Techniques for a Compelling Delivery

The following is a portion of the presentation given by Jan D’Arcy at the Invest Northwest Presentation Clinic on Delivery Skills.

The key to securing interest and capital at Invest Northwest will be substance over style. But successful communications demand good delivery skills as well as good content. It is estimated 60% of companies acquire investors not based on their products or services but on the quality of their management team. You will have 15 minutes to come across as a competent, confident, and trustworthy CEO, so that a potential investor will want to talk to you later or keep you on their radar screen. People always buy you first, and then they buy your ideas, your services, and your products. You may have a better story to tell than any of the other 65 presenters but your competition may tell their story better.

I believe there are 3 stages of presenters:
The lst stage is ME, ME, ME. Fears and anxieties are running rampant in this stage. The speaker is worried about being judged and the impression they make on the audience. They hear these voices: “What if I forget what I am supposed to say?” “ Someone laughed - did I say something stupid?” “Am I dressed too casually?” ”What if they ask something I can’ t answer?” “I know I am not as good as the last speaker.”

The 2nd stage is when the speaker is so wrapped up in the content that he/she will get through 20 slides even if 3 members of the audience fall off their chairs in the back row from boredom. Speakers in this stage address their slides and revel in talking about the all the intricacies of the science. They know they are going overtime but want to get in another complex graph. There is a tendency in this stage to cram every detail about the subject into the presentation; they tell how to make a watch when the audience only wanted to know the time.

The 3rd stage is when the speaker goes beyond him/herself and the material and is focused - where? - on the audience. “Am I bringing up pictures in their minds?” “Am I starting from where they are?” “Do they understand my message?” “Should I adapt my words, voice or delivery?” “Have I considered their needs?” “Have I presented it in a form that is dramatic and memorable?” The speaker develops an emotional connection as well as delivering information. Instead of “me” oriented it becomes “we” oriented.

Your goal should be to progress through the lst and 2nd stages to the 3rd stage of audience involvement. Here are some ways to achieve this.

• Develop a re lationship by establishing a comfortable presence and connecting with the audience immediately.
• Capture and keep attention with an expressive voice and meaningful body language.
• Create trust with direct eye contact, open gestures, and confident demeanor.
• Communicate your enthusiasm about your company through your delivery.
• Adapt to audience by modifying your material, style, and pacing as you sense changes in your audience.

Make Fears and Anxieties work for you.

Recent evidence suggests that the intensity of the fear emotion can be attributed to genetics. Some of you may be programmed to be sensitive and shy and may have to work harder to overcome your anxieties. Fears can materialize when we haven’t given a presentation in 3 months and lack practice. Other studies show that the initial programming of a humiliating or embarrassing situation magnifies the fear. There is no single cause or single treatment but we can learn to make fear help, rather than hinder, our performance. You are not trying to eliminate fear, because fear can contribute useful energy. Fear is neither negative nor positive. It just is. Virtually every speaker, every performer, every Olympic athlete experiences some form of stage fright. Accept your nervousness as normal.

Most people try to overcome stage fright by trying to rigidly control their thoughts and feelings. They repeat to themselves, “It is ridiculous to be nervous. I shouldn’t be scared. I must appear confident.” Perhaps they have been told to imagine that members of the audience are weird, have cabbage faces or are naked. This approach can be counterproductive as an audience can detect immediately through your body language and voice that you are putting them down. Show your audience respect and treat them as partners. Obviously you need to prepare 150%.

Monitor and improve your Self-concept, Self–talk, and Expectations.

1.Self-Concept. Trust in your abilities. Believe in yourself, your ideas, and the value they have for other people. Act as if you are in control, even if you don’t feel that way. No one is going to give you control of a large sum of money, personnel, equipment if they sense you aren’t in control of yourself. Remember that you appear much more confident to your audience than you feel. It is estimated that 70% of high achievers feel like imposters, certain that the present level of achievement does not result from true ability and they will be found out or others will discover the fraud they really are. The Imposter complex is doubting and discrediting your abilities and achievements. Are you really good or have you just fooled everyone? Sometimes we agree with a person’s compliments but deep inside we deny it to ourselves. Join the elite group of talented people that feel they are imposters.

The imposter complex rears its ugly head when we have finally felt capable in a job and then given new responsibilities or move or merge with a new company and have totally different demands on us. We are on a steep learning curve and think someone will discover we are frauds. Perhaps you would rather be doing the science and are not comfortable out on the streets looking for funding. It is stressful fitting into a different corporate culture and doing our work when we don’t feel we really belong. It is especially prevalent when you are going to speak in public.

2. Self Talk. After 28 years as a speech coach, I have come to the conclusion that the dialogue a speaker has before and during a presentation with his or herself determines the success or failure of the speech. Carl Jung said, “ Once you achieve good communication with yourself, you can communicate more freely and effectively with others.” Thoughts determine our emotions; our emotions determine our body language and our tone of voice. What are you thinking? We seem to have little natural ability to sense what is happening within our minds. For most of us, our self-talk is totally out-of-control and has undue influence over our external communication. The inner-self runs continuous sound and video pictures of horrendously negative past experiences, embarrassing memories, and gleefully prophecies disastrous future possibilities. We should not be victims brought to our knees by this doomsayer. If you minimize the perceived threat to your self-concept, you will find that your physical reactions will diminish.

We create our own experience by what we say to ourselves. If your self- talk says, “I am weak,” you respond not to the reality of yourself but to your interpretation of yourself. Listen to all the things you say to yourself. We defeat ourselves in the mind. Constant thoughts of anger, stress, anxiety, will weaken your resolve just as they will weaken your immune system. Most people supplement their diet with vitamins to counteract the stress in their life, and you need to supplement your emotional life with cheerful, positive thoughts.

3. Expectations: If you believe only about 2% of the companies will get a response and Invest/Northwest is only an exercise in futility for you, your body language and voice will reflect your negativity. Expect to do well; your confidence will come through.

Become totally involved in the moment. Fear is generated by conflict: The body wants to do one thing; the mind says to do something else. The need to succeed and do everything perfectly becomes more emotionally charged when the stakes get higher. Key decision makers will be at Invest Northwest, and this presentation could generate interest in your company (or slam doors in your face). Obviously, you have to be at your best even when part of your mind wants to exit quickly. Make the conscious decision to stay and be terrific. Talk to yourself. One remedy is to tell yourself, “ I would rather be here than anyplace else.” It works!

Laugh. Has anyone said to you, “I laughed so hard that I fell off my chair?” Muscles relax when we laugh. Find someone before your presentation to laugh with.

Rate the difficulty of your presentation on a scale of 1 to 10. Your presentation may have important consequences, but think back to other difficult situations you handled well. Get the difficulty down to a 4.

Jump in with both feet immediately. A lot of my clients tell me nervousness leaves 5–10 minutes into a presentation. You don’t have that luxury. Ask an Olympic downhill skier if they can wait 5 minutes to become comfortable. A jockey? An actor with 2 lines? “Own your space” the moment you begin.

Deep breathing will help you relax. Normally, the brain uses one-fourth of the blood supply. In stressful situations, the blood rushes to our muscles and the brain is shortchanged. Inhale slowly to the count of 6, hold 6 counts, and exhale slowly to the count of six. Close your eyes, if possible, and visualize the numbers in the middle of your forehead. Do this several times to pull all your scattered energy together. If you are in front of an audience, you can still do this exercise without closing your eyes.

Your biggest fear should be of boring the audience!

Define your Image

You can just get up and speak or consciously define how you would like to come across. What strengths do you possess that do not immediately come across? Are your words, body language and tone of voice in harmony? Do they detract or dilute your message?

Your words, your voice and your body language should all be in harmony or say the same thing or what do people believe? The Seattle Times reported a man who won the WA State lottery returned to a convenience store to tell them of his fortune, as the store would get $100,000 for selling the ticket. The owner later reported, “He said, “I won the lottery,” in such a casual way that I didn’t believe him. He didn’t show with his voice or his facial expressions that he was now a multi- millionaire. I had to have someone else convince me that he did win before I believed I was a winner too.”

Thoughts determine emotions; emotions determine body language and tone of voice. What are you thinking? Name 5 characteristics that you would like them to say about you when you leave the room? Write them down. There are only 3 ways for you to appear confident – with your body language, your words, and your voice.

I interviewed 300 people for my book, Technically Speaking, and asked what is the ideal image for the model communicator in science and technology. Although there were many answers, experienced and trustworthy were mentioned every time and they make you appear credible. Can you appear experienced and trustworthy at Invest/Northwest with your words, body language, and voice? VC’s will be working with you for the next 3-5 yrs. Do you come across as easy to work with?

Your strengths are also your weaknesses. Don’t be too confident. Don’t be too sensitive or too knowledgeable or too enthusiastic. Moderation is the key. What happens to you when you are under pressure? Mariner Ichario knows all the rules but that is not what makes him a good baseball player. Model communicators make productive choices that work when they are under stress. The best image is to be real. The closer you get to your identity, the more powerful you are. Be authentic. Be exactly who you are with all your flaws, constantly working to improve yourself.

Develop an Expressive Voice

The voice is something that few people pay any attention to. It needs to support your words and body language. If you have a fascinating new drug and your voice is a monotone and your body language has no energy, no one will believe it truly is unique. Exercise your voice by going through your slides changing your pitch and going up and down the musical scale. Read to a 3 yr old about the witch and the dragon. Read the latest biotech magazine and try to seduce someone with your voice. Be careful about breathing from the neck up; take deep diaphragmatic breaths.

I like to use a squeaky doll when my clients use a filler word such as uh, ah, you know, etc. Audio tape your speech and listen to it in the car. Or video tape yourself and just listen to the voice. Add variety to your pacing, your pitch, your volume, and the quality of your voice to keep your audience’s attention.

Rehearse

Sometimes we spend so much time crafting our message and our visuals that we don’t have enough lead time to thoroughly rehearse and integrate our body language. There are two kinds of rehearsal. One is the mental where you actually visualize yourself going through the presentation. If you take some quiet time, using all your senses, and do this twice, it is the same as doing it for real one time. Actual studies have shown how sports figures can improve faster by using their imagination than practicing for real.

Visit the actual physical site of your presentation. Walk around sensing how the carpet feels, where the lighting falls on you or your slides, and where you will be sitting. Take a seat in the back of the audience to see the sightlines and what the audience will see. Your mind will absorb this information and store it for the day of your speech. Instead of gathering new information, your brain will allow you to concentrate on your audience. Why do sports teams like “Home court advantage?” Your mind doesn’t have to process extra information – it is already digitized. Rehearse in the actual clothing you will wear. If you haven’t had a tie or suit on lately or are wearing new shoes instead of Nikes, or heels, you need to practice wearing them to look comfortable.

Establish a routine. Ichario has a routine the minute he walks into the clubhouse and picks up his hermetically sealed bats. He steps into the batters box, takes his swing, pulls up his shirt. Why? The left-brain takes care of routine and frees up the right brain to be creative and decide where there is a space to drive that ball through. Have a routine. Hang your clothes in one spot two days before, know where your laptop is, where you are going to park. Play the same music in your car. Don’t try the shrimp curry for lunch if you don’t usually eat it. Every successful sports figure, every actor follows a routine to free them to be creative. Wear clothes that give you confidence.

My last suggestion is to always have Plan B or even C. in case anything goes awry, especially with visual aids. But remember, if it does, be confident, comfortable and take it is in stride because you are the most important visual.

Effective communication is never an accident. It does take time, effort, practice and commitment. Your voice and body language cannot improve upon the ideas or the visuals of your presentation, but they will determine how well your ideas are received and remembered by the audience. Good luck on a compelling presentation!!