A few weeks ago I attended the Professional Speaking Association’s Refresh! Convention. As you would expect, the online event was packed with fantastic speakers, each of whom shared their expertise and insights on how we could ‘refresh’ certain elements of our business.
So I’ve chosen three of the sessions I enjoyed for different reasons and have shared some of the takeaways below. I’ve also included my observations on what the speakers did well so that you can consider using some of the techniques to enhance your own presentations.
Refresh your language
A recognised tone of voice pioneer and global expert, Ben Afia uses language to help companies change culture, improve performance and forge deeper connections with their customers.
In the opening keynote, Ben shared that people who use more complex language and passive language tend to have less gravitas while people who use shorter words and active language tend to seem more trustworthy. An example of passive language might be “A letter will be sent”. Instead using the phrase “I’ll write to you” is more strong, direct, and clear in tone and comes across as more personal.
In my experience, we are often tempted to use the passive voice because we perceive it to sound fancier, but this can trip you up when presenting and sound very unnatural. When I’m working with clients on their pitches and presentations, especially if they are talking about a complex topic, I often have to encourage them to simplify their language which is sometimes met with resistance. But Ben’s talk reinforced how important simple language is if we really want to connect with an audience and build trust.
I loved that Ben brought his topic to life by incorporating a personal story of an archeological dig, encouraging the audience to interact in the chat, using simple slides and delivering a strong message about how you can take a fresh look at your language by scraping back layers of communications, behaviour, brand and culture.
Refresh your LinkedIn results
Sam Rathling is a best-selling author and an international speaker who helps business owners and corporate sales teams to build their personal brand, reach key decision-makers, and get real results from the LinkedIn platform.
Her fast paced session, was jam packed with tips on how to use LinkedIn more effectively and made me realise how much more I could be doing with LinkedIn!
I have pages of notes, some of which I have yet to implement, so here are a couple of lesser-known LinkedIn nuggets that might be useful for you too.
- If you’re doing a talk somewhere, always connect with your audience on LinkedIn. To make it easier, you can generate your personal QR code on your phone to display on your PowerPoint presentation simply by clicking the 4 squares to the right of your search bar (see image)
- Your SSI (social selling index) score should be 80 or above. Mine is currently 77. You can check yours here and aim to increase it based on which of the four components of your score need attention
- When adding a post, use all 1300 characters to keep people viewing your post for longer
- Don’t post and leave it; the first 2 hours after posting are the most important for engagement so make sure you engage with anyone who comments on your post
- LinkedIn loves comments but rather than one or two words, comments need to be longer than seven words to signal to the algorithm that the post is getting lots of engagement.
Refresh your perspective
Bryony Thomas is the multi-award winning creator of the brilliant Watertight Marketing methodology, captured in the best-selling book of the same name.
In December 2019 she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given 12 weeks to live; fortunately she is still here to share her story. This was the first time she had given a talk about the impact of her #pancreatic cancer diagnosis on her business and professional identity.
Whilst it is obviously still raw and I generally advise people not to speak to audiences about experiences that you haven’t fully processed yet, Bryony’s talk and message was simple, powerful and perfect for the event given that she was familiar to many in the audience.
Knowing Bryony personally and finding out additional details about her journey both before and after her cancer diagnosis, I found myself sobbing through most of it as she spoke candidly and openly about her challenges and the lessons learned.
Key takeaways:
· Examine your own perspective and the perspective you have inherited and then look at a situation through other lenses to gain alternative perspectives and diversity of thinking
· A pause, whether by choice or circumstance, always helps refresh your perspective; it is important to embrace it and create the opportunity to pause periodically
· You don’t have to always be busy or to do it all alone; in fact, sometimes trying to do everything yourself is the biggest barrier to your success and it’s okay to ask for help
· There is always something to be grateful for
There were several reasons this talk was so powerful. The structure was easy to follow with personal stories and observations interwoven throughout to reinforce the key points. It was delivered at a measured pace with fantastic use of pause throughout. And it was personal, honest and from the heart.
It is always a delight to connect with my fellow professional speakers and watch them in action; I learn something either from their content and/or from the way in which they deliver it every time. I hope my reflections have been helpful for you too – do let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Mel Sherwood is a Presentation Skills and Personal Impact Speaker and Founder of The RED Effect™. She works with ambitious business leaders, teams and individuals who want to express themselves with confidence, credibility and charisma. An Australian based in Scotland, Mel is an award-winning speaker, author and coach and combines over 25 years’ experience in business with a background as an actor, presenter and singer.