Persuasion in Public Speaking - Cognitive Dissonance - Passionate Power Presentations - Number 9

Cognitive dissonance is a powerful argument structure to use in persuading an audience. Cognitive dissonance occurs when you are presented with information that is inconsistent with your attitudes, values or beliefs. This causes an uncomfortable emotional feeling as you consider or hold two contradictory ideas. Cognitive dissonance theory states that people are motivated to reduce dissonance by changing or rationalizing their attitudes, beliefs or behaviors when presented with a facts or a situation that violates their current attitudes, beliefs or behaviors.

Dissonance in Argument Structure

Creating dissonance in a speech can be an effective way to persuade your audience to change their attitudes, beliefs and/or behaviors.

Persuasion in Public Speaking - Cognitive Dissonance - Passionate Power Presentations - Number 9

Illustrate Audience Pain -> Then Introduce Safety or Relief

To use cognitive dissonance in an argument, first introduce a problem or need that you know is probably in violation or opposition to an attitude, belief or value held by the audience. This creates cognitive dissonance in the minds of your audience. You do this to create discomfort within the person to get their attention and to get them motivated to change the uncomfortable internal situation.

You then introduce additional information, a solution or alternative to the dissonant information that restores cognitive balance or equilibrium for the audience. By doing this, you create a logical and emotional road for the audience to travel down towards the solution you introduce.

An example of constructive use of dissonance would be to introduce the audience to the concept of personal failure. Show them, through a vivid story, the reality that if they continue with their current limiting thoughts and behaviors and their justifications for personal inaction, that they could reach the end of their life having actualized but a fraction of their dreams and potential.

This should create dissonance in your audience. Most people hope to realize their dreams and to actualize to their greatest potential in life. If you share a vivid story viscerally highlighting the reality that most people never realize anywhere near their full potential, you will create dissonance in those audience members that have high expectations of themselves and their lives.

Now, you can introduce tools that teach the audence, personal empowerment, time management or any other activity that will allow them to take greater control over their lives and their results. By doing this, you will close the gap between the pain of dissonance they feel and their dream of where they would like to be.

You have used dissonance to serve the audience. If you merely "tell" the audience: 'I have these tools that you can use" they are less likely to feel the motivation to act on their own behalf than they will be if you say "see, hear and feel this story of failure. This could be, and probably will be you, statistically speaking. Doesn't this hurt? Well I have tools that will allow you to avoid this pain AND gain the immense pleasure of personal success."

You have won. More importantly, the audience has been served and they win.

Copyright Christopher Babson - All Rights Reserved

http://www.BreakoutPresentations.com

Persuasion in Public Speaking - Cognitive Dissonance - Passionate Power Presentations - Number 9
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Chris inspires, motivates and teaches valuable tools for 1) results maximization through personal & organizational empowerment and 2) dynamic business presentations & public speaking. He does this through motivational speeches and coaching clinics. His background includes an MBA from a Top-20 school, 12 years as a Fortune-100 corporate banker, 6 years as an entrepreneur and 7 years as a professional actor in NYC, LA & Paris. His mission and skill-set are the same: to inspire & empower you and/or your organization to your greatest excellence, in communication, presentation or sales.

http://www.BreakoutPresentations.com

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Public Speaking: 10 Tips to Improve Public Speaking Skills

When I ask my audiences their number one challenge with public speaking, they overwhelmingly say, "to overcome the fear of public speaking." It's okay to have "butterflies." The key is how to get them organized, focused and flying in formation. Here are 10 tips for delivering a more powerful, persuasive presentation. Practice these techniques consistently to improve public speaking skills.

1. 95% of your success is determined before the presentation. Your audience will know if you didn't rehearse. Rehearsing, or "rehearing" yourself minimizes 75% of your nervousness. Rehearse standing up, or better yet, ask someone to videotape you. The camera will be your most objective ally. The more comfortable you become with your material via rehearsing, the more comfortable you will be with your body language.

2. Either memorize or "know cold" your opener and close. Two minutes each for an opener and a close is enough. The most important thing your audience will remember is your closing. Second most important thing they'll remember is your opener. Start with something attention grabbing, like a quote or statistic, which relates to your topic. Never start with, "Good Morning." It is obvious and boring.

Public Speaking: 10 Tips to Improve Public Speaking Skills

3. Public Speaking: 24 hours before your presentation:

A. Have a quiet dinner with a quiet friend. (This may or may not be your spouse!) You won't be as concerned about your public speaking skills if you can put your nervous system on glide.

B. The evening before, put your presentation on audiocassette as background noise one hour before retiring. Listen to your opener and close before bedtime as a review.

C. No massive changes 24 hours before. Nothing increases the fear of public speaking more than rewritting your material at the last minute. Impromptu speeches notwithstanding.

D. Visualize your presentation going smoothly and successfully. All Olympic athletes use this technique, and it works with public speaking as well.

E. Review your notes and visual aids the evening before. Your notes should only be "fast food for the eyes" in bullet form, and are NEVER read to the audience.

F. Eat a good high protein breakfast the morning of your presentation. Even if you're not speaking until that evening, feed your mind and body the proper fuel.

4. Before your presentation, check yourself in a full-length mirror. A dear friend of mine forgot to do this. During her keynote speech in front of hundreds, someone quietly pointed out that her skirt was tucked into her pantyhose!

5. Public speaking and purpose: When organizing your talk, define your purpose. Why are you there? Why are they there? Is this a sales presentation? A community watch group? If you present technical information, is this an information/knowledge transfer or a decision briefing? When presenting technical information make certain not to overload your audience with too much detail, or too much on each slide. Tailor your message. Define your objective.

6. Know your audience before designing your opener and close. It is imperative that you "speak the language" of your audience. What are their ages? Percentage of males/females? Are they highly technical or non-technical? Do they want to be there or is this mandatory? What are their expectations? If you are a scientist or engineer, speak to the "lowest common denominator." Technical presenters have a propensity to use a lot of technical jargon. Does the person in charge of funding understand the language?

7. Avoid using too many slides. Visual aids are wonderful tools as long as they're used to enhance the information. A common mistake is using the visual aids as the presentation. Look at the audience frequently to establish rapport and a connection. In almost every presentation, you are there to "sell" them not simply "tell" them. Do not look at your visual aids other than a quick glance, and never read them. Never turn your back on the audience to read slides. They will not look at your slides. Their minds will start to wander. Remember, you are your own best visual aid.

8. Good public speaking skills mean being prepared. As the saying goes, prior planning prevents predictably poor performance. Planning and preparation will reduce nervousness 75%. Again, your audience will know if you didn't rehearse. Consider hiring a public speaking coach. The dollars invested may well be worth their weight in gold.

9. The Q & A period and how to handle a hostile audience. The second most frequent comment I hear in my public speaking seminars is "What if they ask a question and I don't know the answer?" Or, "What if someone in the audience is a know-it-all and doesn't like me?" Avoid being argumentative. If you don't know the answer, ask if someone in the audience has the answer. Or, simply let them know when you will get back to them. Make certain you do. When you lie you die. It destroys your credibility.

10. Variety and venue. Variety serves as a "wake up call" to your audience. Examples of adding variety: humor, relevant stories, quotes, voice inflection, paired and group activities, pauses, audience participation in the question and answer period, and slides or other multimedia. As for your venue, are your visual aids appropriate to your size of audience? Will everyone be able to see them?

Lastly, make sure to confirm the time, date, and place with the appropriate contact person. If possible, arrange to see the room ahead of time so you can practice visualizing in the exact location of your presentation. At the minimum, arrive at least one hour ahead of time. To improve public speaking skills, and overcome nervousness, nothing works like being prepared.

Copyright 2006 Colleen Kettenhofen

Public Speaking: 10 Tips to Improve Public Speaking Skills
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Colleen Kettenhofen is a motivational speaker, workplace expert, & co-author of "The Masters of Success," as featured on the Today Show, along with Ken Blanchard and Jack Canfield. http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com Topics: leadership, management, difficult people, success, public speaking. To order the book, or for free articles and newsletter visit http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com You are free to reprint or repost this information provided Colleen Kettenhofen's name and website is provided with the article.

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Public Speaking 101 - Speaking Secrets of the Superstars

All of us recognize that public speaking ranks among one of the greatest fears for most people. Whether speaking at a meeting or before a group of 400, many people get nervous just anticipating giving a presentation. A comment I frequently hear in my public speaking seminars is, "What's the best way to overcome nervousness and gain confidence with public speaking?" Here are some proven secrets many great public speakers practice:

1. Your audience will know if you're not prepared. They'll pick up on subtle clues in your body language. 95% of your success is determined before the presentation. Rehearsing minimizes 75% of your nervousness. No one likes to rehearse. Instead, see if you can have a friend or colleague videotape you. Yes, I realize no one likes seeing themselves on video either! Still, the camera will be your most objective ally.

2. Once you've fine-tuned your presentation, rehearse and practice in front of family members, colleagues, friends, or a public speaking coach. Ask for honest feedback. What did they like most? What did they think of your energy level, passion and commitment to what you're saying? What do they think could be improved? Also practice in front of a mirror. This will help you rehearse standing up and let you see what needs to be improved. The more you rehearse standing up, and the more familiar you become with your material, the more comfortable you will be with your public speaking. This one tip alone can dramatically improve public speaking skills.

Public Speaking 101 - Speaking Secrets of the Superstars

3. Put your presentation as a "rough draft" on a micro cassette recorder. Listen to it while you're driving to and from work, picking up the kids, or driving to the supermarket. I know what you're thinking. "I don't like how I sound on audio tape!" I realize that. But this is a convenient way to learn material quickly. Again, where do you sound convincing, passionate and interesting? What parts of your presentation do you think need work? The audio cassette recorder is another objective ally.

4. Visualize yourself giving a successful presentation. Better yet, if you know the exact room you'll be speaking in visualize that, too. Olympic athletes practice visualization. It works for public speaking as well.

5. To improve public speaking skills, do a dress rehearsal. Before I conduct a keynote speech or breakout session at a conference, I take a peek inside the ballroom. If the room's empty, I'll go in and practice a "dry run." This is something I try to do in full dress rehearsal mode. If the ballroom is being used until morning, I go in that morning.

Rehearsing in the exact room will give you an edge in feeling more comfortable and conquering fear of public speaking. This is one of the biggest public speaking secrets of many great public speakers. Guaranteed! If you're usually presenting in small meetings or groups these same techniques work.

6. Are your notes and visual aids large enough print that you can see them standing up? Your notes should be "fast food for the eyes." Never read your presentation. You're the presenter. Your audience expects you to be the expert. You want that connection with them. A secret to effective public speaking is bonding with your audience through stories, activities, appropriate humor and understanding their needs ahead of time.

7. Stand up when speaking in public. Even if only three people attend, it sends a signal that says, "You're so important that I'm going to stand even for the three of you." According to a University of Minnesota study, when you stand in presenting your ideas, you are more believable, credible and persuasive.

8. Stand "center stage" when presenting your most important point. It grabs the audience's attention. The rest of the time you can move around as long as you aren't nervously pacing like a lion. Again, that's where the videotaping helps!

Visual Aids and Public Speaking: Less is More

9. With public speaking and visual aids, less is more. Don't use more than three or four colors per slide. Otherwise, people start focusing more on color and less on content. Use graphs for sales figures or sets of numbers showing a trend over a period of time. Graphs are pictures that increase retention and comprehension. No more than two or three lines on a graph. Use pie charts for market share, budgets, expenses analysis, income sources and the like.

10. Avoid slides with yellow, pink or orange print. They don't show up well. Dark blue, black or any other dark color is better. White is okay with a darker background. Red stands for negatives like "danger," or "warning." Only use red to indicate problems, your competition, stopping or something similar.

11. Public speaking and eye contact: Approximately three to five seconds of eye contact per person with a small or medium sized group. Many public speakers make the mistake of using their visual aids AS their presentation. A key point in persuading your audience is establishing connection and credibility.

12. What if someone in your audience doesn't like what you have to say because they don't like the product or service you're selling? Or what if you fear public speaking because you often have to deliver bad news? Know and research your audience ahead of time. What will be their biggest objections? THINK AHEAD when planning your presentation how you're going to handle those issues.

13. Never lose emotional control. Often, these difficult people are trying to rattle your cage. They want control. And they want it in front of others. What if they continuously discount what you're saying? Tactfully respond to them at first. After a while, say something like, "You bring up a good point, and yet, due to time constraints see me at the break and we'll discuss that privately." Your audience will be looking to see how you handle the situation.

"When speaking in public, you are your own best visual aid." Colleen Kettenhofen

Public Speaking 101 - Speaking Secrets of the Superstars
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Colleen Kettenhofen is a leadership and change management expert, award-winning speaker, media veteran, and speech coach. She has delivered more than 1,100 entertaining keynotes and seminars in 48 states and five countries. Topics: leadership, managing people, difficult people, improving public speaking. Colleen is available for keynotes, breakout sessions and seminars by calling toll-free(800)323-0683, or in Phoenix (623)340-7690. She is the author of two books and 10 audio programs available on her website http://BounceBackHigher.com

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Public Speaking - Become an Effective Speaker

Effective public speaking today is about delivering valuable content to your listeners in a clear and interesting style. Anyone that is prepared to apply themselves can become a more effective speaker.

To be a successful speaker you need the right combination of speaking skills involving delivery and preparation. Becoming proficient in these skills takes practice and application. Having the right qualities and characteristics will help you immensely to become a truly effective public speaker.

1. Confidence - Confidence comes from believing in what you are saying and being passionate about your subject. Self-confidence is developed by knowing everything you can about your subject and thoroughly preparing and practicing.

Public Speaking - Become an Effective Speaker

When you walk out on the stage or out front of your meeting you must overcome your nerves and deliver your message. By mastering the "shakes" you are half way to being an effective public speaker.

Almost everyone who rises to speak suffers some degree of stage fright. Many distinguished speakers admit to recurring nervousness. They take several deep breaths to restore their composure and cure any palpitations and focus on the valuable message they are about to deliver.

2. Likability - As a general rule your listeners want to like you. When they do like you it makes delivering your speech easier. Your likability is helped by smiling and being positive and friendly. An upbeat tone to your voice will attract your listeners. Keep the other person's point of view in mind when developing your presentation. Take an active interest in what your audience have to say and show that you care about them.

3. Expertise - you need to know your subject thoroughly - read and learn all you can. An audience will quickly sense when you do not know your stuff. By being a recognized as a leader in your field and knowing your subject thoroughly you can be in demand even if you are not considered a first rate speaker.

4. Enthusiasm - you will need to be passionate about your subject. It helps when you really enjoy the topic you are discussing. You speech can be convincing and effective because of your enthusiasm about your subject.

5. Persistence - Persistence and practice will see you steadily improve and become an effective speaker. Take every opportunity to speak in front of an audience. More than any other human activity, public speaking is learned and improved by doing it.

Improving your speaking skills is critical to becoming an effective public speaker. Developing the right characteristics can make this possible. If you do not have all the characteristics and skills now, don't worry because there are many solutions for this e.g. books, e-books, college courses and speaking organisations such as Toastmasters etc. Take your first step today and open the door to effective public speaking.

Public Speaking - Become an Effective Speaker
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