Checklist for dynamic speaking

These elements combine together to create our dynamism. In our workshops, even small tweaks of volume and posture lead to large changes in executive presence. Let 2020 be the year of changing small habits to make big changes in our communication and career. © 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Practicing can often feel very uncomfortable but this coming year, push through the discomfort and you'll discover your own inner genius.

A football player in one of my classes said, "I used to throw the football for hours everyday.  I'm amazed that I never practiced my presentations but expected them to be successful."  

Practice!  It's a key factor in successful presentations.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Public Speaking Dread Transforms to Excitement

Hi Laura,

 

Thank you for emailing the links.

More importantly thank you for helping me getting better with presentations. I have learned a lot during these two days.

You are such a good instructor. Please continue to teach this class.

Again thank you for sharing your knowledge with presentations.

Zena

Methods to Bring us into Your Story

Brain research says that a well told story creates similar brain patterns between the listener and speaker. Here's a reminder of ways to keep a story vivid for your listener.



© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

New Year's Resolution? Take two days for the most important career skill

Aaron was great with his customers but he hated giving presentations and often read his powerpoint slides. He felt like he was missing many sales because he couldn’t find a way to relax.

Jenny often got feedback that she talked too fast or ran over time during her presentations. She was told that her voice sounded too young and that she didn’t have the “enough gravitas” for the executive team. 

Martina had to lead quarterly meetings but she wasn’t sure how to organize her ideas or make them compelling. 

In two days, these three cheered each other on during challenging exercises that helped Jenny find her own “executive presence,” while Aaron learned that he loved telling short client stories that were funny and powerful. During day two, Martina had a breakthrough, she understood how and why she needed to simplify her ideas and how doing this would help her audience enjoy and remember her presentation.

We’ve seen many students transform in two days. Come join us for our next group in January. Fun, interactive, and guaranteed to meet 

your public speaking goals -- at your location or in Chicago near O'Hare.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

For presentations of several hours, ditch the PowerPoint!

In these digital days, working without PowerPoint is a refreshing change from the norm. Flip charts can give your audience something to look at and keep our presentations both simplified and organized.

If I'm speaking for half a day or less, this is a great option. If you choose to use flip charts, make sure to fill them out before the event.

The fabulous Viceroy hotel in Chicago delivered flip chart paper to my hotel room before my event last week. Made that task much more comfortable.  In addition to the large, visible text, we can make small pencil notes that only we can see. These can help us remember a story or necessary transition.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

More reviews from last week's class.

"Thank you for sending the videos, Laura. I really enjoyed having you at our meeting. Lots of fun and learned a bunch."

--E.J.

Kind words from an attendee

From this week's onsite training: "What an amazing experience Laura, thank you so much for taking the time with us! I’ll be working on polishing my stories for the rest of my life now thanks to you. :)"

--Chris R
















© 2019  Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

I was a little nervous but skipping the PowerPoint was fantastic

Fantastic half-day training today on storytelling and executive presence.
I took my own advice and skipped the PowerPoint. Old-school flip charts are a fantastic way to create rapport and keep things simple yet powerful. 

Kudos to the fantastic group at Vertiflex.  I'll be sending you your videos soon. 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

The Relief Of Conquering Public Speaking Fears

We love traveling throughout the Midwest, helping professionals organize their ideas, speak without notes, and tell great stories. 
Some participants are filled with glee after conquering their speaking fears and they get a little silly in our final photos.  Here's a brief note from a student in Milwaukee -- 

"Laura- thanks for spending 2 days with us, I got a lot out of it!" Graham

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Cyber Monday Super Sale

Cyber Monday Super Sale. Claim $260 off our 2 day workshop, January 9-10. Send email to lauralb@training4breakthroughs.com for your link to this amazing deal!

Brain Science Confirms -- Our Challenging Workshops Lead to Breakthroughs

Finding the right amount of challenge is key.  Our participants have many breakthroughs in public speaking.  Join us this January.


Here is some more research that says our mistakes and struggles make our brains grow.  Yea!

Build a More Creative, Agile Mind For Speaking Brilliantly With Less Prep

Can we create a period of time in our next meeting where no idea can be criticized -- even internally by ourselves?  One method is to advocate a “my first thought is the best thought” period of time.  It will probably be hard.  We will probably say, “I have no ideas.”  But we do.  It’s just that a part of us is shooting them down before we can even recognize them.  Improvisers learn to trust their brains to produce interesting ideas.  One of the ways they do this is by learning how to turn off the inner critic. 

Our inner critic is a wonderful ally when we are making finishing touches on any kind of presentation or project.  Our ability to analyze, scrutinize, and edit ideas is vital. But too often, our critic wants to be in charge all the time.  This inner voice can then destroy creative moments that require some risk as we open ourselves up to new mindsets. 

I’ve found that most of the intelligent, successful people I meet have a tough time asking their inner monitor to take a break.  I’ve also found that my clients get much better at this with practice.  In my public speaking seminars this is vital, toward helping my clients feel comfortable answering questions or otherwise speaking without much prep. 

If you’d like to find more creative ideas and be better at thinking on the spot, take periods of time where you run with your first thought.  Brainstorming in this way, “my first thought is the best thought…. at least for now,” helps us create more novel connections between different parts of our brain.  Your inner critic may think these ideas are “stupid, obvious, politically dangerous, or impossible.”  That’s ok. During this short practice period, our critic is on a forced sabbatical.  We can then exercise our minds to build greater creative abilities. 

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Give the most important career gift -- skills in public speaking

If you Google billionaire Warren Buffet you will find many articles about his belief in public speaking training. In one interview he said, "That public speaking course gave me the most important degree I have. It’s certainly had the biggest impact in terms of my subsequent success." 

Looking for a career-related holiday gift? Give the gift of a life-changing workshop! https://lnkd.in/dbdWtkE  

There are lots of advantages of a workshop over private coaching. Here's one: 
Managing nerves: We’ll take you through progressive exercises that reveal your strengths. As you present to partners and the entire room, you’ll gain confidence for more challenging exercises. You’ll see that you can manage your nerves and even speak without notes! There is nothing like speaking in front of a group to simulate the challenges of actual presentations. One on one coaching can’t replicate this. Working within a supportive group is the fastest way to conquer nervousness. 

Join us in January!

 © 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

The Power of Story

Over the last few years I’ve been teaching myself how to make stop motion films.  It’s the perfect way to learn my camera since my Barbie actors are very patient with me. I  also can be extremely precise in my storytelling since I can control every frame as I edit. 

I’m still a beginner in all technical elements but I have a huge advantage in this competitive field since I’ve been studying stories all my life, starting in grade school. 

My first two stop motion films were recently accepted as official selections in two film festivals.  I was so thrilled to see my films on the big screen that I flew out to Idaho and drove to Milwaukee.  It was great fun to spend those weekends watching movies and analyzing them. 

No matter the budget (there were some Hollywood type films in the mix), the most important element of a film (or book or play) is the story.  Some films followed story conventions (immerse us in the struggle, avoid detours that don’t make sense) and I could feel how deeply they impacted the audience.  Some lost their way and were far less effective.

After my screening, many audience members gave me a “thumbs up.”  Many talked about how the story had impacted them.  I’m sure that was the only reason I got into the festival.  My films are still flawed technically.

My passion for fictional storytelling is a perfect complement to my work with individuals.  Their goals – sharing their mission, their product, or their resume – can be achieved through the right story, told in the right way.

Won’t you join me in exploring the art of storytelling?  Next class in Chicago is January 9-10, 2020. © 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Help your audience create the right story.

This wonderful film reminds me that our mind prefers stories and we will create them whenever we can throughout our day.

Making sure to use stories and keeping our concepts understandable (simple isn't easy!) will please any audience.

 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Emotional intelligence + Brain Science = a help for public speaking

Almost all of my public speaking clients express one common fear – that they will forget their presentation.  This universal terror explains why too many presenters read their wordy powerpoint slides to their audience. 

Emotional Intelligence and brain science can explain what’s happening.   Our nervousness triggers our flight/fight response.  Our amygdala “hijacks” the neocortex, including the language centers of the brain.  Now we can’t remember what we were going to say.

What to do?

Practice!  When we practice we create stronger synaptic pathways in our brain related to our message.  We’ll be more able to access our message since it has a stronger structure in our brain.

Find ways to relax.  We can: 

·       Take a supplement like kava (both relaxes the brain while enhancing focus)

·       Practice deep breathing

·       Use a visualization (our memories of great times in beautiful places can help).  As we relax the amygdala stops firing and we can regain access to our higher thinking brain.

More ideas coming soon.
© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Practice better articulation everyday

I think I have pretty crisp pronunciation but my phone doesn't. When I slow down and over-articulate, I get fewer text errors with autocorrect. Try it. It's a great way to practice and improve our articulation -- a great part of executive presence.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

One of this week's class participants asked me to look over her powerpoint deck for an upcoming presentation.  I made suggestions, mostly to remove wordy slides that could be replaced by simple photos to remind her of her content.  

But what could she do with the graphs that were very wordy but  filled with terrific information?  Speakers too often read slides like this to their audience.  I suggested that she give audience groups or pairs  a great open ended question and have them read and discuss the slide in small groups. 

This slide isn't that complex but if I ask a question such as, "Which vocal situation are you most often experiencing?" I can keep my presentation interactive and still give my audience all this info.

I could ask --  

"How might we simplify and summarize this advice for most vocal issues?" (This is a question I ask myself.  I would probably change this slide which seems unnecessarily repetitive).


Whenever we have a dense slide containing great info, we can see if we can create a moment of discussion.  If our audience is large, allow the group to discuss in pairs.

We want to avoid reading our slides.  Instead, what juicy question might you ask your group if you were presenting this slide?  


 © 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Fantastic presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Here are some images from a fabulous class this week.  So much fun and so much learning!

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Any truth to this? If so, what can we do about this gender gap? 

In terms of presentations, letting go of perfectionism can help both men and women be more dynamic and speak more "off the cuff."© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Create New Vocal Habits

Our workshops explore all areas of nonverbal delivery. We've trained actors for years and can help you find your own unique dynamic style.  
(Tap on photo to make it larger.)      

  © 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

How we coach executive presence.

In our workshops we explore one major aspect of executive presence: the ability to claim space in the room or at the table. 

For each person it will look different since one important aspect of EP is being authentic.   

Central to executive presence is the ability to communicate to large or small groups. According to John Beeson, author of The Unwritten Rules: The Six Skills You Need to Get Promoted to the Executive Level, “Not only is public speaking an important executive requirement, but your ability to “stand and deliver” to an executive group or large audience is frequently viewed as an indicator of your ability to handle pressure.” 

Even if you’re communicating in smaller groups, our workshops will help you stretch into your most dynamic self.

 We help you explore your projected voice, a relaxed but strong upright posture, confident eye contact, concise but engaging stories, compelling word choices, and enthusiasm. 

Everyone can develop more executive presence.  

If you have EP you will always be more engaging and impactful when communicating with others. © 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Ray was a financial auditor with a dry sense of humor. Aside from increasing his volume and adding some gestures, Ray didn’t need to radically change his natural style. Staying true to his own personality made Ray more comfortable and also more engaging. Both introverts and extraverts can be compelling speakers. 

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

To be a dynamic speaker, our goal is to make our audience feel smart, not to try to look smart ourselves. Listening is HARD work. Eliminating jargon, euphemisms, and abstract, vague business cliches brings an immediacy and humanity to our presentations. In our digital age, we need the simplicity of great ideas, not wordy abstractions.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Be A Servant Leader Speaker

I, (Laura) talk with many people, especially fantastically talented women, who hate public speaking. "I'd rather just serve others from the back of the room," is a common lament I hear. I remind them of their great value, both in their knowledge but also in their attitude. They have the heart of a servant. It is an ideal mindset of a public speaker. Speakers who seek to serve their audience are (or learn how to be) concise, considerate, and passionate about offering a group what they need.  Remembering that our job is to serve can also help reduce the normal nervousness of public speaking.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Thinking small

Advanced education teaches us to see trends and abstract ideas at a 30K feet altitude.  The trouble is, stories only connect when told from a human scale.  “Once upon a time” is meant to set us up for a particular time and place.  When we abstract, we lose our audience.  Thinking on a micro level often feels wrong to the business executives we coach, but they soon experience the force of these small stories.  Combining stories with statistics (the ultimate abstraction) is a wonderful blend.  Political speeches and closing arguments of lawyers routinely use this combo because it is powerfully effective.   

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Moving from fear to excitement in public speaking

When we recognize that our nervousness exists on a continuum, we can tap into the excitement also available to us when we make presentations.  This is a short post because the concept deserves our contemplation! When we have a presentation, do we consciously tap into our excitement about it

? © 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Build connection and empathy with well-told stories at work

Research with MRIs confirms what the ancients knew – stories are the best way to “hack” into our listener’s brain.  Listeners will remember a story far longer than any other type of data.  Even 1 or 2 minute stories can be effective.

Ever tune someone out because their story seemed to circle around aimlessly or include details that seemed irrelevant?  Storytelling has gotten a bad rap at work because most people don’t know how to tell their story well.  Others don’t even recognize the stories that they NEED to tell to their colleagues, customers, employees, and supervisors.   

Storytelling is an art and even our personal stories need practice.  Once we understand the necessary components we can perfect our delivery.  Telling our story at work means that we can connect with those we want to inspire, motivate, or persuade.

While there is no one way to tell a story (think of all the novels, plays, and movies you know), there are still principles we can learn to guarantee that our stories will engage our audience. 

You DO have stories that are worth telling.  Come learn how. © 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Security blanket habits

Many of us have speaking habits that are like Reggie’s toy.  We hold on to them to feel more secure.  These unconscious habits get in the way of our executive presence, i.e. our ability to take up space in the room and be heard.  There are many varieties of these “security blanket” habits -- filler words like “you know” or “um,” low volume, twisting our posture, hands in pockets, arms crossed to block the audience out, and many others.

The best public speaking training doesn’t draw attention to these unconscious defenses.  Instead, it emphasizes our natural abilities when we communicate with friends and family.  Once we understand that we each have a wonderful, natural style of communicating, we can gradually let go of our security habits.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

The Art of Storytelling

Jack insisted that he wasn't nervous as a speaker but he avoided making eye contact with his audience and he often read his PowerPoint.  Jack didn't think he needed a presentation class but he came to our two day workshop.  By lunchtime Jack had discovered his talent for telling stories.  Now we needed to help him trim down his message!   Jack soon learned the model of an effective story and how to determine which details to include and which to leave out.  He became a powerful presenter by the end of class.

We’ve seen many participants transform in two days.

Bring our acclaimed 2 day workshop to your location or come to our next class in November. We are conveniently located near O’Hare and the Chicago blue line.

Visit https://training4breakthroughs.com/register-4-events for more info or call 630-531-0000.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Active Learning

True learning only occurs through doing.  Exceptional learning occurs through failing!  (I know this method well!)

Lasting learning occurs through reflection --as in the case of this fantastic group I helped facilitate recently. 

 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Discover the Power of Harnessing Emotions When Speaking

Emotions impact both you and your audience.  How do we move from fear to courage, from frustration to excitement and from judgment to curiosity?  Join us for our acclaimed 2 day "The Art of Dynamic Speaking" and discover new dimensions in your communication skills.

© 2019Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Start a Positive Cycle of Speaking Experiences

Jamie was a VP at a emergency response company.  In the past she had been an effective speaker but after several bad experiences Jamie was convinced that she couldn’t speak in front of even small groups.  Her nervousness grew and she was caught in a negative cycle.  She would freeze up, forget her message, or just give up and read to her audience. 

Thankfully, Jamie decided to confront her fears.  With the encouragement of her fellow attendees, Jamie soon saw that she was a dynamic and engaging speaker.  She began to think of her nerves differently and she learned strategies for dealing with them.  She wowed the class with her final presentation.  She declared herself “cured.”

We’ve seen many students transform in two days. 

Bring our acclaimed 2 day workshop to your location or come to our next class in November.  We are conveniently located near O’Hare and the Chicago blue line. 

Visit https://training4breakthroughs.com/register-4-events for more info or call 630-531-0000.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Understanding Story Structure

When creating short stories for use in the workplace, it is even more important to understand the most effective storytelling structures.

 

Once we understand the components in an effective story, we can understand what details to include or remove. We can inspire and motivate others when we tell short but powerful stories.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Nervousness is Normal.

Managing the normal anxiety present in public speaking means using our nervousness to create peak performance, instead of derailing the presentation. Even professional speakers have nervousness at times. A commitment to excellence also means that we might experience stress when speaking. Join us next month to learn methods to channel our nerves into dynamic presentations.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Storytelling builds trust at work

Learning to tell our own stories offers many benefits. I love flowcharts and made this one to reflect on conflicts. I've circled where business length stories are helpful. Well told stories can enhance trust and reduce conflict.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Does Your Audience Look Like This When You/re Speaking?

Join us for a fantastic two day public speaking class.  Explore nonverbal behaviors -- your own and those of your audience.  

Learn dynamic techniques to keep your audience happy and engaged.















© 2019
Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Communication loop and stories

Communication is hard under the best of circumstances. Our different life experiences determine how we "encode" and "decode" messages. Stories are a great equalizer. They help a listener understand our experience. Stories help listeners and speakers enter each other's mind.

© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Stories are Powerful.

According to researchers Prentice and Gerrig, our brains are built to record information from stories. Neurochemist Paul Zak uses brain scans to explain the process. When we listen to the standard business presentation, the language centers of our brain light up. But we often forget this data quickly. When we hear a story, our language centers are activated but other parts of our brain that relate to our senses (sight, sound, taste, touch) also light up. This is one reason why stories are much easier to remember, more sections of our brain are listening.



© 2019 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Stories at work

“I’m scared” said Piglet.

“A story will help” said Pooh.

“How?”

“Oh. Don’t you know? Stories make your heart grow.”

(Milne, 1979)

More from the work of Brene Brown -- What kind of Leader Are You?

Driving Perfectionism and
Fostering Fear of Failure   

Vs.

Modeling and Encouraging
Healthy Striving, Empathy,
and Self-Compassion  

No way around it. Might as well dive in. Thank you Brene Brown for your great work.

Easy to say. Hard to Do!

Brene Brown brings us to the frontier of our consciousness and where we want to stay unconscious and numb.

© 2019