3 types of sales people, billions of types of public speakers

In my meetings last week, a large multinational banking client wanted to discuss the “3 types of sales people” in their office: the diligent-look-at-all-details-before-deciding person; the “make the hard call” very decisive person; and the relationship, build friendships person.

We discussed the strengths and (perceived) shortcomings of each, eventually expanding our discussion to how these traits apply to sales presentations for existing and prospective clients.  What happens in a public speaking setting, my client asked?

Sales communications — live ‘public speaking environments’ — are the places where natural speaking style is most important. I’ve written a lot about this in my blog entries.  Too often sales people are asked to “speak like the company not like the individual.” When this happens, the speaker gets “locked up” and the only thing we see coming through in the presentation is something that I like to call, “speaker confusion.”  The energy drops, the speaker disconnects, the eyes turn to notes or slides…on and on. Audiences react to this in one way: by shutting down.  They stop listening. Now the energy in the room is really low. If not entirely empty!

So back to my client’s point about “3 types of sales people.”   If the company understands “who is like what” then they need to continue to encourage this style — strengthen it, give it more opportunities to develop — so that each sales person (and any other employee for that matter) clearly understands that individual strengths are accepted in the corporation. That heightened scenarios can be created — more opportunities to speak in public, for example — so that me, the individual, can shine through on behalf of the company.

I have never seen 2 public speakers who are exactly alike.  Never. We may have some of the same “selling styles” (as my client observes) but once we are given the chance to speak, to present, to connect to an audience, the natural styles we project are all going to be different.  3 types of sales people, 3 billion types of public speakers!  (Or more). Honour that individual trait and you will definitely get the most out of your employees, managers and yourself.

My book, Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally!  In stores next week. Kindle and Amazon by month end.  And, as always, I look forward to your emails and questions.  Have a great week!

The 90 Second Public Speaker

I get a lot of requests from my global clients on helping them with the “90 second pitch.”  The other day I had a long talk with an analyst at a very large international brokerage house about telling “the 90 second story over a global conference call.”

The 90 Second Public Speaker (which, FYI, is also the title of my next book for release later this year), is a very challenging exercise — made even more difficult thanks to the rather “inhuman nature” of the conference call (and no, the video options don’t help that much either).  This analyst wanted help with getting the point across in just 90 seconds — knowing that people are distracted at every end of the phone line.

This is what I recommended (in no exact order):

– Announce the number of points you have to make right away. No more than 2.

– Use 3 words to describe your points that inspire and energize you. If you don’t get inspired by those words, who will?

–  Use those 3 chosen words at the end (perhaps as a summary or conclusion).

Example:  “From my extensive research last week I want to focus on 2 key topics that are most relevant to our global team.  Diversity, risk and adjustment are the 3 key things to think about. Diversity in the portfolio, risk in the current climate, adjustment to reflect the firm’s global vision…”

People who don’t listen well — or who are very distracted — like when they clearly know the direction you are going. “Only 2 points” is reassuring and concise. 3 key words are both engaging and informative. Those words (my random examples above) require much more discussion…but you have to get them listening first. Also, by stating that you want to focus on certain areas, you are declaring that you have given a lot of thought to where you are going. You may only have 90 seconds now, but you’ll get much more time with your audience later simply because you’ve built the trust over 90 seconds.

– Be bold and be brave in how you verbalize your points. Pause between each word (even for a second — as valuable as those seconds are in a 90 second pitch).

Sales pitches are another example of a very human practice.  If you drone away like a robot you will get inhuman and robot right back (not listening, shutdown, not interested…next!).

The 90 second speaker is someone who makes smart, human 90 second decisions. If you’re inspired by what you have to say, others will (generally) be inspired too. Make it concise and make the best parts count: The Speaking Energy 2 points, 3 words approach.

February 10, 2010, Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally! will be released.

Stay tuned for news about Kindle and Amazon release.

Praise for the book from MIT researcher, Grant McCracken:

“Vivid, human, interesting, well and clearly written…will make each of us a better communicator and the corporation a happier, more efficient place. I recommend it with enthusiasm.” 

      Dr. Grant McCracken, MIT; Author, Chief Culture Officer,  a BusinessWeek best of 2009.

Human Enthusiasm Marketing: the new word-of-mouth

More and more the old saying comes up, “We buy from the person, not the company.”  It’s almost a cliché – only because it’s true.  When a friend of ours says, “You have to go see X or Y…it’s fantastic!”  We react to that. What are we getting excited by more, the X that they recommend we go see/do or the enthusiasm in our friend’s recommendation?  I think it’s the latter. We trust that enthusiastic recommendation, we connect to it…and off we go to have our own experience with it. But when we get there we are working off the ‘energy of the recommendation’. A big step forward in the right direction.  Yes, perhaps we might not ‘like it’ as much, but at least we are inspired enough to go have a look.  The standard phrase is word-of-mouth marketing. I think that this is not a strong enough phrase. It doesn’t articulate what motivated us into action: ‘trust’, ‘enthusiasm’, ‘energy’, ‘human connection’, etc.  Thus, here is a phrase I came up with, one that I think has more impact, more meaning.

 “Human enthusiasm marketing”. 

 Individual enthusiasm builds collective enthusiasm. This then “creates waves”.  I am all about taking this phrase – one seen as a “negative” – and turning it into a positive: “Don’t create waves!”  I say, “Do create waves!”.  As we all know, the ocean is a force of potentially huge energy. Waves can move things forward. Surfers certainly know that. When you communicate enthusiasm and genuinely positive feedback you are creating a wave of energy that others can “catch”.  The carry on effect is large and others are keen to participate. 

It just takes one to start the wave.   Employees want to contribute their “human enthusiasm”.  Doing so gives much more meaning to the job. But they have to find things to get enthusiastic about. Hiring people, bringing them into the organization, is just the first step.  Getting them to “work” should be easy (though, yes, not always).  The “enthusiasm of a paycheque” only goes so far. They want to contribute and they want acknowledgment that their contributions are appreciated.  This is the “wave” that the company can create. It’s a company’s responsibility to make internal communications an important part of the overall company strategy.  Strong internal communications results in strong external communications. In other words, you’ve created enthusiastic employees who will participate in “human enthusiasm marketing.” They’re proud to represent the brand. 

Go ahead, “make waves” that others will be excited to catch. We buy from the person, not the company.

 ***

February 9, 2010. Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally! will be released. The first book in a series of books on “human communications” that I have planned. For more information on the book and related workshops that can be tailored to the communications needs of your company, please email me .

The credible public speaker

I attended a book launch this week and was listed as one of the speakers.  Before the event began, one of the other speakers came to me and said, “I don’t know why I’m speaking, I have no credibility with this audience.”

What is credibility? Is this some magical level we attain when people “know us” or trust us? Can a speaker be written off as not credible before they speak? In my brief conversation with this stressed speaker I focused on one key point: the speaker’s personal history.  They deserved to be there because they brought some unique experiences that any audience would find interesting.  The focus of their speech, I advised, should be on one or two things that the audience might not know about them. Not boastful points or things to “prove their worth”, but a personal story or anecdote that would surprise the audience — make them react.  I concluded by saying that any speaker that day would need to do “something different” in order to engage the audience.  In public speaking, human connection is not about seeking credibility, it’s about connecting your experience and energy to those present in front of you. They are prepared for “different”, they want different.  Nothing is more boring than 4 speakers who all say the same thing.  The one who thought they didn’t have credibility was definitely not going to be the same as the others. 

When the speeches were complete there was no mention of credibility. But there was plenty of talk about what energized the audience. And in each and every case it was those points that stood out as different.  The personal stories, the personal histories, in particular.  The one who really stood out was the speaker who didn’t think they “deserved” to be there.  

If you think that you aren’t deserving of your next speaking opportunity, think again.  This is your chance to really get up there and be different, be inspiring.  Remember, everyone is ready for “different”.  That you can deliver.

The full-body scan of public speaking

I experienced the new reality of airport security yesterday.  I won’t say which airport I was in — but does it matter?  The term “full-body scan” has already topped the Google charts (even in various misspelt incarnations).  It’s a worldwide reality. As I stood and wondered what they might be looking at — besides my vital organs — I thought about what many of my clients have told me about their public speaking fears: “I hate being stared at.”  Which was then cross-pollinated with: “All those eyes, judging me.”

Standing for the judges strikes a vulnerable pose.  What will they say? What will they think of me?  Fortunately there are no x-ray eyes upon you the speaker so you can stand up (or sit) and be yourself.  Hands in the air if you’ve ever heard someone advise a public speaker to, “pretend the audience is naked”?   This, they say, will help reduce nerves.  Not sure about you, but I wouldn’t feel very comfortable speaking to a room full of naked people.  Pretty distracting.  Ask your audience to keep their clothes on and scan the room for listeners.  It only takes one.  Connect to one.  That energy can change the course of your presentation.  No guarantees there will be one (or any), of course.  Finding that (making that one happen) is your responsibility. 

Like security technology making airports a bit more unpredictable (eg. slow),  so too is personal technology making the public speaking experience a bit more unpredictable.  Those Smartphone toting audiences sure are a fickle bunch. Doesn’t take much for them to stare at a tiny screen and not you the speaker.  The Blackberry reality is here to stay.  Do we dread that we have to contend with these “slow downs” or do we become more observant and understanding of the issues and then try to respond accordingly? 

The Smartphone has become the audience crutch.  ”I’ll look at it if the speaker is boring. It’s a perfect distraction,” an executive told me last week, waving his BlackBerry in the air.  Many speakers, it can be argued, are giving their audience no choice but to turn to the BlackBerry. Boredom: our #1 fear.  Smartphones, the cure for boredom.  It’s payback time. So are audiences fickle or human? 

What has been the speaker’s crutch for many years?  Yup, PowerPoint.  We speakers have hidden behind PowerPoint for decades.  We have created the boredom factor time and time again. BlackBerry, etc, is forcing us to step away and be human…Finally! So go ahead, talk to the audience, have a conversation, tell a story – without the barricade known as ppt slides.  It’s the full-body scan of public speaking!

My new book, Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally! is getting the endorsement of some prominent communicators. A great way to start the new decade.  Stay tuned for news of the book’s release in February.

Have a great week ahead.

The ballet of public speaking

I had the privilege of attending the famous holiday ballet, “The Nutcracker” in New York yesterday. A performance worth seeing.  And like many performances that I attend, I found a lot of similarities between this performance — the ballet — and ’human communications’ / public speaking.

This particular “version” of The Nutcracker was choreographed by the late George Blanchine.  Reading the presentation liner notes I found some interesting quotes from Mr. Blanchine:  “Ballet takes our natural impulse to move, to make signs, to make ourselves attractive and graceful as possible and turns it into something entirely different.”

Public speaking is ‘human performance’.  We (most of us anyway) want to be attractive and graceful (and confident and well liked, etc) when we speak to a group — particularly in a work situation. But, like Blanchine’s ballet, we need to understand that the most ‘graceful’ public speakers are those that turn every speaking opportunity into something different.  Their ‘attraction’ is dependent on their ability to give the audience something they did not expect. They turn speaking into a memorable ‘event’ (a conversation rather than a performance). The Nutcracker has several different versions.  I’ve seen it three times and every time I’m surprised.

Blanchine went on to say that ballet takes its roots from “everyday life” and that what it takes from life “it transforms.”

Ballet is entertainment. Public speaking is not entertainment — though of course it can be sometimes.  The best speakers /communicators /managers / leaders are those that can take “everyday life and transform it” just as the ballet does. Not to entertain, but to connect real life situations to the listener/observer.  Human connection.  When we are connecting on a human level we are memorable and yes, okay, possibly even entertaining.

Ballet is an art. I am hesitant to call public speaking an art…but there are similarities.  When you’re the speaker, you’re the artist. Take whatever inspiration you need and communicate that to your audience (stories, anecdotes, observations…) But, like any art, the results (how it’s received) are subjective.  Don’t worry about that. Just make your ‘art’ human.  The audience will appreciate it.

Enjoy the rest of your pre-New Year season. We’re building towards new energy for the new decade.

***

Thanks for your emails. I’m happy to respond to all of them that I receive.

Making sense of the audience

Nothing inspires me more than an audience. Nothing terrifies more than an audience.  The energy of people in front of you brings up a lot of emotion. Accept that this emotion is real — and varied! 

I use the word ‘energy’ a lot. Not as some “magical new age formula” (as someone recently thought it was).  Whenever you are dealing with human beings (or animals for that matter) you are dealing with whatever ‘moods’ or energy they have at that moment and time. The bigger your audience the bigger the energy — individual and collective.

I’ve said it before in this blog — and I discuss it a lot in my upcoming book — your responsiblity as a speaker is not to talk to your audience.  Yes, that’s part of it (perhaps), but beyond that — well beyond that — is the need for you to work with audience energy.  You never know what is going to happen once you face a bunch of strangers — or even people you’ve met before.  Moods vary. Emotions change.  As speaker you are the conductor. You work with what you are given.  But you can influence the energy. How? By being different, by being real, by being passionate, by being unscripted and without lots of slides.

The audience’s needs are simple. They want human engagement.  I’ve worked with over 30 different cultures across many countries. I have yet to see an audience who wants anything other than human.

Season’s greetings to all of you.  May your holidays be filled with lots of positive energy.

Enjoy!

Throwing hand grenades of positive change?

 

 This photo was taken on a recent trip to Cambodia. And no, it was not in some dodgy bar. It was at a large hotel frequented by politicians. And it was at the lobby near the elevator.  I cropped it to remove the other forbidden arms (sad that we have to be “reminded” not to carry arms).

Having worked at some large corporations I was a frequent witness to hand grenades (yes, the metaphorical ones) being lobbed into cubicles. Surprise attacks by disgruntled employees; frustrated salaried employees.  Explosions that set off other explosions. The word ‘explosion’ does not necessarily have to infer the negative. So, can we throw hand grenades of positive change into the office?  Explosions of inspiration? Explosive positive energy that ripples through the cubicles, out into the lobby and far beyond?

Human speaking — inside and outside the office — is a powerful ‘weapon of mass motivation’.  With frustrated employees largely out numbering inspired employees, changing the energy in offices should be at the top of the company ‘to do list’.  It starts with communication. Putting the ‘human’ back into ‘resources’. HR departments need more responsibility. Real human responsibilities. Can they create the positive explosions?  

You get the most out of your people by acknowledging them as people — not machines who are ‘lucky to have a job’.  Whenever I see a speaker representing a company I can generally tell how inspired that speaker is simply by how they have structured their presentation. Behind every company speaker is the company that ‘directs’ that speaker. Control mechanisms that restrict the human identity of a speaker is equivalent to the hand grenade under the desk. The one that inspires fear. The one that de-energizes the employee. When will the pin be pulled?

2010: the new decade. What kind of positive explosions is your company willing to set off? Real human change. The old ways of communicating are over!

Of identities and the memory of small things

I had the pleasure of seeing 2 inspiring speakers this week in New York City.  The first, Grant McCracken, an MIT researcher and professor whose exceptional work mixes anthropology with economics. Dr. McCracken has just released a new book,  Chief Culture Officer.  Check out his engaging blog for insights and information http://cultureby.com.  And last night I attended a reading and talk by Colum McCann. Mr. McCann recently won the National Book Award for his outstanding novel, Let The Great World Spin.  He also teaches at the Hunter College MFA Creative Writing Program.

As someone fascinated by the craft known as ‘public speaking’ (or, as I’m changing it to, ‘human speaking’), I am constantly intrigued by a speaker’s ability to connect with his/her audience.  McCracken and McCann put their own McStamp on their presentations, sending listeners home energized and inspired. 

I want to highlight two things from their talks. 

Prof. McCracken talked at length about the type of company people want to work for today:  “A place where we don’t have to leave our identity at the door.”   Having worked for some large corporations, I know exactly what this means — and I’m sure many of you do, too. 

Mr. McCann’s novel weaves together lives and voices in New York in 1974.  After his reading, an audience member asked what kind of history Mr. McCann hopes to leave with this book. An immense question to answer. How he handled it deserves mention. He spoke of visiting his dying grandfather in London when he was a child and his father taking him to the Hard Rock Cafe to have a hamburger afterwards. There were no hamburgers in Ireland in those days, McCann, said.  The waitress was Irish.  She touched my cheek just so, he said, demonstrating it with a soft hand. She said nothing…and then she came back with an ice cream sundae for me as a gift.  To this day, McCann explained, whenever I go to London and walk past the Hard Rock I think about that waitress. Where she might be today, what she might be doing. Her small act of kindness touched me. She probably forgot all about it a few days later…but it stayed with me forever.

The intellectual significance of experience and memory is a scientific subject far greater than I am capable of discussing.  But, from a human communications standpoint, what McCracken and McCann highlighted are two extremely important lessons that impact lives well beyond offices, corporations and hamburgers at the Hard Rock.   Every individual brings their personal histories with them wherever they go.  Offices are rich with personal experience.  A lot of identities walk through that door every morning.  Their motivation to ‘work hard’ depends a lot on how much the company wants to acknowledge them as humans who have opinions, thoughts, ideas, emotions, energy, etc.  Bring your identities inside and let’s make that work for the corporation, people.  That’s the kind of company “policy” they want to hear!

Colum McCann’s first hamburger and the kindness of a stranger he met is etched firmly in his brain.  It’s part of his identity. He shared that memory with a bunch of strangers last night and everyone was gripped by this personal story. I could see heads nodding throughout the room.  We ‘got it’. It’s very likely that many of us have a childhood memory similar to that (hopefully just as positive).  A memory of  childhood experience helped Colum McCann write a novel that won the National Book Award. His identity is all over the pages of that book. It inspired every word.

If corporations want their employees to represent the firm outside of the office — like a public speaking setting, for example — then acknowledge one of the things that the employee values the most inside and outside the office: their identity.  How many companies care about the positive childhood memories of their staff?  Should they?  I think so.  Identities and memories are not small things.  I completely agree with Dr. McCracken. Never check them at the door. A message to the corporation: Hire because you mean it. Not because you want a warm (barely) body at a cubicle fulfilling tasks.

Share your story, share your history. The power of identity and small things.

From offices emerge public speakers. How many companies let that happen?

I’ve had a lot of managing directors and CEOs complain to me about the lack of “talented public speakers” in their office. 

Having worked for a few multinational companies I understand their complaints. But I also know that talented speakers can emerge from offices if they are given the right environment to emerge as a talented public speaker. The “problems” that the MDs and CEOs portray are issues that can be fixed.  The talented public speaker is waiting to be groomed by the talented boss.  The boss that takes human communications seriously — and not just as some over-used cliché like “our company is only as good as its people.”  The boss that is unafraid to groom the talented public speaker.

Public speaking fear is learned. It’s taught everyday by companies who insist that their employees “speak a certain company language”.  When I see the “boring corporate speaker” — and that was once myself included — I know that behind that boring speaker is usually a boring company (or boss).  A company that is extremely reluctant to encourage their employees to make a difference when they speak. To allow the speaker to do more than just the standard company PowerPoint.  To allow the speaker to put some personal touches on a presentation. To tell a story, to be spontaneous, to speak without a script, to be different. 

In other words the inspired, interesting speaker is usually supported by an inspired, interesting manager or boss. Someone who challenges all of his/her staff to engage an audience — not just speak to them. Anyone can speak (provided they have the vocal capacity).

Communication starts somewhere. Make it start inside the office so that it grows outside the office.

The next great public speaker is the person in the cubicle next to you.  Let them emerge by giving them the inspiration to emerge.

Enjoy!