by Kathy Reiffenstein
Standing in front of any audience, your goal is to persuade them
• that you know what you're talking about
• that your approach/suggestion/proposal is worth considering
• that they should do what you're asking them to do
Over two thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, suggested that there are three available means of persuasion: ethos, logos and pathos. As valid today as they were then, these methods can make your presentations more compelling to your audience.
METHODS OF PERSUASION
Ethos, Greek for character, relies on the authority, credibility or expertise of the speaker to persuade. A medical doctor as the spokesperson in a TV commercial for a new cold remedy persuades through ethos.
In the business presentation, a subject matter expert exudes ethos. Would you be likely to believe Bill Gates’ view of the digital revolution or Sir Richard Branson’s forecast of what airplane travel will look like in fifty years? Probably. However, speakers sometimes rely too heavily on this persuasion technique. Don't let speaker credentials, title or rank substitute for crafting a truly persuasive argument. Ultimately it will be the audience who determines ethos.
Logos, Greek for word, uses logic, reason, statistics, polls and facts to persuade. It is harder to take the opposite point of view to an argument which uses logos because the data seems so well supported and incontrovertible. The marketing presentation using consumer research data to show the viability of introducing a new product is logos. The case for global warming uses logos persuasion by employing scientific evidence.
Pathos, Greek for experience or suffering, persuades by appealing to emotion and imagination. This is probably the least used approach in business presentations because we've been taught to be factual and concrete. But there is power in connecting with an audience through the heart. Pathos is using stories, vivid language and passionate delivery to make your message more personal and compelling, moving the audience to identify with your point of view.
USE MORE THAN ONE METHOD
The best presentations will incorporate more than one method of persuasion. Logos can enhance ethos by adding facts, substance and proof to the credentials. Pathos can enhance logos by taking dry statistics and making them more alive and relevant.
In analyzing your audience and the objectives of your presentation, incorporate these persuasion methods as a more powerful way to move your audience to embrace your message.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
SELF PROMOTION WITH PROFESSIONALISM AND STYLE
by Kathy Reiffenstein
In business, letting others know about your skills, your ideas and your accomplishments is key to advancing your career. Yet, as women, we are frequently reluctant to do this, feeling it will make us sound too conceited or too aggressive.
Although it’s dangerous to generalize, studies have shown that men are better at self promotion than women. Men tend to be more focused on how to further their career goals while women are more concerned about relationships in the workplace and getting along with co-workers.
Unfortunately, expecting that others will notice what a great job you’re doing and reward you appropriately isn’t always a viable strategy. Being shy about communicating your strengths ultimately hurts you and your company, as both lose out on the larger contributions you could make.
So how do you self promote with professionalism and style?
IDENTIFY WHO TO BRAG TO
Everyone in your office or professional circle doesn’t need to know about all your skills and successes. Identify the people who can be instrumental in helping you achieve your goals – these are the people who definitely need to know what you’re capable of, what you’ve done successfully in the past, what you aspire to.
These influential people will likely include your boss, senior leaders in the organization, key clients and anyone who has a large network of contacts in these groups, and therefore some potential influence.
THINK FROM YOUR AUDIENCE’S PERSPECTIVE
When deciding what information to convey about yourself, think what would be helpful to the influential people you’ve identified. What do they need to know about you to help them assess how you may be able to make a bigger or different contribution? For example, attending professional lectures and conferences outside of work can demonstrate that you are dedicated to improving your skills. In turn, this could persuade your boss that you are the perfect candidate for the new management training program.
DEVELOP YOUR STORIES
Create some stories that clearly illustrate some of your strengths and accomplishments. Practice them so that when you tell them to others, they flow smoothly and cover the points you want to make. Being professional in your approach will make you more comfortable. When talking about what you can offer or your previous successes relate this to the current needs of your company, your department or your boss. That way it sounds less like bragging and more like offering help and making the relevant people aware of your talents.
SHOW, DON’T JUST TELL
It’s fine to tell people what you’re good at but it’s far more memorable to show them. Look for opportunities to prove how capable you are in specific areas by volunteering for projects or committees where you can demonstrate relevant skills.
Write articles for professional publications in your industry; search out speaking engagements which showcase your abilities; mentor others, either formally or informally, to illustrate your competency in certain areas.
MAKE OTHERS YOUR AMBASSADORS
Enlist others to endorse you. It’s always more powerful when someone other than you talks about how talented you are. But it’s important to control the message. Make sure that when others are talking about you, you have given them appropriate facts and examples so they can speak credibly and share the relevant information.
If you are one of the many talented women who have been reluctant to talk about the skills and accomplishments you have to offer, it’s time to shift your mindset. You owe it to both yourself and your company to ensure all the appropriate people know just how good you are. As three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer Muhammad Ali said, “It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”
In business, letting others know about your skills, your ideas and your accomplishments is key to advancing your career. Yet, as women, we are frequently reluctant to do this, feeling it will make us sound too conceited or too aggressive.
Although it’s dangerous to generalize, studies have shown that men are better at self promotion than women. Men tend to be more focused on how to further their career goals while women are more concerned about relationships in the workplace and getting along with co-workers.
Unfortunately, expecting that others will notice what a great job you’re doing and reward you appropriately isn’t always a viable strategy. Being shy about communicating your strengths ultimately hurts you and your company, as both lose out on the larger contributions you could make.
So how do you self promote with professionalism and style?
IDENTIFY WHO TO BRAG TO
Everyone in your office or professional circle doesn’t need to know about all your skills and successes. Identify the people who can be instrumental in helping you achieve your goals – these are the people who definitely need to know what you’re capable of, what you’ve done successfully in the past, what you aspire to.
These influential people will likely include your boss, senior leaders in the organization, key clients and anyone who has a large network of contacts in these groups, and therefore some potential influence.
THINK FROM YOUR AUDIENCE’S PERSPECTIVE
When deciding what information to convey about yourself, think what would be helpful to the influential people you’ve identified. What do they need to know about you to help them assess how you may be able to make a bigger or different contribution? For example, attending professional lectures and conferences outside of work can demonstrate that you are dedicated to improving your skills. In turn, this could persuade your boss that you are the perfect candidate for the new management training program.
DEVELOP YOUR STORIES
Create some stories that clearly illustrate some of your strengths and accomplishments. Practice them so that when you tell them to others, they flow smoothly and cover the points you want to make. Being professional in your approach will make you more comfortable. When talking about what you can offer or your previous successes relate this to the current needs of your company, your department or your boss. That way it sounds less like bragging and more like offering help and making the relevant people aware of your talents.
SHOW, DON’T JUST TELL
It’s fine to tell people what you’re good at but it’s far more memorable to show them. Look for opportunities to prove how capable you are in specific areas by volunteering for projects or committees where you can demonstrate relevant skills.
Write articles for professional publications in your industry; search out speaking engagements which showcase your abilities; mentor others, either formally or informally, to illustrate your competency in certain areas.
MAKE OTHERS YOUR AMBASSADORS
Enlist others to endorse you. It’s always more powerful when someone other than you talks about how talented you are. But it’s important to control the message. Make sure that when others are talking about you, you have given them appropriate facts and examples so they can speak credibly and share the relevant information.
If you are one of the many talented women who have been reluctant to talk about the skills and accomplishments you have to offer, it’s time to shift your mindset. You owe it to both yourself and your company to ensure all the appropriate people know just how good you are. As three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer Muhammad Ali said, “It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”
Thursday, March 11, 2010
SOCIAL CAPITAL IS A POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL TOOL
by Kathy Reiffenstein
Capital is what keeps organizations healthy and thriving, allowing them to achieve their goals. But the capital I’m referring to here is not naira, pounds or dollars. It is the kind you find in relationships instead of in bank vaults. It is called social capital.
WHAT IS SOCIAL CAPITAL?
Social capital is a bit intangible. You can’t actually touch it or see it. It can be defined as the goodwill you earn with other people [and they with you], in both your professional and personal relationships, which motivates them to consider you more favourably and want to assist you.
Social capital is what makes your associate at work recommend you for that new project; it’s what makes the person in Accounting give you an extra few hours past the deadline to get your report in; it’s what makes your boss choose you to be part of the interdepartmental task force; it’s what makes your colleague at WIMBIZ tell you about the new job opening at her company. It’s the strength of the relationships you have with these people that cause them to advocate for you.
We have opportunities every day to acquire social capital through all of our interactions and activities in the workplace, as well as outside. The challenge is to make more deposits than withdrawals to our social capital account.
WHAT’S THE VALUE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL?
Your performance, your skills, your knowledge and your accomplishments are certainly important in establishing your reputation and validating your competence. But the strength of your social capital is what stands you apart.
Social capital can:
• increase productivity because you have the relationships that facilitate getting things done more effectively and efficiently
• give you access to useful and otherwise inaccessible information, like the unwritten details about what’s important to get that promotion
• increase your professional visibility and brand you as someone who is connected
HOW TO ACQUIRE SOCIAL CAPITAL
There are three basic steps to accumulating a wealth of social capital.
Build Relationships
Building quality relationships in your professional life is the foundation for acquiring social capital. The more people you know and who know you, the more contacts you have who can endorse you, both as a person and as a competent professional. A word of caution: the key is quality relationships. Be strategic in deciding where to invest your time to build a relationship.
Build Trust
As you are building a strong network of relationships, it is important to ensure that trust is a core aspect of those relationships. Earn peoples’ trust and confidence by keeping your commitments and acting with integrity in every interaction.
Practice the Law of Reciprocity
In every relationship and interaction, look for what you can give, not just for what you can get. Look for how you can help others, connect them, provide information. You will quickly gain the reputation as someone who adds value to a relationship.
Take a look at your professional relationships. How would you rate the amount of social capital you have? If it seems lacking, set yourself a goal of adding some deposits to your social capital account.
Capital is what keeps organizations healthy and thriving, allowing them to achieve their goals. But the capital I’m referring to here is not naira, pounds or dollars. It is the kind you find in relationships instead of in bank vaults. It is called social capital.
WHAT IS SOCIAL CAPITAL?
Social capital is a bit intangible. You can’t actually touch it or see it. It can be defined as the goodwill you earn with other people [and they with you], in both your professional and personal relationships, which motivates them to consider you more favourably and want to assist you.
Social capital is what makes your associate at work recommend you for that new project; it’s what makes the person in Accounting give you an extra few hours past the deadline to get your report in; it’s what makes your boss choose you to be part of the interdepartmental task force; it’s what makes your colleague at WIMBIZ tell you about the new job opening at her company. It’s the strength of the relationships you have with these people that cause them to advocate for you.
We have opportunities every day to acquire social capital through all of our interactions and activities in the workplace, as well as outside. The challenge is to make more deposits than withdrawals to our social capital account.
WHAT’S THE VALUE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL?
Your performance, your skills, your knowledge and your accomplishments are certainly important in establishing your reputation and validating your competence. But the strength of your social capital is what stands you apart.
Social capital can:
• increase productivity because you have the relationships that facilitate getting things done more effectively and efficiently
• give you access to useful and otherwise inaccessible information, like the unwritten details about what’s important to get that promotion
• increase your professional visibility and brand you as someone who is connected
HOW TO ACQUIRE SOCIAL CAPITAL
There are three basic steps to accumulating a wealth of social capital.
Build Relationships
Building quality relationships in your professional life is the foundation for acquiring social capital. The more people you know and who know you, the more contacts you have who can endorse you, both as a person and as a competent professional. A word of caution: the key is quality relationships. Be strategic in deciding where to invest your time to build a relationship.
Build Trust
As you are building a strong network of relationships, it is important to ensure that trust is a core aspect of those relationships. Earn peoples’ trust and confidence by keeping your commitments and acting with integrity in every interaction.
Practice the Law of Reciprocity
In every relationship and interaction, look for what you can give, not just for what you can get. Look for how you can help others, connect them, provide information. You will quickly gain the reputation as someone who adds value to a relationship.
Take a look at your professional relationships. How would you rate the amount of social capital you have? If it seems lacking, set yourself a goal of adding some deposits to your social capital account.
Monday, March 1, 2010
NERVOUS ABOUT A PRESENTATION?
by Kathy Reiffenstein
There is a famous quote that says: “There are two types of speakers – those that are nervous and those that are liars."
The panic about having to present or speak in public goes by many names: stage fright, jitters, performance anxiety, nerves. But whatever you call it, this feeling can range from mild anxiety, where you may experience a racing heart and sweaty palms, to downright dread, where flight seems the only viable course of action. If any of that sounds familiar to you, it may (or may not) be comforting to know that you're not alone.
WHERE DOES FEAR COME FROM?
When we are faced with something we perceive as stressful or dangerous, our brain responds by initiating a chain reaction which releases the chemicals that cause physical reactions like shortness of breath, sweaty palms and a stomach turning somersaults.
Unfortunately it doesn't matter whether the stressful stimulus is a car careening toward us or the questions we'll get asked in next week's presentation; our brain responds with the same fight or flight response. Anticipating a stressful event can produce the same reaction as actually experiencing it.
HOW CAN WE OVERCOME FEAR?
So how are we to turn a perceived "dangerous" situation, like giving a presentation, into something more positive? According to Stephen Maren, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan in the US, fear overrules reason every time because the fear circuitry in the brain is more powerful.
Counterintuitive though this sounds, Maren says the solution to overcoming fears is not avoiding them. Rather, repeated exposure to perceived fears in safe conditions helps us to realise that these threats are not real dangers. So that means get in front of people and present as often as you can. Don't hide away after the big conference or meeting, content to avoid any more presentations until next year.
IT'S A MIND GAME
In the fight or flight response, the brain is reacting instinctively to a perception, calling the autonomic nervous system into action. The brain, then, is precisely where we need to focus to reframe the perception. Here are some ways to help us recast those stressful perceptions of presenting in public to more neutral or even positive, images:
• Visualise. The subconscious doesn't differentiate between fantasy and reality, so create your own "story" about the stressful event. Visualise yourself feeling confident and competent, eager to share your information with your audience. Shifting your perception of the situation allows you to change behaviour. This technique, however, is not one that you can use once and expect miracles. You need to visualise several times a day, particularly in the week or so prior to your presentation, to solidify these images in your subconscious.
• Listen to soothing music (your definition of soothing) before your presentation to trigger your relaxation response.
• Clip a photo of loved ones or a favourite vacation spot to your notes or put it on the podium or table you are presenting from...this will help you stay grounded and remind you of something pleasant.
• Enlist friends to sit in the audience and then search out those familiar faces once you start to present. Share your anxiety with them ahead of time and they will be sure to offer you big smiles of encouragement every time you look at them.
• Mingle with people in your audience before the presentation and even chat with a few of them, if time permits. This will establish a human connection. It's less likely that you'll perceive the situation as stressful if you've just established a nice rapport with people who are going to listen to you.
The more you understand the physiological reasons for fearing or dreading a presentation, the easier it will be to stop blaming yourself for shortcomings and move forward with a productive plan of action. With a commitment to overcome your fear and a dedication to present as often as you can, you will be able to unmask your perceptions for what they are and create a new reality.
There is a famous quote that says: “There are two types of speakers – those that are nervous and those that are liars."
The panic about having to present or speak in public goes by many names: stage fright, jitters, performance anxiety, nerves. But whatever you call it, this feeling can range from mild anxiety, where you may experience a racing heart and sweaty palms, to downright dread, where flight seems the only viable course of action. If any of that sounds familiar to you, it may (or may not) be comforting to know that you're not alone.
WHERE DOES FEAR COME FROM?
When we are faced with something we perceive as stressful or dangerous, our brain responds by initiating a chain reaction which releases the chemicals that cause physical reactions like shortness of breath, sweaty palms and a stomach turning somersaults.
Unfortunately it doesn't matter whether the stressful stimulus is a car careening toward us or the questions we'll get asked in next week's presentation; our brain responds with the same fight or flight response. Anticipating a stressful event can produce the same reaction as actually experiencing it.
HOW CAN WE OVERCOME FEAR?
So how are we to turn a perceived "dangerous" situation, like giving a presentation, into something more positive? According to Stephen Maren, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan in the US, fear overrules reason every time because the fear circuitry in the brain is more powerful.
Counterintuitive though this sounds, Maren says the solution to overcoming fears is not avoiding them. Rather, repeated exposure to perceived fears in safe conditions helps us to realise that these threats are not real dangers. So that means get in front of people and present as often as you can. Don't hide away after the big conference or meeting, content to avoid any more presentations until next year.
IT'S A MIND GAME
In the fight or flight response, the brain is reacting instinctively to a perception, calling the autonomic nervous system into action. The brain, then, is precisely where we need to focus to reframe the perception. Here are some ways to help us recast those stressful perceptions of presenting in public to more neutral or even positive, images:
• Visualise. The subconscious doesn't differentiate between fantasy and reality, so create your own "story" about the stressful event. Visualise yourself feeling confident and competent, eager to share your information with your audience. Shifting your perception of the situation allows you to change behaviour. This technique, however, is not one that you can use once and expect miracles. You need to visualise several times a day, particularly in the week or so prior to your presentation, to solidify these images in your subconscious.
• Listen to soothing music (your definition of soothing) before your presentation to trigger your relaxation response.
• Clip a photo of loved ones or a favourite vacation spot to your notes or put it on the podium or table you are presenting from...this will help you stay grounded and remind you of something pleasant.
• Enlist friends to sit in the audience and then search out those familiar faces once you start to present. Share your anxiety with them ahead of time and they will be sure to offer you big smiles of encouragement every time you look at them.
• Mingle with people in your audience before the presentation and even chat with a few of them, if time permits. This will establish a human connection. It's less likely that you'll perceive the situation as stressful if you've just established a nice rapport with people who are going to listen to you.
The more you understand the physiological reasons for fearing or dreading a presentation, the easier it will be to stop blaming yourself for shortcomings and move forward with a productive plan of action. With a commitment to overcome your fear and a dedication to present as often as you can, you will be able to unmask your perceptions for what they are and create a new reality.
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