Imagine giving a great presentation that accomplishes your goal, keeps the audience’s attention, and causes them to take action. You’re capable of giving this type of presentation, but may not know it yet.
Public Speaking Takes Courage and Builds Courage
Which comes first–the courage or the public speaking? Do you first need the courage to speak in public? Do you need to speak in public first to build courage?
There is no right answer. It depends on your own individual situation, but finding your voice and doing what you’re afraid of doing can help you build courage. As I’ve mentioned before, public speaking is the top fear in this country. It’s not easy to get up in front of an audience, especially if you’re a beginner speaker.
However, once you muster up enough courage to get up there, you’ll gain more courage for the next time you do it. It also helps you build confidence in other areas of your life. I spoke to a woman who was a freshman in college and had to give a speech in one of her classes. She was terrified, but after she did it, she said her confidence in her abilities rose. It gave her the encouragement she needed to start selling her photography. She had wanted to do it for a long time, but always backed out because she was afraid of failure.
Most of us do have the courage, but for many of us, it remains hidden. If we don’t put ourselves in challenging situations that call for us to use it, then we assume we don’t have it. It’s up to you to put yourself in the situations that will help you find and build your courage.
If you’re terrified of public speaking, join Toastmasters or offer to give the next presentation at work or take a presentation class at school. If you’re past the beginner public-speaking stage and want to spice up your presentation, look for new ideas that you can use in your presentations. Then find the courage to use those new ideas.
Building courage will help you be more successful in public-speaking and in life. Henry Ford once said, “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.”
The Rise of Applicant Tracking Systems
Do you remember having to print out a resume on nice paper and putting it in the envelope to send to prospective employers? I never did mail a resume, because ever since I started working, jobs were posted online and resumes were submitted online through the “applicant tracking system.”
However, when I first started working in Human Resources about eight years ago, I received paper resumes from candidates because the option was available to them. I do admit that some companies took longer to adapt than others. Now when I did my informal survey and looked at fifty or so company job postings online, I noticed that none of the postings provided a mailing address for paper resumes. Some did point out that you stood no chance to get the job if you didn’t apply online (stated in a much nicer way, of course).
Even though I wasn’t around in the age of mailing paper resumes myself, I do empathize with people who had been accustomed to the old system. They told me that while companies were switching to applicant tracking systems, many were still giving the option to mail a paper resume. Now that option is obsolete. After all, the applicant tracking system makes life so much easier for the recruiter or hiring manager.
As a Human Resources Consultant, I do admit that I’m on the side of the applicant tracking system. Of course, there are hiccups every not and then, but it’s much easier to overcome those hiccups than deal with thousands of paper resumes. However, I do want to take a moment to mourn the death of mailing paper resumes for those who enjoyed printing it out on fancy paper and putting it in the mail. If you’re one of those people who are mourning the loss, the bright side is that you can save money on the stamps it took to mail out all those resumes.
The applicant tracking system is just one piece of human resources technology that companies have embraced. Many more human resources systems are making their mark and will become as commonplace as the applicant tracking system in the years to come.
ABC Model for Successful Presentations – Step 2 Brainstorm
ABC Model for Successful Presentations – Step 2 Brainstorm
As I wrote in my previous article, I’m going to write a separate article for each step of the ABC Model for building your presentation skills. This article is on the second step, which is Brainstorm. If you missed the article on the first step, Assess, you can view it here.
Figuring out how to get started on your presentation can be difficult. It’ll save you a lot of time if you ask and answer three questions before writing the presentation. Brainstorm ideas to answer the following questions.
What is the purpose of this presentation?
Set a goal for the presentation. In other words, why do you want to achieve by giving the presentation? What is the ideal outcome? What would you like to happen as a result of the presentation?
If you don’t know the purpose of the presentation, the audience sure won’t either. Don’t confuse personal goals with presentation goals. The purpose of your presentation should not be to “give a good presentation” or “get through the presentation in one piece.” You shouldn’t be giving a presentation just for the sake of giving a presentation.
The purpose needs to be simple and specific. What do you want to tell your audience and what do you want them to do after the presentation? For example: You may want to inform the audience of the risks of not without a seat belt and persuade the audience members to wear a seat belt every time they get into a car.” You’re informing them of the risks of not wearing a seat belt and then using that information to persuade them to take action by wearing a seat belt.
Who is the audience?
In order to catch your audience’s interest, you need to understand your audience and their needs. People aren’t going to do something or buy something for your benefit. They’re going to act if it benefits them. Do as much research as you can on your audience. Sometimes, there may not be an obvious shared characteristic among the people who will be in the audience and you may have to search a bit more to find what they have in common. Finding that common thread will help you determine how to best deliver the message.
How am I going to package the presentation?
Brands rely on the aesthetics of their product and their product’s packaging to capture the consumer’s attention. It helps to apply this concept of packaging to your presentation as well.
Packaging your presentation means coming up with a desirable way to present the message. It doesn’t matter if your presentation is about polar bears, nuclear fission, or video games. Make it interesting for your audience. They’re sharing their time with you, so make the experience worthwhile for you and for them.
Next Step
Now that you are finished with the first step, Assess, and second step, Brainstorm, you can move on to the next step, Create.
Stay tuned for details in my next article!