Episodes
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Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you present a proposal to a client. Here is the scenario… You have done your homework. A team at your company painstakingly created the perfect sales proposal. In fact, the potential client was so impressed, that they moved you to their “shortlist.” Now, though, they want you to present a bid proposal to the purchasing committee.
Your team is one of just six to eight other companies competing for this contract. How do you make sure that the committee picks your team? Well, not to brag, but over the years, groups that I have coached have received over 80% of these contracts. Just follow this simple sales presentation outline, and your team will have a better shot at winning as well.
Show Notes: How to Present a Proposal-Create a Business Proposal Presentation
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/present-a-bid-proposal-great-sales-presentation-outline/) -
How, exactly do we collect feedback on a presentation? Are there ways to solicit feedback that will help us grow as speakers? The answer is, absolutely, YES! However, the way that you typically ask for feedback may not be the best way to gain confidence as a speaker. In fact, many traditional feedback techniques can actually make you more nervous. In addition, speakers will sometimes make adjustments to their delivery based on anecdotal issues. This can start a snowball effect that leads to terrible presentation skills.
To make sure that doesn't happen to you, stick around for some of the best (and worst) ways to collect feedback from your presentations!
Show Notes: How to Collect Feedback on a Presentation
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-collect-feedback-on-a-presentation/) -
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Most of what we cover on this podcast are things that you need to do. The secrets to effective visual aids, curbs against anxiety, the right ways to present, but what about the wrong ways?
You have to know what not to do in order to know what to do and, for a lot of us, we do a lot of what we shouldn't do. There are so many small habits you might not even realize you do that are actively hurting your speaking and snuffing those out as early as possible is extremely important. So lets go through those.
These are the 10 deadly sins of public speaking and, if you hear something that you're already doing, I'll also tell you how to fix it.Show Notes: 10 Biggest Public Speaking Mistakes: What Not to do During a Presentation
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/10-biggest-public-speaking-mistakes-what-not-to-do-during-a-presentation/) -
“I don’t present very often, so how do I prepare for a presentation?” That is, by far, one of the most common questions that we get as presentation skills coaches. In fact, most public speaking fear comes from situations where presenters just don’t speak very often.
They have a hard time building up momentum. For instance, if you only drive a car once every couple of years, you will likely be nervous every time you slip behind the wheel. However, if you drive every day, the process becomes second nature.
So if you're not confident in your preparation routine or want to make sure you're doing it right, stick around for the 5 best ways to prepare for a speech.
Show Notes: 5 Ironclad Ways to Prepare for a Presentation
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/5-ironclad-ways-to-prepare-for-a-presentation-cut-prep-time-by-137/) -
I often get a common question after people attend our 2-day presentation class. “Now that I feel more confident, where do I go to practice to continue to get better as a speaker?” “How can I continue to grow as a great speaker?”
The best way to continue to grow is with continued and consistent use of your presentation skills. If you take a public speaking class and then don’t present again for a year, your new skills wither away.
Today I'll be telling you just how to avoid that! Here is everyway I know of for new presenters to practice their craft!
Show Notes: How to Find Great Public Speaking Venues to Practice Your Presentations
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/podcast-15-how-find-great-venues-practice-your-presentations/) -
Now that you know a few of the best (and safe) ways to start your presentation right, let's get spicier. No memorable speech you've ever sat through took no risks. The bare minimum a speech can be to not be bad is inoffensive. All the introductions I gave you last week are enough to make sure you don't have an embarrassingly awful first impression but they're not enough to make an amazing first impression. That's what this week is for.
So if you're ready to learn how to make a statement from the first few seconds of your presentation, stick around and find out how!
Show Notes: 7 Dynamic Ways to Start a Presentation [With Examples]
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-start-a-presentation/) -
The opening is really the most important part of your presentation. You want to make a good first impression. In addition, you also want the audience to see as a subject matter expert.
Of course, we’ve all been there as a speaker. First, we design a powerful presentation. Then, we nervously walk out onto a stage or into the front of the room. The audience stares with skepticism written all over their faces. This stoic crowd has no patience for speakers who waste their time. And their demeanor is showing that fact right now. In a timid voice, we start with a simple, “Good morning.” We get no response from the audience — no warm welcome at all. As a result, our nervousness increases dramatically.
The good news is that your speech doesn’t have to start this way. Your first words will create first impressions. Today I'll be going over just that. How to make that first impression a good one and ensure your presentation kicks off exactly how it should!
Show Notes: 7 Dynamic Ways to Start a Presentation [With Examples]
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-start-a-presentation/) -
So you did it! You graduated at the top of your class. You’ve proved you are the apex of knowledge, skill, and potential within your school, and now you get to prove it with a beautiful Valedictorian Speech. Just one problem, since this is the first (and only) time you will ever do it, you don’t know how to write a valedictorian speech.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Just about every Valedictorian or Salutatorian has gone through this. You work so hard to get to the top, sacrifice time year after year, and now you have five minutes to educate, entertain, and inspire your classmates. And, of course, the task is so much easier because your classmates are so accepting and non-judgmental. (Yeah, right!)
Stick around and learn just how to write a speech that both entertains and educates your antsy peers.
Show Notes: How to Write a Valedictorian Speech
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/valedictorian-speech-how-to-write-a-valedictorian-speech/) -
Most of the time, if you're good at writing one style of speech, you're good at writing all of them. Speech writing is a very transferable skill no matter if it's for a keynote, a lecture, a sales pitch, or pretty much anything else. But there are some exceptions.
Commencement speeches draw a weird, wobbly fine line between being casual, inspirational, funny, and reflective. You can't talk about yourself too much or it'll sound self indulgent. You can't talk about the grads too much cause that just feels like pandering. Can't be so silly you sound immature but can't be so serious you sound pretentious. But there is a way to walk that fine line.
In today's episode we go over the 5 simple parts that structure an excellent commencement speech every single time. And if you're younger trying to find how to write the other type of graduation speech (valedictorian or salutatorian speeches) stick around till next week where we go over just that!
Show Notes: How to Write a Graduation Speech
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-write-a-graduation-speech-graduation-speech-examples/)
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Want to calm down before a presentation? Even if you don’t regularly experience the fear of public speaking, just before you start a speech, it is easy to feel anxious. This initial nervous energy can cause a speaker to have a shaky voice, dry mouth, or sweaty palms just before a presentation. The good news is that this experience is very common. Most of the time, if you start your presentation well, the level of nervousness will drop very quickly.
However, sometimes when people feel that stage fright, they panic. When you panic in front of an audience, you will most likely experience even more nervous feelings.So stick around and listen to a few ways that are tried and tested to calm people down before speeches!
Show Notes: How to Calm Down Before a Presentation | 5 Simple Ways to Calm Your Nerves
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-calm-down-before-a-presentation-5-simple-ways-to-calm-your-nerves)
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Picture this: You arrive at a concert venue to see your favorite artist. The lights dim, the crowd buzzes, anticipation builds. They finally step on stage and perform the entire set with their hands stuck in their pockets. No gestures. No movement. No visible energy. Even if the music sounds incredible, something feels off. You’re listening, but you’re not fully feeling it. The performance lacks presence, connection, and impact. You leave entertained (maybe), but not moved.
Whether or not you use your hands as a tool to command a room can be the difference between an impactful presentation and a forgettable one. Talking with your hands is a form of nonverbal communication that won’t replace your words, but can determine how your words are received.
This week, Roma steps in for Doug to share everything she knows about presenting physically and using the full range of you to give a presentation. Learn what to do with what body parts when and why!
Show Notes: Talking With Your Hands: How Positive Gestures Instantly Improve Your Presence on Stage
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/talking-with-your-hands-how-positive-gestures-instantly-improve-your-presence-on-stage/)
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The quickest way to make people not believe you're qualified is to not believe it yourself. Saying that confidence is important certainly isn't the most groundbreaking thing to hear but knowing exactly WHY it's so important is what really gives people the push to develop it.
After last week's episode discussing why you need to have more self-confidence in what you already know, this week we're going to talk about displaying that confidence. Believing yourself good enough is completely different than showing that you're good enough and both parts are required to give the idea that you are credible.
So stick around and learn just how important displaying confidence is and some tips on how to go about doing it.
Show Notes: People Judge Your COMPETENCE by the CONFIDENCE That You Show
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/people-judge-your-competence-by-confidence-that-you-show/)
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Every speaker wants to become a subject matter expert on the topic they present, but here's the truth these people aren't realizing:
Regardless of what industry you are in or what expertise you have, you are the expert. The knowledge that you have on a specific topic is valuable to somebody, and that's really all that matters.
Becoming an expert on a subject doesn't come with some magical recognition of feeling worthy, an expert is just a person knowledgeable enough about something to speak and teach it. Many of us think just because we have more to learn that the knowledge we already possess is useless.
In today's episode, I'll be going over how to grow confidence in the knowledge you have, permeate that confidence so people trust you, and navigate situations where you don't know something and still want to maintain credibility.
Show Notes: How to Prove You’re an Expert (Even If You’re Not)
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/you-are-the-undisputed-expert-so-now-prove-it/)
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What are the most important qualities of a good public speaker? What makes a great presenter? Just what are the fundamentals of a good public speaker that allow one orator to get up in front of an audience and mesmerize the crowd while another fails?
When I first started teaching the Fearless Presentations ® classes, I did so because I knew from my own experience that the more self-confident a presenter appears to an audience, the more respect that the audience will have for that presenter. In addition, chapter one of my first book on public speaking was about enthusiasm, because I knew that out of all of the qualities of a good public speaker, enthusiasm was the absolute, most important.
Over the years, though, our instructors have worked with over 20,000 presenters. Some had a natural presence in front of groups. Others, however, had to develop presentation skills in order to be perceived as being a great public speaker.Find out what what qualities every great presenter from those 20,000 had in common and how you can start incorporating them into your own life!
Show Notes: 7 Qualities of a Good Public Speaker Every Presenter Needs
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/7-qualities-of-a-good-public-speaker-that-every-presenter-should-know-and-emulate/)
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In the past few weeks we've covered a couple of the best entry points into public speaking from wherever you're starting at, but what do you do if you're starting with nothing at all. If you're not already in an industry that is looking for more speakers and you've tried to apply to some public speaking companies to no avail, it can start to feel hopeless.
Luckily, so many of the best speakers out there started exactly from where you are right now. Stick around to hear exactly how those same great speakers got out of the rut of beginning!
Show Notes: Start Your Own Public Speaking Company from Scratch
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/start-your-own-public-speaking-company-from-scratch/)
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Over the last 2 weeks I've been going over the best ways to get started as a public speaker, and today we're delving into what I think is the easiest of those ways. Speaking on topics you already know and are passionate about takes so much of the stress away. Having real pedigree in something you're speaking on and the ability to go off-hand whenever you need to is something that eases the anxieties like nothing else.
Stick around and hear how to make that transition from being someone who's knowledgeable to someone who can also share their knowledge.
Show Notes: Become a Professional Public Speaker by Speaking within Your Current Industry
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/become-a-professional-public-speaker-by-speaking-within-your-current-industry/)
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Last week, we went over a few of the best ways to get into the public speaking industry. There's a few different entry points and over this episode and the next couple, we'll be covering, in more detail those three different ways to get started.
The first one I'm covering is joining an already established company. If the prospect of entrepreneurship daunts you and you want to go the more hands off/luck-based route, this is really your best option. There are a few big pitfalls many trip into and a few simple things they never seem to do when taking this road, and by the end of this episode you won't have to worry about either of those things!
Show Notes: Become a Certified Speaker for an Established Presentation Company
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/become-a-certified-speaker-for-an-established-presentation-company/)
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Being a professional speaker is a very lucrative and rewarding profession. But if you have never actually made money from speaking before, you may be looking into how to start a public speaking career.
In this episode, we'll be starting our series on the absolute best and easiest ways to get started on your public speaking journey!
Show Notes: How to Start a Public Speaking Career
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-start-a-public-speaking-career/)
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Last week, at the very end of the episode, I mentioned that one way to make your PowerPoint Presentations better is to create a good handout for the audience. And I shared a story about a breakout session I led where I spend most of the time in the presentation using the handout as the visual aid versus the slideshow.
On this episode, I'm going to go into more detail about what I did. The title of the episode is Create the Perfect Presentation Handout.
I'm going to give you three progressively more difficult ways to design a handout. The first one, by the way, is the one that almost everyone does, but it is by far, the absolute worst way to create a handout.
And if you stick around until the last tip, I'll explain in detail how I was able to make sure that the participants in that breakout session I mentioned in the last episode actually kept and used the handout that I provided for them. It take a little more time to design, but the result are phenomenally better.
And, by the way, since the podcast is audio based and handouts are very visual, I created a handout on how to design better handouts that you can download from the show notes. If you download that handout and use it as a visual aid for the episode, the ideas will make much more sense.Show Notes: How to Create the Perfect Presentation Handout
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-create-the-perfect-presentation-handout/)
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Last week, on the last episode of the series on the Presentation Skills Checklist, we covered how many slides to put into a PowerPoint Presentation. This week, our topic is "3 Simple Ways to Create Better PowerPoint Presentations."
By the way, if you are using the techniques I outline on other episodes of the podcast, creating a PowerPoint presentation should be really easy. Basically, in a presentation, less is more.
But on this episode, I give you my top three tips that will help you kill your next presentation. First, we cover how to design your presentation first, then create your slideshow. Next, I show you how to use examples from real-life to add credibility to the text on your slides. Ad then, finally, I show you how to create collateral content -- things like handouts -- that can help your audience understand and retain the content of your presentations better.
Show Notes: 3 Simple Ways to Create Better PowerPoint Presentations
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/three-simple-ways-to-create-better-powerpoint-presentations/) - Show more
