Don’t laugh, you can learn how to lead meetings that people really look forward to attending!

This 7 minute and 19 second video appears in my March, 2010 newsletter, The Catalyst. Please take a moment to join my mailing list if you would like to receive my newsletter each month. You can sign up right here on this page.

Successful meetings follow a process. In this video you will learn the three-step process for successful meetings:

1. Prepare for the Meeting – Determine the purpose for the meeting and prepare an action agenda and invite the proper participants to the meeting.
2. Run the meeting skillfully – Run the meeting in support of the action agenda and ensure full participation for each person invited to the meeting.
3. Follow-up – Assign roles and responsibilities during the meeting. Ensure acceptance of these assignment. You are already preparing for your next meeting – to follow-up on the decisions and information from this meeting.

If you would like to learn the techniques that I used to create the PowerPoint presentation I used in this video, I invite you to visit my online store to get details about my DVD, “The 50 Best Tips for PowerPoint 2007.”

Related Posts

• Why Are We Meeting?

I am just getting back to adding more PowerPoint Video Lessons on my blog. Follow this link to view the video – “Tools To Control Text On Slides”

The key learning points in the lesson:

• Enforce a style to limit the number of bullet points per slide.
• Establish a style to maintain consistent ending punctuation (on or off) for bullet points.
• Establish minimum font sizes for Slide Titles and bullet points.

Reduce “Visual Clutter” on your PowerPoint slides. Achieve the professional look that sets you apart from other presenters. Use the tools that PowerPoint provides to help improve Visual Clarity.

Yesterday, I published an article - “How Many Words per Minute (WPM) Do You Speak?” – on my PowerPoints blog.

Today, I created and recorded a PowerPoint presentation based on that article – “Did I Get My WPM Count Just Right?

Both postings discuss the same topic – your spoken words-per-minute count. Each posting offers a different experience.

I had a different experience while creating and recording the PowerPoint presentation. I needed to add extra words to assist the viewer. Both the video and the article are designed to “stand alone.” However, I felt that the video “needed more explanation.” And this, despite the fact that the video offers visual aids!

Perhaps it was just the experience of speaking my written words aloud. A practice that I recommend that all writers and editors try at least occasionally. Perhaps it was just me “wishing that I had taken more time in editing yesterday’s article.” A case of “writer’s remorse?

I hope that you will take some time to read the article AND to view the PowerPoint presentation. I welcome your feedback. Which medium did you prefer – and why? What would you like to see more of? Less of?

Please add your comments below. Or you can email your comments to me – danny@thecompanyrocks.com

As I continue to develop content for The Company Rocks I am creating specialized blogs to meet your specialized needs.

Introducing the new PowerPoints blog – http://www.thecompanyrocks.com/powerpoints

The focus for this blog is to offer tips that help you to improve your communications skills.

Yes, I will share tips and techniques to help you get the most our of MS PowerPoint. But, this is not a blog that is limited to MS PowerPoint.

MS PowerPoint is just one tool that you may use to help you craft and deliver a powerful message.

Remember these PowerPoints:

Your MS PowerPoint slides are not your message

MS PowerPoint does not deliver your message. You do!

Therefore, the tips and techniques that I share with you to get the most out of MS PowerPoint have a unified message:

“How will this tip help me to make a Powerful Point?”

Click here to visit the PowerPoints blog.

I have posted my first video lesson on the blog. Check back frequently for new articles and video demonstrations.

“We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.”

- Eric Hoffer

Tom Peters has an interesting post on his blog -”Get To (Serious!!) Work … On Your Presentation Skills!”

He points out how one Seventeen Minute speech in 2004 catapulted Sen. Barack Obama’s career. Sen.. Obama delivered the Keynote Speech at the 2004 Democratic National attention and he “caught fire.”  He went from a virtually unknown young politician to becoming the presumptive Presidential nominee of his party in less than 4 years!

Fueled by his 17 minute speech!

In 1988 another relatively unknown politician first caught our eye when he delivered a (very long) nominating speech for Gov. Michael Dukakis. That was our first national notice of (then) Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas.

Yes, it is time to “Get Serious – really serious – about working on your presentation skills.” To quote from the Tom Peters article:

“Fact, in “our” more modest worlds: Poor or average or even “okay” presentation skills trip up or hold back an incredible number of very talented people at all levels, including the highest in big orgs—and yet it is rare to see someone launch a martial-arts-training-like, no-bull, I’m-gonna-master-this-or-die-trying offensive on presentation skill improvement.

Why not?”

Indeed! Why not? Why don’t you put more effort into improving your presentation skills? What is holding you back? Do you realize how much your “so-so” presentation skills are holding you back – from advancing in your career? Holding you back from getting what you really want in your life?

It’s not enough to say, “they are a naturally gifted speaker and I just am not.” That is just BS!

Talent, alone, does not guarantee success. It is the intense desire to work on fully developing our talents that determines our long-term success.

Will Sen. Obama’s desire to become President of the USA drive him to improve his natural speaking talents? He will need to improve his debating skills and to work on his responses to questions if he is to succeed.

I’ll be blogging about the presentation skills (or lack of skills) of our Presidential candidates up until the November election.  I will be interested to see which candidate shows the most desire to succeed.

Which candidate will really commit to fully developing his communications skills? Which candidate is is most interested in supercharging his career?

Speaking in public is a challenge. Most people fear it. Speaking in public, with cameras recording what you say and how you say it, is even more challenging. When your audience watches the video – days, weeks or even years later – it no longer appears to be a “live event.” The “live” audience that applauds your spontaneity, given the heat of the moment, is a different audience from the one that views the video through a different filter. The filter of time. The filter of history. The filter of “gotcha!”

This is the audience who will point to your grammatical lapses as proof that you are not as educated as you claim. This is the audience who can now “prove” that you lack the experience that you claimed to have. This is an audience that most speakers completely disregard – at their peril!

This is the age of YouTube. This is the dilemma that Sen. Hillary Clinton finds herself in. YouTube sleuths and the Mainstream Media are falling all over themselves to show how Sen. Clinton’s recollection of her “dangerous” arrival in Bosnia is dramatically different from her actual arrival as documented by news reports on the scene those many years ago.

It is not just the case that the “video never lies.” The “video never dies!”

The video is always there, lurking in the archives, ready to bite us wherever and whenever. And video is now viral – its reach is global and instantaneous.

So… if you are already fearful of speaking in public, you have a few more things to learn: (more…)

Your mother told you! “It’s not polite to point your finger at someone.” And she was correct on this point. I do not like to have someone point their finger at me – literally or figuratively.

Senator Hillary Clinton – It is time that you started to listen to your mother! Remember what she told you: “It’s not polite to point your finger at someone. It will not earn you any points (votes) and people do not appreciate it.”

Senator Barack Obama also points his finger. What politician does not? But this post – and my blog – is not about “political finger pointing.” I am not writing about shifting the blame. I am posting and blogging about effective communications.

I have been watching the videos and analyzing the body language of each candidate vying for their party’s presidential nomination. In reviewing the video of the recent CNN debate between Senator Clinton and Obama I noticed a distinct difference in how each candidate uses the fingers to make a point:

• Sen. Clinton consistently pointed her finger directly at her audience.
• Sen. Obama usually pointed his finger upwards or to the side.

This may seem subtle to some. And it may prove significant to others. And it may play a role in the outcome of the voting. We will see. We listen to what we see!

However, professional speech coaches agree that you should avoid literally pointing or poking your finger at someone. Here is a quote form Joan Detz, the author of “It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It.”

“Don’t point at the audience. The simple truth is, no one likes to be pointed at.”

At this late date in a heated primary election campaign, Hillary Clinton is probably not listening to outside experts on body language and effective communication styles. She is relying on instinct and (unconsciously) responding in the heat of the moment. In my opinion, she does not respond effectively – especially with ter body language – when feels that she is being attacked or is having her proposals rejected. Who does? I don’t. Do you? Of course not. But we must be aware of how we physically react when we are attacked:

We listen with our eyes.

No matter what we say, people will remember what they see. We remember more of what we see than what we hear.

This is the image that plays back in my head when I see someone pointing their finger at the audience.

It is not a pretty picture. It will not win votes. It is not polite. Just ask your mother. She will tell you – and she will not point her finger at you!

When you give a speech or make a presentation you must present your point of view – that’s why you were invited to speak. To be effective you must state your point, present you case and back up your points and finally give your audience a call to action. Make you point. Point out how you differ from your opponent. Just remember not to point you finger at you audience!

They will get the point.

“The Chinese symbol for adversity contains a symbol for opportunity. Therefore, adversity brings opportunity.”

- Anonymous

How do you rebound after 10 straight losses? Is it possible? Theoretically, yes.  Is it easy? Of course not. How do you do it? Stay in the game long enough to find your opportunity – and then seize the moment!

No doubt about it – Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign is on a losing streak. You can not “spin away” 10 consecutive losses. You can not discount the outcome of some state elections  as “not that important.” A caucus or a primary? It doesn’t matter. A loss is still a loss.

But there is always tomorrow. Another opportunity. A chance to gain a foot-hold. A chance to debate. A chance to turn her ship around. A chance to turn adversity into opportunity.

All eyes will be on Austin, TX – the scene of the next Democratic Party Debate.

More precisely, the eyes of the camera will be focused on the eyes, the hands, the posture of the candidates. It is my opinion that the outcome of tomorrow’s debate will be determined more by style than substance. And specifically, I predict that the outcome will be determined by how Senators Clinton and Obama master their body language during the debate.

The audience will be “listening with their eyes.”

We will not require a political analyst to tell us who won the debate. We can throw away the scorecard that tallies points scored on policy matters. The only points that matter will be how the candidates react to each other. Non-verbal reactions to each other.

We will “listen with our eyes.” We will determine the winner based upon what we “hear with our eyes.”

My advice to Senators Clinton and Obama: Spend more time preparing your non-verbal communications than in polishing your 9-point policy positions. The outcome of this debate will be determined by what the audience sees!

This has been the case – at least since the first televised Presidential Debate in 1960 between Kennedy and Nixon. The outcome was determined by a “close shave.”Future President Kennedy came across as a tanned, vigorous, confident leader. Then Vice President Nixon appeared to be hiding behind his “5 o’clock Shadow.”

Who can forget these images? Moments when non-verbal communication decided the outcome of the debate: (more…)

“People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.”

- David H. Comins

I love quotations! I enjoy collecting and categorizing them. I enjoy reading them. And I use them – liberally – in my writing, speaking and training. I strive to always cite the source of the quotation, but this is not always possible or practical.

With all due respect to Mr. David H. Comins – and I assume that he is a decent, honest and wise man – I could not easily locate any biographical information on him. I remembered this quote and I verified it on the Quotations Page website. But a Google search and a search on Amazon.com did not turn up any background information on Mr. Comins.

So… is my audience more interested in Mr. Comins or in his pithy comments?

And, since I am not a citizen of the fine state of Massachusetts, I must admit that I knew nothing about their current Governor Deval Patrick – up until this past weekend, that is. The 24-hour news cycle continues to churn out stories about Sen. Barack Obama’s alleged plagiarism. Obama “liberally lifted” a riff that Gov. Patrick had previously used – “Don’t tell me words don’t matter.”

As was to be expected, Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign was watching and vetting Sen. Obama’s speech that night and quickly alerted all parties who would listen – not to mention all ships at sea – about this “outrageous plagiarism.” Full of high dudgeon, they demanded that justice be served – or at least that the press properly criticize Sen. Barama on this matter.

The press did indeed criticize Sen. Barama on this matter. They also played a video tape of Gov. Deval Patrick when he delivered these lines and compared it to Sen. Obama’s speech in Wisconsin. It is almost scary to see how closely Sen. Obama invoked not just Gov. Patrick’s words but also his tone of voice and even his body language.

The question is: “Was this plagiarism?” The answer is: “I don’t know. It depends…” (more…)

I developed a new training program to help clients improve their public speaking techniques. Its called “Make Your Presentations Sing!” Earlier this week I presented it for members of the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership. As part of the training, I have my audience listen to several musical examples to clarify my point. Points include: story telling, vocal range, timbre, emphasis, breathing, phrasing, etc.

One of the most overlooked presentation techniques is – The Pause. As in “The Sound of Silence.” – You remember that Simon & Garfunkel’s classic song – “Listen to the sound… of silence.”

Far too many speakers talk too much and they lose the attention of their audience because they forget to pause.

Far too many writers use too many words – their text is too dense. They forget to pause – to use the “white-space” on the page to give more power their prose.

Far too many sales opportunities are lost because the salesperson talks too much – they neglect to use the power of the pause.

We are all guilty of this – to a greater or lesser degree. When is the last time you heard someone pause during a television interview or “debate?” Anyone who dares to pause for effect will never regain the opportunity to get another word in during that segment!

Salespeople are their own worst enemy. The can not stand to hear silence! So, rather than pay attention to their customers’ reactions and observe their body language, they barge ahead and fill the vacuum of silence – with their own voice. To what result? Frequently, they end up talking themselves out of the sale!

The same thing can happen during presentations. Inexperienced speakers “panic” during periods of silence. They worry that they are having a memory lapse. In their mind, the silence lasts for minutes – not seconds. They dare not look out at the audience for fear that they will see boredom – or people leaving. And so it gets worse. The speaker is now panicked – and they speed up, And, as a result, they lose more of their audience!

“A wise person once said that there is, in any good speech, a greater message in the pauses than in the words that surround them”

- Excepted from “The Articulate Executive” by Granville N. Toogood

To illustrate this point during my training, I play Tony Bennett’s interpretation of the Irving Berlin song, “When I Lost You.” I could not find it at the i tunes store. But it is from Tony’s 1987 Album “Bennett / Berlin” and it is sung “a cappella” which means singing without instrumental accompaniment. It is a great example of “The Power of the Pause” to establish a mood, to emphasize your point, to impart a memorable message. Try to locate this track. If you are not moved by the power of this performance, … Trust me, this is worth worth your time and money!

In Timothy Koegel’s book, “The Exceptional Presenter,” he cites a UCLA Study by Dr. Albert Mahrabian that revealed: (more…)