Monitor the chat... or don't use it

I was in a workshop on cybersecurity while attendees flooded the chat with links to random "cybersecurity" products.

Oh, the irony.🙄

It was literally impossible to determine if any of these links were safe (I certainly was not going to click one to find out), and yet, the hosts of the workshop were not paying any attention...

👇🏼

…even as they were explaining safety measures for our businesses, including avoiding malware.

On top of that, there were SO MANY comments and questions in the chat, it was difficult to identify and reply to the legitimate posts.😵‍💫

So I gave up and hoped for a recording.

🙏🏼🙏🏽🙏🏾Peeps, if you're hosting a remote training on Zoom, please have someone monitor your chat. You don't have to spend money on a professional producer; a friend or colleague who's familiar with Zoom will be fine.

If you can't, and especially if you expect a lot of attendees, then ❌DON'T❌ USE❌CHAT.

Set up your training as a webinar instead of a meeting and use the Q&A feature instead.

It's frustrating and off-putting for your audience to be spammed during your presentation and for you to do nothing about it!

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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 can't every talk be a TED talk?

TED talks are the "it girl" of speaking. Everyone wants their presentation to be as cool as a TED talk, as profound as a TED talk, and as viral as a TED talk.

I'm a huge fan of TED talks (and their locally-produced TEDx brethren). I've written about many of them here on Speak Schmeak, in fact. I admire the ability of TED speakers to quickly and concisely express their big idea in a compelling way, using stories, analogies and sometimes visuals to share their message.

When you only have 18 minutes or less to make an impact, you keep it simple.

However, in a TED talk, you also have minimal tools at your disposal. TED talks are time-limited on purpose: "...short enough to hold people's attention, including on the internet, and precise enough to be taken seriously. But it's also long enough to say something that matters."

In my workshops (which are often a day and a half long), I'm asked by my corporate training clients to address specific learning objectives and teach specific skills. Not only do I teach skills, but I also give my participants time to practice the skills they've learned.

I teach a range of public speaking concepts, provide activities and exercises to help the group internalize and remember the concepts, and then provide practical feedback as they practice the skills related to the concepts. There's also a lot of "white space," time to process what the group is learning, to take breaks and to sleep on new concepts.

Sorry, but 18 minutes isn't enough.

I remember reading a Seth Godin article once where he gave tips for effective presentations, and he suggested that the perfect length for a presentation was: "Most of the time, the right answer is, 'ten.' Ten minutes of breathtaking big ideas with big pictures and big type and few words and scary thoughts and startling insights. And then, and then, spend the rest of your time just talking to me. Interacting. Answering questions. Leading a discussion." Most of the time? I have to disagree.

There is no one right answer for how long a presentation should be. There is no one right answer for what style a presentation should be. There is no one right answer for "slides or no slides." 

There is no one right way to achieve the desired outcomes of a presentation, because there are many, many reasons we give presentations, and there are as many presentation styles as there are reasons to give presentations!

There's a reason we have 60-minute conference breakouts, and 20-minute keynotes, and short TED-style talks, and 2-minute quick tips, and "un-presentations," and PechaKucha, and pitch weekends, and group discussions, and Ignite-style talks, and 3-day workshops, and other alternative ways of presenting.

Each kind of presentation serves a unique purpose. Each audience has different needs and goals. Each presenter has different ways of achieving results.

My jam is training. Sure, I can do a ten-minute talk, and I have! I can do 60 seconds if necessary. I can be persuasive and inspiring and even teach some public speaking skills in that amount of time.

But it's not my preference, and the people who hire me do so because my jam is jumping into the deep end with their people and getting into the nitty gritty details of presentation skills, speaker mindset, confidence-building, audience engagement, ditching perfection and creating connection.

Truthfully, only about four hours of a 1 1/2-day training is straight content, though experiential. The rest of the time is practice, which sparks questions and discussion.

In follow-up surveys with clients who did experiential training vs. clients who only received the content but no practice, 90% of participants with experiential training are still using their skills three months later and 95% feel from 50-300% more confident about their speaking skills than they did before the training.

Contrast this result with participants who only received content (as well as all the tools at my disposal except practice: stories, analogies, exercises, activity, group discussion, visuals and more): only 79% of participants are still using their skills three months later. The confidence numbers are slightly lower, too. Okay, so these follow-up results aren't terrible (what can I say? I'm good at what I do...), but if my participants could do better with experiential learning, they should get experiential learning!

What are the needs of your audience? What is your jam as a presenter? 

I know everyone wants the "magic bullet," the one "right answer" to every question. What's the one magic way to lose weight and keep it off forever? What's the one magic way to make a million dollars and never have to worry about money again? What's the one magic way to give a presentation that wins you raving fans, clients and viral success?

Nope. There is no one right answer. No magic bullet. And no, every talk can't be a TED talk, nor should it be. 

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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!

Learning is not a one-way street

I frequently hear colleagues and friends complain about all the money they’ve spent on coaching or training with disappointing results.

Literally never have I heard someone complain about all the work and effort they put into coaching or training, with disappointing results.

I’m going to flip our usual conversation on its head and instead of talking about your job as the one providing service, I’m going to talk about your job as the one receiving service. 

Whether you’re the training attendee or the coachee, you have responsibilities. 

Have you ever had those audience members who seem like they would rather be elsewhere? The audience members who don’t participate, who look annoyed, who spend all their time looking at their phone? Or worse, the audience member who’s constantly interrupting or trying to impress everyone with how much smarter they are than you?

Have you ever BEEN this audience member?

If we want “good” audiences (ask great questions, participate in exercises, express interest, stay awake), perhaps we should start with modeling good behavior ourselves as audience members. I often remind my audiences and my coaching clients that they get out of the relationship what they put into it. 

As speakers, we can’t expect to just pour knowledge into an audience of empty vessels. That’s not how it works. And as audience members, we can’t expect to sit back and have knowledge poured into us. 

Have you had a coaching client who wasn’t open to trying new things, who was unwilling to take risks and get outside of their comfort zone? Have you had a client unwilling to question their own current beliefs and practices, or unwilling to do work outside of the coaching sessions? 

I occasionally have a coaching client who expects me to hand him all the tools he needs on a silver platter. Instead of doing the work and pushing himself into new territory, he makes excuses about why he “can’t” do this thing or that thing. Or s/he comes to me with a last-minute event to prepare for and expects miracles.

Have you ever BEEN this coaching client?

Of course, coaching is a delicate process. It’s not easy to be comfortable with discomfort. I acknowledge those who come forward for coaching to improve their speaking skills and confidence, because it’s not an easy road.

But a coaching client or an audience member cannot just sit back and be a passive observer of the process.

The audience member or client cannot just “take” from the process and not “give.” This is a sure path to disappointment.

As an audience member, as a coaching client, you have a job to do as well! Spending the time, effort and energy (not just the money) to do your part contributes to a successful outcome for both the participant and the teacher.

It’s actually pretty easy to type your credit card number into an online order form or click that payment button in PayPal. That’s not the real work. And no one is going to unscrew your head and dump in a bunch of knowledge.

Pay attention to how you approach learning opportunities. Be honest with yourself.

It’s possible that these opportunities haven’t worked for you in the past because you were not fully committed or open to taking responsibility for the goals, focus, tasks, reflection, timelines, preparation, emotional exploration, and growth mindset necessary for a successful coaching or training process.

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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!

The 4 principles every successful speaker must master

Just a quick video for you today to share these four principles (and give you a sneak peak at my upcoming retreat)!



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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!

List-a-Palooza kicks off May 30!

Have you heard of List-a-Palooza?

It's a 90-day list-building challenge organized by PJ Van Hulle to see how rapidly you can grow your e-mail list.

I did this challenge last summer and I've signed up again, because it's full of practical tools, it's fun, and it's FREE!

With a profitable e-mail list you can:

* Attract more clients and sales

* Turn current clients into repeat clients

* Fill your seminars and programs

* Promote other peoples' programs that you believe in and earn $1,000s in affiliate commissions

During the 90-Day Challenge, you will:

* Receive weekly accountability check-ins for tracking your results so that you accelerate your path to more subscribers (and more sales!)

* Get access to TWO training calls each week with some of the world's top list-building experts to share their hottest strategies and tactics with you for massively growing your list.

* Be invited to participate in a weekly "Power Hour" in which we all get online together at the same time to implement ONE specific list-building tactic (this was quite fun and I met a ton of new people).

Click here to get FREE access.

Join me and let's build our lists together!

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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!

Meet me in Las Vegas, October 9-10!

What's the fastest, surest way to bore your audience to tears, destroy your own credibility, ruin any good points you have to make, and kill even the best presentation?

Use PowerPoint.

At least, that’s what a lot of people used to say, but not anymore...

PowerPoint presentations used to be synonymous with too many bullet points, tiny font you can't read, and putting people to sleep. It just sucked the energy and life out of any speaker’s presentation.

And in unskilled, inexperienced hands, all of these things are still true. After all, who wants to listen to someone fumble with a pointer ("...maybe it's this button...where is that slide?...") and mumble to a screen with their back to their audience? (Read this post for some true-to-life examples of presenters I've seen do these things.)

But skilled speakers know that used the right way, PowerPoint can add emphasis, dramatic flair and fun to your presentation. You can actually make strong visual points that your listeners will remember what you're talking about — especially when you're presenting graphs and charts or presenting to a large group.

So how do you harness the magic of PowerPoint instead of letting it be a huge distraction? How will you use PowerPoint to:

► Win over new clients?

► Train employees better?

► Make better presentations to managers, execs, and shareholders?

With Dynamic Presentations Training Camp!

This two-day camp will cover just about all of my best general presentation tips and tools, with emphasis on creating effective PowerPoint.

Registration is now open -- Join me October 9-10 in Las Vegas!

Hope to see you there!

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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!

Timing your presentation when incorporating activities

I recently wrote a blog post on timing your presentation taking into account that almost all presentations start late. This week, Olivia Mitchell wrote a great, thorough piece on timing in general, and so did TJ Walker. We're all thinking the same thing, apparently, after sitting through too many presentations that go long.

But here's something that none of us has addressed, and I want to make sure it's included.

The previous articles on timing have all assumed that our presentations consist only of talking, taking questions and dealing with occasional interruptions. But what about an interactive training or workshop with exercises and activities? This is pretty much the only kind of presentation I do, so I don't know how it slipped my mind to specifically address this issue.

I have several activities that I use during presentations. One is a variation on the "tappers and listeners" activity from "Made to Stick." One involves having the participants prepare and deliver a short presentation. One is a contest to see if the audience can guess the celebrity who has invented a list of analogies I read aloud. Another is a handout quiz on features vs. benefits. And there are more.

When you are practicing alone, it's difficult to guess how long an activity will take. You really don't know until you try it -- and even then, different audiences may get through the activity at different speeds. But you still have to estimate, so you don't take up too much time doing the activity and then leave out other important content.

I usually run through the activity alone and then tack on as much time as I think it will take, not just to complete the activity, but also to get people to focus back on the front of the room. There is always time lost in starting and ending an activity as people move out of and back into their seats or stop talking to their neighbors.

I also always have a backup plan. If I check my time and it seems that an activity will take too long in groups or pairs, I try to find a way to adapt the activity so I can do it from the front of the room as a full group exercise. If there is no way to do this, I might still describe the activity but not do it. Or, I just leave it out altogether. No one is the wiser.

The trick with activities is to have several variations so that they still fit into your time frame, but also to be flexible enough to let one go if necessary.

Don't forget to include practice time for your activities and exercises, imprecise though it may be. You'll get to know the activity over time and develop a gauge for how long it usually takes. But keep in mind that different audiences will be faster or slower in completing the exercise, so plan accordingly.

Previous Speak Schmeak posts on timing are here, here, here and here.

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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!

Public speaking group coaching starts in Santa Barbara Jan. 26

Do you need help with public speaking, but aren't sure what options are available? Try group coaching! It's more affordable than one-on-one coaching, but more personalized than a class.

My groups are speaking/presentation focused, with an emphasis on building skills and confidence. If business networking or related issues come up, we will address them as time and interest allow. The group should be flexible enough to go where we need to go, but structured enough that our focus areas don't fall by the wayside.

This is a six-week program for six people. If you enjoy a safe and encouraging small group environment, this program is for you. As space is limited, it's a good idea to sign up asap.

Please pass this along to your Santa Barbara friends! Group coaching by phone will follow soon, but for now it's all in person in SB.

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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!

Images are not fluff

I've heard this several times from clients who've come to me for help with their slide shows: "My boss/conference organizer/client wants me to take all the images out of the PowerPoint. He says they're 'fluff.'"

This comment always irritates me, but what else should I expect? Long ago, in a land far, far away, someone decided that a presentation could not be taken seriously unless it was accompanied by a PowerPoint chock full of text, bullet points, charts, data and citations. Someone decided that we can't call it "work" unless we wish we were somewhere else.

Because images, colors and visual stimulation are okay for little kids, but once we're grown up, there is too much danger of enjoyment breaking out if we don't follow the rules of serious presentations. And we all know a presentation is no good if we're enjoying ourselves too much.

So let me post again some resources on making your PowerPoint more effective with more images and less text:

New research about PowerPoint titles

Why you can't read slides and listen to a speaker at the same time

Is the font on your PowerPoint big enough?

Jennifer Kammeyer's Comm Comm blog on PowerPoint research

Laura Bergell's post "Slides are not handouts"

Cliff Atkinson's book, Beyond Bullet Points

Garr Reynolds' book, Presentation Zen

And let me remind you that the best way to help your audience retain information is to serve as many learning styles as you can. The more you can do to reach your audience members in the ways they learn best, the more likely they are to remember your message.

Here are some resources on learning styles:

Learning Styles and Preferences

Learning Styles Explained

Learning Styles and Strategies

And for fun, here's a post from Chris Spagnuolo's Edgehopper blog about librarians reading to children at story time, and what you can learn from them.

The way we learn as children is still valid once we're adults. Don't fool yourself into thinking that the more statistic- and text-laden your PowerPoint is, the more effective it will be. Sure, you'll be taken seriously, but your audience will be bored out of their minds. And they'll remember very little.

Others may call it "fluff," but images and other kinds of visual, auditory, verbal and physical stimulation will keep your audience focused on you and your message, not using your presentation for every child's all-time favorite part of school: nap time.

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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!

Move your audience to stimulate their learning

Following up on last week's post on six ways to improve training, PowerPoint and AutoCAD expert Ellen Finkelstein sent me a link to the videos on the Brain Rules website.

Check out "Exercise -- Brain Rule #1," (no direct link to the video, but they're all listed on the page) for some thoughts on why the typical classroom and work environments are not conducive to learning or productivity and some fun ideas to turn that around.

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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!

Six ways to improve the training environment

During a session with a client the other day, we talked about the delivery of his company's new employee orientation. He was looking for ways to make his message more clear and to keep his diverse audience's attention through a day-long training.

The orientation is typical in its length, in the fact that there are various untrained speakers involved (sexual harassment, fire safety, benefits, etc.) and employees from a range of departments, and in its attempt to pack an enormous amount of information into one day.

In this kind of training situation you, as a speaker, might be doing everything right, but your audience still seems disengaged. The reason? The environment.

A speaker plays just one part in making a lengthy training work. If the training environment is not conducive to learning, you're going to work twice as hard to make an impact.

New employee orientation is its own special kind of training; you're not just there to fill their heads with information, but -- ideally -- to welcome them and make them feel like they belong.

Being a new employee, especially at a large company, can be overwhelming and disconcerting. You want your new employee to feel successful and part of the culture as soon as possible, and you want to reinforce that they made the right choice in coming to work for your company.

(I learned this the hard way in my first day on the job as training coordinator, when my supervisor decided I didn't need a desk or office, gave me an org chart to memorize, then went on vacation for two weeks. I was highly inspired to create a successful new employee orientation after that!)

Keep in mind that the one-shot 8-hour orientation may not be the best option for your new employees. There are many creative ways of integrating new hires, by connecting them with mentors or by giving them self-directed learning activities, for example.

But in the case of the traditional day-long training, here are some of my favorite ways of making the environment more comfortable, more fun, and more conducive to learning for the participants.

1. Bring toys and candy

According to The Corporation for National and Community Service, toys:

* create a fun and relaxed environment
* stimulate creativity and involvement
* meet the needs of diverse learners
* rechannel doodling habits, and
* serve as rewards, reminders, and incentives

Kinesthetic learners, especially, will appreciate having something to do with their hands.

2. Incorporate breaks and movement

Make sure that your partipants are given breaks no more than 90 minutes apart, to keep them from being distracted by personal needs. Incorporate movement by breaking them up into groups, having them get up and stretch, or using icebreaker or energizer games.

3. Vary the visuals

If you've got several speakers in an 8-hour day of training, break up the visual monotony by interspersing video, image-based slides, props, flip charts and other visual interest.

4. Incorporate interaction

You may feel that fire safety or sexual harassment is a one-way training lesson, but there's always a way to incorporate audience interaction and participation.

Ask questions. Invite participants to share experiences and stories. Break them into groups and pairs and have them create solutions to problems you suggest. There are lots of ways to turn "telling" into "asking." Be creative.

Specific to new employee orientation:

5. Give opportunities for bonding

Offer activities for the participants to get to know each other a little. Recognizing friendly faces in the hallway is comforting to a new employee. Serve lunch onsite so the group can eat together and have some unstructured conversation time.

6. Make orientation a celebration

Why do we have a party when someone leaves, but not when someone arrives? Bring in a cake that welcomes new employees. String up a banner. Blow up balloons. Make new employee orientation a celebration instead of a dreary disciplinary exercise.

What's your favorite way to make a long training more engaging?

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Visualization is for the body as well as the mind

Visualization is a valuable tool for preparing to speak. By visualizing yourself in the venue, giving 100%, speaking to an appreciative audience, and running through your complete presentation successfully, you ready yourself mentally for the event.

Visualization creates a positive mental framework for your performance, and by using visualization and positive affirmations together, you reframe the way your mind anticipates the event.

However, what you may not realize is that you can also reframe the way your body anticipates the event. Visualizing the speaking situation can actually change the way your body responds to nervousness, taking you from adrenaline-fueled shakiness to relaxed stillness.

The trick to changing your body's reaction to anxiety is to imagine physical sensations during your visualization.

Don't just see the room and the audience; feel the sensations in your body as well.

Visualizing yourself on the stage might make you feel that adrenaline rush, so while you're visualizing, take control of the feelings in your body and imagine yourself relaxing and breathing -- the same way you imagine yourself giving the presentation. Or imagine yourself taking that adrenaline rush and turning it into energy and excitement. Or both: it's your choice!

As I pointed out in my article about the power of the mind, each of us has the power to control our anxiety, just as each of us has created that anxiety in our minds. Well, we have the power to control how our body reacts to anxiety as well.

Athletes are known to visualize themselves performing precise actions in order to imprint their nervous system and muscle memory with proper technique. For elite athletes, mental training is as important as physical training.

The important thing to remember about visualization is that it requires focus. You have to be in the moment, in your mind, seeing and feeling the room, the audience, the stage, your words, and your body -- using all of your senses as though you were really there. It's a powerful technique that can have a profound impact on your success as a speaker.

Try it the next time you're getting ready for a presentation and see if you don't feel more physically as well as mentally prepared.

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Gimme a break, part 2

I haven't talked about this for a while, so forgive me if you remember my post from last year about the same subject. It's worth repeating.

A client of mine recently sat on a committee to organize a conference. There were seven speakers scheduled during the 2 1/2-hour conference; each one spoke for ten to 15 minutes, with the keynote speaker last in line and speaking for an hour.

When audience evaluations came back, one of the most common complaints was that there were no breaks.

People need breaks. Yes, I know you want to cram a lot of stuff into your workshop or training, but let me ask you this: How well can you concentrate when you have to pee?

1. Audience members shouldn't have to get up and miss part of a speaker's presentation.

2. Audience members shouldn't have to stay seated with a full bladder, unable to concentrate because they don't want to miss something.

3. Speakers deserve to have a focused, attentive audience.

Your audience has needs. They need to check their e-mail to see what time they're picking up the kids from swimming practice. They need to stretch their stiff backs and legs. They need to smoke a cigarette. They need to pee. These are facts of life.

Respect your audience and build in breaks at least every 90 minutes, closer together if it makes sense in the program (your speakers are each scheduled for an hour, for example).

Remember: it's all about the audience!

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Take care of your voice

If you've wondered how to care for your voice when you're doing a lot of speaking, here are some resources that will be helpful to you.

Here's an article on teachers learning to minimize voice strain. And here's the Voice Academy referred to in the article, with excellent suggestions for evaluating, training and caring for your voice. It also happens to be a really fun site to navigate!

Go the the main office for orientation, then use your hall pass to work your way around to the auditorium, science center, teachers lounge, gymnasium and classrooms. At each location, there is an image of a room with clickable items to help you find what you're looking for. This site is designed to make voice care fun!

Here's an article from last February about taking care of your voice during the winter.

And here are two books that I've found to be great resources for improving your speaking voice:



Your voice is your most critical tool as a speaker. Don't neglect it!

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Audience participation ideas

Depending on the size of your group, and especially when you're conducting a workshop or longer training, you will want to encourage participation from your audience.

There are always some participants who participate more and some who participate less. It's easy for people who are shy to sit back and wait for the more outgoing members to speak up. How do you keep some people from dominating and help others to break out of their shell?

Here are some ideas that have worked for me:

1. Toss a Koosh ball or beach ball into the group (Koosh is great for small groups, but might be harder to see flying through the air in a larger group).

Ask a question and toss the ball to a participant. When they've answered the question, they will toss it to another participant. Sounds kind of like the "talking stick," I know. :-)

I think it would be really funny to use a balloon for this, because the balloon is hard to direct and hard to catch. I've never tried it, but I can imagine the chaos.

2. Hand out small cards or pieces of paper with words or phrases on them for participants to discuss.

I've started meetings with icebreaker-type questions like, "What's the oldest item of clothing you're wearing?" "What did you eat for breakfast, and who prepared it," and "If you found a dollar on the street, what would you buy with it?"

For wrapping up at the end, you might hand out cards or pieces of paper with one-word concepts on them (I use "fear," "voice," "passion," "rules" and others related to public speaking), and ask participants to share something they've learned or will pursue regarding that concept.

3. Use an anonymous question box.

If your topic is sensitive and you know there are people in the room who are uncomfortable sharing, an anonymous question box is a great way for everyone to be heard. Adults will go to great lengths to avoid embarrassing themselves, so it's important to cultivate trust and a safe environment.

Hand out paper and ask everyone to contribute a question to the box. If someone doesn't have a question, they will still write something on the paper (their shoe size, birthdate, favorite color, whatever), so that people who are writing a question aren't singled out.

Go through the box at the end of the workshop and answer any questions that weren't covered during the day. Or intersperse the questions throughout the day to incorporate some spontaneity.

What are your tricks for encouraging audience participation?

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Toys and candy, a speaker's best friends

One of my favorite things to do in a presentation is to put out toys and candy.

If the presentation is less interactive and not learning-focused, like a keynote, I might just put individually wrapped hard candy on the seats or pass around a tin at the beginning. Candy is a small and inexpensive gift to your audience that can perk people up and let them know that you're thinking about their comfort.

In a workshop setting, where people are expecting more interaction (and fun, of course), I like to use toys. I have a collection of mini Play-Dohs, mini Etch-a-Sketches, Silly Putty, Koosh balls, Slinkys and other toys that I put out on the desks or tables before a training.

The Corporation for National and Community Service spells out the benefits of using toys during training. Reasons to use toys include:

1. Toys create a fun and relaxed environment

2. Toys stimulate creativity and involvement

3. Toys meet the needs of diverse learners

4. Toys rechannel doodling habits

5. Toys serve as rewards, reminders, and incentives

I tell my participants that they are free to play with the toys during the session, but they don't get to take them home! You can always bring toys that your participants can keep, or use toys as prizes throughout the training.

I don't find the toys to be a distraction, and the people who are playing with the toys tend to be kinesthetic learners who learn more effectively when being active or using their hands. People who would otherwise be tapping their pens or fidgeting in their seats can make sculptures out of Play-Doh and still pay attention to the speaker.

I highly recommend using toys to add another dimension of fun, creativity and learning enhancement to your presentations.

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Wake up your audience

In an all-day training, it can be a struggle to keep my eyes open after lunch. Many of us are sleepy in the afternoon, and listening to a lecture only intensifies the desire to nap.

To help people stay awake after lunch, I might have the group stand up and stretch. Then I would break them into discussion groups or pairs and give them something to do, a problem to solve, a question to answer collectively.

I might also try an energizer activity at this point, something that would include some physical activity, laughing and stimulation. Here's a site with links to some great icebreakers and energizers.

I would definitely encourage discussion at this time of day, because keeping the audience stimulated and engaged is the best way to keep them awake!

How do you handle your after-lunch sessions?

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Gimme a break!

No, really. I mean give me a break. Or two or three.

At the conference I attended this weekend, there were opening remarks by the founders of the organization, four speakers, a fashion show, a State Farm presentation, a panel of incubator members, and an introduction of incubator leaders. There would have been one more speaker, but she was unable to make it.

The official program began at 10:00, with speakers straight through until lunch (which started around 12:20 or so). After lunch was the fashion show and one more speaker, which altogether took about an hour.

This was a day packed with information and fun, and frankly, I needed a break. About halfway through Arianna Huffington's interview, to be exact. And wouldn't you know it? I left my seat to use the restroom, and when I came back I found out that she had made some comments related to public speaking. Darn!

When there are no breaks between speakers, it forces audience members to take care of their needs during the speakers' presentations. This is a bad idea for two reasons:

1) The audience misses important or interesting parts of the talk

2) The speaker doesn't get the audience's full attention

When the audience is being distracted and drawn away by "nature," or voice mail messages from children, or the craving for a cigarette, it's important for event organizers to acknowledge those needs and build short breaks into the day.

I understand the desire to pack as much as possible into a one-day conference, but at the same time, I always come back to this: meeting the needs of the audience should be at the top of the list.

Many of my needs were met for information, entertainment, shopping, inspiration and oxytocin (more on this later).

But I really wish I had heard what Arianna Huffington had to say about public speaking.

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Adult Learning Principles, Part 1: Background

This is part 1 of my series of posts on adult learning principles and how speakers can apply these principles when working with adults. First, a little history.

Malcolm Knowles is considered the "father of adult learning", although the topic had been discussed and researched over a century earlier.

Knowles' assumptions were that adults:

1) move from dependency to self-directedness;
2) draw upon their reservoir of experience for learning;
3) are ready to learn when they assume new roles; and
4) want to solve problems and apply new knowledge immediately.

In his book, The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy, Knowles opposes the view that adults are unable to learn:

"...the rapidly accelerating pace of change in our society has proved this doctrine to be no longer valued. Facts learned in youth have become insufficient and in many instances actually untrue; and skills learned in youth have become outmoded by new technologies."

The term "andragogy" has come to mean self-directed learning for people of all ages, as opposed to the term "pedagogy" which defines teacher-directed learning. In practical terms, it means that when educating or training adults, process comes before content.

Knowles may not have invented these terms or concepts, but he was the first to put them together into an organized theory. The first adult learning principle follows.

Here are links to the whole series:
https://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles.html
https://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-1.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-2_10.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-3_11.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-4.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-5.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-6.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-7.html

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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!

Adult Learning Principles

Did you know that adults have special needs as learners? When we were kids, we went to school, and we sat through class every day, and our teachers taught everyone pretty much the same way. It didn't really matter if you were a visual learner, or an auditory learner, or a kinesthetic learner. The teacher pretty much did whatever she/he felt most comfortable doing. Times have changed, and teachers are more aware of learning styles now, and other issues that affect children's learning.

But the principles of adult learning are still pretty new to most people. If you're a speaker, and you're doing any kind of education or training with the groups you're speaking to, this applies to you.

Over the next week or so, I'll talk about a different principle each day. I'll be back later with today's post!

Here are links to the whole series:
https://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles.html
https://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-1.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-2_10.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-3_11.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-4.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-5.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-6.html
http://www.speakschmeak.com/2007/01/adult-learning-principles-part-7.html

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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!