“When should I use dialogue in my speech?” Darren and Mark have fielded this question numerous times. Today they provide answers…and a bonus: WHY it’s important to use a combination of both narration and dialogue. The reasons that they provide and the techniques that they recommend will help you improve your presentation and enhance your audience’s experience.  

SNIPPETS:

• Convert NARRATION to CONVERSATION
• Don’t RE-ENACT; RE-LIVE
• Let the audience ‘hear’ from characters
• Narration sets up the dialogue
• Use dialogue when a character experiences a change
• Use dialogue when the story has emotional shifts
• See Ekman’s SIX BASIC EMOTIONS
• Add the emotions that the character feels
• Share the internal dialogue of the characters

You’ve worked hard, you’ve rehearsed, you’ve delivered your presentation…perhaps several times…and it’s GOOD. But is it good ENOUGH? Today Mark and Darren take a look at the dangers of thinking a presentation is ‘good enough’ and offer suggestions for avoiding the confidence that can become arrogance. They also discuss the mindset and strategies that can help you make a good presentation UNFORGETTABLE.

SNIPPETS:

• How do you define ‘good enough?’
• Ego gets in the way
• Confidence can be your enemy
• Is your presentation as good as it can be?
• How good COULD it be?
• It’s never good enough
• Deliver like it’s the last time
• Perfection is a dream; improvement is a reality
• Be coachable
• Prepare Properly
• Test, test, test

Every endeavor starts with Version 1.0. Today Darren and Mark present Version 1.0 of their podcast livestream using StreamYard for the first time. They speak with guest presenter Amanda Mae Gray…their StreamYard guru…about the importance of taking the first step in every endeavor. Together they offer solid suggestions for creating Version 1.0 of YOUR unforgettable presentation, testing it, and making adjustments along the way.

SNIPPETS:

• Don’t try to make Version 1.0 perfect
• It’s not wise to test new content on a paying audience
• There’s no such thing as a ‘practice speech’
• Any audience that you trust can tell you how your speech affects them
• Your audience helps you to write your speech
• Take the FIRST STEP in your speech and your business
• Version 1.0 is instructive and can show you what needs to be changed
• Version 1.0 leads to Version 2.0 and beyond
• Crave feedback

New Year Resolutions have become commonplace, and all too often, these resolutions don’t last. In this brief episode, Darren and Mark outline the difference between a resolution and a decision. They offer suggestions for the decisions you can make to change the trajectory of your growth as a presenter and become unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• Don’t make a resolution; make a decision
• It starts with a decision
• Be willing to ‘burn the boats’
• The critical decision is to take action
• Your decision precedes your transformation
• The decision affects your mindset
• Get a coach
• Take classes and courses
• Recommit to being unforgettable

Following up on last week’s episode featuring Australian international speaker coach Jennifer Leone, this episode features live coaching. Mark takes the client’s hot seat as Jennifer and Darren deliver insight on one of his previously untold stories. Using the questions discussed in last week’s episode Jennifer and Darren dig deeper into his story to unearth metaphors and messages that will magnify the impact of his story. Witness first-hand how working with a qualified coach can help any presenter…even seasoned professionals…to be unforgettable.

How does a coach help their client get to the root of a story? How do they help uncover the gems hidden layers deep within a story? Today Mark and Darren find out from Australian international speaker coach Jennifer Leone, a faculty member at Stage Time University. Jennifer reveals that unforgettable questions are the key to finding gold in our stories, and shares three specific questions that she asks, knowing that the answers will help any presenter to be unforgettable .

SNIPPETS:

• People often tell only half of their story
• What is the OTHER half of the story?
• What is the benefit of a negative experience?
• What is the other person’s point of view?
• Ask deeper questions
• Ask another question
• What do you say to yourself in painful situations?
• Is there a present in your pain and a gift in your grief?

Do you have a presentation that has served you well for quite a while? Have you made any modifications recently? Could it be time for a ‘refresher’?

Today Mark and Darren have a frank discussion about REVIEWING and RENEWING your presentation. They extend their conversation to examine how you show up for every presentation, and how you can ‘up your game.’ Their advice will help you to be unforgettable in every speaking environment.

SNIPPETS:

• With experience you bring new ideas, knowledge and expertise
• Refresh your presentation or sermon
• Update your stories
• Take another look at your infographics and visual aids
• Review your examples and supporting evidence
• Are your references outdated
• Adopt new interactive tools like Menti and others
• Assess your workshop activities
• Replace your demo video if necessary
• Should you revise your website and social media profiles
• Examine your persona before, during and after your talk

With experience comes the risk of being comfortable and too casual. Today Mark and Darren look at areas where presenters can become casual, and how costly it can be. They share behaviors to avoid…and confess to having been guilty of some…and offer practices that can help any presenter stay on their ‘A’ game to be unforgettable, both on and off the stage.

SNIPPETS:

• Don’t neglect to write your own introduction
• Don’t fall into trap of thinking you can ‘wing it’
• Don’t ‘phone it in’; show up and shine
• You can never over-communicate with clients and meeting planners
• Use custom visuals and avoid clipart and public domain images
• Examine the image you project off-stage; at the airport, in the hotel, etc.
• Ask yourself if it’s time to update your profile photo and wardrobe
• Re-assess your on-stage persona
• Engage an image consultant if necessary

You’ve invested hours preparing to deliver your unforgettable presentation, and you are READY! Right before you take the stage, the MC recites your bio, or decides to ‘wing it’ after a quick glance at your LinkedIn profile. Maybe they decide to tell a 4-minute story about the time they met you, and you can feel the air being sucked out of the room as the audience ‘checks out’. How do you avoid this? Darren asks Mark about his 7-Step Process for creating an engaging introduction, and they discuss the benefits of writing your OWN introduction. They also explain how a bad introduction will make any presenter unforgettable…for the wrong reasons.

SNIPPETS:

• Write your own introduction
• Set up the listening
• Give the audience a reason to lean in before you say a word
• Send your intro to the introducer and meeting planner
• Have a call with your introducer before the event
• Remember the meeting planner is handling several issues; make it easy
• Panic-proof the process for your introducer and meeting planner
• Bring two copies of your introduction with you

In North America, Thanksgiving is a time for food, fun and family. In this first LIVE brainstorming session, Mark and Darren come up with ideas for gleaning story and presentation ideas from the Thanksgiving holiday…and any other traditional family holiday experience. They reveal the what, the how and the why behind uncovering fresh and engaging material…while having family fun! Apply these ideas, find new material, and be unforgettable .

SNIPPETS:

• Mine the memories
• Deputize your family to be your coach
• Don’t hold the gold or let it grow mold; it must be told
• Record conversations
• Capture details
• Recall ‘first-time’ attendee stories
• Elevate the elders and the young people in the family
• Focus on the food
• Remember those who are no longer here
• Examine traditions (who always sits where, games, family walks)
• Update your story folder