FEAR

“How do I get rid of the fear?”

This is the wrong question.

The only way to get rid of the fear is to,
(1) stop doing things that might not work
(2) stop putting yourself out there
(3) stop doing work that matters

No, the right question is, “How do I dance with the fear?”

Fear is not the enemy. Paralysis is the enemy.

Bullet Points

In a presentation slides,

• Bullets do not save time.
  Presentations aren’t about the most concise exposition of facts, they are about changing minds and stimulating actions.

• Bullets do not make it easier to remember what’s being said.
  Stories and analogies does.

• Bullets create tension about what the next bullet is going to say, instead of actually communicating your idea.
  When we see a bullet, we check it off and stop paying attention (if the presenter failed to catch the attention of the crowd), until the next one appears, we do not remember the previous bullets.

• Bullets are almost always misused. If you have a finite number of points, each of which supports the other, one can imagine that they help us fit the puzzle together. But that’s not how they’re used, are they?
  Most people use them the way I’m using them now, as a disorderly random list.

• You’ve already forgotten the second bullet, haven’t you?
  That’s because bullets don’t naturally map to the way we process and remember ideas.

• If bullets are the official style of your presentation, using them is a form of being invisible.Without a doubt, bullets make it far easier to READ your presentation to people in the room. For those with no time to practice or unable to say what’s in their heart, bullets are perfect.

The Storyteller

Why is storytelling so important in any presentations? A good story captivates an audience. Think about your favorite book, TV show or movie — the plot and way it is told hooks you in. But there is ONE thing I learnt about story telling or story crafting is this:

Do not focus too much on the place and people

As a storyteller, we should always let the audience do the work—let them create their own pictures in their head.

So remember, DO NOT spend a large portion of your story describing the place and people. Instead focus on the drama i.e. what happened and how did it get resolved?

Here’s the example,

a. What happened??
An 11 years-old boy made RM100 in a month to buy himself a video game

b. Who was involved?
The boy and other kids

c. How can people connect or relate to this story?
All of us can make money no matter how young or old we are.

d. What are the findings?
Every other kids already owned the video game as a reward from their good examination grades. Unfortunately, the boy will not get the toy no matter how good his grades are because his parents are poor. So he has to find a way. He made his first RM100 by selling “cheat codes” for that video game. It became a hit among his classmates, then schoolmates…and eventually kids from other school.

e. What is the message?
Entrepreneurship can be taught since young. Making money is easy if we managed to find a way and follow our passion. 

As a presenter, our job is to entertain and educate. Your audience needs to walk away learning something. Not only will your story offer immediate connection, it also provides an anchor to your message. People usually remember stories better than anything else.

The Fear Factor

Speaking in public: two errors that lead to fear

When I first presenting and talking in front of the public, my mind mind has only 2 things:

1. I believe that I am being actively judged.

2. I believe that the subject of the talk is me.

When you stand up to give a speech, there’s a temptation to believe that the audience is actually interested in you.

This just isn’t true. (Or if it is, it doesn’t benefit you to think that it is).

You are not being judged. The topic of the talk isn’t you, the topic of the talk is the audience, and specifically, how they can use your experience and knowledge to achieve their objectives.

Now go…and impress your audience with what you know.

The Change

Every presentation worth doing has just one purpose

To make a change happen.



A presentation that doesn’t seek to make change is a waste of time and energy.

Before you start working on your presentation, the two-part question to answer is, “who will be changed by this work, and what is THE CHANGE I seek?

”

If all you’re hoping for is to survive the ordeal, or to amuse and delight the crowd, then you’re not making a presentation, you’re merely an entertainer, or worse, wasting people’s time.

Change, of course, opens doors, it creates possibilities. Every element of your presentation (the room, the attendees, the length, the tone) exists for just one reason: to make it more likely that you will achieve the change you seek. If it doesn’t do that, replace it with something that does.

Change matters.

The Metaphor

How do you help your audience to understand a subject easily? To remember it? Or to anchor it deep down in their mind? Albert Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well.”

The rule is: help them to visualize. How: Use METAPHOR. 

Here’s the example:

Instead of,
The correlation between bonds yields and and equity prices is mostly positive. The last time bond yields rose above 3% – as the chart shows – the correlation went positive. Stocks were rising while bonds were selling off, sending yields higher.

Why not,
The relation between bonds and equity is like an umbrella seller and an ice-cream truck. If it rains (economic downturn), the bonds /umbrella seller gets the business (more yields and performs better). If it is a sunny day (bullish market), the ice cream truck gets all the thirsty customers to swarm the area (equity prevails).

Human beings remember better when they are able to visualize an explanation. Same goes to the preference of watching a movie than reading a novel. Both are important, but a different experience.