How Are You Presenting You?

Today’s blog post is about presentation skills and how vitale they are in you achieving success in both business and in life.

Now before we go any further, please let me clarity that I’m not talking about being a motivational speaker or a professional speaker.  I’m talking about your ability to communicate your ideas in a way that is effective and impactful.

No matter what you do for a living, we all have circumstances where we need to communicate with, and influence others in a group situation.  You could be in sales, you could be in management or could be the leader of an organization.   You could be the leader of a soccer club or even a little league coach.  The bottom line is, how you present your ideas will impact your results.

 Now, if you are a CEO, an executive, or anyone in a leadership role in a corporation, presentation skills are paramount; and the lack of those skills will literally place a ceiling on your career.

I’ve been blessed to be able to make a living, speaking to companies all over the world about success, and with that being said, I am passionate about helping others increase their effectiveness at conveying their ideas in a public forum.

So today I’m going to give you a few quick tips, and I have a gift for you.

First of all, let’s address the mental aspect of giving a talk in public. Here’s a general rule to follow: when people meet, the person who is most certain, always influences the other person or the other people.  How does that relate to you speaking in public?  When you walk in front of the room and start your talk, it’s natural for people to judge you.  Why? Because that’s what human’s do.  With that in mind, you must start off your talk exuding confidence and certainty – and you can do that in the following ways:

1. Walk and Stand Strong  (expanded upon in video)

2. Speak Clearly

3. Look at your audience – Eye Contact

Now, moving forward with a couple more tips:  you must have an agenda, which means you have specific points you are going to hit.  There’s nothing worse than listing to someone who is rambling from subject to subject, and just can’t seem to finish a point.  Get clear on what you’re going to talk about.

Lastly, close your meeting or your talk with an action step.  What I mean by that is, what do you want them to do?  Before you start your talk, you must ask yourself the following question:  What’s my outcome?  What do I want them to do?

Once you know your outcome, you can formulate your talk and make certain that when you complete your message, your audience knows what you want them to do.

You can use these simple ideas whether you are talking to an executive or sales team, or you’re talking to your kids.

There’s only so much I can share in this short video format, yet if you take these 5 ideas and run, you will show improvement.  For those of you who have the desire to learn more, I have a gift for you.

Just look at the navigation bar above and select 3 Free Speaking Tips. Enter your name and e-mail address and I’ll send you 3 videos that will really help you make some progress.  No obligation.

Start today being conscious about how you present yourself to others.  Implement the 5 simple tips, and you’ll notice the difference.

Let’s go out and have an amazing month.

Dan

The Hustle Factor

Hi, it’s Dan Lier, America’s Coach, and today’s success track is about Hustle. Most people associate the word hustle in regards to an athlete or sporting event, yet hustle, or lack of hustle will affect your results as well, in business and in life.

Hustle is not one of those cliche words or phrases, such as emotional intelligence or behavior adaptability…It’s simply a blue-collar “state of being” that all of us can use as the winning edge for success.

In business and in life, hustle is about giving it your all… going at it like it’s your last chance, because that’s where you can rise above the rest of the crowd and create superior results

I’m a big believer in hustle, as it’s one of the characteristics that has allowed me to achieve the things that I’ve achieved. It’s not the fancy degrees or the nice outfits that gives people the edge, it’s what I call the Hustle Factor. And here’s what’s great about it… you can out-hustle most people and create the results you want in your business and your life. I’m going to repeat that: You can out-hustle most people, and create the results you want in your business and your life.

It’s More Than Talent…

When I’m looking for people to add to my sales team, sure I’m looking for talent, who wouldn’t… yet there are a lot of people with talent that just operate at a level that just good enough to get the job done. I want the person who has the talent, and is playing like there is no tomorrow. Those are the people who make it happen.

In my travels, speaking and training companies all over the world, I’ve seen people who out-hustle their competition time after time – and they know it. They know that if they are going into the proposal and all things are fairly equal, they know they will get the business because they will do the little things that others just won’t do…. The follow-up, the thank you note, the e-mail, the testimonials, the extra visit… whatever it takes to get the business.

Years ago I was having a conversation with Jerry West, the legendary and Hall of Fame NBA guard for the Lakers. At that time Jerry was the GM for the Lakers. We were talking about Kobe coming into the league, and how although Joe Smith from Ohio State was the first pick the year before Kobe, he knew that Kobe was going to be a superstar. He said to me, he said, “Dan, Kobe plays with a passion for winning… he flat out hustles…. And the line that really stuck with me was this… Jerry said, now here me clearly on this… “hustle alone won’t make you successful, yet without it, you have no chance.” That really hit me… he said without hustle, you have no chance to be the best.

The great news from my perspective is that Hustle is something that you do today. Not tomorrow… Today. You don’t have to pass an exam, get a specialized degree or have so many years in service… you just do it. You just do it.

So what is your hustle Factor on a 0-10 scale… 10 being the best? So, if you’re working on a project or a new account right now, turn up the heat and increase your hustle factor. Turn it up! With a bit of hustle, you can get the winning edge in your business and your life.

Make a decision today to “out-hustle” your competition starting today.