Stumbling blocks that sabotage credibility

I'm sure you haven't made as big a gaffe as the former CEO of BP, Tony Hayward. Yet, even the best speakers fall prey to some stumbling blocks─whether we're talking one-to-one or to the world. Once we identify ours, we can work to eliminate them and get on with the business at hand. Review this checklist and see how you do─you'll find some examples following each stumbling block:

 Hedge statements and qualifying phrases: This may not be important, but…

 Tag questions: Don’t you agree? OK? All right? The company car will be available, won’t it?

 Exaggerated superlatives: awesome, amazing, fabulous…

 Excessive apologies: sometimes "I'm sorry" are the only words that work; we just want to avoid excessive use of them.

 Self-effacing remarks: I’m just a… Well, I’ve done my best under tough circumstances…

 Overexplanations─many examples when one good one will do. Get to the point!

 Fillers: Um, er, like, you know, like, OK─you know...

 Rambling─we must know when to stop!

 Undefined jargon and acronyms. Every industry has them─what are some of yours?

It takes six weeks of concentrated effort to eliminate a nagging habit, so settle on the one that sabotages your credibility and get to work!

Take your PowerPoints from groan to great

You've seen the articles: "Death by PowerPoint" and other extremely uncomplimentary headlines. Many times these pejoratives are well deserved. Yet, research shows the power of visuals─see a previous post for details. To take your PowerPoints from groan to great, follow these guidelines:

Strive for simplicity

• Limit graphics
• Use bullets instead of complete sentences
• Don't overuse animation─spinning transitions grow old after one!
• Use only 2-3 colors. No surprise, blue is the favorite color of 80% of Americans.
• Strive for the strongest possible foreground/background contrast. Dark type against a light background is easiest to read─especially in subdued lighting. When using light type against a dark background, make sure it's legible.
• Recolor charts, clip art and illustrations to match your palette

Let legibility be your guide

Focus on Fonts
• Use only one or two fonts
• Pick one with a black or heavy version to make titles stand out
• Use sans serif fonts—Arial and Verdana are two classics
• 24 point is the smallest font to use—bigger is better!
• Avoid all caps—they slow down your reader by 13.4%
• Do not underline

Follow the 6 x 6 Rule, then change it up!
• 6 lines per slide
• 6 words per line
• For change of pace, have a slide with a single quote or few words

Keep punctuation to a minimum, avoid:
• Slashes—look like letters when projected
• Exclamation points—often look like the letter “I”
• Periods at end of lines—they’re usually not complete sentences
• Awkward line breaks

Choose an easy to read layout
• Set type ragged right
• Use centering sparingly─difficult to find the beginning of lines
• Use two to three indent levels─maximum

Edit ruthlessly
• Eliminate introductory words—the, in addition
• Avoid awkward line breaks
• Cut redundant words and qualifiers—often, extremely, sometimes
• Replace long words or phrases with short ones

And whatever you do, don't read from your PowerPoint. Well, occasionally I'll read a quote for effect, but to read endlessly from your slides is insulting to your audience. And boring!

Assumptions can lead to miscommunication─even conflict

 

Have you noticed? We human beings often jump to conclusions─or make assumptions. These lead to miscommunication and even conflict. In workshops, I demonstrate this by standing much like the woman in the picture and ask the participants to describe how I'm standing. They answer impatient, irritated, upset─all assumptions about how I feel. Then I ask them to describe what they see by starting with, "I notice your..." Then they get it and say, "I notice your arms are crossed, you're tapping your foot and you have a serious expression on your face." Now they're getting closer to using Perception Checking.

Here are the three steps involved:
1. State your observation
2. State your assumption
3. Ask for verification or clarification

Let's continue with the example I started above:

1. I notice your arms are crossed, you're tapping your foot and you have a serious expression on your face.

2. I assume you're irritated.

3. Am I reading you accurately?

This gives me a chance to clarify, "Oh no, I'm just cold and I need to go to the bathroom!" Incorrect assumption─and serious miscommunication─averted!

Would you like fries with that?

No matter what you're selling, upselling adds dramatically to the bottom line. Trouble is, some employees feel uncomfortable─translate that to pushy─encouraging a customer to buy more. We need to share with them the rationale and make it easier for them by practicing scripts that they can modify.

A great place to start is to get them brainstorming the goals of upselling. They might come up with a list like this:
• Provide customers with what they need to make their project/purchase/experience/contract more successful
• Share new products and ideas with customers
• Educate customers about our product line─they may not be aware of all we offer
• Increase sales

Then, help them figure out specific recommendations they can make to the customer. Let them know it will depend on what the customer just ordered─or ordered in the past.

From there, it's as easy as 1... 2... 3...
1. Think of some typical items a customer would purchase
2. Come up with what you can recommend as an add-on sale based on what they ordered or purchased
3. Write down the phrasing you would use to recommend those additional items to the customer

Have employees create a number of their own scripts─with help from manager and coworkers─using this formula:
1. Customer orders...
2. You can recommend...
3. You would say...

Then, practice, practice, practice. Once employees have said their own scripts enough times, they can do it comfortably─when it counts!

May you break a leg at your next presentation!

No matter the size of the audience, many of us are very nervous when we speak. Here are some pointers that will help:

Get grounded before you start

When I lead presentation skills workshops and attendees are about to give mini-presentations, many will start talking─often apologizing─as they head for the front of the room. Instead, walk silently to the front, place your feet hip width apart with your weight evenly distributed, look at someone in the audience and then start your talk. Oh, and make sure you're not starting with "Um" or "So!"

Talk to one person at a time

Literally. Look at one person for three to four seconds, then move on to the next person. Really make eye contact. Then you're not speaking to a big audience, you're talking to one person. And even better, they will respond─many will nod or smile─and you'll get feedback that you're on target.

And remember to breathe!

When we're nervous, most of us hold our breath. Pretty hard to speak when this is happening. I remember years ago when I was demonstrating on a model. She fainted into my arms! Turns out she was holding her breath and had locked her knees. Recipe for disaster. Check out a previous blog post where I talk about diaphragm breathing. Not only does it help calm you; it gives you a stronger voice.

Now, break a leg!

(BTW, Wikipedia lists many theories behind the etymology of that phrase.)

The impact of visuals

Remember sitting in that overheated classroom in high school or college listening─or not─to a seemingly endless lecture? Probably not, since your mind had gone numb. Why did so many of us need to write down every single word we heard? Because at least 65%of us are visual learners.

Consider the result of this study conducted at Harvard: people comprehend about 7% of information delivered verbally and 87% when delivered both verbally and visually.

A study at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania found that presenters using visual aids:
- conduct meetings in 28% less time
- increase audience retention by up to five times
- get proposals approved twice as often

Further studies found that when visuals are used group consensus occurs 21% more often and the time required to present a concept can be reduced up to 40%.

The message is clear: use handouts, write on the board or paper, demonstrate, show a quick clip─get visual!

Practice diaphragm breathing to improve your voice and remain calm

Did you know─many of us breathe backward? If I asked a group to take a deep breath, many people would quickly fill their upper chest with air. This isn't enough to support a strong voice or help calm us. In fact, it just makes us more tense. Try diaphragm breathing instead:

• Sit quietly—with both feet on the floor if in a chair, perhaps legs crossed if on the floor

• Relax hands—holding nothing. Rest them on your knees or in your lap.

• Initially for practice, place one palm flat on the front of your waist between the bottom of your ribcage and your abdomen. Place your other hand on your breastbone.

• Close your eyes.

• Breathe in through your nose with your mouth closed.

• Feel your rib cage expand as your shoulders remain still (that’s your diaphragm expanding).

• Exhale sloooooooowly through your slightly open mouth—pulling your diaphragm toward your spine.

• Now try inhaling to a count of 3. Hold for 1 count. Exhale to a count of 3. Hold for 1 count.

• Breathe rhythmically. Eventually expand the count and focus on the exhale being even longer.

Practice diaphragm breathing and you'll find your voice will grow stronger. An added bonus? You'll feel like you've just had a short nap!