Posts Tagged ‘motivational speech’
As a motivational speaker and consultant, (during my inspirational speeches) I often ask: How often do you become conscious of the side of your own nose? And, if you wear specs, when was the last time you were distracted by the frames? I would guess that your answer to both questions is “not very often”. Am I correct?
This observation is actually surprising when you consider that both your nose and eyeglasses are within your field of view. (My inspirational and motivational speaker audiences are by and large very taken aback.) Which raises the question, because they impinge upon your visual field, how come your nose and glasses aren’t a visual distraction? Here’s the reason why: It’s because your brain filters them out.
In truth, only a minuscule portion of the vast amount of sensory information detected by your senses ever reaches your awareness. Trying to assimilate all this sensory content would be completely impractical. Filtering out all the ‘unimportant’ sensory information, including your nose and glasses, is a key brain activity.
How come – as a motivational speaker - did I think it was important to bring this freaky visual anomaly to your attention? Answer: Simply because (in basic terms) it raises a fundamental issue. This biological oddity got me thinking, does a limited perspective mean limited success? Bottom line, numerous characteristics of our brain filter have a direct effect on our success. For instance, it directs our attention towards our expectations. In this report I’m going to consider a extremely important element of the brain sieve, how it tends towards the negative.
A Negative Focus
The brain sieve focuses your mind towards the negative elements of your circumstances. Need convincing? Then try this easy experiment. (Incidentally I routinely advocate this exercise in my inspirational healthcare programs.)
Draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper. Now, for the rest of the day, when you “think positive” sketch a “Smiley Face” on one side of the line. Conversely, every time you have a downbeat notion, mark a cross on the other side. Try this test and note which half of the paper you cover first. Most people cover the negative side of the paper much more rapidly than the other side.
What we require is a wider perspective, the ability to perceive the optimistic aspects of a circumstance so we can counterbalance our natural predisposition to drift towards the pessimistic. Why is this important? For the reason that a positive outlook is predictive of success in many areas from sales to sports.
A Motivational Speaker’s Answer…
If you find a downbeat thought pops into your skull, attempt these straightforward action steps:
Tip 1: Recognize the possibility that you’re not considering an similarly valid, more optimistic outlook.
Tip 2: Then, seek a broader, more neutral perspective.
Tip 3: Ask yourself straightforward questions. For example: How bad is this irritation really? Will I still care about it in three years time?
Finally, being conscious of your brain sieve will help you to seize control of your emotions. Take control of your thinking and keep an eye on what happens. Take it from a motivational speaker, you’ll be shocked!
As a Texas motivational speaker, I frequently get to observe business educators give PowerPoint presentations. I’ve concluded that many business trainers have absolutely no clue how to make use of this potent software. Rather than using PowerPoint to emphasize their keynote speeches, they allow it to become a distraction. As another Texas motivational speaker pointed out, in many organizations, using PowerPoint is thought to be a best practice. Be that as it may, you ought to reassess the role PowerPoint has in your presentations.
Here are a few motivational speaker best practices when using PowerPoint…
Tip 1: If you’re lucky enough to decide the room layout, make sure the projector screen is located off to one side. This enables you to position yourself in the middle of the stage (a theatrically effective position).
Tip 2: Here’s a tip I learned from another inspirational speaker. Talk to your audience, never the projector screen. Make a special effort to maintain eye contact with the audience. (Keep in mind you have the task of persuading the audience, not the slides.) FYI: Eye contact is one of the chief strategies motivational and keynote speakers use to “wow” an audience.
Tip 3: Sometimes (in a heartfelt effort to be “helpful”) the meeting organizers will turn off the lights, ostensibly so attendees can see your slides. This is a terrible idea! It can cause audience members to doze off. Don’t let that happen during your presentation. In nearly all situations, dimming the lights a tiny bit is enough for easy reading of your bullets. (Here’s an idea: Rather than being overly assertive, simply point out that you can’t see your notes.The meeting planner has little option but to adjust the lighting, Tricky, but it works!)
Tip 4: Have specific tactics for drawing the audience’s focus away from the PowerPoint slides. For instance, think about using other media (like a flip chart) in conjunction with your PowerPoint slides. You can then springboard from the bullets on your slides and expand on each point using the chart.)
Tip 5: Don’t hold onto the projector remote with both hands…gripping it like grim death.
Tip 6: Always turn off the projection (not the projector) when you’re not actually referring to a slide. This is so attendees can refocus on you and your body language.
Tip 7: Rehearse with your PowerPoint slides before your speech. Don’t fool yourself. Your main points may be on the PowerPoint slides, but you still need to practice. Take time to memorize the order of your slides and how many minutes it takes to talk about each one.
One final point…
The most frequent time for a salesperson (or even a motivational speaker) to forget their place in a speech occurs as they transition between one content block and the next.
One of the best things about using PowerPoint slides is that your blocks of content are pre-organized. As a result, you can rest assured you won’t lose your place. (If needed, you can simply glance at the new slide to be reminded of your next subtopic.) This leaves you free to focus on being your persuasive best so you can sell your product or motivate your team…