This month we're discussing notes and other techniques for when a PPT deck doesn't seem the most appropriate or right fit.

Repeat after me, PPT is not the enemy, but there are other options for you to use like an organized note template, a whiteboard, a flipchart, or some form of brainstorming technique.

If you're not going with a PPT, you have to decide 3 things:

1. What are you going with? Choose your medium.
2. What do I need to share? Create a plan before the meeting itself.
3. Who am I speaking to and how long do I have? Know your audience and timing.

From there, our biggest suggestion is to avoid scripting. You don't want to get stuck dropping your head and reading from your notes. This episode will provide some suggestions for how to organize effectively for this type of setting.

Practicing a new skill is vital. But knowing we should practice and actually taking the step to practice are very different things.

Listen in to hear us discuss these recommended techniques for setting yourself up for success:

1. Do a self-assessment. Understand where you're starting point is.
2. Practice the new skill anywhere and everywhere you can, not just in the setting it needs to be used.
3. Set realistic, manageable goals.
4. Expect an implementation dip (things feeling harder/seeming worse before they feel better) and keep pushing through!
5. Make it fun and give yourself small 'wins' to keep it up.

Putting a successful process in place for practice is just as crucial as following through on the practice itself.

Welcome back to the Speak As Well As You Think Podcast!

To kick off the year, we're discussing feedback. We want everyone to have an effective process in place if they're asked to provide feedback.

A few things we'll discuss are:

1. How might the person want feedback? Have you asked them? Do they prefer an "Oreo cookie sandwich", tough love, positives and negatives together?
2. What framework will you use to organize your thoughts? We don't recommend winging much communication, but especially not when it comes to providing feedback. Organize your thoughts ahead of time clearly and succinctly.
3. How can we decide on a path forward, together? What does the close to our conversation look like and is it collaborative?

Keep in mind, feedback isn't just for when things go south! Offer positive, specific feedback just as often. You'll likely have better outcomes when feedback is critical because you've created a baseline of trust and support.

We're closing out 2024 reflecting on the purpose of having a plan.

Most people fail without a plan. When it comes to communication, we don't want to fail. We want our messages to be clear, informative, and helpful. If we wing it, these things are harder to accomplish.

We'll discuss preparation with the following:

• Knowing your audience (a favorite of ours)
• Understanding how to show up as a listener
• Knowing the message you need to deliver within an appropriate time frame
• Making adjustments when necessary (you might go over or under)
• Having a purposeful close

Know the audience. Know what you need to share. Know how to end.

This month we're discussing all things listening.

We touch on our Top 3 Do's, which include:

1. Being aware of your non-verbal skills and what they're saying
2. Listening with the intent to understand not simply reply
3. Maintaining curiosity regardless of how you feel about the topic

We'll then touch on our Top 3 Don'ts, including:

1. Don't immediately defend your stance
2. Be cautious of interrupting and consider taking notes
3. Avoid the need to respond instantly, let there be space when needed

We want to help you continue to sharpen this important skill set. We hope you walk away with some tangible items to put in play!

We spent the last two episodes honing our Executive Presence skills. In this episode, we're focusing on the actual visual presentation.

In our opinion, there are 3 steps you can implement to be successful:

1. Plan: Before you open up PPT, figure out who you're speaking to, what they need to know, what you're hoping to accomplish with them, and storyboard those details out.
2. Build: Create your presentation in PPT (or something similar). Use a template that's been successful before to avoid creating more work for yourself. Consider colors, design, animation, data, graphics, text size, etc. Make it easy for you and your audience to see and consume the slide.
3. Practice: Put your deck in slide show mode and actually go through it. Say it out loud. Make sure your design elements complement the story you need to share. Make sure everything shows up in the order you want. A dry run is always a good idea.

The keys to success aren't hard. But we can't skip or leave out steps when we want to perform well.

This month we're taking a deep dive into the vocal executive presence skills as a follow-up to last month's chat.

As speakers, we need to understand how to use our vocal energy and ensure it portrays what we need it to. During this episode, we're discussing the three components of vocalics:

1. Volume - the level or loudness in which we speak
2. Inflection - the variation in our tone or peaks and valleys of our voice
3. Pace - the speed at which we share information

Listen in for some tips on being purposeful with these areas and why they're so important individually and as a packaged deal.

This month we're honing in on the physical executive presence skills.

We break them up into three categories:

1. Eyes - Where are you looking and speaking?
2. Hands - What are they doing or not doing?
3. Posture - How are you standing, sitting, and/or moving?

We read body language in other people all the time, but are you aware of what your body language is saying to your listeners? These three areas impact how our audience perceives our message.

We'll discuss recommendations for what to do with all three areas, why we suggest the tips we do and some ways to start making these small changes today.

In today's episode, we're discussing the top 3 things the Vautier Communications' team thinks you need to do in order to have clear and effective communication. These include:

1. Knowing your audience
2. Simplifying your message
3. Creating and owning your own presence

Listen in for tips on how you can think about each of these areas and relate them to your own meetings and talks moving forward.

In this month's episode, we're talking about difficult and/or crucial conversations in the workplace. They're an inevitable part of our communications at some point.

We discuss what these conversations look like, ways to prepare for them, how to deliver them appropriately and empathetically to a person/group, and ways to consider purposeful next steps as a follow-up.