Twitter Success: Presentation + Adapting to the market

Watch this video by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and pay attention to what he describes over a few minutes starting at the 10:55 mark. He explains how the common features of Twitter actually came from users - not the company.



Message: Pay attention to what your customers are doing with your product/service.

Also, his presentation style shows how you can be quite reserved, yet still engaging as long as your audience is connecting with you. (Know your audience). Only a handful of PowerPoint slides used, mainly to show things he cannot put into words.

However his reserved presentation style may seem slow (possibly painful) to some people, as witnessed by comments on the video page.

He starts off a bit nervous (note a slight hesitation and few umms) but then settles in for a relaxed 'conversation' with the audience.

Sydney Workshops Now Only $67 each, May 18.

Sales and Presentation Skills Mini-Workshops, Sydney May 18.

Due to changing circumstances I have scheduled the Sydney mini-workshops for Tuesday May 18. And the price is now even lower, at only $67 per workshop, or a low $125 for the full day experience of two workshops.

Click here to get all the details and register at Early Bird rates

Selling Skills - 9.00am to 12.00pm

Presentation Skills - 1.30pm to 4.30pm

Presentation Skills Myth De-bunked

For years many presentation skills workshops have promoted the "fact" that the meaning of your message is accounted for mainly by your body language (tone of voice and gestures) - with only 7% being attributable to the actual words you use.

For a detailed exposure of this myth see this blog post by New Zealander Olivia Mitchell.

My view...

Yes, the original research from the 1960's may have been misquoted. However reality is that the impact you - as a presenter - make on your audience is a combined result of your words, voice, mannerisms, gestures, and of course any visual aids or props you may use.

That is... both content (words) and delivery (style) are important.

Yes, the "fact" that words alone account for only 7% of the message is not correct. Doubt this? check one of the many technically-oriented presentations given by Bill Gates - he still gets a message across even though he usually does very little apart from the words he says. (When it comes to presentations he's certainly not an entertainer!)

My message here is that a presenter must manage all aspects of the presentation to get the result they are aiming for from their audience.

Presentations are about communication. It's about getting a result. Moving people to action - either in thought or in person.

To learn more about how you can improve your own presentations skills check out my presentation skills workshop coming up in Sydney and Brisbane.

Looks really do count... would you get the job?

It's often said that first impressions count. And that's true. What you don't usually find is that people are honest enough to say they give the job to the best looking person. A survey in the UK found that 9 out of 10 employers give the job to the most attractive applicant.

Think of your clients as being your employer. Are you attractive to them?

- Is your personal appearance attractive?
- Is your website attractive?
- Are your marketing materials attractive?
- Is your style attractive?

We can always debate the definition of what is 'attractive'. That will vary from person to person. And from client to client.

What we can't avoid is that people are people. And as human beings they have their own view of what they would like. This includes who they want to have working with them.

As a marketer, service provider, professional, salesperson, or business owner, your job is to identify what your clients and prospects think is attractive - and to be like that.

Maybe your clients will want you to be:
- knowledgeable
- friendly
- business-like
- cool and funky
- reliable
- etc etc

If you want to attract more clients.... be seen as someone that your clients will want to work with. Look attractive to them.

New training workshops Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne

A brief message to announce my new Presenting With Confidence presentation skills workshop.

First workshop date is in Brisbane on April 8, followed by Sydney May 22.

Also now available are additional dates for Selling With Confidence sales training.

Registration is now open for:

Brisbane (one-day workshop) April 29
Sydney (2-day program) May 12-13
Melbourne (2-day program) May 7-8

Any questions please let me know.