In Singapore, on Feburary 24, 2011 myself and eight of Asia’s top professional speakers will showcase cutting edge ideas and techniques to Raise your Game in 2011. You and hear; Tim Wade on ‘Productivity Mindset’,  Tina Altieri on ‘Presenting to Win’, Santhanaram Jayaram on ‘Resistance to Irrisitable’, Tremaine Du Preez on ”Conquering Critical Challenges’, Sharon Connelly on ‘Dressing Like a Leader’, Kenneth Kwan on ‘Master Your Inner Self’ and Bob Mittelsdorf on ‘Managing Global Teams’. I will be sharing my latest research and practical applicatons of self-leadership and the whole action-packed day will be MC’d by the effervescent Shirley Taylor.

As the investment is minimal and a portion of profits go to Project Smile, can you afford to miss out on this unique event?

Full details are on the Asia Professional Speakers website or you can contact Self Leadership International in Singapore for tickets. See you there?

In April 2010, I was asked to speak at the Singapore Leadership Conference on Leadership and Influence.

After my presentation I was interviewed by Dee Allen of Red Mars. You can see a few minutes of the interview and speech in this YouTube video.

If you would like to know more about the Circle of Influence, read about it here.

There are four presentation styles that every speaker should and can easily master. Watch the video and read the descriptions below.

Director Style

This is the presentation body language that commands attention while maintaining dignity and rapport. It offers no immediate opportunity for resistance.You will use it to give clear mobilizing directions.

Instructions: Stand straight, square the shoulders, and maintain eye contact. During instruction, stay as still as possible. After the instruction, freeze for a couple of breaths while slowly scanning room. Use a strong voice. Use visual words and physiology.

Discovery Style

This is the presentation body language used when ‘on stage’ or teaching.You can use it to elicit curiosity, wonder, excitement and discovery. To explore what is possible to know or learn; to build closeness and partnership with the audience.

Intsructions: Stand light on feet, move laterally across stage, Use lots of gestures congruent with content, voices and expressions, and maintain an air of playfulness. Use “Let’s”, “Us”, “We” and phrases such as “Here’s an idea. What do you think or feel about it?” “This is true for me, how about for you?” Move in and out of the audience.

Leadership Style

This is the presentation body language style that inspires and calls people to action. You can use it to unify a group, and get them to move toward commitment and action.

Instructions: Stand straight, breathe fully, and maintain eye contact. Keep one foot in front of the other; slightly turn body to one side of the audience at a time. If in center of audience, slowly rotate and speak to different sections.

Authenticity

This is the presentation body language used for establishing openness and authenticity. You can use it to own up to a mistake or deliver bad news.

Instructions: Use a calm voice. Sit down, open your palms upwards be emotionally vulnerable.

Practice these styles in front of a mirror and incorporate them in your next presentation or contact us for presentation skills coaching

I was recently speaking to the Malaysian Association of Professional Speakers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the topic of ‘Professionalism’; practice these techniques and soon you will be speaking like a professional.

I have a limited number of complimentary tickets available so if you want to learn about leadership and influence and are in Singapore, contact the organisers and mention this blog and they will have a ticket emailed to you (whilst stocks last).

See you there? Andrew Bryant,CSP

As Christmas approaches we get time to reflect upon what we have learned from 2009; here are a few things that come to my mind.

It has undoubtedly been a tough year with a global financial meltdown and  H1N1 amongst the challenges we have all faced – so what have we learned?

Most people learn by feedback  or single loop learning; we take action using existing strategies, get a result and if it isn’t what we want we adjust the action and or the strategy in the hope that we get a better result. The events of 2009 need us to question some of the assumptions we have made about the world and business.

Double Loop Learning

Argyris & Schon (1974) proposed double loop learning theory which promotes learning to change underlying values and assumptions. The following diagram explains it.

Personally I had assumed 2009 was going to be pretty much the same as 2008 and that our clients would just keep booking training and coaching – duh!

I soon realised that just because I believed that coaching and training improves engagement, effectiveness and productivity did not mean that my clients would continue to purchase these programs when they were offered the choice, “slash costs or slash head count.”

Now 2009 has not been all bad, as it has caused me to reflect how I can better serve my clients and build programs that deliver more return on investment and more organisational learning. I am happy to report that our earnings this year are equal to last year and we are already have significant bookings for 2010.

“So what!” I hear you cry, “but what about me?” Well here are some Action Learning questions to help you acheive some double loop learning:

• What am I trying to do?
• What is stopping me from doing it?
• What can I do about it
• Who knows what I am trying to do?
• Who else can do anthing to help?

Now if you have a coach or a trusted friend you can get them to ask you:

• How do you feel about what is going on?
• What questions does that raise?
• How would someone you most admire deal with this situation?
• Can you think of three options for action?
• What are the pros and cons of each of these options?
• What first steps are you going to take?

As adults we learn best when we reflect and question what we do and then take action- make sure you spend some time reflecting this holiday season so that you make a difference in 2010.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

]]> http://selfleadership.com/blog/topic/leadership/reflecting-and-leaning-2009-to-2010/feed/ 0 http://selfleadership.com/blog/topic/leadership/learning-to-walk-the-talk/ http://selfleadership.com/blog/topic/leadership/learning-to-walk-the-talk/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:09:54 +0000 Radu Palamariu http://selfleadership.com/blog/?p=1157

It is more than a year ago that I walked through the door of the Self Leadership International office for the first time. I was a young graduate of psychology, coming all the way from Romania to learn about training and leadership development in Singapore; with very little idea of what my internship will bring about.

Now, one year later, I can whole heartedly say that it was the greatest learning experience of my life.

Not only did I learn tremendously in the area of leadership development, but even more importantly I developed myself imensely on a personal level. I can’t possibly name all the things I learnt, as it would be a post too long for anyone to read…but I do want to share with you three of the most important ones:

1. The importance of open and honest communication

A lot of companies actually have this somewhere in their guidelines, but in the Self Leadership office this was indeed a ground rule. And it was great to realize how saying things openly and directly can make so much of a difference in my working relationships, in the way I related to my colleagues and in the overall atmosphere in the office.

It also leads to no politics, as everybody knows pretty much everything and there is no need to hide anything. Plus, the most powerful breakthrough for me was to start saying what I thought, even if I was afraid. I especially refer to giving negative feedback or to stating opinions contrary to the others.

During the 2-days training, using video feedback, the participants were transformed from nervous to confident and from unstructured to persuasive presenters.

Personal Brand

A key message that I shared was that each of us have a personal brand and that our ability to communicate and present effectively is essential to the building of that brand.

A couple of truths that I have observed in my work with multi-national organisations are:

1. It is not the most competent individual that gets promoted but the individual with competence and visibility.
2. The more senior we get, the less we are paid for what we do and more for what we influence others to do.

Feel free to watch the video of my introduction on presentation skills to these young professionals.

The ability to speak effectively to small or large audiences is a vital competency for manager and leaders and yet this competency is often lacking.

As a Certified Professional Speaker myself, I have spoken to thousands of people over the years and experienced the first hand what to do and what not to do with an audience. As an executive coach I have trained and coached hundred’s of managers who were previously tongue tied to connect with the audience and deliver their message effectively; so allow me to share with you a secret of public and professional speaking:

There is no such thing as an audience

The biggest mistake that novice speaker make is to imagine their perspective audience as critical or hostile. Creating this mental picture of a group united in their disapproval of you will create a state of anxiety in even the strongest of heart.

Accomplished speakers realise that an audience, small or large, is made up of individuals just like you. Each individual has needs and wants and can change their state from boredom to curiosity. If you connect to their needs and wants and create a sense of curiosity they will be on the edge of thier seats.

So the first key to successful public or professional speaking is to break down your audience into a group of individuals and preferably know what it is they want before you deliver your topic.

Most of the work in speaking is not the speech itself but the research and preparation before the speech. Only speak “off the cuff” if you know your topic backwards and know exactly who you are talking to.

As you present make eye contact, smile and imagine you are having a conversation with a group of friends or colleagues. Will it still be nerve wracking? Perhaps but the only way to get better at it is to practice at every opportunity. Remember, as we move up through an organisation, we are paid less for what we do an more for what we influence others to do. Speaking in public is a core competency for influence.

If you are interested in professional speaking training or coaching please contact us.