SmartMouth Talks!

Focus on Focal Points

by Beth Levine | Apr 17, 2012

The focal point, aka the missing link!

What do I mean by that? The focal point is all too often the missing link from a speaker’s talk. When you leave a conference room or a ballroom or an auditorium saying to yourself, “um, not sure what that was all about!” or “what are we supposed to do now?” or “was there even a point to all of that?” then you know the speaker neglected to provide a focal point. The focal point is that little bit of audience guidance you give, where you weave in – in your opening and then reinforce it again in your closing – what it is that you would like them to think or know or do by the time you finish talking and they leave the room. It’s a way of setting expectations, locking in focus, or, as I so often like to say, having everyone in the audience turn their brains to the same channel. When it’s used, the focal point can make a talk so much more effective.

So, let’s focus on focal points for a second …

If your “job” – your communications task (always a verb) – is to inform, review or update, then your focal point will probably be a key takeaway. For example, if you are presenting quarterly results for your division to the board of directors, and the results are extremely positive due to a variety of factors, then your opening will sound something like this: “I am so pleased to be able to tell you that we made a lot of money this quarter. There are three main contributing factors, and I’ll review each of those briefly this morning, but just know that we’ve turned the corner and made a lot of money this quarter.” Key takeaway? Yup, you got it … “we made a lot of money this quarter.” In this case, a key takeaway is the focal point.

If your “job” is to motivate or inspire, then your focal point will look or sound more like a call to action or a charge to the troops. For example, if you are trying to boost company morale after a series of layoffs, and the picture is actually rosier now with a leaner headcount, then your opening at an all-hands meeting will sound something like this: “There is no question that we all have been through a difficult and emotional few months, and we need some healing time. But I would like you to focus on the future now, it holds a lot of promise for all of us. I am going to outline our strategic plan for this year. As I do this, I am going to ask each one of you to be paying attention with an eye toward how your business unit will jump on board and what kind of a positive impact the measures in the strategic plan can have on your numbers. That’s why we’re here. I want you to leave this room with concrete ideas for how you will move forward!” In this case, a call to action is the focal point.

If your “job” is to sell or persuade, then your focal point will be a version of an ask. For example (and let’s switch to non-profit), if you are making a pitch for money (definitely persuading and selling!) and your organization has just completed a multi-year capital campaign during bad economic times, then your opening at your annual fundraising dinner will sound something like this: “Wow, what an amazing group of committed individuals you are! Over the past five years, you accomplished the impossible. Tonight, as part of this amazing program we have put together, I am going to ask you to extend your commitment and make a donation that will help us safeguard the investment all of you have made in the future of this organization.” In this case, an ask is the focal point.

These examples are generic and over-simplified, but the point is that if there is something you want your audience to think or know or do, tell them! Be clear and open and transparent. If you don’t tell them, they may not get there on their own, and then the opportunity you’ve had to be in front of them is squandered. Focus on your focal point, it makes better use of everyone’s time and energies!

Folksy Works

by Beth Levine | Apr 9, 2012

Is it okay for a corporate executive to be folksy? Well, heck yeah, it is!

There is no right or wrong for a speaker’s individual style except authentic versus inauthentic. If an executive has a folksy style and has risen to the top of an organization, then there is something – or a lot of things – about his or her style that works. And it probably works because it’s authentic, it’s true to who that person is. And it’s probably very appealing, authenticity is very appealing.

Being real is so important. Trying to adopt a persona that isn’t real, isn’t authentic, just won’t work. Audiences see right through it, and it can affect levels of respect, trust and credibility. It’s just not worth the risk, so be who you are. If you’re folksy, go with it … but, of course, tighten it up! Know your audience, job, and win. Get your stories (and we know that if you’re folksy, you’ve got some stories!) organized so that they support your point, have a strong open and close, and you’re off!

Both Begin With P …

by Beth Levine | Mar 19, 2012

Preparation. Procrastination. Both begin with P. Both are factors before a speech or presentation. And both are easy to conquer.

In fact, preparation can conquer procrastination … but only if it’s super simple. And that’s actually easier than you’d think. So let’s be realistic about preparation, let’s talk about being efficient and effective, let’s talk about what to do when you only have a few minutes to prepare.

Hold onto these 3 shortcuts:

1. Know your JOB. Are you supposed to inform, entertain, persuade, educate, introduce? What is the communications verb that best describes what you are supposed to do in your talk? Once you know your job, you can focus, and it will help you eliminate extraneous material and relieve you of having to create and deliver a magnum opus.

For instance, if you have been asked to make the welcoming remarks at a nonprofit fundraiser, then you simply need to welcome; you do not need to prepare and present the history of the organization.

2 2. Have a FOCAL POINT. What is the one thing you want your audience to know, think, do or feel when they leave the room? There is always that something. And that is your focal point. Be transparent and direct, use your focal point as part of your talk … et voilà, you have your opening and closing! Giving your audience clear guidance helps ensure that they actually do leave the room knowing, thinking, doing or feeling what you want them to.

Let’s continue with the example of you making welcoming remarks at the fundraiser. Let’s say your focal point is that you need your audience to give more volunteer hours in the coming year. So, one option for your opening (and adaptable for closing too) is, “Welcome to tonight’s event. You’ll hear from a variety of people tonight, and you’ll have plenty of time to socialize, but it is my desire that you leave here tonight even more committed to our organization and even more inspired to make your donation this year in volunteer hours.” Focal point set.

3 3. Limit the INFO. Unless you are delivering a technical paper or research findings at a scientific or medical conference, you can probably do without a lot of detailed information. Think about your topic, and what is most significant about your topic to your specific audience, and then plan to tell your audience the significance while limiting the supporting info to anecdotes and/or memorable facts, details or data. You can never deliver all the info on a topic anyway, so take the pressure off yourself and be prepared only to talk about the significance with a few quickie, retainable tidbits of info as backup.

In a nutshell, if you 1) are mindful about your “job” and stay in your lane, 2) know your “focal point,” what you want to ask of your audience, and 3) know what’s significant about your topic and only use “info” as backup, you are ready to go … !

Unconventional Wisdom?

by Beth Levine | Mar 5, 2012

So, I just read an article about how harder-to-read fonts promote better recall. Uh oh, I wondered, slides too? Yup, slides too.

Interestingly enough, most of the prevailing wisdom about creating effective PowerPoint presentations suggests that clean and lean fonts, anything sans serif – i.e. no curlycues on the letters – are best. But apparently, less legible fonts make readers concentrate harder and therefore retain better. It seems counterintuitive until you really think about it and realize that readers have to slow down and focus harder with a font that isn’t as easy to skim.

What fascinated me most, though, about the research presented in this article was that they discovered students learn better from a teacher’s or professor’s handwritten scribbles on a “chalkboard” (probably a whiteboard!) than they do from PowerPoint. Yes, this would make sense given the font proposition. And it also supports my long-held theory that drawing or writing on a whiteboard during your presentation allows your audience to be present for, and part of, the creation of your visuals … and therefore promotes stronger reinforcement and stickiness.

No matter what, though, less is always more in the retention department, so feel free to go ahead and use a busier font, or your own handwriting, but keep the number of words and lines as lean and mean as possible!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

by Beth Levine | Feb 21, 2012

If you ever needed a really good reason to improve your performance at the front of a room or at the podium, consider this …

In an article on “Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership” published in the Harvard Business Review in September 2008, Daniel Goleman (of EQ fame) and Richard Boyatzis wrote this:

“It turns out that there’s a subset of mirror neurons whose only job is to detect other people’s smiles and laughter, prompting smiles and laughter in return. A boss who is self-controlled and humorless will rarely engage those neurons in his team members, but a boss who laughs and sets an easy-going tone puts those neurons to work, triggering spontaneous laughter and knitting his team together in the process. A bonded group is one that performs well, as our colleague Fabio Sala has shown in his research. He found that top-performing leaders elicited laughter from their subordinates three times as often, on average, as did midperforming leaders. Being in a good mood, other research finds, helps people take in information effectively and respond nimbly and creatively. In other words, laughter is serious business.

Wow … if we all took this to heart, meetings could be a heck of a lot more fun, huh?!

Thanks But No Thanks

by Beth Levine | Feb 7, 2012

Okay, speakers and presenters, you have a dilemma!

On the one hand, it is widely expected and perfectly acceptable to open a talk by thanking your hosts and guests for being there and for their participation in whatever meeting or event everyone is gathered to attend. Sometimes this is even laced with welcomes and other platitudes.

On the other hand, it is also widely known that audiences judge a speaker or presenter’s worthiness within the first 10 seconds. Some say 8 seconds, some actually say 3 seconds. Hmmmm. Suffice it to say, audiences judge fairly quickly – in a matter of seconds – whether the person at the front of the room is worth paying attention to and whether they plan to listen attentively or not.

Collision, conundrum, dilemma. What to do? How do you reconcile these two forces? I’m a big advocate for shaking things up and trying something new and different. I’m also a big advocate for yielding to the audience (if there’s even a slight conflict between the speaker’s interests and the audience’s interests, the audience wins hands down!). It’ll be a little bit like moving over and sleeping on the other side of the bed (you know you have a side!), but try and grab your audience’s attention first and thank them later. See if you can save your niceties and pleasantries for the end of your opening section, or for the very end of your remarks, whichever feels more doable. Open instead with a story, a question, a proposition, or a call to action.

Yes, making this change is likely to feel unnatural at first, but it will make you and your talk much more memorable. If for no other reason, you will stand out as the speaker who had a strong, impressive opening!

Being Real

by Beth Levine | Jan 24, 2012

Kudos to my newest client this morning for being bold enough to be real!

She is opening a three-day meeting of her company’s division by being real and calling out the 800-lb gorilla in the room. Specifically, there is so much growth and change taking place in the company that, from one day to the next, people barely even know who they report to or what they’re working on. Challenging situation, but not surprising given the fast-paced, high-growth industry in which they operate.

By calling it out – and she’s doing it in a light-hearted way – she will not only connect with her audience immediately, but she also will earn their trust, respect and, I would suspect, their loyalty. Everyone wins. She establishes herself as a likable, credible leader, and her team members from around the world feel noticed and acknowledged. Great way to start the group meeting; the air is clear, and everyone can focus on the business of moving forward.

Leaders often feel the pressure to motivate by being cheerleaders, pumping up the troops no matter what’s happening around them in reality. It’s tempting to gloss over the negatives and the distractions. Frankly, it can feel risky to be as open about what isn’t working as you are about what is working, but sometimes it’s the best thing you can do for yourself and your employees.

Nothing quite beats honesty and authenticity for winning over an audience.

Thank you, Dr. King!

by Beth Levine | Jan 16, 2012

Today is the perfect day for a reminder about going to 30,000 ft and staying out of the weeds.

Dr. King was the master. He said, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” He did not say, “We need equal rights and equal access to schools, buses, water fountains, and voting booths for adults and children alike; we need laws to be enacted that protect and promote the future of our people in this nation.” Nothing wrong with the second one, but it’s not nearly as impactful or memorable as the first. It’s all in the why versus what, the message versus the info.

So, in a slightly different twist on honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, let’s all resist delivering laundry lists of items and features when we speak. Instead, let’s look at our lists and ask what value or significance or meaning there is in all of our items and features collectively. And then that’s the message.

I have a dream indeed.

Countdown to Tuck

by Beth Levine | Dec 26, 2011

Gifts come in all forms, and one of mine this year came in the form of an invitation to be a Visiting Executive and Lecturer at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Very exciting!

I will be on the campus in Hanover, NH, January 3rd through the 5th, giving a lecture to MBA students on Executive Presence, coaching students in one-on-one sessions, and meeting with the Dean as well as various faculty members and administrators. An amazing opportunity, a wonderful gift.

So, the countdown begins, and the preparation, which actually began months ago, continues. Yes, SmartMouth followers, I have outlined my “focal points” and my “messages” for each and every one of my presentations and important conversations. Who wouldn’t, right?!

And just as a teaser, here are the headlines from the lecture on Executive Presence: Audience Awareness and Sensitivity; Professionalism and Preparedness; Tone and Behavior. But more on these after class …

Tks

by Beth Levine | Dec 12, 2011

Omigosh, I had to laugh. “Tks” was the full content of an email I got from a client the other day. That was it, just … Tks.

He meant thanks, or thank you, or thank you for your response … or, more specifically, thank you for responding to my email and for editing my important presentation that was attached.

Not to worry, I gave him a ton of grief for his Tks. And I reminded him that my work with him, our journey together, was to help him become a more robust and relevant communicator. He’s an executive, with a lot of potential and a bright future, but I’m told that people cannot follow him when he speaks. He really had been making great strides, getting lots of compliments, feeling better about his presentations. Then Tks.

But Tks is not just his pitfall. It’s all of ours. Thumb fatigue from text messaging, the limits of the 140-character message, and the pressures of hectic and multiple communication modes these days have made for some pretty sloppy messages that assume a familiarity and casualness with your audience that might not always be appropriate or welcome. And let’s be honest here, we’ve all fallen into a complacency with messages like Tks. We just generally trust that it’s okay. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t …

The moral of the story? U cud b gr8, but beware, these shortcuts could also shortcut your career if used too often or with the wrong audience at the wrong time. And so the few extra seconds it takes to type out a full word or two might be well worth it. Think about it next time you’re in a hurry to send a message, and Tks for reading!