Speaker's Digest November 2002
In this issue:
- Fundamentally Speaking: EMS on Eye Contact
- The Pre-Game Warm-up: Steps to Take Before Your Next Presentation
- Why Isn't This Man Smiling? Our Message to Bud Selig
Fundamentally Speaking: EMS on Eye Contact
One of our clients told us that his father taught him the value of looking people in the eye when talking with them. We’re with him. It conveys connection, presence, and sincerity. When speaking to a group, the quality of your eye contact can help elevate the quality of your personal impression.
But eye contact is hard to do well, which is probably why people struggle with it. It can feel uncomfortable, unnatural, and challenge your ability to be yourself. Here are some ways to make it into a strength for you:
- Focus your gaze at the eye level of your listeners. Avoid looks to the back of the room, or the inclination to look at people’s foreheads. Believe us when we say that if you’re looking past your audience, they’ll notice.
- Don’t talk to or stare at your slides, your notes or your computer. Instead, if you need to refer to your notes, pause for a moment, take a breath, and then return your eyes to your listeners. (On the subject of pauses, we’re in favor of them! We’ll talk about the in the next issue!)
- Instead of scanning the audience from side to side, like you’re watching a tennis match, you’ll make a better impression by focusing on one person at a time, holding eye contact for a full thought, and moving on when you come to a natural pause. People will feel like you’re talking directly to them, and those sitting in your line of vision will also feel connected. (We call that the “bowling pin” effect. Send us an email if you need more explanation.)
Closed circuit to speakers with large audiences: eye contact is more important than ever, even if you’re up on a stage and your listeners are sitting in the dark. And if your face has been blown up onto a huge video screen, it’s more important than ever. Think of how TV anchors are taught to look right into the camera, and to imagine that they’re speaking to one person at a time. You can do that, too!
Practice rounds: While rehearsing your speech, position randomly seated flag bearers throughout your audience, each holding up a small flag. They will keep the flag raised above their shoulders until you make 3-5 seconds of sustained eye contact with them from your position at the front of the room. As you practice your talk, your goal is to bring down every flag in the room. (Hey, even Tiger Woods hits the driving range.)
The Pre-Game Warm-up: Steps to Take Before Your Next Presentation
- Get there early: Check all technical pieces of your presentation to make sure everything works and looks the way you planned
- Meet and greet: Introduce yourself to attendees and make small talk. Ask questions—you may just find an example to work into your presentation. This is also a great way to relieve anxiety and ensure that you have some friendly faces in the audience.
- Pump yourself up: Work out in the morning to loosen yourself up and boost your energy. Listen to your favorite upbeat music on the way to the presentation (as always, we highly recommend some Bruce Springsteen!) Like football players before game-time, this psych up time is critical.
- Visualize: Picture the room and audience in your mind as you do a quick mental run-through of your introduction. Don’t stress over the entire presentation—just focus on how you’ll get started.
- Look in the mirror: Make sure that you look put-together and presentable. Adjust your tie, fix your hair, tie your shoes, check your zipper, etc.
- Put on your game face: Harness your energy as you walk up. If appropriate, SMILE, and get ready for some fun! If it’s a serious topic, be sure to set the proper tone. Either way, get out there and SELL IT, DON’T TELL IT!
Why Isn’t This Man Smiling? Our Message to Bud Selig
Baseball. The vendor yelling “Peanuts!” Home Runs. The exploding scoreboard at Comiskey. Last year’s World Series. Catching a foul ball with your kid. Sitting in good seats with a hot dog in one hand and a cold beer in another. As the late, great Harry Caray used to say, ya can’t beat fun at the old ballpark.
From our seats, Bud Selig, the used car salesman-turned-baseball commissioner has one of the coolest jobs in the world. He can get great seats to any game he wants, can walk out on the field before a game and talk with the ballplayers, and lives in the tradition that brought us Dimaggio, Aparicio, a few Ozzies and a slew of all stars named Robinson and Rodriguez. Sure, his game spent the past year dealing with financial issues, labor woes, lawsuit-laden talks of contraction and an all star game in which both benches ran out of players. But, of course, he was watching from the front row!
We think Selig has a great job, although we understand that it can be a bit stressful sometimes. But whenever he appears in public, he looks miserable. He has poor posture, seems to stumble over his thoughts, and he never, ever smiles. The result of his inability to make a better impression in public? People don’t believe him. They distrust him. Even worse, they BLAME him for things that aren’t his fault. In his own home town, Milwaukee fans held Selig personally responsible for the decision to end July’s All Star Game in a tie, even though the mismanagement of the rosters by the two managers left him no other choice.
Selig’s inability to connect with the fans who support major league baseball with their hard-earned dollars is a sore spot for the game. We have a few thoughts on making him a better spokesperson for the game we love.
To Bud we say: lighten up. Don’t let your message get bogged down in legalese and financial statistics, as it so often does. Quit leaning on your lectern and let us see you a bit more animated. Stand up straight and talk about the wonder of the game of baseball. Acknowledge the fans of all ages who have helped make the game as great as it is. Tell stories of players, of teams of old. And when you have a tough message to deliver (i.e. the owners are losing money) use an occasional baseball analogy. We hear speakers every day use metaphors like these to help make their points:
- It’s the bottom of the ninth for us, and our company needs a big hit.
- We hope to hit a home run with this new product.
- This salesman signed a minor league contract earlier this year and quickly became our MVP.
- There’s a reason it takes 25 ballplayers to make up a roster. Everyone plays an important role, and everyone contributes to our team.
Bud Selig, you have been a great salesman in the past, a leader and an innovator. But you’re not showing us the skills that got you to that point. We’ve worked with tougher cases and have helped them come out shining. We’d love to spend a few hours of coaching time to help you brighten your public persona, and we’d gladly do it in exchange for good tickets to a few ballgames. We’ll even do the Chi-town to Milwaukee drive if you’ll pay for our mileage.
We’ll have our people call your people.
Tony Dickinson
Manager, Cross-Sell Programs
Wells Fargo Financial