Tim Thompson - Archer English Consulting
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Clients
  • Workshops
  • Publications
  • Tim's Blog

Know Thyself

8/16/2018

0 Comments

 
Today, I was reading about Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) in Malcolm Gladwell's "What the Dog Saw" and how much his body movements impacted his success with dogs.  Gladwell also touched on how some former US presidents were perceived based on their body language while speaking and it got me thinking about good and bad presenters.

​One of the biggest problems that public speakers have is that nobody has told them what they are doing wrong.  By "wrong" I mean distracting, something that prevents the audience from focusing on what the speaker is saying.  Some examples of this include swaying from side to side, looking at the ceiling or floor, turning and talking to the screen for most of the presentation, nervously scratching or rubbing one's hair or face, or unconsciously playing with an object like clicking a pen, jingling the keys in one's pockets, etc.  The first step to helping them improve is making them aware of what they are doing.  This can be done by a very blunt audience member (hopefully someone they know), a presentation skills instructor during a course, or by watching a video of themselves present.  All three situations can lead to feelings of embarrassment at the time, but they can also lead to huge improvements in public speaking.

Really good presenters know themselves.  They know their bad habits, catch themselves doing those things quickly, and stop.  They are aware of their posture and straighten up when they feel themselves slouching.  They are constantly thinking about where they are standing in relation to the audience, the projector screen, the lectern, the microphone, etc.  Good presenters know they can't continue speaking into a fixed-position microphone if they need to turn around and check something on the screen behind them, or they figure out that they can speak into the side of the microphone while glancing over their shoulder.  They know what do with their hands (or more importantly, what NOT to do with their hands). They know the value of eye contact with the audience and make an effort to acknowledge different areas of the room even if it isn't comfortable for them.

How you deliver your message is often more memorable than what you are actually saying.  Think back to the last conference you attended and the talks you sat through.  There is a good chance that your impression of the various speakers is based more on how you perceived their delivery than on what they actually said.  The people we consider to be "good speakers" are usually the ones that are more aware of how they appear to us and make sure that poor body language doesn't interfere with the message they want to communicate.  
0 Comments

"Nobody Taught Us That"

8/4/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
One of the most common responses I get at the end of a presentation skills workshop is "Wow, nobody taught us that."  In Korean universities I can almost understand why this would be the case.  High school in Korea is focused on getting the highest possible score on a university entrance exam that is multiple choice.  Speaking skills are not highlighted in the high school curriculum as they simply aren't on the test.  That being said, I was very surprised to hear students from European universities say the same thing during an entrepreneurship camp last month.  Yes, they do more group work and self study in Europe but the explicit teaching of public speaking is not as common as I had imagined.

That got me thinking.  Have I been to any country where participants in one of my workshops said, "Sure, we know all that.  We learned it in our presentation skills class."  Nope, not that I can think of.  And yet, there are so many times in life where better speaking skills come into play, from teaching a classroom full of students to arguing a court case to a jury to pitching a new product to a group of potential investors.  Whoa, let's not forget speaking to our peers at professional and academic conferences.  Let's face it, this is an "in demand" skill and one that has been sorely neglected.  I can think of so many examples where asking "What does your audience want/need to know?" instead of "What do I want to tell them?" would have helped the speaker craft a better presentation and earn a more favorable reaction from the audience.


So there are two ways for me to feel about this.  One, I can be frustrated and complain about how schools need to make presentation skills a priority.  (Don't worry, I've done this.)  Or two, I can continue to reach out to schools, government organizations, and private training centers in cities that I visit and offer training workshops.  In the past, I have used Facebook and email to do this but now I'm starting to be more aggressive on LinkedIn and I think it is paying off.  What let to this bold new approach of contacting strangers on a networking website whose premise is that you only contact people you actually know?  I think this Twitter exchange sums it up best.





























​

​So if you or someone you know is in Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Dubai, Muscat, Istanbul, or Antalya, let's discuss setting up a workshop as I'll be in those cities in the somewhat near future.  If you're somewhere else in the world and want to talk about setting up some training, I'd love to cash in some air miles and visit.  Let's replace "Nobody, taught me that." with "I felt more comfortable speaking in front of people now that I know what to do."

​
​

0 Comments

    Tim's Thoughts

    Here are some short ideas that probably don't deserve to be published but I felt were worth sharing.  

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Freelancing
    Miscellaneous
    Networking Thursdays
    Presentation Skills
    Writing

    Archives

    November 2022
    September 2021
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

Copyright Tim Thompson 2022