Learning everything after making mistakes in the world of public speaking is going to be the reason behind your slow progress or no progress at all. Luckily, all of us are capable of learning from others’ mistakes and experiences. So, leverage this capability to become what you want in the shortest time possible.

Here are the three things about what to do and what to avoid in the journey of becoming a successful presenter, keynote speaker, or international public speaker.

1. Show your energy rather than telling them you are under the weather
Do you think it is okay to share with the audience that you are having a bad day or heartbreak and thus, not fully prepared for the speech or presentation? If you think so, you are deluded. Making time from busy schedules just to hear that you are not ready for it is going to frustrate your audience. They have so many things to do but they are here with you. Respect that and make them believe that you really care about delivering speech or presentation and adding value to their life.

Excellent presenters prepare enough time. In fact, those speeches that looked so effortless had days of preparation behind to make them look that way. So, always go prepared instead of thinking that you can wing it.

“Preparedness is the key to success and victory.”

 – Douglas MacArthur

2. Address the needs of your audience rather than selling
When you are presenting to sell your products or services, the one thing that you need to absolutely avoid is selling. Instead, get their buy-in by focusing on the needs of the audience. Otherwise, your audience will feel like you are pushing them to use your offerings. Do your homework to find out what type of audience you are going to address, what could interest them, and what needs, concerns, and pain points they have.

This will help you know which aspects of your services or products are useful to them and which are not. Overloading with everything about your brand and its offering is only going to annoy the audience. They are listening to you to get value and not to get buried with details that aren’t useful to them. So, stop selling whether you are at a traditional or digital platform.

3. Answer questions without leaving the rest of the audience unattended
Most often, what speakers do when somebody asks a question is that they talk to only that person for the moment they are providing an answer and lose their connection with everybody else. This is the point where you are making a huge mistake. Building a connection with the audience is a bit easier but maintaining it during the whole presentation is the real challenge.

So, what could you do?

• First, make eye-contact with the person, thank them for asking a question and address them with their name (especially if you are at a virtual conference). Research conducted by Professor Tim Welsh from the University of Toronto has shown that the combination of eye contact and motion grabs immediate attention that increases engagement.
• Look at the whole audience and paraphrase the question so that everyone understands what question was asked. In the case of virtual settings, use phrases like “Hey everybody, Zaara from Qatar asked ……” to get the attention of all before answering the question.
• On the stage, stand at a location in a position so that you can see the whole or maximum part of your audience while answering the question. Walk while speaking if the area to be covered is too large to get a full view.

This will make the question asker feel important and also help you maintain full inclusion of the audience and encourage further engagement.

Delivering presentations and speeches is all about grabbing the attention of your audience, keeping them engaged, and positively influencing their decisions or life. So, it’s always crucial to understand how to do that. The tips we have shared today might help you realize where you are going wrong and what can put you on the right track of becoming an influential speaker and presenter.

Keeping everyone engaged in a virtual meeting is the most challenging thing to do. You are unaware of where everybody is sitting and what they are doing while you are conveying your message. Besides, there are so many sources of distraction, such as crying babies, barking dogs, or that annoying noise coming from the neighborhood. In short, all that stuff that can steal away all their attention!!

If you are not careful enough, there is a higher possibility that your colleagues or team members leave the meeting and resume their household chores without you ever knowing that. Hence, you should be aware of how to get everybody engaged.

Here are eight powerful tips that you will find useful to conduct successful online meetings:

1. State why you are conducting the online meeting

When people are working from home, most of them also have to engage in household activities, like helping their kids attend online classes, nursing their babies, taking care of an ill family member, and so on. Thus, invite only those people who are relevant to the meeting.

Is it about making an important decision? Is it about an urgent update? Or, do you want everybody to just hangout, interact, and revive the team spirit? Whatever it is, it is vital that they know why this meeting is important.

Plus, also be sure about whether you need to see each other or a group call is enough before announcing the online meeting.

2. Prepare what you need to say or share

Apart from navigating the software beforehand, have the content and slides ready. It will help you save time that you can use to greet and ease the tension that many people experience in a virtual setting. It will also enable you to convey your message without meandering around lost thoughts. Ensure that slides are interactive and precise. Keep the meeting short and try to be as spontaneous as possible. Remember to warm up your voice.

3. Share the meeting protocols

In a live meeting, people know what is acceptable and what is not. But when people know that nobody is watching them over, they tend to ignore all these aspects. So, share protocols for an online meeting and how you expect attendees to behave. For instance, join on time, mute volume while coughing or something loud is happening around, when and how they can leave, and whether or not it is acceptable to eat and drink during the meeting.

4.Refer and introduce properly

Whenever you need, refer to people by their name. Encourage every member to contribute to the meeting so that they actively attend the meeting. Ask people to introduce themselves before they speak even if everybody knows each other very well. This strategy makes people more attentive.

5. Make the meeting session interactive

The only way to stop people from engaging in daily chores or on personal calls is to make the meeting interactive. Ask questions now and then throughout the meeting and then ask others to share their opinions on the answer given by a participant in the meeting or provide their own suggestions.

6. Avoid the dead silence

When a participant reads something or tries to find out the solution to a problem you have presented, it leads to the dead silence. It might confuse other attendees that the meeting is over and some might even sign out from the meeting. Thus, try to fill the weird silence with an update about what’s going on at the moment.

7. Keep personal matters out of conference meeting

If there is any issue, subject, or matter that is not relevant to other people in the meeting, then save it for later. For personal conversations, arrange follow-up calls after the conference is over.

8. Give yourself feedback

Once the online meeting is over, write down what went well and where you need to improve to better prepare for the next online meeting. Be sure to read it before you conduct an online meeting.

Following these tips can help you conduct your online meeting with no fuss and stress. To become an expert in conducting online meetings successfully, you also have the option to enroll in video presence coaching and training to uncover the secrets of how to grab people’s attention in a virtual setting.

Since this pandemic has made the leaders imagine the unthinkable, there is a whole new possibility that a significant share of future interactions would include video conferences or web-based meetings even when things return to normal or the new normal as people call it.

Thus, you better prepare for it because leaders and seniors need communication and executive presence to respond to the pandemic effectively and keep business afloat and grow more fiercely than ever. And video presence coaching and training can help you tread this path.

The Market Analysis Report of Grandview Research shared, “the global video conferencing market size was valued at USD 3.85 billion in 2019” and also predicted that “the value will grow at a rate of 9.9 percent from 2020 to 2027”.

Beyond a Predefined Response Plan

These days, the majority of businesses are wondering what does a leader need to do during a crisis like COVID-19?

While most people will say a predefined response plan as an answer to this question, leaders need something more intuitive, powerful, and dynamic to navigate through difficult times.

According to McKinsey & Company what leaders need is to develop “behaviors and mindsets that will prevent them from overreacting to yesterday’s developments and help them look ahead”.

Video is Giving Voice Thought-Leadership

Leaders across the globe are using the power of video conferences, virtual meetings, and video marketing to build their virtual presence. They are keeping their audience, clients, customers, users, and everyone who follow them to stay connected and be authentic throughout this emotional disruption.

Such people are always several steps ahead and this is what makes them world leaders. They identify the potential of new technologies, new possibilities, and requirements to adapt to the current as well as possible future situations. These leaders are those who tend to imagine the unthinkable.

Video Presence to Sustain the Culture of A Remote Agile Team 

Ask yourself, are agile teams performing that well in a remote setting as they did in a traditional setting? Agile teams were doing excellently when the team members existed within the same location under one roof but crises like COVID-19 pandemic have forced teams to work geographically apart.

This leads to break in communication and interaction and failure in perceiving the influence of leaders and other seniors. Though agile teams are known to quickly adapt to the fast-changing business landscape, innovative technologies, and digitization, the abrupt shift to remote working is resulting in reduced cohesion and increased inefficiency.

Therefore, leaders need to build a stronger video presence to maintain transparency, guide their people more effectively, communicate more clearly, sustain positive work culture, and be able to influence people and their decision-making process in a virtual, remote setting.

From now on, this is the real work that leaders are entitled to continue on the path of achieving success and building a brighter future for themselves and their organization.

Lastly, just remember:

“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”

-John Maxwell

Be Courageous. It has often been said that courage is not the lack of fear, but the ability to face fear and overcome it. Rudolph Giuliani has said that courage is the management of fear. Leaders will face problems and worse and cannot allow a crisis to incapacitate them.

Prepare and Grow. Change is the only constant in life so the sands are continually shifting. Leaders must prepare and grow with those changes. They must continually study, attain relevant knowledge, and plan for every contingency. No matter what they are leading or managing, their ultimate success will be determined in part by them and their team’s preparedness.

Build a Great Team. The effective leader intimately understands and appreciates that any organizational success is the result of a team and no individual. The effective leader will recruit and foster teamwork among many different skill sets and perspectives with more talent and diversity the better. When each team member is operating from a position of focus (not fear) and also understanding of how they affect their “internal” as well as “external” customers, they will be in a much stronger position.

Be an Optimist. Everyone can choose to be an optimist or a pessimist – to see the best in people or the worst in any moment. Look throughout history and you will discover that every great leader from Lincoln, Gandhi,  Martin L. King, Jr, and Mandella, they and most others shared an optimistic viewpoint. People gravitate toward and stay with optimistic leaders. Leaders also understand that not everyone will agree with them so they must be prepared for criticism and not take it personally.

Communicate Effectively. Leadership is all about influencing others and no amount of talent, intellect, or motivation will overcome poor communications. Communicating effectively means using the right tone, the proper media, appropriate time and message so that it is clearly understood. In both written and verbal communications, people communicate differently so a leader must be aware of their audience and adjust accordingly.

Know What You Believe In and Live It! An effective leader clearly understands their core values, objects, and important beliefs. Every eye is constantly on the leader so that person must become the living embracement of such if you want others to follow. They live their convictions and lead with integrity. As Margaret Thatcher once said, “Chart your course and know the values which will lead you through the future.”

There are many more attributes or characteristics of effective leadership, but if one embraces the above, they will vastly increase their chance of becoming and remaining a successful leader. 

Find out jobs for leaders on https://uk.jooble.org/

In business, it is important to be able to get the point across. Everyone likely has to speak in public one day. Whether it is a formal presentation to an audience or a simple business meeting, public speaking skills are vital to get head in a professional setting. Maybe even you have been there before. You may feel nervous; your stomach ties itself into knots, and sweaty palms.

With almost half the world’s population in lockdown, people are working more on honing their skills. This pandemic has provided many people an opportunity to work on their public presentation skills. The fear of public speaking is real. However, there are public speaking courses to help you overcome this fear and positively harness your energy.

Here are 6 public speaking tips for your next oral presentation or speech:

1. Organize your thoughts
When you organize all of your thoughts and materials, it assists you to become much more composed and peaceful. When you have clear and organized thoughts, it can reduce your speaking fear because you will be better focused on the one thing at hand – giving an amazing speech.

2. Throw out the fear of rejection
You should eliminate all of your fears of rejection. It will be wasteful to think “what if my audience hates my speech? What if they boo me off stage?” All these negative thoughts are worthless.

“Rejection and the fear of rejection is the biggest impediment we face to choosing ourselves.”                                                –James Altucher

3. Watch yourself in the mirror
Practice your speech in front of the mirror as if you were addressing the audience. You should also pay attention to:

• Your facial expressions
• Your body movements
• Your gestures

When you have gentle expressions and a calm demeanour when you speak, you will be more welcoming to your audience.

4. Work on your breathing
Your voice will have more resonance if you focus on your breathing. So, you have to breathe calmly and focus on getting into a rhythm. Breath-work is considered as one of the best speaking exercises. This exercise also helps in reducing stress.

5. Record yourself
Record your speech from beginning to end. Then, listen to it and watch it properly. This is an amazing technique to improve the way you talk. Some people dislike listening to the sound of their voice on tape, so you must get used to your own voice and speaking style.

6. Public speaking courses
You can search for a great coach or mentor. There are great places where you excel in the art of public speaking. But, if you want to learn from the best, you should join one of the most recognized public speaking courses in Dubai.

A huge component of overcoming your fear of public speaking is by ensuring that you are prepared and confident in the material you are presenting.

You need to keep on practising to deliver a good speech. Remember what Mark Twain said, “It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech”.

While you may be figuring out what normal looks like right now for your business, you need to assess your communication strategies. If you feel nervous or hesitant to communicate and wish you had the skills and could ace all your talks, make sure to enrol in the best business training programs to prepare yourself for what lies ahead.

“Effective Communication is a key factor in the success of your product.” -Jesse James Garrett

Here are some of the important things you can learn in communication skills training.

1. Importance of context

Have you ever said something that was meant to be funny, but the listener misunderstood it and responded in an unexpected way? A client misinterpreting your message, especially in today’s sensitive environment, can result in a negative impact on the organization.

In training, you will learn how to think before you respond to avoid any miscommunication. Before responding to your client, you need to think for a second and confirm if the reply is appropriate and clear. You will learn how to speak clearly and within the context so that the listener can understand the meaning of your message.

“To know an object is to lead to it through a context which the world provides.” – William James

2. Know your listener

For both external and internal communication, it is essential to consider your listener. If the communication is focused on a certain segment of your audience, you should use an appropriate message and provide the right amount of content for that audience. Before you begin the conversation or start speaking, be sure you understand who you are talking to.

After training, you will be quick to notice if your counterpart is getting disinterested by your presentation. This way, you will be able to quickly adjust to have their attention back and maintain their engagement with you and the message you are trying to convey.

 “You can listen as well as you hear.” – Mike & The mechanics, Living Years

3. Body Language

The great thing about digital communication like video conferencing is that you can form a connection with people through dynamic face-to-face interactions even if you are miles away. Even though you are not present physically, you still have to pay attention to your body language. You need to sit-up straight, arm yourself with confidence, and strike power poses.

There are several key techniques and tips you can learn from training to ensure the message your body is sending is in alignment with the message you want to convey.

“Body language is more powerful than words.” – Ricky Gervais

As we face the challenges and stresses around COVID-19 and the lockdown, we need to remember that communication is still crucial. Even though many business aspects have come to a halt, communication is still continuing one way or another. In a time of crisis, effective communication is the one thing that can make or break a business.