Unforgettable Presentations

Should we tell our most painful stories…the ones that take us to The Dark Place? Today Darren and Mark have a serious conversation about this touchy subject and offer solid advice about when to go to your Dark Place.

SNIPPETS:

• Your message is a MESS with AGE

• You must be able to laugh about your struggle before you can talk about it.

• Don’t abuse the privilege of the platform

• Your Dark Place story shouldn’t overtake your speech

• Go to your dark place when it’s appropriate and effective

• There may be value in going to your Dark Place

• Cushion the setup of your Dark Place story

• Be sure you can find your way back

• Be sure you have healed before going to your Dark Place

“But I wasn’t born funny!” may be a common exclamation, so what’s the SECRET to being funny? For answers, Darren and Mark turn to television producer and comedy writer Chris McGuire has worked with celebrity talent like Justin Bieber, Martha Stewart, Arsenio Hall and Snoop Dog. Lessons from his experience behind the scenes and on the stage will help you to be unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• Confront your discomfort

• Pay attention to the news of the day

• Use your experience and your interests

• Filter out the raw material and choose the best bits

• Write 20 jokes to get 2 good ones

• Keep a notebook and write 3 ideas a day; that’s 90 a month, 1,000 a year

• Authenticity is key

• Be willing to bomb

• Don’t give up too soon and get up after a bad experience; move on

• Tap into common experiences with your audience

Believe it or not, your audience can be an ally who helps you to hone your content and make your presentation even better. Mark and Darren explain how being attentive to your audience can make you unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• Have a pre-event conversation with meeting planner and client

• Listen for client stories that you can use to customize your presentation

• Ask about the client’s challenges and concerns

• Listen between the lines (oohs and aahs); reactions reveal what resonates

• Observe between the lines (nods, notes etc.); confirm that content connects

• Record post-event conversations…with permission.

• Sift through audience comments and use what will help improve your talk

You want to believe that your audience remembers you and your message, but how can you KNOW? Today Mark and Darren explain the value of KEEPERS and ACTION ITEMS, tools that will help you know that you are UNFORGETTABLE.

SNIPPETS:

• Set up the value of keepers and action items very early

• Use cardstock sheets that are separate from a workbook

• Use separate bright colors for each

• Use editable pdfs for virtual attendees

• Keepers are written confirmation of the transfer of value

• Keepers reinforce value to employers, managers and supervisors

• Keepers are consistent reminders of ideas, tools and techniques

• Action Items are immediately actionable next steps after a presentation

• File keepers and action items in their own separate folder and review often

• Refer back to accomplished action items to reinforce belief

Co-hosts Darren & Mark encourage their clients to stretch and challenge themselves. Today Mark discusses his greatest speaking challenge…a 12-minute speech in French…and he is joined by his French-speaking coach Alexandre Matte. As they discuss this unique journey you will learn how and why accepting a challenge and following through can help you to be unforgettable.

SNIPPETS:

• NOT accepting a challenge deprives your audience of learning opportunities

• When faced with a challenge get a coach and an ally

• Be open to tools and techniques to help you overcome your challenge

• Use a challenge to upgrade your skills

• Be encouraged by past challenges you have overcome

• It’s never too late to grow

• Don’t let your ego get in the way

• Learn all you can about your audience

• Even if you reach a summit, keep climbing

• After the challenge, ask, “How did I grow?”

• Challenge yourself to serve, even if your execution isn’t perfect

AI is everywhere. How can presenters use AI as a tool, without diminishing their expertise? Today Darren and Mark offer THREE specific ways that presenters can use AI advantageously.

SNIPPETS:

• Think of AI as an intern

• Speakers who don’t use AI could be replaced by AI

• Use AI to create ‘sticky’ phrases

• Use prompts to get the options you need

• The more specific the prompts, the better the results

• Meeting planners respond to catchy presentation titles

• AI can help you to customize your speech to serve different demographics

• AI can give good feedback, but will never replace a qualified coach

You’ve just delivered your presentation, then someone gives you feedback, and it feels tough…even harsh. Now what? Mark and Darren have been there, and today they talk about how to receive critical feedback and use it to your advantage. They also examine how we as presenters can GIVE constructive feedback to benefit our fellow communicators and offer advice on how to maximize the feedback we receive.

SNIPPETS:

• There is a time and place for tough feedback

• Be willing to improve based on the feedback we receive

• Don’t let your ego get in the way of learning

• Don’t let tough feedback cause you to stop

• Crave feedback, not a pat on the back

• Don’t miss the golden opportunities to improve your speech

• Don’t deprive yourself of the opportunity to leave your message

• Don’t deprive future audience of the opportunity to learn from you

• Look for kernels of truth on all feedback

• When feedback hurts, it helps

• Let tough feedback be a rung on your ladder to being unforgettable

“I’ll just add a couple of stories, insert a few activities, and I’ll convert my keynote into a training. That should work, right?” It’s not that simple, and in this episode Darren and Mark find out why as they speak with fellow Certified Speaking Professional and trainer extraordinaire Ed Tate. Together they discuss the differences between speaking and training and offer specific techniques for being effective at both.

SNIPPETS:

• Keynote Speaking share a BIG IDEA

• Training teaches the execution of the idea

• Keynote speaking informs, entertains, and inspires

• Training changes behavior

• With keynote speaking, attendees are impressed with the speaker

• With training, attendees are impressed with themselves

• Keynote speaking includes minimal participant activity

• Training includes movement; kinesthetic learning is the stickiest

• Stories are to keynotes as instructions are to training

• Training takes attendees through a process

This question is based on the role of the lamplighter: a person employed to light and maintain gas streetlights. Today Mark and Darren explore ways that we, as presenters, can be lamplighters for our audiences.

• One of your jobs is to light the path of those who follow you

• Your experiences can illuminate their path and make their journey easier

• Your lamplight identifies the danger for those who come behind you

• Your lamplight shows the path that you have taken

• Your lamp lights the path of people you don’t even know

• Your lamplight can lead others to their destination

• Work on your skills and storytelling NOW

• Let your lamplight be a legacy of value

Work with Mark & Darren:

https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/

“So many presenters mistake memorization for preparation” says Darren, as he and Mark reveal some powerful principles for preparing and delivering unforgettable presentations.

SNIPPETS:

• Don’t memorize; internalize

• Avoid rehearsing just to remember the words; rehearse to remember the idea

• Use STAGEOLOGY to anchor your ideas to specific places on stage

• Give your audience and idea, principle, technique, habit, tip or action item

• Deliberately rehearse with loud noises in the room

• It’s not ‘if’, but ‘when’ you will encounter unexpected distractions

• Learn from the ways that comedians handle hecklers

• Prepare your presentation in chunks and rehearse them out of sequence