Friday 28 March 2014

Public Speaking retains high position in YouGov's Phobias poll; but a few steps can turn fear into fun

So another poll has highlighted just how much people fear the idea of public speaking.  A survey by YouGov, no less, places the Public Speaking just behind Heights and Snakes in the rankings of our greatest phobias and it takes number two position if you combine ‘very afraid’ respondents with those who are ‘a little afraid’.

Full details of the survey can be found by clicking on the graphic, but we have heard this many times before – much more than we ever hear about solutions. The fact is that there are no direct cures or even answers, but here are a couple of pointers to bringing the scary side of public speaking under control.

First, the biggest cause of ‘stage fright’ is the fear of the unfamiliar. Much can be achieved, therefore, simply by making the situation familiar to yourself. I always urge those I am coaching in presentation skills to visit the venue in advance of their presentation. They can check out the logistics, but above all they can get a feel for the environment in which they will be working on the day. Then, as they prepare they can both replicate the situation and – even more importantly – visualise how it will be. If they cannot visualise the situation they will have a series of unanswered questions churning through their minds – and that it what sets the nerves alight.

I have proved this principle on a number of occasions. In the few instances that I have not
The Magic Circle HQ
been able to visit the venue in advance – such as when the conference cruise ship was in the South Atlantic – I felt noticeably uneasy. By contrast, when I was preparing to take my entrance exam for The Magic Circle I had the good fortune to be coached by Jack Delvin who is now the President. In view of the fact that I would be performing at the world’s most prestigious magic society, in front of the members, all of whom know exactly how the tricks are done, and many of whom are very eminent if not quite famous, Jack suggested I had a run through in the exact position within The Magic Circle HQ that I would be performing for my exam. I would be able to feel the atmosphere, get used to the lighting and check the sight lines. So I set myself up and waited for Jack to give me the nod. To my horror he made an announcement to the membership at large: “Anyone who wants to see a magic show come to the Devant Room now”. Suddenly I was faced with a substantial audience of magicians – and it was a horrible experience. But I got through it and when I came to do it for real the following week it was a lot less horrible because I had done it before – the situation was familiar. And I passed the exam.

Second, when anyone tells me they are fearful or nervous of presenting I ask them for reasons – specific reasons – and I labour the point by going to the flipchart and waiting for them to dictate some suggestions. Typically they struggle to come up with actual reasons but may suggest: I have a lot of material to learn; I might freeze; they may ask difficult questions etc. I point out that rehearsal and planning can reduce or even eliminate all these fears and more, but the real issue is that we are afraid of being afraid. Malcolm Gladwell covers this in his latest book David & Goliath - the concept is called ‘Affective Forecasting’ and the prime example he describes is the bombing of our cities in World War 2.  The government forecast a complete break down in law and order as people fled from cities in fear of the bombs.  In fact, after some initial, orderly evacuation few people left the cities. They got used to the bombs, even when they lost their homes, the ‘spirit of the blitz’ took hold and some even went so far as to say: “I’m not leaving now, this is scary, but it’s also the most exciting thing that is ever going to happen to me”.

When coaching anyone in presentation skills for the first time I make a point of asking how they feel about presenting. In line with all the survey findings, many express a degree of fear. I make a promise that they are going to start to enjoy presenting – usually to a look of disbelief. Later in the process, but often on the same day I can see a little smile flicker on their faces as they achieve marked improvements. It’s a sign for me to suggest that they are starting to enjoy the process. Usually they become a little coy at this point but the fact that they are not denying my suggestion is good enough for me and we both go home happy people.


Tuesday 25 March 2014

Take a moment to ‘own the space’ when getting straight to the point in your business presentation

Last week I was discussing the need to open your business presentation with the kind of energy you feel when you’re closing a successful presentation – and taking inspiration from the great magician John Archer.  It reminded me, however, that there can be conflicting objectives at play as you open.

On one hand, you want to come straight to the point, driven by that sense of energy. One the other hand, you actually need to take your time to get established, allowing your audience to ‘tune in’ to you as they settle and ensuring that you don’t simply blurt your all-important opening words because your heart is pounding away that little bit faster than normal. Above all, you need to take control of the situation and ensure that, for the next few minutes at least, you ‘own the space’.

I usually illustrate this to asking those I am coaching if they have ever been to a dinner with entertainment provided by ‘table-hopping’ magicians. I explain that it’s a tough environment for the magicians – they need to break into the table, interrupt the conversation and struggle with noise, difficult lighting conditions and waiters trying to serve food, never mind potentially tipsy guests. The best performers will do all they can to ‘own the space’; they will clear a small area for themselves, adjust the seating a little and clear away any obstructions or distractions. Only then will they start to perform their magic – when the conditions are right for them to do the best job possible. 

Few people get to experience working as both magician and businessman, so I was
delighted to hear Marvin Berglas echo my thoughts in one of Pete Wardell’s excellent ‘Magic State of Mind’ interviews.  Marvin is the man behind the super-successful range of ‘Marvin’s Magic’ tricks that you will find in department stores all over the world. He continues as a performer, however, particularly at the Emirates Stadium where he organises the corporate entertainment for Arsenal FC. Inevitably he gets asked in business meetings to ‘show us a trick’. The way Marvin responds is to say: “Sure, but not near at the corner of your desk; let’s go and sit around the table and I’ll show you something special”.


So – take a moment or two before launching straight into your business presentation. A moment to check that your audience are all settled and that everything you need is in place. And don’t, whatever happens, get caught out by the arrival of the coffee. All too often a trolley arrives just as you are delivering your full-on, scene-setting, engagement-designed opening statement. You cannot hope to compete with the clinkety-clink of cups and saucers and the passing of the sugar bowl. So stop speaking and make a point of pouring the coffee yourself. Far from looking servile it will show that you are in charge and you will re-start when full attention can be assured.  You own the space!      

Friday 21 March 2014

Twitter's birthday coincides with sharp warnings of its dangers

So Twitter is eight years old and don’t we all (OK, many of us) love it? The medium’s birthday coincides, however, with two sharp warnings, first about how dangerous it can be and second about how its instant one-to-one personal nature is being eroded.

The first example is Grant Shapps’ notorious ‘Bingo & Beer’ tweet that has been deemed patronising at best and the end of Shapps’ career at worst.  Was this actually personally tweeted by Grant Shapps?  How closely involved was he with the tweet?  Whatever the answers, it went out under his name and he gets the blame.


The second example is rather more sad.  At least one tweet went out on L’Wren Scott’s Twitter account after she died; it would seem that she was using an automation service. Many brands do likewise, but it’s a long way from what Twitter was all about when it first emerged eight years ago this week.

Monday 17 March 2014

Open your business presentation as if you were finishing it – the John Archer way

I have discussed in the past click here (May 2013) the importance of opening and closing a business presentation. Rule 13 of the Rules of Magic states that ‘Firsts and Lasts are remembered’, so special focus and rehearsal are always required for these elements in any presentation.

Firsts and Lasts each have their own additional reason for being important. It is at your close that you need to place your ‘Call to Action’, thereby getting a reaction and hopefully a result from your presentation. Your opening, meanwhile, is your chance to engage your audience and if you don’t achieve that, anything that follows will be rather meaningless.

For this reason I have long advocated a degree of extra energy up front – be a little more ‘full of beans’, I say, than might feel completely natural and the energy will bounce back between yourself and your audience. Aware that ‘full of beans’ may cause some translation confusion with some of the multi-national business people I coach I have long sought a more universal phrase and I have found one – within the world of magic.

John Archer is a magician and comedian much admired by his peers. He tours extensively with his friend Tim Vine, he was the first person to fool Penn & Teller on their TV show and he lectures regularly at magic conventions. His take on First and Lasts goes like this:


“You come off stage feeling so pumped up you could go back on. You should go on like that”.




Extracted and adapted from Nick Fitzherbert's book
Presentation Magic, published by Marshall Cavendish.  
German edition available April 29 



Monday 10 March 2014

Use words that ‘paint pictures’ in your business presentation and your audience will ‘see’ what you are saying as well as hear it.


Of all the different methods of adding impact to the delivery your business presentation, one of the most effective is using words that 'paint pictures’. I have already applied the principle in the title of this blog. I could have said ‘using visual imagery helps audience...’, but instead said ‘words that paint pictures’, thereby conjuring visions in your mind of artists, brushes, colours and a beautiful end product. It is perhaps ironic that the term ‘visual imagery’ has no such power.

If we use words that paint pictures our audience can ‘see’ what we say as well as hear it and the impact is increased considerably. If Churchill had talked simply of: “ideological conflict and a physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas” or even “efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the west” would we still be quoting him today? We do so because he painted pictures with the words he used in 1946: “an ‘Iron Curtain’ has descended across the continent”.

The concept of words that paint pictures can be extended with great effect to phrases that paint pictures. Many enter our everyday language to the extent that they become clichés and we have to think again: making mountains out of molehills; using a sledgehammer to crack a nut; take the wind out of my sails etc.

A good descriptive phrase can, however, do much more than simply paint pictures in our minds. I was once coaching a team of Fund Managers in presentation skills. We got into a debate about the importance of stating clearly that good Fund Managers should develop intricate knowledge of the companies in which they invest by making regular visits to those companies. “I think that can be taken as read” said one somewhat surly member of the team; “the trouble is that anyone can say that”, said a more reasonable colleague. The one person who said nothing was reserving her thoughts for the presentation she was about to give. “I like to invest in companies”, she said, “where the management sit close to the loading bay”. With that one short sentence she had painted a clear, meaningful and memorable image; furthermore she had made it self-evident that she visits companies and follows a specific protocol.

The surly Fund Manager was suddenly keeping rather quiet and he sunk even deeper into his seat when his colleague built upon her ‘loading bay’ pronouncement with a story that was guaranteed to fix her in the minds of her audience. “On one occasion I was nearly arrested for loitering while doing my investment research”, she said. “A policemen was concerned that I was paying very close attention to a row of parked motorcycles. I had to explain – to the extent of showing ID – that I was considering investing in a company that made a specific part for motorcycles and I needed to see for myself how widely the part was being used on the bikes in my surrounding area”. Investors see a lot of Fund Managers; here was one that would stick in their minds as truly committed to getting the best bang for their bucks.


PS Regular readers of my blog posts will know that I usually brighten them up with a picture or two. I have not done so this time – I am relying on the words alone to create pictures in your minds!