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.

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At our self leadership programs we emphasise the importance of turning ideas into action or closing the ‘knowing-doing’ gap. Zurina is the embodiment of this principle and once again she has demonstrated her commitment to transform thoughts into reality.

Zurina loves taking photographs and one year ago decided that she would like to make her passion a career – not a new concept but the difference is how she executed this idea. In April 2009 she charged for her first professional shoot, today (12 months later) she is a busy photographer and is having her first gallery exhibition, ‘Shades of Pink’. The exhibition showcases 30 pieces of her work around a theme and for the benefit of the Breast Cancer Foundation;  plus, 150 people have bought tickets for tonight’s charity launch!

The exhibition was put together in 3 months during which time Zurina was also a mother of 2 toddlers and a director of Self Leadership International. When I asked Zurina to share with our blog readers her secret for being able to manifest so quickly, she answered that she uses many of the steps of the NLP Well Formed Outcome Pattern. Here are the steps she used:

1. Visualise the big picture – what will the end result look like.
2. Cover off the details such as; pick a realistic but ambitious date for the exhibition, locate a suitable venue, come up with a list of topics to photograph.
3. Identify the required resources such as; sponsors for the event, volunteers and subjects to be photographed.
4. Take action – start shooting and editing.
5. Make Adjustments – when things do not work out quite as planned make changes and then take action again.
6. Be consistent – do a bit or a lot every day.
7. Create excitement about the project – this translates into the marketing which resulted in paying customers whilst maintaining relationships.

There is of course a ’secret’ ingredient that she believed it could be done. It is my experience that many a good idea never reaches frution because of a lack of self-belief, planning and action. Do you have a good idea locked inside you?

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Would you be interested in getting to the top of your game in less time and before the competition?

The secret is to get past the plateau. With most simple tasks we reach our highest level of proficiency after about 50 hours of practice and then our performance skills become automated and we stop learning. This explains why a 20-year-veteran brain surgeon is not likely to be more skilled than a 5-year newbie by virtue of time on the job.

What makes the difference between those that reach the top in sport and business is two things:

1. Intentional Practice
2. Immediate feedback against predetermined standards

Intentional practice is perfect practice and perfect practice makes perfect. Intentional practice requires knowing “Why” you are doing what you are doing and complete “Attention” to the task. Usually it is only possible to maintain this high level of concentration for an hour and usually in the morning when our minds are fresh.

Getting feedback against a known standard coupled with intentional practice, accelerates learning. With feedback we can make minute adjustments to our behaviour that makes the difference between a silver and gold medal. If this feedback is also positive and encouraging it will also build self-confidence and therefore motivation to keep practicing.

So what would fast track your career?

Skills such as getting along with peers, motivating a team to improve performance, influencing you boss to make better decisions are key components of leadership development, yet most people don’t think of these as things to practice.  We might read a book, take a course, even an MBA but do we think about practicing and getting feedback from a coach?

If you are serious about wanting to fast track your career you need to identify which competencies are going to make the difference and then I advise start your intentional practice and get some feedback.

Remember PPP – Perfect Practice makes Perfect!

BTW The picture is of my son Nathan who is not yet 2. He is imitating me giving a speech which he has seen on video! The shot is taken by my wife Zurina who is a professional photographer.

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