The Sudden Speech

4/24/2010

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I attended a dinner last week and was asked to give the introduction for a rather important person to a group of rather important people. I accepted, despite only having five minutes to prepare. Although this is most likely a rare situation, I thought I'd list a few points on what you should do when you find yourself in these situations.

1. Find your bullet points. Since I was only doing an introduction, I was in a relatively easy position. If you are asked to give a quick speech on anything other than an introduction, you are most likely already knowledgable in that area. You should be able to come up with two or three points that you want to make. Once you have those, think of two or three subpoints and you're done. That is your speech.

2. Think of your intro and conclusion. Extemporaneous doesn't mean random and rambling. Think of your high school writing classes when they taught you to write a five paragraph essay; Introduction, three points, and a conclusion. Your introduction and conclusion may only need to be one or two sentences, but have something planned. Memorize your first sentence and your last sentence. This allows you to get comfortable and ease into the speech without the pressure of trying to find something to start with. Then you can close without rambling or trailing off in search of a good way to end it. Too often, when we can't think of anything to say, we never stop talking.

3. Breath. Some people are quite comfortable being the center of attention at all times. Others are not. If you are one of the people who is not comfortable with that, the sudden speech can be nerve-racking. Take a deep breath, relax, repeat your bullet points and go over your first and last sentence. Typically, you are your own biggest critic. So while you're focusing on your own nervousness the crowd is focusing on your words. So why not align yourself with the crowd and focus on your own words as well?
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The Perception of Power

4/19/2010

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When someone is taking a picture of you shaking hands, the ideal position for you is on the right side of the person you're shaking hands with. This makes your hand visible in the photograph and is where the term, "getting the upper hand," comes from. Interesting, but who cares?

The people that care about this sort of thing are the same people watching how you enter a door. The last person in a group to go through the door has the position of power. They are the people who watch whether you speak from behind a podium or use the entire floor, whether you nervously play with your hair, slouch in your chair, and what color of tie or other accessory you are wearing.

In your day to day activities, it is doubtful that you are conscious of any of these things. I would submit however, that it is important to be mindful of these perceptions at all times. How many promotions, new business opportunities, new contacts, etc. have passed by without you ever knowing? Was there ever someone in the room paying attention to you without your knowledge? Were you ultimately dismissed because you weren't the type of person they were looking for?

Isn't this shallow and superficial thinking? Yes, but not really. In a perfect, merit-based world, we'd all be judged according to our work and abilities and not on how we are perceived. But the plain truth of the matter is, that's not possible. It ties directly in to our relationships with other people on a personal level.

Before I get to know someone, I have to have a reason to want to get to know them. Before I ever learned about my wife and decided she was a good person, I was attracted to her. Before I ever hung out with my current friends, I decided they were funny and personable. Before I ever do anything, there is a perception that makes me want to do it.

If you are portraying a position of weakness, whether you know it or not and whether it's true or not, you will be judged as a weak person. I encourage everyone to conduct a self-evaluation and decide what it is people perceive about the. And if you just don't know, figure it out and figure it out quick. Like it or not, your success is based on how you are perceived. Make the best impression you can at all times.

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Networking - The Importance of Specificity

4/2/2010

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I want to pass along a bit of valuable advice for networking I recently received.  I attended a networking event and I made a mistake.  As I was moving through the room, introducing myself and my service, trading business cards and making new contacts, I was introduced to a man who asked what I do.  As I went into my quick run-down of what I offer, he smiled, pulled me aside, and said, "Let me offer you some advice."  He then pointed out my glaring mistake.

As I was introducing my services, I explained that I was a freelance writer specializing in business copywriting and that essentially, "I do everything."  Now while it's true, I offer my writing services to every industry in every format, and do not limit myself to one specific area, that's not the message I should present when networking.  I had let myself become a bit over zealous, trying to pull in as much business as possible from as many directions as I could and had forgotten the importance of specificity.  I was throwing myself out there, only to be forgotten.

The wise old networking guru explained that by telling people I do everything, three days later, no one would remember exactly what it is I do.  I was simply too broad.  By including a niche in my presentation, I make myself more memorable.

The next day, I attended another event, keeping this advice in the forefront of my mind.  This time, after including my niche, the contacts looked around the room for people to introduce me to.  Lo and behold, there was no one.  Not a single soul related to my niche.  Disheartening at first, my contacts then started asking, "well do you write for medical?"  Yes I do.  "Let me introduce you to this person."  "Can you write radio ads?"  Yes I can.  "Let me introduce you to this person."  And on it went.  "Website content?"  Yes.  "Direct mail ads?"  Of course.  "My campaign manager is struggling with our fundraising letter.  Can you take a look at it?"  Of course. 

In the event where I messed up, I traded many business cards, but was generally forgettable.  Never a good thing.  In the second event, my client potential in the room skyrocketed when I included my niche, even though there was no one in the room attached to that field.  Providing a focal point for what I do created a more memorable impression.  Rather than people forgetting what I do three days later, they will remember what I do, and wonder if I could also do other things.

When you're networking, remember that being good at everything means being great at nothing.  By focusing on specificity, you present yourself as great in one area, and more people will want to know if you're great in other areas as well.

Good luck and good networking.
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