Are you practicing your public speaking to improve…or to reinforce bad habits? We hear people say, “Practice makes perfect.” In reality, practice makes permanent.
It is helpful to get an outside perspective on your presentation to reveal any areas in which you might improve your content or delivery. Practice in front of an audience. Ask one or two perceptive people for their feedback. Make it clear that you want constructive criticism, not just praise.
Read More...Use technology to enhance your message, not to eclipse it.
Two executives came to me to give a speech about a new product. They spent some time describing it, but their explanations were so complicated that it was challenging for me even to begin to understand what they were selling.
I knew that if I couldn’t “get it” through our conversation, the non-technical audience they were attempting to sell to would not either.
Finally, I asked them, “How will this change how your customers do business? Tell me about the impact this will have on their lives.” At the end of our work together, they walked out with a great speech supported by their PowerPoint slides.
One commented, “What a great process! Usually, we put together 40 PowerPoint slides and then decide what to say in between.”
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You have a competitive edge when your sales presentations are more powerfully persuasive in your than your competition’s.
For the fourth time Hollywood and NSA Royalty collide! Officers of the National Speakers Association Northern California Chapter (NSANC) are excited to present a very special program on Saturday, May 3, 2014 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Patricia Fripp and Michael Hauge give both another reason to celebrate that special show business bond.
Registration: 8:30am
Program: 9:00am-12:00noon and 1:00pm to 3:00pm
This program has been delivered to sell out crowds of professional speakers, business executives, sales professionals and individuals who want to make their message more exciting and memorable.
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Hollywood story consultant, author, and screenwriting coach, Michael Hauge joins forces with me to help speakers and business leaders improve their stories and examples for more effective presentations. I often say, “Stories are the best way to explain the complex, and also help the audience ‘see’ your message.”
Michael Hauge & Patricia Fripp Join Forces May 3, 2014 for the NSANC chapter of the National Speakers Assocation.
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Before I became a successful professional speaker and executive speech coach, I was one of San Francisco’s top men’s hairstylists. As I said on 60 Minutes – and if you’re on 60 Minutes someday, you WILL tell EVERYBODY – “I used to work on the outside of peoples’ heads, now I work on the inside, so there’s only half an inch difference.” Years after I’d retired from hairstyling, I was cutting my brother Robert Fripp’s hair.
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I first had the honor of speaking at the Ragan Speechwriters Conference in 2003. It was an exciting experience and I made many new friends, including John Howze who kindly allowed me share his “best of” conference notes with my readers. Consider how you might incorporate some of these ideas into your public speaking and writing. Remember, many of the presenters at the Ragan Speechwriters Conference literally write for history.
This is a follow up to my post on how you can solve “who cares?” syndrome in your sales presentations. We discussed the importance of asking good questions in order to discover how a client can benefit from your product or service. With that, here is a strategic approach to several aspects of asking questions within the sales process—and how you can use questions to move the process forward.
Basic Openers. The first priority is to learn as much as you can about pain points and what the current environment is like. For example:
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To be persuasive, you need to appeal to the other person’s rational self-interest. People make decisions for their reasons, not yours. Here are some quick reminders to help them make those decisions in your favor.
Forget your company history or industry jargon, which might be the biggest “who cares?” of all. You have heard the expression, “A confused mind always says no.” Here is a Frippicism: “A bored mind gets distracted and cuts your meeting short.”
Use a phrase like, “Based on 15 years of helping clients of your size business, I have learned…”
Read More...The first President of the National Speakers Association Bill Gove. He said, “The seminar comes from the discipline of teaching and the keynote comes from the discipline of show business.”
Another Past NSA President Don Thoren said, “As a keynote speaker, you are the star; in training or a seminar, you have to make the audience the star.”
One more Past NSA President…me… Patricia Fripp says, “When you deliver a keynote speech, you must be committed to a higher caliber of performance.”
Receive free, on-going Fripp webinar invitations, sales and presentation skills information, and special discounts from Executive Speech Coach, Sales Presentation Trainer, and Professional Keynote Speaker, Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE. As an added bonus, sign up now and receive a free copy of Patricia Fripp’s How to Present and Teach in the Virtual World.
