and out of touch with reality, then keep on telling these tall tales. Otherwise, stop it.
Be courageous. Let go. Find something new and fresh to say that's actually based on real research and/or your own experiences. You'll be doing the world a huge favor.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
I watch a lot of presentations. A lot of them are good and some of them are great. I walk out of many of them feeling excited and motivated to do... something. But what? If the speaker didn't tell me what I'm supposed to do next, he's just missed a great opportunity to get real results from his presentation.
What kind of results?
Here's an example from a recent presentation I reviewed. My client had just finished describing the problem of youth homelessness in Santa Barbara, and had given examples of how his organization has served one particular young woman. We heard some statistics, and we heard "Susie's" story. As a lot of presentations go, this would have been the end.
However, he went on to say this:
"Homelessness is bigger than any one person, problem or place, and oftentimes it can be overwhelming to figure out how to help. So I came up with two ways you can support an outreach program through [organization].
The first way would be to volunteer time, supporting us on outreach, helping us with drop-ins, preparing a meal for a hungry youth. The second way would be to provide financial resources or donations. This helps up provide the top level of care that we've been able to do, which I think makes our services unique."
Bam! Any questions about how you can support this organization? Any questions about what you can do should you be motivated to get involved?
It can be just a few words. It can take 30 seconds (the one above took about 40 and gave two options).
But if you're not making a call to action in your presentations, with specific steps your audience can take, you're leaving a gaping hole where instead you could be gaining clients, customers, volunteers, donors, voters, partners, investors, committee members, fans, believers, letter-writers, advocates, co-conspirators or whatever other kind of supporter you're looking for.
Do you have a call to action? Share it in the comments!
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
All 12for12 posts have been removed, as they are now part of my "SpeakUP! 8 Daily Challenges to Build Your Confidence Muscles at Work, at Home, and in Front of an Audience" online program, which will be launching mid-January 2013..
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
Have you ever gotten stuck while describing something and just couldn't quite put it into words? If you're sitting around with friends and you can't quite explain the amazing meal you had at the Indian restaurant, it's no big deal.
But when someone asks you about your service or product, you better be able to describe it. "I'm not doing it justice," just doesn't cut it. One woman I heard recently at a networking event started her 10-minute presentation with, "What should I say?" Not the strong opening I was hoping for.
Even something as short and sweet as your professional introduction (aka "elevator speech") (and it IS short and sweet, isn't it?) needs to be crafted and practiced so you don't find yourself saying, "I can't really describe what I do." And believe me, I've actually heard people say this! If you can't describe what you do to people who would hire you, how will you ever get a customer? If you're confused, they'll be confused.
At a speaking engagement, at a networking event, in any business-oriented situation, you should be prepared to talk about the following:
1. What do you do?
You need to have your professional introduction nailed. It should be short, concise and not one of those contrived "make me guess" kinds of statements.
If you are a jack-of-all-trades, pick the most relevant aspect of your work to represent when you're networking. I used to run a nonprofit, a jewelry business and my public speaking coaching business all at the same time. When someone asked me, "What do you do?" I picked the one that made the most sense in the setting I was in. If it came up in conversation, I would mention the other businesses, but otherwise, I focused on one job and made it primary.
If you can't describe or define what you do, or you overwhelm a new contact with too many options, you are diluting your focus and your message. People may determine that you do too many things to do any one of them well. Or they may perceive that you have several jobs because you aren't successful in any of them. Or they just don't know who you are and what your message is, and they can't refer you to anyone.
2. What do you speak about?
This might be hard if you have a lot of topics, but the best way to describe what you speak about is to share the general theme of your presentations. I speak about topics related to public speaking. These topics might include networking, making presentations fun, using preparation rituals, promoting your business without sounding like a commercial, using PowerPoint more effectively, understanding adult learning principles ... but they all come back to public speaking and presentation skills.
If, as I mentioned above, your speaking topics are unrelated and diverse, pick the ones that make sense with the group you're talking to, and focus on those. I would also argue that, if you have too many disparate topics, you are again diluting your focus and message, and therefore your potential client pool.
Other questions you might be asked in business networking or speaking situations:
Who is your ideal client?
What is the process like (of using your service or product)?
How or where do you make (sell, market, design, promote, advertise, etc.) your product or service?
Explaining yourself and what you do is about clarity, consistency, and credibility, and it's about concentrating your concepts and message so that there is no question who you are and what you're about.
Be prepared. Practice. Know exactly what you're going to say and how you're going to say it. Never again be the person who, when asked what you do says, "It's hard to explain."
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
Do you ever go to a party or family gathering and find it hard to leave? You start saying goodbye to people, and it's inevitable that there's someone you didn't talk to enough. So now you're getting caught up, and the clock keeps ticking. You try to say goodbye to everyone you know, here you are, 30 minutes later, still trying to leave.
Presentation closings are a little bit like saying goodbye at a party. Speakers have an incredibly difficult time saying goodbye to the audience. Here are some examples of presentation closings I see all the time.
1. The Fade
The speaker gets to the end of her talk, her volume starts to drop, she mumbles a few things no one can hear and says, "That's it."
2. The Beaten Bush
The speaker gets to the end of her talk and tries to find as many ways possible to recap her points, going in circles without actually ending.
3. The "What the...?"
The speaker gets to the end of her talk, but the audience doesn't realize it. There's an awkward pause until the speaker finally walks away and the audience, confused, starts clapping.
You've probably seen these closings and more -- if you can call them closings, that is.
Here are some good reasons to put more time and thought into your closing.
1. The audience needs to know when you're done
There's nothing ambiguous here. If they don't know you're done, you're not done. It's awkward and uncomfortable, not to mention unprofessional. If nothing else, say "Thank you" so the audience knows they can clap and leave!
2. You get to leave your audience with your final thoughts and message
This is your opportunity to remind the audience of your points and your core message. You've talked about a lot of different things, and they may be focusing on any one of them. Offer Q&A, and then take your last few moments to remind them of your message.
3. You get to ask your audience to do something
This is called a "call to action," where you challenge the audience to take the next step, whatever it is. You might want them to call you or buy something from you. You might want them to donate money, call their congressional representative or hang flyers advertising a local festival. What do you want the audience to do as a result of your presentation? This is your chance to ask for what you want.
4. You have an opportunity to be memorable
This is where you say something so interesting, funny, astounding, clever, heartwarming, intriguing or instigating that they can't stop thinking about your message. You can show a great image, you can share a meaningful quote, you can finish a story you started in the beginning, you can do one of a million things. Just make sure it's something that brings your presentation full circle and ties it all together. Make sure it will connect with the audience (as much as you can be sure of anything before a presentation!).
There are lots of good reasons for using an effective, memorable closing. There are no good reasons to fade out at the end, say "That's it," and slink away. Give your audience a nicely-wrapped package all tied up with a bow. Now they can leave, and once they leave, they will remember you.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
I read this great quote in an article called "What Business Really Thinks of the MBA," about what students are missing in current business school education.
In the book, "Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads," an executive who was interviewed said:
"Students fail to deliver the important message up front. I'm often asked to review their five-minute pitch for a business plan, but after the first minute they still haven't given me a reason to listen for the next four."
Is this not true of every presentation? Sure, the audience is paying attention to you when you start your presentation; they've got no choice, really, unless you are so quiet and low-key that they literally do not realize you've begun. Otherwise, they're looking at you, they're listening to you, and they're anticipating what comes next.
Unless...
Unless you don't give them a reason to get excited about what comes next. Unless your opening is so dull and uninteresting that they decide checking e-mail or Facebook is a better use of their time.
What you do in the first minute of your presentation just gets people to listen for the second minute. What you do in the fifth minute keeps them paying attention until the sixth minute. And what you do in the 27th minute keeps them hanging on till the 28th minute.
Engaging the audience is an ongoing prospect. It's not something you do one time and win them over for the whole hour. People's minds drift, they get distracted, they become engaged in their own thoughts. You must continue to read the audience, bring them back to your world, stimulate their emotions through stories, analogies, visuals, humor and conviction, make them feel like rock stars, let them see the real you, connect with and relate to them, and forget about perfection.
Here are a bunch more posts about engaging the audience. Remember that the first few minutes are still a critical period in your presentation, that set the stage for the rest of your time. But every minute of your presentation is an opportunity to keep the audience engaged for the next minute and the next and the next, until you've succeeded in creating a complete experience.
Some audience members will remember discrete moments of your presentation. Others will remember particular visuals, stories or laughter. But the more of these moments you can string together, the more the audience will take with them a whole picture of rewarding time spent with you.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
Hearing from audience member I'm still #1 on Google
I'm putting my money where my mouth is.
It is a frequent recommendation of mine that speakers videotape themselves on a regular basis, so they can be on the lookout for bad habits and mistakes. I try to do this, but am not nearly as regular as I would like to be. And sometimes my presentations are videotaped at organizations where it's not appropriate for me (or I'm not allowed) to post them publicly.
Yesterday I took video of a presentation I gave to one of my networking groups, based on a recent blog post about rookie mistakes. I've decided to show you my personal critiquing process.
I, like many other speakers and performers, am uber-sensitive and highly critical of myself. I try to be fair, but I tend to watch my videos with a mixture of fascination, angst and cringing.
Here's the video, with about five minutes of presenting and about five minutes of Q&A. Watch as much (or as little) as you like, then join me below for my critique of my bad habits!
First, let's get the negative stuff out of the way.
1. I laugh at my own jokes too much.
2. My hands have a mind of their own; gestures tend to be repetitive.
3. I could have directed the audience better to my theme of "rookie mistakes." Another example of not enough preparation.
4. My closing is weak (as usual, as I find closings incredibly awkward). Closings are the bane of my existence as a presenter.
5. I make screwy faces, and I don't mean the goofy ones that I do on purpose.
6. I should have had the person with the video camera film the audience members as they asked questions so they could be heard better. I assumed sound would be okay in that room.
And, because every presentation has good parts, I always make note of what I liked and what I think worked.
1. I am clearly enjoying myself, and the audience is feeding back my positive energy.
2. I'm connecting well with the audience.
3. Most of the humor works the way I anticipated it, although I'm surprised the "blinding white building" line didn't get a laugh, as that's one reason our group left its last meeting location for this new one.
4. Despite the short lead time I gave myself to write and practice the presentation (you don't want to know), the structure helped me remember everything, and I didn't lose my place once.
5. As this was a more scripted presentation than what I typically give (and therefore outside my comfort zone), I think I did a pretty good job of coming across as natural and not overly memorized.
6. I'm very happy with the way the opening stories led into my presentation, and the way the closing picked up where I left off at the beginning.
And there you have it: A typical critique of my own presentation. While I've been working on my skills in front of audiences since I was a teenager (and been paid to speak for almost 20 years now), I know I still have a lot to learn, and I'm constantly working to improve.
I don't fall into the trap of comparing myself to other speakers, because we are all individuals who have our own styles and our own personalities. I struggle with my perception of "professional" (i.e. boring and stilted) vs. "authentic" or "fun" (i.e. undisciplined and informal). I realize there's much more gray area and overlap between these definitions than I allow.
I also know that some of my challenges may stick with me forever. Such is life. But I love what I do, and if I can continue to share that love and energy with my clients and audiences and help them find that joy in their own presentations, then I consider my job mostly done!
Do you critique yourself? Are you willing to share?
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
"Why didn't I lose that 20 pounds?" ~ Robert Stromberg, accepting the Academy Award for Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland.
As I believe most bloggers who write about the Academy Awards acceptance speeches today are writing about speeches as a whole, I've decided to focus on speech openings. (And yes, I'm more than a little tickled that the Best Picture Oscar went to a movie about public speaking!)
As I mentioned in my blog post "More tips for better acceptance speeches," a winner has 45 seconds to speak, and less flexibility to go over that time as the evening goes on and the show starts to run long. Why waste precious seconds with apologies and fillers?
Last night, very few of the winners jumped right into their speeches without several seconds of "Wow!" "Holy cow!" "Oh my gosh!" "Is this real?" "This is unbelievable!" and similar exclamations of surprise.
I'm not saying an outburst of emotion is inappropriate for this type of speech (that would make me pretty cold-hearted, wouldn't it?), but there was so much time-wasting that speakers frequently got the "goodbye music" while they were still in the middle of their speeches. I'm sure that, for many of the award recipients, these outbursts were used to kill some time while they gathered their thoughts and their breath and tried to remember what they were going to say. But they were time-wasters nonetheless.
Beyond the outburst of emotion which, when brief, is acceptable, I have another theory about some of the more extended expressions of disbelief.
Is it possible that some winners were actually playing up their surprise in fear of coming across as egotistical? After all, if you just walk up, keep your cool, and start talking, you might look as though you expected to win all along. And that would be bad, right? Some of the winners seemed genuinely surprised while others seemed to be putting on a big show. I won't name names...
I can't pretend to understand what's going through the nominees' heads as they prepare their speeches, wait for their names to be called and then take the stage upon winning, all the while worrying about saying the right thing and dealing with Hollywood politics. But there is an awful lot of time-wasting on stage that could very easily be avoided.
Here's just one example of how taking out the fillers can make a huge difference in the opening punch of a speech.
Most speech-watchers have agreed that David Seidler's (winner for Original Screenplay, The King's Speech) was among the best last night. And it could have been even better with this one tweak:
Instead of beginning with "The writer's speech. This is terrifying..." he could have left that out and started with his next line: "My father always said to me I'd be a late bloomer." It got a huge laugh, as Seidler is 73 years old. What a way to kick off a speech!
That being said, here are some openings that I found effective for their humor or thoughtfulness, and while they still may have been time-killers while the recipients gathered their thoughts, they were much better than the "Holy cow" extended fillers.
"I should have gotten a haircut." ~ Luke Matheny (sporting an enormous pouf of hair), accepting the Oscar for Best Live Action Short
"Forgive me. I must start by pointing out that three years after our horrific financial crisis caused by massive fraud, not a single financial executive has gone to jail. And that's wrong." ~ Charles Ferguson, Best Documentary: Inside Job
"It feels like that top is still spinning." ~ Paul Franklin, Visual Effects: Inception
"I have a feeling my career's just peaked." ~ Colin Firth, accepting the Oscar for Best Actor. (His entire speech was a winner, one of the few. His warning of "stirrings somewhere in the upper abdominals which are threatening to form themselves into dance moves" had a touch of absurdity about it while creating a humorous mental image.)
"I'm very grateful for this, and surprised. My percentages aren't great. I’ve been nominated 20 times and this is the 2nd time I've won." ~ Randy Newman, Best Original Song: Toy Story 3 (He goes on to explain, in his entertaining speech, how nominees were instructed not to take out a list of names to read, because it doesn't make good TV. "I just have to thank these people. I don't want to. I want to be good television so badly, as you can see.")
Congratulations to all the winners, and next year I hope to see a few more acceptance speeches that truly rise to the occasion!
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
Adding to one's public speaking "bag of tricks" is a constant effort. In order to continually improve, we are always trying new techniques, practicing new skills, adding or subtracting technology and tools, watching other speakers to see what's working for them, and of course, watching our audiences to see how they're responding.
Here are some things you can try this year to improve your skills, your timing, your confidence, your connection, and your overall effectiveness.
Take a lesson from my colleague Del Heglund, who has decided to start singing his 30-second introductions (aka commercials) at our networking meetings: He is not afraid to try new things, especially if it will make him more memorable than the next guy!
1. Videotape or audio record yourself. Then watch and critique with sound on and sound off.
21. Encourage audience involvement. Give opportunities for participation, activities, movement and questions.
Pick one or a couple of these to focus on over the next couple of months to freshen up and add some shine to your old routine.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
One question I've always had for artists is, "How do you know when you're done?" Out of thousands of brush strokes, when does the realization hit that this is the "last one?"
Speakers face the same dilemma. How do you know when you've hit on that perfect line, that pithy quote or powerful statement that slaps you in the face and says, "Stop here!"
I would argue that closings are one of the most difficult aspects of a presentation. Knowing when to stop, feeling like you've said all you can say and punctuating your presentation with just the right ending frequently feel awkward. It's like when you're trying to leave a party and spend an extra half hour saying your goodbyes.
Here's a before and after example from a client's presentation in my group coaching program. Her speech is about how her husband hates to travel, so she finds a way to travel the world every Sunday morning -- through cooking.
Original ending:
"I know that tonight, when we sit down to dinner, he's going to say the same thing he says every night when we sit down: 'I'm the luckiest man in the world, because I get to eat in a different country every night.' And I feel lucky. So I've brought you all your own magic carpet ride. I hope that you'll choose to take one, and that we'll travel together someday at my house or yours."
New and improved ending:
"At the end of the night, my husband will join me in my travels when he sits down, and he'll say, 'Why should I buy a plane ticket? I eat in a different country every night.'"
In the first example, Suzanne wasn't quite sure where she was going with her ending. The quote by her husband was perfect, I thought. But then she continued on with a sort-of call to action, or invitation to try traveling through trying some exotic recipes ourselves. So what's the message? Too many endings and the message gets diluted, whichever one you choose.
Here's another example, from another coaching group client. Jessica's presentation was about health claims on food packaging and learning to differentiate between truth and marketing.
Original ending:
"I'm not telling you these things to scare you, but it's always good to know what you're consuming and to be able to see through the veil of marketing."
Revised ending:
"Next time you're cruising through the aisles and boxes and bags of the grocery store, don't rely on the words that pop out of the package that make you think that they're healthy; actually look at the ingredients label, and you'll be better off."
In the first example, Jessica is asserting that it's a good idea to know what you're eating and to know the difference between truth and marketing. In the second example, she gives a clear call to action to read the ingredient labels to know what you're getting.
Both speeches were only given twice, so you can see how these endings could be improved and tightened up even more. But both speakers went from wishy-washy to straightforward conclusions with just a little effort.
In order to have a strong ending, you have to know the objective of your presentation. You have to create the presentation with the ending in mind. What do you want the audience to do as a result of your presentation? What do you want them to remember? What feeling do you want to leave them with?
Once you know that, it's easier to know what your strongest ending is and when to quit talking.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
I have two clients who are event planners. They create amazing social and corporate events as well as weddings that would charm your socks off.
If you've ever been to a conference, a wedding, a large fundraiser, a political rally, or a memorial service, chances are an event planner was involved.
All event planners have one thing in common: No matter how complicated or difficult the planning and organization, they make the event appear seamless. With vendors ranging from caterers to florists to photographers to musicians to hotels to audio/visual professionals, and every other kind of service provider you can imagine, the event planner juggles personalities, schedules, budgets, and activities to create an event that seems like it just "came together."
As speakers, there's a lot we can learn from event planners. Here are some event planning tips to help you put together your next seamless presentation.
1. Understand the purpose of the event.
Event planners have to understand what their client's purpose is for the event in order to be successful. Is it to raise money, thank donors, build morale, celebrate an important occasion, educate staff, experience their dream wedding, create industry cohesion? What are the desired outcomes or results?
As a speaker, understanding your client's desired result will help you create a presentation that truly meets the needs of your audience and guarantees that you are focusing on the proper objectives when preparing.
2. Make the best use of the venue.
Granted, event planners frequently get to choose their own venue, while speakers are mostly expected to go where the client tells us to go. However, once you know the venue, there are still a lot of things to consider, and event planners are masters at making any venue workable.
How big is the room? If it's too big, how can you make it more intimate? If it's too small, how can you make it feel more roomy? How's the lighting, the temperature, the seating? Are there enough electrical outlets for your equipment? How far away is parking, and do you have to lug your supplies a long way? (There is one venue at UC Santa Barbara that I've spoken at many times, where I have to walk from one end of campus to the other. A rolling case makes this trek much more bearable.)
3. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare.
An event planner generally does not throw together a wedding in a month. There are vendors to coordinate, invitations to be sent, a site to secure. It would be ridiculous to expect a well-organized event with such a short lead time, unless it's very small, with very few attendees and very few supplies and equipment needed.
Likewise, it would be foolish to start preparing your presentation a few days before you deliver it, yet this is quite common. Have you taken the time to determine your objective, prepare a strong opening and closing, and practice the presentation? Have you gotten input from the organizers or attendees about their needs and interests? Have you rehearsed any demonstrations, games, examples or activities? Have you checked to make sure you have extra batteries, an extension cord, enough handouts, a backup copy of your PowerPoint, and a timer?
Preparing to give an effective, engaging and memorable presentation takes time. There's no way around it. Give yourself as much time as you need so you can give the audience your best.
4. Be flexible.
"Stuff" happens. Event planners are experts at working around setbacks and figuring out solutions when things don't go as planned. They don't panic, they just get busy.
As a speaker, if you have not yet experienced one of these setbacks, it's only a matter of time before you do. Your technology will fail. Your room will be next to a loud construction site. The speaker before you will go long and your presentation will be cut by fifteen minutes. The trick is to keep going. Sometimes your audience will know there's a problem, but most of the time, you will be the only one. Keep it to yourself, fix it as quickly and quietly as possible, and move on.
At some point, after all the planning and preparation, you have to let go and accept that whatever happens, happens!
5. Enjoy yourself.
Event planners don't get to relax until their event is over; even after all the planning is done, event supervision and management is the last step in the process. But it's important that she's not too stressed out to enjoy the fruits of her labor during this last push. After all, she still has to run the show, interacting with clients, vendors and guests -- and if she's not enjoying herself, her bad mood can easily rub off on others.
Likewise, a speaker is no good to himself or the audience if he is not having a good time. Before, during and after your presentation, you are interacting with your client and your audience, and you are still working until you get in your car to leave. It's not only your job to convey information, but to ensure your guests are enjoying themselves, even (or maybe more so) if your topic is dry, heavy or intense.
These are just a few examples of what you can learn from event planners. Share more in the comments!
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
As I seem to be slightly under the weather this week (perhaps I'm having a mental block due to being at 997 blog posts...), I'm going to introduce you to Kristin Arnold, president of the National Speakers Association. Her book is called Boring to Bravo, and she's offered an excerpt, which I've posted below! Because we've been talking a bit about Q&Alately, I thought this was a good fit. I do love a guest blogger when my brain isn't working properly. Thank you, Kristin!
How to go from Boring to Bravo with National Speakers Association president Kristin Arnold
No one wants to be boring, and no one wants to be bored listening to you. During a presentation you are delivering to customers, co-workers or cohorts, you can’t afford to have your audience disengage – or worse – walk out.
While it will always be easier to recite information (one way) than it is to make an engaging speech (two way) presentation that connects with your audience, today’s audiences are demanding more engagement and interaction. They are expecting you to bring specific knowledge they can’t get anywhere else – and deliver it in an entertaining way.
Get out of your comfort zone and choose to make your presentations more engaging and interactive.
Here’s an excerpt from my new book, Boring to Bravo, which offers tips on implementing a successful Q&A in your next presentation:
I once watched a famous retired football coach deliver an after-dinner speech to a group of a hundred managers. As to be expected, when he came to the end of his presentation, he asked if anyone had any questions. What I did not expect is that no one had a question. Not one. Here is a guy with several Super Bowl rings on his fingers and no one had a question about anything he said. We looked around at each other for a few terrible moments until one of the VPs broke the ice with some lame question. There was another polite one and then the crowd started asking pertinent questions.
This question-and-answer session (Q&A) did not have to be so painful. Obviously, this coach had given this speech once or twice before, and yet his ending Q&A was the first time he engaged the audience one-on-one. Even though he knew what to expect, it is hard to involve the audience seven-eights of the way into a presentation!
There is no law that says you have to save your Q&A until the end of the presentation. You can
· Take questions as you go.
· Stop periodically and ask for questions – particularly if a participant or two looks puzzled.
· Create small groups to formulate the questions.
· Use a cellular phone, Web technology, or index cards to solicit questions.
· Hold questions until the end (but then wrap up with your final comments or story).
There is no right or wrong approach, although I have a strong bias against holding all questions to the end. By the time you get to the end, your audience will have forgotten the burning question they had twenty minutes earlier. They will be ready to take a break and grab another cup of coffee.
It all depends on your topic, your audience, and how much time you have. Just pick an approach, tell the audience how you will take questions, and then stick to it. You may want to ask the moderator (if you have one) to introduce the Q&A approach, to call on the questioners, and to intervene if it gets off track.
You will never be boring if you genuinely care about and connect with your audience. And, the added benefit is that you’ll have more fun, too!
Kristin Arnold is on a mission to make all meetings more engaging, interactive and collaborative through her new book, Boring to Bravo. Arnold is president of the National Speakers Association. Visit BoringtoBravo.com to order your copy today and for free downloads.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
Here's a new way to think about that anxiety you feel at the beginning of a presentation.
Picture that nervousness like a ball of fire in your stomach. (Sometimes it actually feels that way!)
Now instead of holding that ball of fire in your stomach and letting it distract and scare you, toss it out to the audience instead. With your opening statement, story, quote, question or startling statistic, throw the ball of fire right out to the audience.
Take that energy that's balled up inside you and release it. Share it. Spread it around! Use that adrenaline to propel the power and excitement of your opening.
When the audience gets that fireball and feels your energy, they want to give it back.
Or in other words, they get fired up!
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
Now for the fun stuff! There were several speakers at TEDxSB who knocked my socks off, and I want to talk about what made them effective and successful at rousing the crowd. Read here for part 1 and part 2 of my TEDxSB experience.
In order of appearance, let's begin with Santa Barbara's Poet Laureate David Starkey.
I'm not a big fan of poetry. Most of the time, poetry is too abstract or esoteric for me. And hearing poetry is even harder. If I'm going to read it, at least I'm at my leisure to pore over the words and take my time deducing meanings.
So imagine my surprise when David Starkey began to speak, and I began to enjoy myself!
First of all, his performance was a respite from the visuals of the previous presenters. No slides, no video. Just a guy standing at a lectern, reading some poetry.
He was not dramatic or flamboyant, but rather a soothing and calming presence. He brought a sense of stillness that I appreciated.
He had a dry sense of humor, and in between poems made comments like, "Poets, as you know, are counterintuitive and deeply ironic," and "It took me forever to write this damn thing." He clearly chose his poems for the event, and even wrote one called, "Space in a Shrinking World," the theme of the TEDxSB conference. I thought the placement of Starkey just before the break was a brilliant idea.
The first speaker after the break was Kip Fulbeck. From the way everyone spoke about him, I was expecting something special, especially when word went around that no one wanted to be the person to speak after him.
And I was not disappointed. Fulbeck brought the energy and passion that I expected from a TED-level thinker and speaker. He was funny and thoughtful, expressive, eloquent and engaging. His slides were simple images from his books with text handwritten by the subjects of his research (like the image to the left).
His opening was a simulated interview, featuring Fulbeck answering the questions of a disembodied voice. The questions became more and more bizarre as the interview went on, questions like "Pizza or spaghetti?" "Electric or acoustic?" and "Dogs or cats?"
Knowing Fulbeck's topic, it was only a matter of time before the "interviewer" got to "Ethnicity... check only one box." "Do not invent your own box."
The opening was lengthy (a little like those Saturday Night Live opening skits that seem to go on forever), but ultimately effective and brought humor to a subject that is sensitive for a lot of people.
What made Fulbeck's presentation captivating was that it wasn't about him. It was about the people he's met, interviewed and photographed for his books.
For example, "Boy Elijah purple belt," the description given by one child. Or the man who wrote (shown next to the photo of his tattooed backside), "Why they put tattoo parlors next to bars, I have no idea." Or the Holocaust survivor Eva Brown who, in showing the numbers embedded in her arm said, "It's my life's mission to show this tattoo."
Fulbeck's closing was on a different note than his opening, and showcased his affinity for spoken word, with his poem, "My World." Here's a version from a conference a couple of years ago. When I get the TEDxSB link, I'll post it.
And last on my list of inspiring and engaging TEDxSB speakers, but definitely not least, there was Alec Loorz. At 15, Loorz is the founder of Kids vs. Global Warming and the youngest presenter for Al Gore's Climate Project.
Here are some of my notes about Loorz:
Natural
Not canned
Good projection
Confidence
Relevant topic
Easy to understand
Simple images and text
Humor, passion, conviction
Awesome speaker
Not to harp on his age, but Loorz' abilities are far beyond what I see in many adult presenters. But it's not all training, and yes, he's had training.
He is emotional and he brings out emotion in the audience. He's real, he cares deeply about his subject matter and he wants the audience to care, too. Here's a video of one of his presentations from a year ago; when the TEDxSB video becomes available, I'll post it here. I'm also hoping to get an interview with Loorz, but he's one of the busier speakers on the circuit!
I've shared the key factors of each speakers' performance that made me sit up and pay attention, and none of them is without their flaws. But this is the crux of what I found most engaging about these three: They spoke from the heart and they made me care.
I'll leave you with that.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
I spent Saturday morning attending the first Santa Barbara area TEDx event. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. If you don't know what TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design) is, check it out (and some amazing speakers) here.
I have to admit, having seen many of the speakers on TED's site, my expectations might have been too high for the local conference. The TED website says, "...the TED speaker team works with speakers well in advance of the conference to help shape a presentation that will succeed on the TED stage." TED also asks for video or audio of the speaker and for the person nominating the speaker to describe their speaking style. Speakers seem to be chosen as much for their ideas as for their speaking skills.
I'm sure there are mediocre speakers at TED, and according to the site, only about 3/4 of the speaker videos every make it onto the website. Still, I was hoping for engaging, passionate speakers who were able to convey their ideas clearly, and only a couple delivered.
I'm going to break out my TEDxSB posts over a couple of days. After all, there were a lot of speakers and, while I'm not going to talk about each of them individually, there's a lot of ground to cover!
Today I'm going to talk about the general organization of the event, the venue and some technical issues.
First I want to acknowledge that it's hard work putting together a conference like TEDx -- especially a free one -- and the event was smooth and without drama, from the perspective of the audience at least. Live speakers were interspersed with a couple of video presentations, and the whole thing was livestreamed.
There was a lengthy networking break in between halves of the conference. It was nice to meet some new people and catch up with some Twitter friends. Overall, the organizers put together a cohesive and well-organized show that ran on time and delivered some great content.
Now to the critique.
Stage
There was a large screen in the middle of the stage, and the speaker was off to the side in a small spotlit area next to (or behind) the lectern. This kind of setup implies that the slides are the most important aspect of the presentation, while the speaker is relegated to the corner.
In the case of the one speaker who didn't use slides but had one image that looked like a logo on the screen for his whole talk, this was even more distracting. I kept staring at the screen, waiting for the image to change.
But in this venue, the screen was fixed, so there was no other option. If you do end up speaking in a venue where the screen is portable, I recommend asking the organizers to move the screen into the corner to your left and put you in the center of the stage. Believe me, it's doable.
The stage was set with several chairs, a painted backdrop, and oddly, a bicycle. But no one ever used any of these props or pieces of furniture, so I'm not sure why they were there. To me, a distraction. The stage should be free of any items not relevant to the presentations. I don't want to look at anything but the speaker and their visuals; anything else makes me curious and divides my attention. "Is someone gong to be interviewed? Is someone going to ride a bike onstage? What's the painting for?" I'm sure I wasn't the only one.
Lighting
As I opened my computer to begin taking notes, the event began. And as it began, the auditorium lights went down. All the way down. As a note taker, I couldn't see my keyboard to type. I noticed people around me with notebooks and pens who couldn't write.
A dark room creates a barrier and encourages passivity in the audience; it's like watching a movie, but less entertaining. The audience is basically invisible. They can nod off and go to sleep if they want. They certainly don't have to participate.
And for a speaker, having the audience in the dark is like presenting to a black hole. There's no eye contact. You can't see their faces. You can't tell if they're responding, smiling, frowning or snoozing (unless someone snores). You can't interact with an audience in the dark, which sucks the life out of a presentation.
After the third speaker, I asked the organizer if he would raise the lights in the auditorium so we could see to take notes, and he graciously agreed to my request. This seemed to make a difference in the energy in the room, but it could just be that the first two speakers would have been just as dull with the lights on.
Introductions
Speakers, take note: You should always write your introductions so you have some control over what the introducer says about you. This doesn't guarantee that the emcee will practice your introduction or have any measure of polish, but at least you can choose the words.
I felt that the emcees lacked preparation and were winging the introductions, one more noticeably than the other. To me, this brings down the overall quality of the event. The emcees don't have to be as engaging as the speakers; that's not why we are attending. However, they do need to present themselves professionally, with confidence and poise, and create a strong transition between speakers.
If you are ever asked to give introductions or emcee an event, don't take this job lightly. You are part of the overall thread and continuity of the event. You help keep the energy flowing between speakers, breaks and activities. It's an important role; don't throw it away.
Along with the introductions, I would have liked a transitional slide with the speakers' name before each talk. There was no program, and not all the speakers included their name on their slides. For the purpose of taking notes, it would have been helpful to see their names on the screen.
Opening and closing
The conference closed on a fun and awe-inspiring note: a video of local skateboarder Kyle Chin taking an amazing downhill ride somewhere in the foothills of Santa Barbara (watch below). I wish the event had opened as strongly as it closed, with a powerful or humorous speaker instead of the two driest speakers of the day.
For the most part, the organization, venue and technical issues were handled very well, especially for a first-time event. Just a few tweaks would improve the overall ambience of the conference, and I am definitely interested in seeing what the organizers come up with next year, now that the inaugural TEDxSB is under their belts.
Enjoy the video of Kyle Chin! (Read part 2 and part 3.)
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
While discussing audience engagement strategies the other day, a client suggested that these strategies might not work for her kinds of audiences, especially at scientific conferences, where there are standard protocols. We were speaking specifically about opening a presentation with something other than the obligatory five minutes of thank yous and credentials, instead using perhaps a question or a story to kick things off.
My question is this: Are audiences really all that different from each other? Yes and no.
In terms of their knowledge of and interest in your topic, of course they vary. The audience at a scientific conference is going to be very different from the audience at a food trade show. Different industries, different backgrounds, different demographics, different age groups, different cultures.The list goes on.
However, you can generally assume that all audiences want to be engaged. All audiences want information that's relevant to their lives and work. All audiences want to stay awake and absorbed in your presentation.
In that sense, an engaging opening is what your audience wants. No, they don't want five minutes of thank yous. They could not care less about who you want to acknowledge. They've already read your bio in the conference program (in fact, that's why they are attending your session), so they don't need to know any more about your credentials -- unless that information is particularly relevant to something covered in your presentation and can be woven into your material seamlessly.
I always come back to this question, and I asked it of my client: "What's best for the audience?" Not "What's best for maintaining the status quo?"
If you do what's best for the audience, I guarantee that you and your message will stand out in a sea of sameness, safeness and predictability.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
Over the weekend, I gave a half-day training to a local organization on promoting your business without sounding like a commercial. (Here's the short version of this training in an upcoming webinar.)
So I got a little overconfident and, not practicing what I preach, neglected to prepare a strong opening, or even a decent closing. It was one of those times that I talk about here on Speak Schmeak a lot: When you get too comfortable and start resting on your laurels, something will go wrong. And it did!
As I got to the part of the presentation where I talk about openings and closings, I confessed to the audience that I hadn't prepared the opening very well. Why did I choose to reveal this mistake? Because once I started talking about the importance of creating a strong opening, it would have been a no-brainer for the audience to think back and realize I did not do this myself. I am always a role model for speaking; there's no way around it.
So I took responsibility and talked about memorable openings and how mine wasn't. Didn't beat myself up, but I made myself an example.
Then here and there, as is typical in presentations, I got ahead of myself or a little behind, and made a couple of fumbles. But I had a great time and a great conversation with this group of women.
At the end of the session, I was talking with a woman I know, saying, "Well, that's life. Nobody's perfect and I mess up just like everyone else." Another woman approached me and told me she loved that about my presentation. It humanized me, and it made public speaking seem attainable to her. She said, "Watching you made me feel like I could do it."
Now, I don't make mistakes on purpose, but to be honest, this comment was worth hundreds of standing ovations to me. Because someone saw me in the front of the room, enjoying myself, not stressing out about making mistakes, moving on and getting the job done.
I am all about making public speaking attainable for my audiences! I want them to walk out the door saying, "I can do that!" And, "I can have fun while doing that!"
I don't care if you're perfect. Nobody cares if you're perfect. What the audience wants is to get something of value, something relevant to their lives that they can take with them when they leave. They want engagement and connection, not perfection.
So I was reminded of my own flaws as a presenter, reminded that I can never get too comfortable. I was also reminded that my message is getting across. And it made my day!
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
I have a client who's verbose. It's the first thing he told me when I asked him about his challenges with public speaking. But he didn't have to tell me; I couldn't get a word in edgewise in the first ten minutes of our conversation. He says he "hates it."
Here's one way to look at it. I know a lot of people who can never think of anything to say. When you can't think of anything to say, it's awfully hard to have a conversation! At least if you're verbose, you will never run out of things to say and ways to say them. You can always edit and cull, and there will be plenty of material.
How do you prepare a presentation if you're verbose?
1. The most critical factor is timing yourself. You need to get a sense of how long each section of your presentation will take in real time. You might think editing is the most critical factor. But it's hard to know how much to edit if you haven't timed yourself.
When you practice alone, you think you have all the time in the world. You usually practice yourself right up to the last second of the time frame you're working with.
You think, "This is great! I need to give a 20-minute presentation, and I'm right on the dot!"
Uh oh.
What happens when you get into the room and people start asking questions? What happens when you find yourself (verbose as you are) going off on a tangent or adding another story that you think the audience would like?
Now you've gone over and you have to rush to finish up. And you didn't even have time to make your last point or give a decent closing.
If you have 20 minutes, divide that up between your opening, your closing, your body (say, three main points) and Q & A. Suddenly, 20 minutes doesn't seem like very much time!
Practice your opening and time just that. Practice your closing and time just that. Time each of your points. Figure out how much time you need for just your most critical and important points. Edit, cut, and save the rest for another presentation. Write the times on your notes if that will help.
2. Create a time cushion when you practice.
Always finish early when practicing, and not by a minute, but by five minutes. That's how much you could be off by the end of the talk. Don't risk annoying your audience by keeping them late or letting them down by missing important information. If that means you need to keep cutting, keep cutting. You don't need to tell the audience everything you know.
3. Keep your eye on the clock. If going over is a concern for you, get yourself a countdown timer.
Instead of watching the clock or your watch, which takes up too much time as you do the math in your head, a countdown timer tells you exactly how much time you have left. No math, just quick answers!
Think of editing and culling your presentation like white space in graphic design. Designers know not to pack every millimeter of space with text or images. Not enough white space and a design looks cluttered and will be hard to read. White space allows the viewer or reader to have some breathing room, a break for the eyes between compositional elements. White space makes the document more aesthetically pleasing.
Think of your edits as allowing white space in your presentation. Breathing room for your audience. A break between ideas and thoughts, allowing them to process what they're hearing and learning.
It's not bad to be verbose; it can actually be useful in terms of having lots of content. Just make sure you leave enough white space around your words, and your presentation will be like a breath of fresh air!
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
Speeches and presentations are not the same thing (see post here explaining the difference). For most of you, presentations are and will be your bread and butter, while scripted speeches might be something you give at the occasional wedding or office going-away party.
For that reason, you won't find me talking about speeches much on this blog, or analyzing them. However, this one caught my attention and I found it to be a good example of a speech given from the heart with passion, while delivering a powerful message and creating a bond between the speaker and listeners.
This speech is given by Al Pacino, playing New York City Mayor John Pappas in the movie "City Hall," speaking at the funeral of a six-year-old African-American boy who was caught in the crossfire in a shootout between police officer and drug dealer.
There is much tension in the community over the shooting and blame has been assigned to the drug dealer, but the drug dealer was only on the street because of a mistaken earlier prison release. While staffers search for the responsible party, the mayor gives this powerful and unexpected speech at the family's church.
(This is a great clip, because the transcript is embedded in the video.)
He immediately brings up the slain child. No beating around the bush here. And then he acknowledges his failure as a mayor to create a safe and stable climate for his community. Again, no false humility, no pretend tears, no drama. Just straightforward honesty and taking responsibility. This quickly makes him more accessible to the audience, who are now anticipating his next words.
Note the repetition of words and themes throughout the speech, which gives each subsequent word or phrase more power and reinforces each idea in the audience's minds. (Nick Morgan has a great post on repetition that also explains several rhetorical terms and here's a post by Andrew Dlugan that goes over some rhetorical devices.)
Some examples:
"...making a city livable? Just livable."
"...this city -- your city -- our city -- his city -- is a palace again! Is a palace again!"
"There was a palace that was a city. It was a palace! It was a palace and it can be a palace again! A palace in which there is no king or queen or dukes or earls or princes, but subjects all..."
You might have noticed the rule of three cropping up in this speech quite a bit. Here's a nice piece from Patricia Fripp on the rule of three, but in short, our brains seem to respond to and feel more satisfied with patterns of three, and many speakers use this tool for emphasis.
Some examples of the rule of three:
"I was warned not to come here. I was warned. They warned me..."
"Until we can walk abroad and recreate ourselves, until we can stroll along the streets like boulevards, congregate in parks free from fear...our families mingling, our children laughing, our hearts joined..." (Did you notice? That's a twofer!)
"Is that too much to ask? Are we asking too much for this? Is it beyond our reach?"
"I choose to fight back! I choose to rise, not fall! I choose to live, not die!"
You might also notice some rules of four and five here, too. It's a good idea to break up the repetition, so it doesn't become too... repetitious. There's a nice change in cadence when he adds different patterns before and after the threes.
And some repetition that doesn't come in numbers but in patterns of words and sound (again, I'll let Andrew Dlugan explain the rhetorical devices):
"They warned me, 'Don't stand behind that coffin.' But why should I heed such a warning when a heartbeat is silent and a child lies dead? 'Don't stand behind' this coffin."
"... until that day we have no city. You can label me a failure until that day."
"...rise up with me; rise up on the wings of this slain angel."
"... subjects all -- subjects beholden to each other."
You can see how each repetition, in this example, brings more to the story.
Also pay attention to the analogies and mental imagery that Pappas includes in the speech:
Palace
Angel
Warrior
Hearts joined
Pure and innocent as the driven snow
Sheep being herded to the final slaughterhouse
An analogy takes a concept that might be obscure, complicated or lengthy, and helps the audience see it in the context of their own lives. Analogies are a kind of shorthand to say what you want to say in the fewest words that the most people will understand. We may all have slightly different pictures in our head when someone says "palace," but it generally means a grand, opulent, large, luxurious building that a wealthy head of state lives in. We get it without all of the description.
Pappas also plays into the audience's connection with this young boy. These are his relatives and friends in the community. To them he was a sweet angel and a pure, innocent child. Pappas gets this and uses these soothing and positive words to bond with the group.
Finally, after his speech builds to a fiery crescendo, he brings it back down from the general to the specific. From the larger picture to the moment at hand. He speaks directly to the dead child:
"I am with you, little James.
I am you."
He bends down and kisses the coffin.
These words and this gesture humanize the mayor. "We are all one," he is saying. He is implying, "We are all equally damaged by what has happened, including me."
This repeats the theme of "Subjects all," that was mentioned earlier in the speech, and brings the audience back from the boulevard, the palace, Athens... back to this church and the tiny coffin in the front of the room. The speech has come full circle, a powerful way to remind the audience of why they're there in the first place.
It's a loud, dramatic Pacino speech, no doubt. Whether or not you like Pacino, the speech has a lot to teach us about reaching out to an audience, especially in a time of distress.
____________________________________________________ On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!
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