The Important Public Speaking Skills

Public speaking skills are important for professionals, in many fields, as they often need to present ideas, persuade others, and communicate effectively with audiences of various sizes.

Here are some tips for improving public speaking skills:

  1. Practice: The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become with speaking in front of others.
  2. Know your audience: Tailor your message and delivery to the specific audience you will be speaking to.
  3. Use visual aids: Use slides, videos, or other visual aids to help illustrate your points and keep the audience engaged.
  4. Use storytelling: Telling a story can help make your message more relatable and memorable for your audience.
  5. Be yourself: Speak in a style that is authentic to you and your personality.
  6. Be passionate: Speak with enthusiasm and energy, your audience will be more likely to be engaged.
  7. Be well-prepared: Research your topic thoroughly and have key points outlined before you speak.
  8. Be flexible: Be prepared to adjust your message or delivery in response to audience feedback or questions.
  9. Rehearse: Rehearsing your presentation will help you to feel more confident and will reduce the likelihood of mistakes.
  10. Seek feedback: Seek feedback from others on your speaking style and content to help identify areas for improvement.

Adrienne McLean is an Internationally Accredited Speakers Training Camp®️ Instructor and a Distinguished Toastmaster and a Book Yourself Solid®️ Certified Coach specialising in helping professionals and business owners with workplace presentations and communications.

The importance of preparing for the big day!

Wedding speeches are one of the most memorable speeches that can be delivered. Whether, it is the Bride and groom or the Father of the Bride or the Best Man or Bridesmaid.

Presentation skills and public speaking impacts on many areas, both in business and personal. At The Speakers Practice, we work with professionals but, in essence, we are supporting and training individuals so they can be more confident with personal presentation matters ,as well as, at work with presentation and in marketing efforts. At The Speakers Practice, we do offer Speciality Speech writing and assistance with delivery.

A loving father got in contact and was looking for some support in preparing a speech for his daughter who was getting married. As the Father of the Bride, he wanted to deliver an impactful speech as it was such an important day for his family.

Being a builder, getting up in front of groups and speaking wasn’t something that came naturally to to Jim. His wife was the one that did a whole lot more talking and had that skill. For the wedding, Jim was the father of the bride and this was his duty. Jim had the intention to do the best speech ever, he was willing to prepare and practice to do it as well as he could possibly deliver the speech. Jim called on me , as a presentation skills coach, to help him with his presentation.

The process:

  1. Brain storming the topic
    Jim worked with me for three sessions. The first session, we brainstormed about his family, I asked questions and took notes. From our discussions, we came up with some family stories that were most important and from these discussions, a speech developed.
  2. Preparing the SpeechThe speech was prepared and this was discussed during the second session.For Jim, it was a nice moment to reflect over the years, for me it was delightful to learn about the family. A speech was prepared and discussed with Jim. We worked on fine tuning the content.Jim got input from others and I helped along the way.
  3. Practice
    Jim got to practice and even though it was on line, Jim was able to practice and I was able to give  Jim feedback.Jim practiced in front of anyone who would listen. Yes, he got lots of input to support him through the process. This is valuable, as practice, gets in out of your head and into a performance. It helps with getting the language right and with the flow.
  4. The Big Day!
    The big day happened and Jim messaged to say how wonderful the day went and he was thrilled with his speech. Everyone congratulated Jim on the fabulous presentation. Think there were a few tears of happiness!

Jim messaged me saying “ I pulled it off! My speech went well. Received so many lovely comments on how well written and presented it was! Thank you so much, I definitely could not have done it without your help. “

His message goes on” The speeches all went very well, mine went well thanks to you. My daughters made some lovely speeches too and the boys spoke. But the groom didn’t want any speeches in the video for some reason. So there are no records of the speeches” Jim thought it was mainly because the groom, his brother and father had nothing prepared and they didn’t come across very well. “

In summary:

The moral to this story is planning and preparation helps prevent presentation predicaments! Plan, prepare, rehearse and practice. Do the work to make the outcome as good as you can do it. Invest in yourself. Do the hard yards. It is worth it. It means you’ll never need to cover up or hide or hide others efforts.

Whether it is a wedding speech, as in this example, or it is a work presentation or a presentation selling your business, doing the preparation and working on each aspect of the presentation will at the end of the day mean you are better off and can present in a much better light than someone who didn’t prepare.

Adrienne McLean is a BookYourselfSolid® Certified Coach, SpeakersTrainingCamp® Internationally Accredited Instructor and the Principle of The Speakers Practice. Offering marketing discovery audits, online training programs, Public Speaking for Professionals, Effective On-Camera Presenting workshop and much more.

Email on adrienne@thespeakerspractice.com.au or ring on 0414 367 960

Speak Up & Stand Out! Bi-Monthly Newsletter

Presentation and Video Program

Do you need video for your website?
Are you keen to learn more skills about presenting to a camera?
Do you want to maximise your impact on a video?

The Speakers Practice is pleased to offer the Presentation and Video program assisting Businesses to create professional quality video to connect with your customer.

This is a two step process so we can enable the presenter to deliver a high quality video performance.

In our “Effective On-Camera Presenting Skills” program, our guest trainer Tim Stackpool will guide you through training to assist you to become comfortable to present in front of a camera. You go through one on one training and practice your presentation for maximum impact.

Our “Connect with Your Audience by Video “ program will guide you to create a Professional Quality Video you will be proud to represent your business on your website or YouTube channel.

What do our clients say about The Speakers Practice Presentation and Video Workshop?  

Our Trainers: 
Our guest trainer ,Tim Stackpool , is a Media Skills Professional  – with over 25 years of experience with Television and Radio , both with presenting and production – Tim is an experienced Journalist, Broadcaster, TV Correspondent, Radio Presenter who has worked for Channel 9, TVSN, CNN,2GB and is a Camera Coach/Trainer.Tim guides you through the process of creating your video starting with the script and with the focus  on delivering great presentations . All your questions and concerns about creating video whether in the film studio or with your own equipment can be answered during this workshop.
Adrienne McLean DTM is a SpeakersTrainingCamp® Presentation Skills Instructor and a BookYourselfSolid® Certified Marketing Coach who specialises in Video Marketing.  Adrienne will assist you with scripting so you can deliver your scripts with ease, delivery of presentation, confidence, handling of any nerves, and voice work. Adrienne will also assist with the use of your video – to promote your business and enhance your expertise. Video marketing is becoming an essential tool in a marketer’s tool kit – Adrienne will give you information and approaches you can use once your video is completed.

Here’s an overview of The Presentation and Video Program –

The_Speakers_Practice_video_with_Presentation_and_Video_Options_First_Frame

At the “Effective On-Camera Presenting Skills”  program
You will:

  1. Learn the skills to present on camera
  2. Learn the step by step process and suggested tools for creating your own video.
  3. Be with other Business Professionals – see their approaches, challenges and achievements
  4. Learn to prepare short, concise script that will keep viewers engaged.
  5. Learn the skills with using an Autocue essential with remembering the script when in front of the camera.
  6. Your video presentation will be significantly improved by addressing any mannerisms, gestures, vocal issues, confidence issues that affect on-camera presentations.
  7. Become confident and knowledgeable about presenting to a video camera.
  8. Go through the process of preparing and filming a video which will be emailed to you.

For more information on our “Effective On-Camera Presenting Skills” program, please ring Adrienne McLean on 0414 367 960 or email
adrienne@thespeakerspractice.com.au

Attendees are asked to bring along the 1 -2 minute video script that has been practiced at our Effective On-Camera Presenting Skills program.

This training includes:

✔︎ Video Filming Day is held at professional recording studios or at a selected location

✔︎ One-on-One training session and fine tune your presentation

✔︎ You are videoed with professional camera, lights, microphone and Autocue with a White Background

✔︎ Your video will be edited to a professional quality and emailed to you. 

Our next program is in May/June, 2019. Date to be confirmed.
Venue: Pow Wow Studios, 190 Pacific Highway, North Sydney
Cost:  $745 + GST 

Please ring Adrienne McLean for more details on 0414 367 960 or email
adrienne@thespeakerspractice.com.au

Positioning Yourself as an Expert using Content Marketing

When you are speaking or writing about your topic of interest, you are displaying your expertise in that niche. The more you do this, the more you display your skills, understanding and knowledge in that area, helping to build trust and credibility. By continually creating content to promote on social media platforms, where your target market will see, you become the category authority and, over time, the “go to” person in your niche.

Building a body of content in a niche helps grow your Intellectual Property which can be used in a number of ways – even monetised. But before you get started, preparatory foundational steps are required to ensure the content you create addresses your target audience’s problems, ensuring it’s valuable and answers market questions.

Being clear on these five points is the preparatory work required, before you get started on your content creation:

Determine your niche
Look at content already created for gaps
Determine your ideal client and target market
Determine the problem you’re addressing and the solutions you offer
Create a list of content topics

Speaking

Presentations & Signature Speeches

Speaking helps to convey your message to large groups of people and efficiently spread the word. However, delivering presentations is a craft – a learnt skill that requires connecting with the audience through the use of stories, examples, statistics and any other device that connects your audience with the topic.

Preparing a signature presentation can be something you can develop and hone. Then promoting your expertise to event planners can help get you in front of the right audiences at the right time. Not only that, talking one to many is a fabulous way to connect and grow your audience and your network of influence.

Video

Using video to promote your business topic is a great way to talk one-on-one, but many times. Developing the skills to prepare great video is invaluable, helping you speak with impact in front of the camera with a script that truly connects with the audience. Naturally, the more comfortable you are in front of a camera, the more you will be able to get your message across in a meaningful way.

However, there are skills to learn and develop – planning, the presentation skills to camera and then the post-production work, including editing the video with your branding. Your video can also be transcribed and repurposed for blogging and eBook/Book creation.

Webinars

Webinars offer a multi-faceted approach, but require some planning/up front considerations, including:

the webinar topic
the webinar platform and how it will run. (Are you running it with a business partner or alone?)
where people will log in?
pre-webinar promotions to get people to sign up
post-webinar promotions (uploading on to YouTube and Vimeo for circulation)
contact detail collection
Webinars can also be used as online training programs or broken up into smaller promotions.

Writing & Blogging
Writing about your expertise is a wonderful way to create your own Intellectual Property and to explore areas of expertise that may even surprise you. The blog creation process helps convey your expertise, with each blog article being able to be amalgamated to form longer articles and eBooks – even chapters of a book.

Audio
Doing interviews with experts in other areas can help highlight your own expertise and, as with video, your audio can be transcribed and repurposed for blogging and eBook/Book creation.

Radio

Speaking on radio not only displays you as an expert, the Mp3 recording can be uploaded to create a podcast.

Podcasting

Finding a suitable podcast platform is useful to share your interviews with the world. Mixcloud and Anchor are my favourites. It’s easy to upload the Mp3 recording and then the platform will make it easier to share.

Opportunities with Content
By creating video content, you can also prepare an Mp3 recording for audio use and have this transcribed using an app called Otto. From the edited transcript you can then go on to prepare a blog article or eBook. Then, you can create an online training program using the video or audio, prepare some slides, pdf questionnaires and so on.

The repurposing opportunities are enormous, so take the time to consider how you can fully utilise your information assets, remembering that everything you create helps position you as the expert in your field.

Seven Tips for Creating Content
Ensure your content adds value to your ideal clients and prospects
Create content on topics that resonate – aim to inform
Upskill as necessary to create good content – blog writing or production of video and audio content
Create a Content Calendar
Amalgamate your content to create eBooks and Books
Develop your own IP by creating online programs
Build a community to help promote and share your content
Summary
Before you proceed, consider the purpose behind what you are creating. Perhaps you’re doing fortnightly blogs, which can be read aloud to create audio files, then slide decks and supportive video can be created. Use your imagination and see what amazing content you can produce.

Most of all, have fun and enjoy the process!

Adrienne McLean of The Speakers Practice helps professionals with Marketing & Communications. This was written by Adrienne McLean and first published for the Spin the Sourcebottle, Source bottle – https://www.sourcebottle.com/blog/POSITIONING-YOURSELF-AS-AN-EXPERT-USING-CONTENT-MARKETING

Technology to make Marketing Easier with guest Ana Melikian

Ana Melikian, the Founder of Tech Tips For Coaches and loves to help business owners achieve their BIG goals! Ana has a Phd in Psychology and is passionate about helping purpose driven, creative entrepreneurs with online marketing and understands the importance of working on mindsets in order to succeed.

Ana is an Elite Level BookYourselfSolid certified coach and co-founded the More Clients More Fun, where they developed leading-edge LinkedIn strategies for business development to land high-value clients.  In 2018, Ana launched Tech Tips For Coaches, a very affordable members

hip site designed to help coaches, consultants, trainers, and speakers to navigate the online world and market their services online with ease and joy!

The topic of our interview today is “Technology to make Marketing Easier ! ”.

The questions Ana discusses are:

  1. There are so many online marketing tools – where do businesses start?
  2. Which is your favourite CRM  and Email Management system and why?
  3. What are some of the things to watch out for when choosing online platforms?
  4. What are some other business tools that are essential for a business today?
  5. What is a Business strategy that you recommend? 

Adrienne McLean DTM , The Speakers Practice – helping clients with business development. Adrienne empowers Business owners to implement a powerful business building system to get more clients & communication skills to connect with impact.

 You can contact Adrienne on adrienne@thespeakerspractice.com.au or ring on 0414 367 960.

Video is a powerful way of connecting ……

Video is an incredibly powerful way of connecting with your clients.

You, as a business owner, can connect one-on-one with your clients and prospective clients in a way that was unheard of 15 years ago. Today, it is so easy to use a phone or tablet to create a video, the quality is reasonably good and connections can be made one to many easily and regularly.

For more professional video, access is available and quality video is more affordable than ever. You can create your own commercial with high quality displaying you as the expert in your field to everyone that clicks on your website or Youtube channel.

So what sorts of video could you create to speak to your prospects?

Here’s a list but there’s over 50 different types of video – see – 51 ways you can use video

  1. Short, sharp phone video for use on Facebook
  2. Branded professional video for websites
  3. How to video for Youtube and websites
  4. Video for Online Training programs
  5. Video via Webinars

Each profession will suite various sorts of video. Its a matter of thinking about how can video be best utilised in my business to help my clients.

Once you have thought through the use of video within your business, then its the creation of the video that is to be considered.

Video creation involves –

  1. Planning – the script, the message, the location, how the video is to be created, who is to be involved , is it a person speaking or animated video?
  2. Production – the creation of the video – who is going to do this and how
  3. Post Production – preparing the digital recording into a professional MP4 recording.

There’s plenty to think about when preparing a video.

The important consideration is the connection with you and your clients and prospects.


Video can help your business by:
a.displaying you as the expert in your field
b. keep a personal connection with your audience
c. use various, interesting video to keep your audience engaged and following your topics
d. giving your audience valuable information using video in an easy to watch format
e. you, as the business owner, only need to say this once on the video and then it can be seen multiple times by viewers so for you it is actually time consuming not having to say the same thing again and again.

Consider the ways video can help you. Perhaps, give us a call to discuss opportunities where you can utilise video to help you.

Check out the Effective On-Camera Presenting program Video is a powerful marketing tool and that marketing using video is becoming an important way of connecting with your prospects & clients. To use video, are you looking to understand ✔︎ How to effectively present to camera ✔︎ What you need to be aware of when using video ✔︎ What are the best approaches to create successful video? ✔︎ Get nervous in front of a video camera ✔︎ Wanting to create successful video? ✔︎ What tools you need to do this

Adrienne McLean DTM – SpeakersTrainingCamp International Instructor and the Founder of The Speakers Practice – Adrienne specialises at The Speakers Practice helping clients to confidently deliver presentations for maximum impact. Adrienne has been training presenting to camera programs since 2012 and has been coached by Lou Bortone – US Video Marketing Expert.

 You can contact Adrienne on adrienne@thespeakerspractice.com.au or ring on 0414 367 960.

The Speakers Practice & Adrienne McLean.com October newsletter, 2018

In our work, we are serving Service Professionals who are looking for:  ✔︎ More clients,  ✔︎ Improved marketing and sales,  ✔︎ Improved communication skills, as well as,  ✔︎ Techniques to raise awareness of their business.    We also help the business development, marketing and sales managers who are also looking to build their skills.      What are important skills needed in the workplace for growth - both personally and in business?    Marketing Skills and Business Development system   Public Speaking, Presentation Skills and Communication Skills   Effective Speaking to Camera and creating Video   Professional Services Marketing Conference     Here are our programs that are coming up -    The Professional Services Marketing Conference 2018 was a day of learning, connecting and being motivated to get to the next level. Check out this Professional Services Marketing Conference overview video (https://youtu.be/voFTnJy1m4E)        If you missed attending and would like to see the presentations online or attended and want to see the presentations again - enjoy the  Online -  Professional Services Marketing Conference 2018 (http://professional-services-marketing-conference.thinkific.com/courses/professional-services-marketing-conference-2018) - there are 6 hours of presentations full of really valuable information to help you with marketing, digital marketing, sales and mindset.            The BookYourselfSolid Masterclass Intensive - 8 sessions live, online - going step by step through the business development system BookYourselfSolid - check here more details                Marketing Discovery Audit  By doing an annual marketing audit, you will find out:  ✔︎ Are your marketing systems working for you  ✔︎ Are there processes that need implementing for growth  ✔︎ Are your strategies & tactics being followed  By doing the Marketing Discovery Audit , this will give you insights for marketing activities to help you get off to a great start for the new year.            Check out the Effective On-Camera Presenting program   Video is a powerful marketing tool and that marketing using video is becoming an important way of connecting with your prospects & clients.  To use video, are you looking to understand  ✔︎ How to effectively present to camera  ✔︎ What you need to be aware of when using video  ✔︎ What are the best approaches to create successful video?  ✔︎ Get nervous in front of a video camera  ✔︎ Wanting to create successful video?  ✔︎ What tools you need to do this    The Speakers Practice is taking bookings for the next upcoming Effective On-Camera Presenting for Professionals"         Hornsby Business Information Forum - a networking event to meet, ask those niggling marketing & business development questions, share & be inspired - 4th Thursday, Thyme Square cate - 8.30am to 10am, Free to attend. Business Professionals meet and discuss the topic of the day - - topic is the 6 steps to grow a business - book in Next Forum -  25th October, 2018     For more details or to ask any questions, ring 0414 367 960.  See: www.thespeakerspractice.com.au and www.adriennemclean.com  

21 Step Marketing System Checklist

By scheduling in regular marketing, this will help with keeping your business front of mind with your prospects. If your business is front of mind, when the time is right, the prospect will discuss with you their needs & business can be done.

Have you got a regular process to follow to implement your marketing regularly?

Here’s a checklist to do to consider your current marketing efforts. It’s a bit like doing an audit – checking what is currently done and what needs work on. Perhaps if you want some help – schedule in a time with me for a free 30 minute phone call to discuss. Here to help – Adrienne McLean – The Speakers Practice.
BooK here – 30 min Consultation – Free!

21 Step Marketing System Checklist

1

Do you know who your “Ideal Clients” are? Yes/ No

2

Have you a clearly defined target market? Yes/ No

3

Have you developed your personal brand ? Yes/ No

4

Are the problems your target market face clearly understood for your topic? Yes/ No

5

Do you have a clearly defined #1 big result? Yes/ No

6

Are you clear about the benefits your product brings? Yes/ No

7

Can you confidently “Talk About What You Do” Yes/ No

8

Do you clearly display your creditials? Yes/ No

9

Have you clearly defined your products? Yes/ No

10

Do you have a clearly defined Keeping in Touch Strategy? Yes/ No

11

Have you any blogs, eBooks, Books, CDs, DVDs, online training? Yes/ No

12

Are you confident with your Pricing? Yes/ No

13

Do you have successful sales conversations? Yes/ No

14

Have you a clearly defined Networking Strategy? Yes/ No

15

Have you a clearly defined Direct Outreach Strategy? Yes/ No

16

Have you a clearly defined Referral Strategy ? Yes/ No

17

Have you a clearly defined Speaking Strategy ? Yes/ No

18

Have you a clearly defined Writing Strategy? Yes/ No

19

Have you a clearly defined Web Strategy? Yes/ No

20

Are you implementing Strategies Networking, Direct Outreach & Referrals? Yes/ No

21

Are you implementing atleast one of Strategies Speaking, Writing & Digital Marketing (Social Media/ Pay for Click Advertising)? Yes/ No

Perhaps if you want some help – schedule in a time with me for a free 30 minute phone call to discuss. Here to help – Adrienne McLean – The Speakers Practice.
BooK here – 30 min Consultation – Free!

The Speakers Practice – Presentation Skills workshop for Professionals

What would you get out of  The Speakers Practice – Presentation Skills Workshop for Professionals ?

A fabulous day was spent with Professionals who were keen to work on their presentation skills. The SpeakersTrainingCamp formula is followed – taking rather nervous attendees through a process of developing their presentation skills and building confidence to speak in front of a group.

What did they like most about the workshop?

  1. Helped me to speak naturally and from the heart
  2. very relaxed , comfortable atmosphere bringing out people’s openness
  3. Good to get feedback from everyone in the group
  4. Having a solid structure for a presentation
  5. Gaining confidence via constructive feedback
  6. Practical tips
  7. Safe and supportive people and feedback to get better
  8. Opportunity to practise
  9. Indepth knowledge
  10. Good facility

What were the most important things they learnt?

  • How to structure a presentation
  • being natural when delivering a presentation – speaking from the heart
  • being in control of the situation
  • Good valuable tips
  • The GRABM concept
  • Importance of body language
  • Controlling nerves and the exercises to help with nervousness
  • Importance of posture and breathing
  • Feeling more confident to deliver a message

A testimonial to summarise the day –

“Adrienne opened doors for me that have been closed for a long time. Her course has initiated a process that I can confidently build on helping me personally and with my work in architecture.”

Rob Geoghegar,  Architect

The Speakers Practice – Presentation Skills workshop for Professionals will be available quarterly – check in with The Speakers Practice for the next workshop.