Unforgettable Presentations

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• Are your references outdated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

From playing in empty ‘dive bars’, to playing for millions and earning a gold record, to helping individuals and organizations ‘find their voice’. This has been the journey of Isaac and Thorald…The Brothers Koren. They talk with Darren and Mark about serving our audiences by becoming their ‘brother’ and delivering unforgettable experiences. The ideas, principles and practices that they share will help any presenter to be unforgettable .

SNIPPETS:

• Nurture other voices
• Become someone’s brother
• Become a co-creator
• Dare to SUCK
• Try NOT comparing and NOT competing
• Take risks
• Invite your audience into your keynote experience
• Look for moment to make the audience feel needed
• Don’t present TO your audience; be WITH your audience
• Invite your audience onto your stage

Today’s guest Annie Sarnblad is a global expert on microexpressions…facial expressions that last a short time but reveal a great deal about us. In this lively and enlightening conversation, Darren, Mark and Annie discuss how microexpressions show our true emotions, help us read our clients/prospects, and help us connect with our audiences. Most importantly, by understanding microexpressions we can serve our audiences with compassion...which can make any presenter unforgettable .

SNIPPETS:

• We are all wired with the same facial expressions
• In a meeting, always look at eyes first
• When their pupils dilate, they are most receptive
• Humans crave human connection, interaction and joy
• No need to create emotion; when we feel it our facial expression will show it
• Share your humanity with your audience by being authentic and real
• Attend every event networking opportunity, like VIP mixers and dinners
• Your audience may show disengagement; be kind and love them
• When we read each other better, we can be kinder and more forgiving
• Use stories to touch the audience’s emotions and inspire them

As important as our unforgettable presentations may be, let’s not neglect the impact of our relationships and our network. They help us make connections with our audiences, our clients, and our world. This is just one nugget of wisdom that Mark and Darren get from author, podcaster and Certified Speaking Professional Thom Singer, an expert in the areas of engagement and connections. Tom also explains how we can become memorable by the stories we tell and how we tell them. Most importantly, he proves that by connecting with event planners and audiences before and after our presentation, we can be unforgettable.

SNIPPENTS:

• Your network should not just be about the next sale
• Business relationships are not just about business
• Likes, links, shares and follows are not the key to business success
• Digital connections are not the same as shared experiences
• Knowing you doesn’t mean they like, trust and respect you
• Don’t show up, speak and leave
• Attend every event networking opportunity, like VIP mixers and dinners
• Your speech is not the only way to connect with your audience
• We react to stories more than to data
• Use stories to touch the audience’s emotions and inspire them

There may come a point when a speaker decides to become a professional…a pro. Others take it one step further and decide to ‘Go Pro’. But what does that mean, exactly? What’s the difference between being a Pro and Going Pro? Are there levels of Going Pro? How does one do it? Today Darren and Mark get these answers and more from the Go Pro® expert: author and Hall-Of-Fame speaker Jim Cathcart. Jim breaks down the process and gives actionable ideas to help any presenter with an unforgettable presentation to Go Pro.

SNIPPETS:

• Rules, standards & expectations change when you decide to Go Pro
• Identify your level of aspiration as a professional
• Avoid any lack of integrity
• Be valuable, intentional, disciplined, accountable and honorable
• Identify the habit that will transform you in five years
• Create the reputation that you want to have
• Create a PASSION AND PURPOSE statement
• Be intentional about who is in your circle
• Ask: “Who is glad that they know me?”
• Adopt a ‘Thought Diet’