Win or Lose: It' s How You SAY the Game

Tennis star, Andre Agassi just played his last game. He lost his last match but still went out a winner. Overcome wth emotion, he blew kisses to the crowd and gave his parting speech:

"The scoreboard said I lost today but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what I found. Over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty, inspiration. You have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moments. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams...I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life. Thank you."

When giving a concession speech,be gracious. Thank the people who supported you, say something nice about the winner, remember the high points, and walk out with your head held high. Anyone can give a good speech when they win. But it takes courage, class, and style to give a good concession speech. Whether in sports, politics, or business, when you give a good presentation you'll always be remembered as a winner.

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DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!

The Power is in Being Personal.

The Bush Katrina Speech

On August 29th President and Mrs. Bush marked the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by giving a speech.
Both Laura and George Bush have improved in their rhetorical skills since they took office in 2000. While Laura Bush delivered her speech effectively, she was still reading from a manuscript.

President Bush, on the other hand, added a personal quality to his speech. At key moments he paused to look out at the audience. He spoke from heart when he lamented the "failure of government at all levels."

Bush adopted a conversational tone as he used his own words to explain that part of rebuilding the city of New Orleans requires moving tons of debris.
At one point in the speech he made his typical verbal faux pas of tripping over his words. His response was to roll his eyes, smile, and correct himself. This personal nonverbal reaction let the audience know he was aware of his mistake. His expression seemed to say "Here I go again." He was able to laugh at himself.

Being personal allows the speaker to go off message and to react to the moment. The impact is a more authentic person-someone who is just like us.

DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!

Your Presentation is Your Brand-Don't Get Rear Ended

I was listening to a radio traffic update on the Imus show this morning. The reporter signed off as Rear End Rhonda. What does that moniker have to do with traffic reporting? I don't know. I do know that Imus doesn't like it and has no interaction with her. A key question is how do you or your company want to be remembered? According to wikipedia (the online encyclopedia) the definition of a brand is "the sum total of a company's value proposition."

It seems that Rear End is a strange value proposition. It may be remembered but it's not consistent with her career position and in the long term will probably not yield the desired result.

Words are powerful. Words can change our lives.
You are your company. And your presentation is your brand. Is your brand consistent with the image you want to portray?

DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!

What's Your Intention?

Whether you're giving a formal presentation, speaking at a meeting or negotiating a contract, a successful outcome begins with a powerful intention. Too many speakers prepare their content but don't prepare their minds. What is it that you REALLY want?
Do you want the respect of your peers? Agreement from the client?
The subconscious mind is like an autoresponder. It doesn't judge, it doesn't make decisions,and it takes you literally. It obeys your command. It's the conscious mind that has the power to decide.

When you continue to get undesired responses, your subconscious mind is simply acting upon old programming. You can practice over and over again saying the words out loud. But if you don't begin with an intention and believe you can achieve it, you're simply a talking head.

So change the belief.
Create a clear intention with your conscious mind. Write your intention down. Focus on it until it is crytal clear. Intentions that are clear and specific will have a greater opportunity to manifest.

DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!

The Power of Stories

To bring your busiess presentation to life, tell a story. Stories provide dramatic effect, engage the listner, underscore a point, motivate, reduce defensiveness, and aid retention. In other words, stories make you and the message memorable. Read Kotter's article The Power of Stories. I

www.forbes.com/2006/04/12/power-of-stories-oped-cx_jk_0412kotter.html

DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!

Selling Soap to Italian Women-A Lesson in Business Presentations

The Wall Street Journal reported that Italian women spend an average of 22 hours cleaning their homes. They buy more cleaning supplies than women from other countries. So they'd be a perfect market for U.S. time-saving cleaners and products, right? That's what Proctor and Gamble thought until they saw their sales plummet. They learned that Italian women don't value mops and cleaners that save time. They value strong detergents that cut grease-not quick spray bottles. They don't value time; they value toughness.

P&G; presented the product without knowing the buyer's criteria. How often do we slap together a presentation based on what we value instead of what the audience values? When a car dealer sells a car to a man he usually talks about engines and horsepower. When he sells to a woman he talks about color and interior. This is an assumption and not based on the buyer's criteria. When a manager motivates with money and an employee values time off, she is speaking from her values and not from the employee's values.

The secret to successful presentations is to know what the audience wants and to give it to them.

DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!

Like, Um, You Know

It's amazing how many business people lose credibility by the way they speak! Even people in leadership positions undermine themselves with weak language and non-words (um, you know, basically.) Young professional women in their 20s and 30s can sound like Valley Girls in the office. I continue to get calls from companies asking me to help their people develop executive presence. Even parents are emailing me about their child's Valley Girl talk.
Catch my interview in this month's Fast Company magazine to learn more:

www.fastcompany.com/magazine/105/playbook-ahead.html

DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!

When is a Smile a Liability?

In watching the news recently, Debra Favre, the teacher convicted of having a sexual relationship with an under age student was relieved from spending any time in jail.
As she was walking with her attorney and stopped by reporters she broke into a big smile. This behavior was inappropriate given the gravity of the situation. She seemed to be basking with delight in the limelight. Although escaping a jail sentence is good news, her beaming smile sent a negative message. She appeared to have no remorse and didn't seem to acknowledge the seriousness of her offense. Maybe she was in denial. But she did not appear sympathetic.
As in any form of communication, body language is the real message. How you present yourself is first conveyed through the body. That's why it's important to be aware of your off-camera behavior. Somewhere, someone will pick up on the message. Most of us will not be on screen but our "off-camera" behavior can be seen in the board room, during a panel discussion, or an interiew. It's critical to get control of the body language. You may be sending off unintended messages.

DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!

The Language of Presentations

The media recently praised Bush for his new clearer definition of the enemy. His language identifies radical Islam as the threat to the U.S. and he no longer uses the broad term of a terrorist threat.
Why is this significant? Terrorists or terrorism is a generality. And there is no power in generalities. The power is in specific language.
Language is perceived through our filters of experience, knowledge, assumptions, and biases.
A terrorist is defined differently depending on perception.
It's difficult for prospects to buy when products or benefits are broad. When the scope is narrowed people can better understand what the seller is offering and how they will benefit. When prospecting for business, it's easier to find leads when targeting a specific industry or professional level. It's the difference between targeting to anybody who gives a presentation vs. targeting lawyers who need to convince a jury.
If you go to Starbucks and ask for "Coffee, regular" you may get a blank stare. But if you say, "A tall decaf coffee with milk" your specific language will give you the desired result. To be a powerful communicator use specific language.

DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!

In the Eye of the Storm. Do You Speak Like a Leader?

What does Hurricane Katrina have to do with business presentations? Quite a lot. It was interesting to watch the television coverage of the government officials after the hurricane subsided. The governor, senator, and mayor assessed the damage and requested assistance for the people of Louisiana. As the governor spoke she appeared emotional and overwhelmed although she exhibited the most executive presence of the three officials. Expressing heart-felt feelings is honest and real. Being overly emotional signals weakness.

As the governor spoke to the press, the senator looked at her with a forlorn, scared expression on her face as she continuously bobbed her head in agreement. An occasional nod signals agreement. Constant head bobbing communicates subservience. She looked like a frightened, compliant child. While it's expected that they were in shock, an executive must be able to lead people out of chaos and to communicate a plan.

The mayor of New Orleans was later seen walking beside the President chewing gum, wearing sunglasses and a white tee-shirt with the word Desire printed on the front. He did not look like a leader. Maybe it was the only shirt he had at the time. But did he have to chew gum while on camera? And did he have to shade his eyes when the President and governor did not? Eye contact is one of the most important physical presentation skills. People connect through the eyes. His casual air did not inspire confidence. Nor did his foul language.

By not responding quickly enough, the President missed an important leadership opportunity.
Leaders are decisive and act quickly even when all the facts are not available. The people of New Orleans were left in squalor for too long.

Contrast this to the presentation of Rudolph Giuliani in New York City on September 11th. He was shocked and scared but he rose to the occasion. His body language was confident, his voice was measured, and his language was clear. He spoke from the heart but led with his head. Giuliani inspired confidence by acting quickly, keeping the people informed, and acknowledging that he didn't have all the answers.

The ability to take action, present ideas clearly and concisely, portray confident body language, and speak with confidence is what it takes to lead.
A crisis, no matter how small, requires leadership. And a leader needs strong presentation skills.

DiResta Communications, Inc.Communicating With Impact!