Becoming an effective communicator*
About the Author
Neil Flett CEO
As founder of Rogen International and now a director of RogenSi, Neil is one of Australia’s most experienced communication advisers, with 38 years’ experience in journalism, public affairs, training and consulting. He has worked with leading politicians, chief executives, board members and senior managers of large organisations in industries such as professional services, media, consumer goods, IT, chemicals, petroleum, manufacturing and retail. In 1993 Neil wrote many of the speeches and coached all the presenters for the successful Sydney 2000 Olympics Games bid presentation in Monte Carlo. He subsequently became a communication adviser to the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.
By
Neil Flett CEO
Step 5 – Can you add a visual aid?
Visual Aids are just that "aids" - for emphasis and to highlight and support our message. Can you use a picture to demonstrate, or a chart? They can be a powerful keepsake of your message, and you can use PowerPoint, samples, diagrams, whiteboards, video clips and slide shows. Visual aids are essential in business presentation, but they are not the communicator – you are.
Step 6 – Be the audience
This is where the rehearsal begins – by speaking your communication or reading your presentation out loud – and listening to yourself from the listener’s point of view. This way, you can eliminate phrases that don't sound right when spoken, but might have looked fine when you wrote them down. We also discover whether the messages flows naturally or not - if not, time to correct!
As you read it out, pause after each sentence and ask yourself "So What?" Is this relevant and interesting to your audience? If it's not relevant - don't say it.
Step 7 - Rehearse
Every time you rehearse you find something that could be improved. If you don’t bother rehearsing you find all the mistakes at once – and it’s too late.
If it is a high-stakes presentation, allocate plenty of time to rehearse. Try to rehearse in an environment as similar as possible to the actual event and do get an audience of friends or colleagues to come along and give feedback.
Rehearse everything, not just the words you want to say but how to say them, pauses, tone, pitch, volume. And rehearse all gestures and movement.
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