How To Become 'Unfireable' - Part One: Dominate A Room.

One of my clients emailed me about what happened to them at work yesterday: "Rich - Remember my boss Jim? We were attending his weekly status meeting and it was my turn to speak. I took your advice about presenting to my audience and then to elevate the discussion to the 'meta-conversation' - what we're REALLY talking about.

 

Instantly it cut through all the BS and caught my boss' attention. He asked me to stay behind after everyone had left. He was impressed how I transformed the basic 'blah-blah' of everyone's status updates and honed in on what we really need to do as a team.

End result: He offered me a new project to tackle (with a new team to hire with mucho budget dollars).

I can't thank you enough for helping me take charge at work."

TAKEAWAYS FOR YOUR CAREER

#1. Understand the Meta-Conversation. What is the REAL conversation? What are people REALLY saying? We get so caught up in the status meeting fishing net - we attend, say our stuff, and try to get out ASAP.

#2. Listen closely. Try to understand what each person is really saying, feel if there are unseen connections or new observations. Hear how your boss is speaking.

#3. Collate and Sum Up. Assess all the connections and see if you can weave a new vision for where the issues, obstacles, numbers, projections, etc. are going. Observe the past/present and define the future.

#4. Deliver Swiftly. Take charge with facts. Instead of just sitting there checking your email, find the right moment and bring it all together. Your boss is always on the lookout for people of distinction — team members who are thinking out of the box and remind them of themselves.

I hope this story inspires you.

It CAN be done.

Stop bitching about work . . . and take inspired action.

POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW

P.S. There was ONE session that really changed my client's career. If you’re an Inside Track member, it’s the first mastermind we covered in August. If you’re not an IT member… grab your spot now before all the spots for September are taken.

How To Deliver Incredible PowerPoint Presentations.

There are so many bad ways to use PowerPoint (or Keynote if you own a Mac) when you deliver a presentation. Again, let's cut to the chase — here are my 5 Must Do's when it comes to delivering a presentation:

1. Know Your Material Feel free to glance up and see what slide you are on, but don't read the slide verbatim (the only caveat to this rule are quotations). The act of glancing at the slide allows your audience to follow your gaze to the slide, get the gist of the image/message, and then re-focus on you. These actions develop a great synergy between the presenter and the audience.
2. No Lecterns or Pedestals You need to reach out and touch your audience. Placing lecterns, tables, and stages between you and the audience separates you from them. You need to step out into the audience, get to their level, and move around. That will make your presentation much more powerful.
3. Act Naturally Animate yourself. Too many presenters try to act too cool. Move your hands, smile, raise your voice - presenting is ACTING. And the audience wants a performance. Make a powerful point.
4. Greet Attendees Prior To The Presentation Arrive really early - 1-2 hours and setup your entire presentation, LCD projector, laptop and make sure they work flawlessly. Then when the attendees arrive, mingle with them. Introduce yourself, learn their name, and learn a little about them. This is a trick I use to then incorporate their experiences into my presentation: "Take Tom from Tacoma, he's a used car salesman with a speech impediment . . ."
5. Pay Attention To Your Audience Regularly temperature check for attentiveness. If you begin seeing yawns, pick it up a bit - start calling names for examples. Get the room moving - constantly ask for questions - I ask "How am I doing so far? Have I lost anyone yet?" Your delivery should moderate to the audience - pick it up or slow it down.

As I said in my last post, my comments might sound harsh - but I am a highly discriminating audience. There are too many bad presenters (90% awful to 10% great) - so take these tips to heart and you will be one of the 10%. Good luck!

P.S. Again, feel free to agree or disagree with me (that's what the comments section is for) - I look forward to the discussion!