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?

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.

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

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.

- 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?

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:

1) Think before you speak

2) Don’t just continue to make sounds while you are collecting your thoughts – vocal graffiti

3) Learn to master “the power of the pause.” Take one or two seconds to collect your thoughts when you are lost or stuck.

Read this short transcript from an interview that Sen. Clinton gave to the editorial board of the Philadelphia Daily News:

“I went to 80 countries, you know. I gave contemporaneous accounts, I wrote about a lot of this in my book. You know, I think that, a minor blip, you know, if I said something that, you know, I say a lot of things — millions of words a day — so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement,” she said.

“You know” You know” “You know”

Vocal Graffiti!

What is the message that we get from this response? I know the message that I perceive / receive. And it is not good. The repeated use of “you know” in Sen. Clinton’s response leaves me with the distinct impression that she is not telling the truth.

Words do, in fact, matter!

Sen. Clinton would have been better served to remember “the power of the pause” and “the power of YouTube.” Less is definitely more in this case. Less vocal graffiti and more pauses. To illustrate:

“I went to 80 countries, (pause) you know. I gave contemporaneous accounts, I wrote about a lot of this in my book. (Pause) You know, I think that, a minor blip, (pause) you know, if I said something that, you know, I say a lot of things — millions of words a day — so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement,” she said.

It is not just what we say. It’s how we say it. Audience perception is what counts. We know!

Record yourself. How many times do you use “space fillers” like uh, uhm, erh? How much vacal graffiti is spry painted throughout your speech? I’ll wager that your answer is a lot more than what you thought! But, that is what your audience hears. That is how your audience perceives you. That is how your audience receives your message.

Learn to take control of what you say. Remember that “the video never lies.” And that “the video never dies!”

See you on YouTube!

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.

- 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:

• “Only 10 more minutes of this crap.”—President George H. W. Bush on what he was thinking as he checked his wristwatch on camera in the midst of a 1992 presidential debate with Bill Clinton and Ross Perot. (Click here to read more about this from U.S. News and World Report.)
• Mr. Gore sighed with deep impatience throughout the debate in an attempt either to distract George W. Bush in his answers to debate questions or influence the audience. Yesterday Mr. Gore blamed his behavior on the TV cameras. “Under the debate rules, we were told there was going to be no coverage of our reactions when the other guy was talking.” (Click here to read more about this from The Wall Street Journal)

These were defining moments. Who remembers what was said during those debates? Who remembers the messages that the candidates communicated? Who remembers the non-shave, the watch and the sigh?

We “listen with our eyes.”

As I write this article, the nomination is Sen. Obama’s to lose. I think that his performance in the Austin debate tomorrow night will be a defining moment. Here is a short extract from a non-partisan article that analyzes Obama’s performance during a debate with a very weak (and quirky) opponent – Alan Keyes:

In terms of the debate, Sen. Obama has the most to lose and the least to gain. Obama’s rhetorical abilities are well established and many voters have their impression of his personality already. These existent impressions positive, so a stellar performance at the debate won’t enhance the perception of him, but simply reinforce it. However, if he conducts himself out of character (and expectations are already pretty high for him), he runs the risk of disillusioning his rapidly growing base. In my opinion, the Senator has weaknesses that if exploited could make the debate and the ensuing political consequences very interesting…

Sen. Obama does not like to be pressed. When pressure is applied to him, he becomes visibly agitated. His eyes serve as a billboard for the anger he feels…his hand gestures border on hostile…his responses curt. His debates with Alan Keyes are telling…

(Click here to read the entire article and to watch the video.)

I will be “all ears” during tomorrow’s debate. I will be “listening with my eyes.” Let me know what you “hear.” Feel free to add your comments below.

- 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…”

I am not a legal expert. Clearly, Sen. Obama used someone else’s words and thoughts without giving proper credit. However, Gov. Patrick’s words were not entirely his own either- he was citing the famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Thomas Jefferson and others to make the point that words do, in fact, matter. They matter very much. But so does honesty. And giving proper credit when it is due.

To give him some credit, Sen. Obama did admit that he and Gov. Deval Patrick share thoughts with each other and that Gov. Patrick had indeed used this “riff” before. So… why didn’t Sen. Obama give proper attribution to Gov. Patrick?

Here’s what Gov. Patrick had to say about this:

In a telephone interview on Sunday, Mr. Patrick said that he and Mr. Obama first talked about the attacks from their respective rivals last summer, when Mrs. Clinton was raising questions about Mr. Obama’s experience, and that they discussed them again last week.

Both men had anticipated that Mr. Obama’s rhetorical strength would provide a point of criticism. Mr. Patrick said he told Mr. Obama that he should respond to the criticism, and he shared language from his campaign with Mr. Obama’s speech writers.

Mr. Patrick said he did not believe Mr. Obama should give him credit.

“Who knows who I am? The point is more important than whose argument it is,” said Mr. Patrick, who telephoned The New York Times at the request of the Obama campaign. “It’s a transcendent argument.”

A transcendent argument? Did Sen. Obama’s speech truly lie beyond the limits of ordinary experience? I don’t know. It was certainly a moving moment and helped to fortify his rebuttal to Sen. Clinton’s criticism that he is “all about words” while she is “in the solutions business.” But it was someone else’s riff and Sen. Obama should have given credit to Gov. Patrick. Even he admits that – now. After the fact.

But how should he have credited Gov. Patrick?

I know that I would not have credited Deval Patrick just before or just after I used that “riff” – it would have destroyed the magic of the moment. A live speech should be theatrical. If it lacks a certain sense of drama, why deliver it in the first place? Just email it. No, Sen. Obama seized on the dramatic possibilities of these words and he electrified the crowd.

But he still needed to give Gov. Patrick credit for his thoughts. How?

He could have included credit in his written press briefings. Most important speeches are written and distributed to the press prior to delivery. The press would have eventually discovered this “plagiarism” on their own – better to be proactive and tell them in advance!

He could have credited Gov. Patrick later on in his speech. Citing Gov. Patrick as the source is secondary to the point. Gov. Patrick said so himself:

“Who knows who I am? The point is more important than whose argument it is,” said Mr. Patrick.

All of which reminds me of another famous quotation:

“It is amazing how much you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

- (Former) President Harry S. Truman

It is much easier to cite your source material in writing. That’s why we have Footnotes and Appendices. That’s why we use the Italic font and Indentation to clearly separate our thought from another’s – in writing. You should never take credit for someone else’s ideas – especially when you use them to boost your own credibility or for your personal gain.

So… Mr. David H. Comins – forgive me if I use your pithy quote (“People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.”) in a future talk without giving you credit. I will not take credit for your words. But I will say, “I once read a quote that said…”

I hope that will will be sufficient. What do you think?

Or

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:

7% of our impact is determined by the words we use.

38% of our impact is determined by our voice: how confident and comfortable we sound.

55% of our impact is determined non-verbally; our appearance, posture, gestures and movement, eye contact and facial expressions.

With this in mind, if you want to make an effective presentation you MUST learn how to fully utilize your vocal power. It is really not so much the actual words that you use (7% of your impact) rather, it is how you use your voice and how you use “The Power of the Pause.”

“Control time and you will control your audience.” – The Articulate Executive

Think of any great speech -

“Ask not, what your country can do for you (PAUSE) Ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy Inauguration Speech

” I have a dream (PAUSE) that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed… I have a dream (PAUSE)… – Dr. Martin Luther King

Listen for the pause and experience its power. Listen to the sounds (PAUSE) of silence!