PRAGUE-EU-POLITICS-PIRATE-PARTIES

Very simple answer: the attraction of simplicity. “Reduce to the max” could be the code-word for all the three examples. The memorability lies in the absolute purposefulness of delivery.

The equation of effective communication (= communication that attracts attention) goes like this:

SIMPLICITY + PURPOSEFULNESS = ATTRACTION & MEMORABILITY

The mentioned examples could not be more diverse – and still, they follow the same script. (Note: the mentioned examples serve as methodological examples only – not as ideological examples. They show the power of simplicity, hoping that this power will be used by the people who want to drive positive change – and who have solutions beyond their simple messages).

Here is no time and space to go into detailed analysis, but just a few thoughts to explain what I mean:

Example Pirates Party: they are gaining votes everywhere with just one core-message: FREEDOM. There are no solutions regarding how that freedom should be financed. The program is free from absolutely everything which destracts from the core-message. The message itself and the “barrier-free” way it is delivered is enough to attract all those who are sick of the inaccessibility of the ruling political and economical systems.

Example James Bond in “Quantum of Solace”: more than in any earlier James Bond the whole story is presented along very clear “codes” (action is just action – not interrupted by discussion and similar, when people are speaking they are set in a clean environment not distracting from the interaction, Good and Bad are characterized by distinctive colour schemes,…) in order to reinforce the character of the hero. The hero himself acts in a very clean environment – lots of white, cold colouring – his clothes are black and white always, his statements reduced to the absolute necessary, his mimics quite motionless - there is absolutely nothing superfluous in his words nor in his actions. Everything has a purpose and everybody interacting with him feels that there is no other path to follow than his.

Example “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Walk off the Earth: a video which has been watched more than 90 million times. Watch it yourself and try to forget it…

Learn to use the POWER OF SIMPLICITY in my workshops: check out the EVENT CALENDAR.

Tools & Concepts

For all who are like me using at least part of their weekends for studying and learning new things, here comes the new FRIDAY-issue of the Business Church Blog, dedicated to interesting stuff from the world of EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION FOR LEADERS.

Today I’d like to present you with a set of rules provided by Dr. Frank Luntz, “language architect and public opinion guru”, in his 2007 book “Words That Work: It’s Not What You say, It’s What People Hear”:

TEN RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION

Rule 1: Simplicity – Use Small Words

The most effective language clarifies rather than obscures. It makes ideas clear rather than clouding them. The more simply and plainly an idea is presented, the more understandable it is – and therefore the more credible it will be.

Rule 2: Brevity – Use Short Sentences

“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long instead.” (Mark Twain). Yes, preparation for being clear and concise instead of being long and confusing takes time.

But for the sake of your speaking success: Be as brief as possible. Never use four words when three will do.

Rule 3: Credibility Is As Important As Philosophy

As Lincoln said, you cant fool all of the people all of the time. If your words lack sincerity, if they contradict accepted facts, circumstances, or perceptions, they will lack impact. – The words you use become you – and you become the words you use.

In a simple sentence: Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Rule 4: Consistency Matters

Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Good language is like the Energizer Bunny. It keeps going… and going… and going.

Rule 5: Novelty – Offer Something New

The combination of surprise and intrigue – based on a sound personal (or corporate) identity creates a compelling message.

Rule 6: Sound and Texture Matter

Words and phrases have a rhythm in themselves. In order to enhance the sound of a sentence it is sometimes necessary to go against grammar or change words – like in McD’s slogan “I’m lovin’ it”, it’s so easy to pronounce, it’s basically melting in your mouth. Or think of the rhythmic master piece “I Have a Dream”: It’s like a piece of music – and if you can make your speech sound like good music, you’ve got the perfect speech.

Rule 7: Speak Aspirationally

People don’t want to hear about topics they don’t care about. In his book “The Political Brain”, Drew Westen pointed out very profoundly that people make decisions based on emotions – and that means that you have to touch their deepest fears, dreams and hopes if you want to reach out for their “Yes” (be it a “Yes” to your political plans, corporate strategies or just your new product – it doesn’t matter: you always want to get a YES in the end)

Rule 8: Visualize

Images are strong because they directly connect to our emotions. And as we have heard before, emotions are the basic elements of decision, not rational arguments. Also refer to an earlier post: “The Art of Story-Telling: Let them see the field” (http://www.international-business-speakers.com/business-church-blog/the-art-of-story-telling-let-them-see-the-field/).

Rule 9: Ask a Qustion

You maybe know that quote “Who asks leads”. Why? Because questions drive thoughts.

Rule 10: Provide Context and Explain Relevance

This rule referrs to another earlier post on Jacques Derrida, the master of deconstructivism and his paradigma (http://www.international-business-speakers.com/business-church-blog/what-have-the-artist-and-philosopher-jacques-derrida-in-common-a-learning-recommendation/) : nothing exists outside of context.

You have to create the “frame” first in order to make your words become relevant to your audience.

For further reading go to the source: WORDS THAT WORK – It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear”, Dr. Frank Luntz, 2007 ( Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Words-That-Work-What-People/dp/1401302599/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329476166&sr=8-1)

For further learning attend the seminar: CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP. Details & Registration: http://www.international-business-speakers.com/en/events/16 

Frei reden zu lernen ist auch ein machtvolles Instrument, um sich selbst zu entwickeln.

(This time the post is a special service to our German speaking readers as it concerns German material).

In dieser Ausgabe des Business Church Blogs stelle ich Ihnen einen Artikel der aktuellen Ausgabe des Magazins managerSeminare zum freien Download zur Verfügung, um Sie wieder einen Schritt weit auf Ihrem Weg zum mitreissenden Vortragenden/ zur charismatischen Rednerin zu begleiten. Hans-Uwe L. Köhler bringt die Dinge wirklich auf den Punkt, um die es beim “Perfekten Reden” geht – nicht um die Perfektion nämlich, an die Sie vielleicht zunächst denken.

Lesen Sie hier ein paar Merksätze daraus, bevor Sie zum Download gehen:

MERKMALE DER PERFEKTEN REDE

Damit eine Rede den höchsten Ansprüchen genügt, sollten die folgenden Voraussetzungen erfüllt sein:

• Die Rede wird frei gehalten. Kein Manuskript, allenfalls kleine Stichwortzettel sind erlaubt. Das Rednerpult, sofern vorhanden, wird gemieden
• Der Inhalt ist dem Redner in Fleisch und Blut übergegangen
• Es gibt keinen Zahlensalat und keine Faktentürme
• Durch die Rede wachsen der Redner und die Zuhörer. Es muss immer ein MEHR übrig bleiben, sonst war alles nur plakativer Unsinn.
• Die Aussagen und Absichten sind klar.
• Die Worte und der Ausdruck klingen angenehm und lassen den Alltag vergessen.
• Auf Tricks und negative Manipulation wird verzichtet.
• Die Rede lässt die Persönlichkeit des Redners zur Wirkung kommen.
• Die Rede begeistert. Sie motiviert die Zuhörer genau dazu, wozu der Redner motivieren wollte.

Lesen Sie den ganzen Artikel hier: Die Perfekte Rede_managerSeminare_Januar 2012

SEMINAR-HINWEIS: Charismatische Führung/ Charismatische Kommunikation, 1. – 2. März 2012, Wien

Details und Anmeldung: CHARISMATISCHE FÜHRUNG

The findings suggest that the risk of receiving stress-related medication increases significantly for employees at organizations that change, especially those that undergo broad simultaneous changes along several dimensions. (Source: Management Science, 09/2010) Specific importance are attributed to change requests in employees’ cooperation and communication patterns. “Such changes concern the daily routines of the employees and create therefore a lot of stress and feelings of uncertainty,” says Dahl (Source: managerSeminare January 2012).

Fact is that communication and cooperation patterns are only the visible part of relationships between people and are therefore a direct expression of a persons’ personality. Programs that ought to change such patterns are hence specifically stressful as people enter into conflict with themselves.

Good leadership communication plays a crucial role in helping collaborators to overcome the internal barriers of change and be able to adapt new routines. Leaders have to play two different and equally important roles:

1. the role of the role model: when change is required the leader must live it first
2. the role of the lighthouse: winds of change can feel for some of your employees like long awaited breezes of oxygen and for others like tornados. But in any case it needs the lighthouse to show the direction and give certainty in troubled waters

Let me give you four concrete tips regarding point two:

1. KEEP YOUR DOOR OPEN – at least at clearly defined times. SHOW RELIABLE PRESENCE. A lot of managers are tempted to retreat in order to become less vulnerable in hard times but the contrary is necessary right now. DIRECT DIALOGUE with all concerned groups is vitally important in times of change.
2. Define your MAIN MESSAGES, BELIEFS and VALUES and don’t become tired of repeating them and yourself every day. When old routines have to be broken new ones have to be established. Only routine provides the certainty and structure for an organization to become productive – in a climate of constant change no one can be productive on a larger scale. This is also why simultaneous changes on several levels or subsequent changes of direction are that destructive.
3. SMILE MORE OFTEN. A genuine smile not only provides a feeling of well-being but also tells the others that you are approachable, cooperative and trustable. More so, if you smile, most of the times the other person automatically smiles back and as our facial expressions trigger corresponding feelings this smile also changes the feelings in that person in a positive way.
4. EXERCISE THE ART OF ACTIVE LISTENING. Turn your head and torso to face the person who is speaking directly, make eye contact, lean forward. Nod from times to time and tilt your head slightly. Avoid any kind of multi-tasking (checking your notes or smart-phone, etc.)

That sounds simple – and yes, sometimes it is enough to do simple things repeatedly in order to make difficult things more easy.

Suffering for Hope

I have kept asking myself why it is that so many people around the world are rising in war and war-like movements to change their countries’ governments and policis and are willingly suffering for their causes. Yes, of course, we know the obvious reasons – but: Why now? Why so many? Why of all social classes?

And most of these movements seem leader-less. So the questions from a leadership and communications- perspective for me are:

1. What can we learn from that for leadership?
2. Where is the connection to leadership communication? Is there any link between this massive rise of the people and the change-leaders of the past?

This morning, a quote by Angela Dorothea Merkel (just to name in full once in a while) has brought my thoughts one step further: “Everywhere we encounter thinking that has no tomorrow”. 

It became suddenly clear that all leaders, that have changed the face of world, have THOUGHT BEYOND TODAY. They gave an answer to the question: “What was IF…?” that would completely change the “tomorrow” of their times.

And these leaders lack today. In none of the countries which are currently in a state of revolution we see leaders that lead people through sufferance with a strong, defined vision of a better tomorrow.

But nevertheless, there IS a connection between the change-leaders of the past and the revolutionary movements of the present: in both situations the people not only accept but willingly drive themselves into suffering in order to break through to another level of existence.  Sufferance and joy are only two sides of the same medal. Everybody is willing to suffer if it is “worth” it – and if it ADDS MEANING to ones own condition. Everybody wants to live a meaningful life.

So in order to willingly undergo a period of (even more) suffering people need to get the promise of joy. They need: 

1. HOPE ( = the PROMISE of something better) and
2. a ROLE-MODEL to show them that it is possible (= the STIMULATOR) - and even the non-leader-driven revolutionary movements have their role-models, even if they lack the “big” leader (that they are in any case still looking for)

When we break this principle down to our topic of effective communication, is becomes quite clear and evidence proves: CHANGE-LEADERS (good or bad, wise or not) in history have always applied this principle of the human nature in their speeches:

1. tell people frankly that they will suffer (= sufferance)
2. tell them what they will gain by suffering (= joy)
3. show them that they are the biggest sufferer of all (= role-model)

If you are about to drive change in your organisation, ask yourself:

1. What kind of sufferance people will need to go through?
2. What will be their gain?
3. And how can you show them that you are willing to suffer for that cause?

The following examples are only a few and of all kinds of leaders to prove this principle:

The  “Yes, we can” - speech of Barack Obama in which he painted the sky dark-black of the hardship that the American people will need to suffer if they want to push through to the change he proposed, is quite well-known and  I will not quote it here once again.

Read here a few other quotes instead and try to find out who said these words and under which circumstances. At the end you’ll find the correct answers.

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat…. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering… You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. Its is victory.“ (1)

“Now, I want to say to you who think women cannot succeed, we have brought the government of England to this position, that it has to face this alternative: either women are to be killed or women are to have the vote…. Human life for us is sacred, but we say if any life is to be sacrificed it shall be ours; … If we win it, this hardest of all fights, then, to be sure, in the future it is going to be made easier for women all over the world to win their fight when their time comes.” (2)

“Their struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live… I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” (3)

“My whole life has been nothing but one long struggle for my people, for its restoration, and for Germany. There was only one watchword for that struggle: faith in this people. One word  have never learned: that is, surrender…. Just as I myself am ready at any time to stake my life – anyone can take it for my people and for Germany – so I ask the same of all others.” (4)

“Their only question is: “Has Britain the courage and resolve to sustain the discipline for long enough to break through to success?” … Yes, Mr Chairman, we have, and we shall. This government are determined to stay with the policy and see it through to its conclusion. That is what marks this administration as one of the truly radical ministries of postwar Britain.” (5)

(1) Winston Churchill, House f Commons, London, 13 May 1940 * (2) Emmeline Pankhurst, “Freedon or death”, 13 November 1913, in the US * (3) Nelson Mandela, Speech in his own defence, 20 April 1964 * (4) Adolf Hitler, Speech at the Reichstag, Berlin, 1 September 1939 * (5) Margaret Thatcher, at the Conservative Party Conference, Brighton, 10 October 1980

A S.T.A.R. moment is the one moment which sets your presentation apart from all the rest. Steve Jobs used the S.T.A.R. moment in all his presentations, the most memorable was maybe when he pulled the MacBook Air out of an envelope. This was a typical S.T.A.R. moment – a moment when SOMETHING happened THEY’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER.

Duarte defines it like this:

“The S.T.A.R. moment should be a significant, sincere and enlightening moment during the presentation that helps magnify your big idea – not distract from it.”

She furthermore defines five types of S.T.A.R. moments:

1. Memorable Dramatization: small dramatizations convey insights. = DO (it’s not enough to speak and show slides)
2. Repeatable Sound Bites: easy to remember, easy to cite,  – i.e. “1000 songs in your pocket” (when Jobs launched the iPod) or “I have a dream” (Martin Luther King)
3. Evocative Visuals: a picture tells more than words
4. Emotive Storytelling: we love stories since we were children –> see blog-post http://www.international-business-speakers.com/business-church-blog/the-art-of-story-telling-let-them-see-the-field/
5. Shocking Statistics: act with them and make them even more stunning by setting them into relation

How to define the S.T.A.R. moment for your presentation:

When it comes to preparing your presentation, the first thing you’ll do is to define your key-message, right? And the action (or feeling or new state of consciousness)  you want to achieve at the end from you audience. – The S.T.A.R. moment must support exactly THAT:  IT MUST MAKE YOUR MESSAGE CLEAR TO EVERYBODY.

Some examples:

• Steve Jobs used nothing else than an envelope to make it clear how thin the MacBook Air really was.
• Martin Luther King made it clear what his dream was by creating a memorable sound bite.

• One of my students used the picture above in order to make it clear how important healthy eating habits and regular physical activities are.
• Shocking statistics: Another student started with just one number “1.000.000.000.000″ and let his audience guess its’ meaning. It was the number of people starving while in the Western world at least 25% of the food landed in the garbage. He made his final message really clear and relevant to all: think before you buy stuff you probably won’t eat.

Which S.T.A.R. moment will you create next time?

What is the LAB Profile®?

Every day, in every situation, people communicate through their own thinking and motivation patterns. As humans, we respond immediately when someone “speaks our language” to communicate with us in return.

The Language and Behavior Profile (LAB Profile®) is a way of thinking about people and groups that allows us to notice and respond with just the right Influencing Language. It’s tailored to each situation and structured to allow us to understand

• how people get motivated,
• how they process information, and
• how they make decisions.

It is a set of questions that anyone can feed into casual conversation or use as a formal survey for groups and it teaches us to pay attention to how people talk when they answer, rather than what they talk about. Even if a person answers the question indirectly, or not at all, he or she will reveal a pattern. As we become familiar with the questions and the kind of responses people give, we discover the patterns people use without having to actually ask the questions.

You pay attention to how people talk when they answer, rather than what they talk about.

As you become familiar with the questions and the kind of responses people give, you will find that you can hear and pick up the patterns people use without having to actually ask the questions. You can immediately use the Influencing Language that is just right for the situation. People communicate with their particular patterns naturally as they speak, both in words and in their body language, and they respond immediately when you use their language.

Follow the link to get an idea of what the LAB Profile® can do for you and if you are interested to learn more, please contact us for Dr. Balla to share more insight through a training or a speech:

http://prezi.com/1akvyzzajndx/language-and-behaviour-profile/

“Once upon a time there was…”  is how stories begin. They lead us into another world – into the world of a hero with some familiar traits – we recognise ourselves in him or her and we live with her through her story, getting exhausted, reaching our limits, just to be saved in the last moment, before saving ourselves and the world (how large that world might ever be), bringing everything to a happy-end, having grown and become stronger and taller and wiser on the inside… along the way.

This is how stories go. Since we have heard our first story from the lips of our mums, or dads or grandmas or uncles or whoever took charge of us a little child. There is no other way to tell them - not in our books, nor in the movies, nor in our lives. It is always the same:

The HERO

1. is introduced
2. encounters trouble
3. struggles (preserves, nearly gets killed,…)
4. finds the solution (alone or with the help of others)
5. exits the story in an evolved state of being (he will never be the same person as at the beginning of the story)

All blockbusters, all bestsellers, all Broadway-hits… all follow the same structure. They all tell the same story – of the hero who evolves to a better being through struggle. Because this is our life-story: we are all evolving by encountering problems and solving them. The lives which do not follow this structure are not successful. They have no happy end. A man/ a woman cannot live up to his/her potential if he/she does not succeed over his/her problems. 

And the same – YES, the VERY SAME – structure is followed by every successful presentation which moves the people to action, every speech that leaves the audience inspired: they all are hero-tales.

The hero is the audience – NOT you or the topic. Your task is to bring the audience to another state of being through your presentation.

And therefore it is essential that you make…

• sure that the topic is RELEVANT to your audience (otherwise there is no hero in your story): introduction = identification of the people with the subject
• them FEEL the trouble/ problem: stating the problem/ task in a way people can feel the threat
• them STRUGGLE: putting various solutions (past or possible ones) which are NOT the good ones
• them do the next step to the next level of consciousness and PERSONAL EVOLVEMENT by presenting the solution: conclusion/ concrete call to action

Whichever presentation or speech you are preparing: think of it as of a bestseller or blockbuster – or, if this is closer to you, a children’s book: your speech has to tell a story which makes the human being in your audience EVOLVE.

You can take any good book, any good movie as an example – but, loving poetry, this is one of my favourites: The Legend of Bagger Vance. One of the key-scenes you can see in the featured youtube-video: THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS TO MAKE YOUR AUDIENCE SEE THE FIELD… (and this is much, much – incredibly much – more than just the facts. Try it and you will see the field for yourself… and evolve)

When working with people on improving their speaking skills we usually reach good results in very short time and within a day of individual coaching or two days of group training quite everyone is able to prepare a clearly structured presentation with one distinctive message, supported by the right mixture of arguments and emotional elements that capture and guide their audience, ending with a (more or less) strong call to action. But what most people have really trouble with, is the start.  

To state it metaphorically: messing up the start is like Sebastian Vettel spurring half a round before the others could start their engines.

Why? Most people make the most normal mistakes made by “normal” people:

1. “normal” people do not wish to put themselves in the first place – they wait to be put there by others
2. “normal” people do not wish to “over roll” others with their ideas – they wait until they are sure that these others want to hear them
3. “normal” people are afraid of standing alone in front of a group – they want to make sure that this group is friendly
4. “normal” people are not eager to lead – they only do it in circumstances of absolute pressure

There are a lot of things “normal” people do because they are human – and as Seth Godin put it so brilliantly: “being human means wanting to be like the others around me.” We want to belong to a “tribe“.

THIS is what makes public speaking so difficult. This is why public speaking counts amongst the most difficult tasks for most people: because setting oneself apart is not a “normal” human behaviour. (And exactly THIS is, according to Malcom Gladwell, what defines real leaders: they take enormous “social” risks because they set themselves consciously apart from their peers.)

And here we have the reason why even good presenters/ speakers tend to mess up the beginning: because they want to feel accepted, they look for approval, they want to make sure the audience is friendly and agrees to being led.

This is the reason why they do the following:

1. start with self-depreciating words such as “I just want to…” or “There is such a great line-up of wonderful speakers – I am so glad I am not speaking after XY…” (as Malcolm Gladwell did it at the WBF) or “I want to show you a little…”
2. issue long “Thank you”-statements to the organizers
3. do not stand up straight
4. look down at their papers before they start (which is a form of avoiding eye-contact = connection with the audience)
5. jump right into the topic but “swallow” their first sentence so the effect is lost and they actually do the same as those who make mistakes 1 or 2
6. jump right into their topic but have their hands in their pockets or in some other way “chained” tightly to their body – which creates the opposite effect from a dynamic jump-start

But as a presenter you need to be aware of the following: the fact alone that you are INVITED (by the organisers) to present and that THE AUDIENCE SITS IN FRONT OF YOU (in most cases by free choice) settles all the various needs of “normal” people mentioned above.

It seems quite strange that it should be necessary to be mentioned – but the lack of perfect beginnings proves it must: PRESENTERS DO NOT HAVE TO ASK FOR PERMISSION TO PUT THEMSELVES IN FRONT OF OTHERS, TO SAY THEIR MIND AND TO LEAD – AND THEY CAN BE SURE OF MEETING AN INTERESTED (= friendly) AUDIENCE. On the contrary: the role of the presenter is defined as of somebody who stands out, who sets himself apart and who leads. People EXPECT that.

The next time you start your presentation do what you are supposed to do: TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY AND LEAD.

One great example for fully taking this responsibility is Benjamin Zander. Watch his presentation, enjoy and get inspired.

When Patrick Lencioni came in as the first speaker he managed to drag me into his presentation right from the start. With his

• energetic voice,
• clear articulation,
• vivid eyes and
• immediate jokes he had me – and not me alone.
• He told quite a lot of stories, illustrating each point in his presentation which was completely based on his (not so recent) book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”.

So he was easy to follow and there was not so much content -  the notes are quite complete. What misses are the stories. He left his audience with a clear message and quite amused, I’d say.

Tamara Erickson came in immediately afterwards and I had great difficulties with her at first.

• Her voice sounded bad to my ears. It was somehow “pressed” and I felt this pressure myself. It hurt.
• Secondly, on the picture she looked totally different (btw, this is something that happens very often with women: in real-life they look totally different from their press-image). This came as a suprise. 
• She made no jokes nor did she anything else to “greet” her audience

So I was somehow reluctant to listen to her after Lencionis’ firework. But then, it was around the 6th minute or so, I was finally (and I would rather say “suddenly”) captured by the CONTENT of her presentation “Managing across Generations”. She finally talked about something I could directly relate to and this is when she dragged me in and from that point, I have to admit, I took notes but they are not exhaustive – she told no stories, she just showed the results of her study and what you will find in the notes is the bare minimum of what she said – there was much more content but I did not manage to scribble it down. The only way of illustration she used were pictures in the slides (which were missing in Lencionis’).

So at the end she left me stunned by the in-depth know-how she provided and the new ways of thinking she opened up with her presentation. And this final result calmed my spirit and made me forget her uncomfortable voice, her misleading image and her way to not make contact… At the end I found her presentation much more valuable than Lencionis’.

As the third speaker in a row, Claudio Fernández-Aráoz had quite a difficult task: the audience was tired already after listining for more than an hour.

• He is Argentine and this is something one could clearly hear – for me he was difficult to understand and therefore hard to listen to
• at this point in time he made too many intro-jokes and told too many too long stories – would he have been first, this would have been ok, but when everybody is tired, speakers should come to a conclusion more quickly
• his presentation ended when actually new, not already well-known content was expected to follow

You will see in the notes that the output is somehow meagre due to the above mentioned reasons. The final statement was also not further more elaborated in the discussion between the three which followed afterwards.

Apart from the notes that you are invited to download here the following points are important to take care of when writing your presentation/ your speech:

1. be aware of the time at which you are supposed to speak and which “number” you have in a succession of speakers – being the first implies other necessities to work with your audience than being last
2. don’t waste time by a. not connecting to the audience at the beginning of the presentation, b. looking completely different than on your press-picture and – with a bit of additional training – c. speaking with a voice which is hard to listen to
3. your first duty is to deliver content, not stories - people are getting also tired of listening to stories, especially if you are not the only speaker. Stories should illustrate the content – and not the oher way around (there are way too many story tellers on the podiums of this world)

And here comes the Download: WBF 2011_Day 2_Notes on Lencioni&Erickson&Fernandez-Araoz