In this movie Neal Page (played by Steve Martin) finds himself getting stuck with an annoying travel companion, Del Griffith (played by John Candy).

Page (Martin) quickly becomes irritated with how much Griffith (Candy) talks and talks and talks. There is a scene in the movie when Page becomes so fed up that his temper explodes.

Even though this movie is clearly a comedy, and Page’s barrage of words in this scene is spoken in frustration towards Griffith, I think there is ‘wisdom’ that presenters and speakers can take away.

Many speakers fall into the trap that Page berates Griffith for. See for yourself.

Click here to see his 25-second tirade on telling stories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsnhpizu9oc

The moral here is:

When telling a story in your speeches or presentations, for the sake of your audience, PLEASE have a POINT. One that is related to your presentation!

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Championship of Public Speaking 1st Runner-up

Keynote Speaker/Trainer/Coach
Magnetic Podium, LLC
617-858-1466
mary@magneticpodium.com
www.magneticpodium.com

If you want to improve, it doesn’t matter what your “score” is, so long as you are moving towards the desired end of the scale.

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Championship of Public Speaking 1st Runner-up

Keynote Speaker/Trainer/Coach
Magnetic Podium, LLC
617-858-1466
mary@magneticpodium.com
www.magneticpodium.com

How can I show confidence, energy and enthusiasm in a presentation, interview or meeting, when I am giving it sitting down?

Mary’s Answer ~

When you are giving a presentation, interview or meeting sitting down, here are a few tips:

1) Your confidence and enthusiasm can be conveyed through your voice, facial expressions and gestures using the upper half of your body.

2) Make sure you hold eye contact with your interviewer/audience in the meeting. Holding eye contact with each person shows a level of self-confidence that you believe in what you are saying.

3) Energy is contagious. If you are enthusiastic about your message, so will your audience, whether it’s a one-on-one or a group.

4) Breathe deeply and consciously focus on relaxing your center (just above your stomach). When you are centered, you can communicate from the relaxed, authentic place inside of you.

5) And finally, so long as you are sincere and believe in what you have to say, you will come across as confident whether you are standing up or sitting down.

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Champion of Public Speaking 1st Runner Up
Keynote Speaker/Trainer/Coach
Magnetic Podium

In case you haven’t heard of Les Brown, I’ll fill you in on his inspiring story – As a baby Les & his twin brother were abandoned in a low-income part of Miami. They were adopted by a domestic worker, Mamie Brown, who had little education & very limited means. In school, Les failed the 4th grade & was labeled “educably mentally retarded” & was called ‘D.T’ by the other kids (the Dumb Twin). None of his teachers recognized his potential, except for one — Mr Washington — whose 1 sentence turned Les’s life around.

He said to Les:

“Someone’s opinion of you
does not have to become your reality.”

Les went on to become one of the World’s most well known & respected motivational speakers & speech coaches. Here is what I learned from Les – Directly from his mouth, to my newsletter to your eyes:

• You’re never too old to learn & never too young to teach.

• Nothing happens until it is spoken.

• Live full, die empty.

• Your history does not have to be your future.

• You will fail your way to success.

And my personal favorite: -

• Never let anybody tell you what you can’t do, especially if they haven’t done it.

Wise words. But perhaps the most important lesson Les reminded me of was that we all have a story – YOUR story is powerful.

Where you came from, what you have learned, the emotional struggles that you have overcome is indeed a powerful teaching tool for others.

As Les pointed out, your story uniquely speaks to groups of people that my story or his story never will. What is your story? Share it generously with others — Don’t be stingy — You never know who you can help.

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Championship of Public Speaking 1st Runner-up

How can I get access to Learning & Development/Training presenters sessions so I can learn how I can leverage their knowledge and techniques?

Mary’s Answer ~

There are 3 suggestions that I have to answer your question:

#1 – Observe Mentors You Respect.

Are there any Learning & Development/Training presenters whose style of training you like? If possible attend one of their training sessions and put on your “observers” hat. Take note of what techniques you like that they used during the session. You can also do this with sample videos of their presentations that they post either on their website or on YouTube.

This method of learning from your training ‘mentors’ is what I call ‘passive’ learning, which is observing and modeling.

#2 – Utilize Available Resources.

I would recommend ‘Train-the-Trainer’ type resources. This is what I call ‘active’ learning. Again, I would advise learning from those trainers/learning & development presenters whose style resonates with you. For example, one of my favorite ‘Train-the-Trainer’ sessions that I have taken was from Peak Potentials.

Other resources are also available through digital media. For example, one of my favorite teachers in this genre who trains using accelerated-learning techniques is Ed Tate. I recommend his CD called “Interactive Lectures.” Stay tuned for my upcoming educational program, “Train-the-Trainer.”

#3 – Network with ASTD

Attend your local ASTD Chapter meetings (American Society of Training and Development) and network with other professional trainers. Ask them specific questions that you may have to leverage their knowledge and techniques. To find your nearest ASTD Chapter, click here.

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Champion of Public Speaking 1st Runner Up
Keynote Speaker/Trainer/Coach
Magnetic Podium

How can I make a more dynamic, engaging presentation than I currently do?

Mary’s Answer ~

There are many ways that you can make your presentation more dynamic and engaging.

One of the BEST ways you can make your presentation more engaging is the use of a personal story. Tie the point of your presentation to the story. People are magnetized by a story that is well told. For a further education on being an engaging presenter, stay tuned for my upcoming educational program “Keep Your Audience at the Edge of Their Seats.”

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Champion of Public Speaking 1st Runner Up
Keynote Speaker/Trainer/Coach
Magnetic Podium

When giving a memorized speech, I sometimes lose my train of thought if I look at the people too closely. How can I prevent this from happening?

Mary’s Answer ~

Firstly, I would encourage you to internalize your speeches, rather than memorize. The difference being: In memorizing, you are having to check back with your mind to see what the next sentence is going to be. Internalization on the other hand, is when you know your speech so well that do not have to ‘think’ about the words.

There are a few ways you can achieve this. Here are 2 ways that work best for me:

#1 – Know what you want to say.

Know your material so well that a simple pointer E.g. a Bullet point can prompt you to say your material. This is done by lots of practice.

#2 – Internalize, not Memorize.

Rather than giving a ‘memorized speech’ — give the speech as though it was a conversation. E.g. Write down a few bullet points that your speech will cover, and then simply ‘talk to’ the audience about those points. This also takes practice, and trusting in yourself that what comes out of your mouth is exactly what needs to come out in that moment.

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Champion of Public Speaking 1st Runner Up
Keynote Speaker/Trainer/Coach
Magnetic Podium
www.magneticpodium.com

When I first started to take an interest in learning to present in public, I attended a speaking conference and saw some amazing, confident and funny speakers present on stage.

After the conference, I went up to one of the presenters and said, “You make presenting look so easy and effortless. Tell me, do you ever get nervous?”

This is the pile of feedback sheets that I collected from my test audiences throughout my World Championship speech preparation process.

And do you know what his response was?

“Mary, I only get nervous if I’m not prepared.”

That was a light-bulb moment for me. Oh! So how nervous you feel is directly proportional to how well you prepared for your presentation!

Translation: The more prepared you are, the more confident you will feel.

Since then, I’ve learned that preparation is a process. Here are some tips on how to prepare for your big speech.

1) The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Begin your preparation as early as possible so you have the luxury of time on your side.

2) To Be Your Best, You Must Test

Most people rehearse a presentation on their own. While this is a must, I recommend rehearsing with a test audience as well. Ask people you know such as family, friends or co-workers to watch you give your presentation and give you feedback. Your local Toastmasters club also makes a great test audience (www.toastmasters.org).

It helps to ask your test audience specific questions such as “Were there any parts of the presentation that were confusing to you?”, “Was the opening and closing powerful enough?”, “What did you learn from it?. You can even prepare feedback sheets for your test audience to fill out, like I did for my World Championship speech.

3) R and R

R and R stands for Record and Refine. During a rehearsal with your test audience, record yourself. Audio recording is good but video is even better. Watch the tape of yourself giving the presentation. It may be difficult to watch yourself at first. This is normal. We are all self-critical, so be kind!

Look for little habits you might have such as pacing around too much, playing with your own hands, saying too many um’s or ah’s. The good news is that knowing is half the battle. Once you are aware of these habits, you can work on eliminating them in your next rehearsal.

Refine your presentation based on the feedback your test audience gave you and your own assessments of your rehearsal recording.

Preparation is a process – Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you are comfortable and confident with both your content and delivery.

Remember, the more prepared you are, the more refined your presentation will be and the more confident you will feel.

How prepared will you be for your next presentation?

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Champion of Public Speaking 1st Runner Up
Keynote Speaker/Trainer/Coach
Magnetic Podium

How do you develop the concentration to not be distracted by audience members?

Mary’s Answer ~

The best way to handle this issue is to shift your mind-set about the audience.

Rather than thinking of the audience as a barrier to overcome, think of the audience as individuals you want to connect with, individuals who will benefit from hearing your message.

Also, keep in mind that you may never really know what an audience member is thinking no matter what their facial expression – what you ‘think’ they are thinking is your own interpretation only. For example, I recently trained a group of people and there was a woman sitting in the front row who sat there the whole 90 minutes completely expressionless. Now I could have interpreted this lack of expression in any number of ways like, “Oh my gosh, she must be bored out of her mind.” After the training, she was literally the first person to run up to buy my audio CD programs.

What I’m trying to say is you can never tell what your audience members are thinking, so there is no need to have them distract you. You are there in front of the room to give them your message. Focus on connecting with the individuals you make eye-contact with.

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Champion of Public Speaking 1st Runner Up
Keynote Speaker/Trainer/Coach
Magnetic Podium

How do I get over my fears quickly when I’m presenting?

Mary’s Answer ~

This is an excellent question, and one that I get asked quite often. Here are a few tips:

1. Be Aware of Your Critical Voice.

When one is presenting there are two voices going on: the one that’s coming out of your mouth, and the one that’s in your head. There seems to be a running commentary in our own minds that is critiquing everything.

This commentary, this “voice,” is usually the source of our presentation fears, because the voice is usually saying something negative. And when we believe in that voice, our bodies respond accordingly. E.g. sweaty palms, dry mouth, heart racing.

2. Focus on Your Message & Be in the Moment.

The quickest way to get over your fears is to put all of your focus on your message and your audience understanding what you are there to present. Remind yourself to be in the ‘moment’ of the presentation, rather than in your head.

3. Get Physical.

I also recommend calming the nerves before the presentation by getting physical E.g. shake your hands, arms, legs, jumping jacks. What works best for me is jumping up and down in one spot, usually in the hallway or in the bathroom a few minutes before I enter the presentation room. This again, takes your focus away from that notorious place i.e. the chattering mind.

4. Abdominal Breathing.

Always remember to breathe deep from your belly (your shoulders should not move up and down). The slower and deeper you breathe before your presentation, the calmer you will feel.

Mary Cheyne
2009 World Champion of Public Speaking 1st Runner Up
Keynote Speaker/Trainer/Coach
Magnetic Podium, LLC