Archive for May, 2006

The cause of such fear is easily explained. It stems from a series of experiences that have undermined his self-confidence. The first of these unfortunate events may have occurred when the individual was only one or two years old. Often there’s some small thing the parents do, or fail to do, which creates insecurity. Next, an older brother or sister shows superiority in front of others. This makes him feel inadequate. A cutting remark from a teacher shakes him up a little more. Confusion regarding sex makes him even less sure of himself. A bad complexion, hand-me-down clothes, a skeleton in the family closet-many things destroy confidence. Thus, stage fright is very deep rooted.

The speaker can’t relive his life. Even if he could, he’d have many of the same shattering experiences. Several things can be done, however, to reduce his fear at the speakers’ stand.

Ways to Combat Fear

1. Request him to make the talk. Don’t direct him to do so. When he tackles it voluntarily, he puts more “heart” into it. His confidence is greater. You’re no longer the only one who believes he’s capable. He also thinks he can do it. A San Diego bank cashier said, “The first time I was selected to speak at a meeting, I was told I had to speak. Having been drafted regardless of how I felt about it, I was terrified! A fellow should be asked to speak. He’ll feel better about it.”

2.* Ask him well in advance. This gives him time to get used to the idea. It also enables him to research his subject, to organize his material, and to practice delivery. These things make for self-confidence and self-assurance. “Before making my first speech, I had six weeks’ notice. This helped, because I not only had time to get used to the idea, but I had time to get help from several friends.” These words come from a farm implement dealer who is
now an accomplished speaker.

3.* Recommend appropriate visuals and other aids. If the speaker is a salesman, he’s busy keeping “the body in front of the prospect.” He has little time for planning ways of spicing his speech. Suggest visual and other aids. Help him integrate some good props. Then watch his confidence grow. A magazine crew manager said, “I always feel better if I have one or two good things to show during my talk. I know the audience will at least like that part of my talk.”

4.* Show confidence in his material. Having received an outline of his talk, acknowledge it with enthusiasm. Assure him he will cover the points of greatest need and interest. Tell him his talk will be quite favorably received. “After the boss said he liked my material, I figured everyone would,” confessed a dealer of automobile parts. “This made me much more willing to take the stand at our last sales meeting.”

5.* Offer to get his notes typed. Typewritten words can be read more easily. Use large type. If jumbo type is not available, the typist can put everything in “caps.” Triple space for still easier reading. “Nothing is worse than notes that are difficult to read. Notes written in pencil are usually quite difficult to read under the light on the speakers’ stand. Use typewritten notes.” These are the words of an experienced lecturer. Do not hyphenate a word, completing it on the next line. This makes the use of notes more obvious. The same can be said of a sentence that starts at the bottom of one page and ends at the top of the next.

6.* Urge him to practice. The better he knows his material, the more confidence he will have in his ability to deliver it. If he’s only gone over it a couple of times, he should be afraid. At least five practice efforts are recommended. They’ll work like magic in reducing fear. “Maybe I’m an old maid,” vowed a corporation president in Idaho. “But I keep practicing until I can’t miss. I believe it’s worth the effort or I wouldn’t do it.”

7. Eliminate his stumbling blocks. A speaker often stumbles at the same place each time. This is because certain words and phrases are difficult for him to pronounce. Help your speaker reword trouble spots. Then he’ll have material he can master, giving him greater confidence. Unless this is done, he will stumble again at the same place when “the chips are down.” And nothing upsets a speaker more than a mistake that is obvious to both him and his audience. He loses omposure, and having become rattled, he may very well stumble again. Then he’s in trouble! For instance, if he has difficulty saying, “four or five frequencies,” have him change it to, “at least four frequencies.”

8.* Call for a dress rehearsal. Ask the speaker to “dry run” all costuming, props, and other aids. Many little things can go wrong. Each visual or prop is a potential trouble maker. By working out details of their use, the speaker gains confidence. “Our sales manager insists on a dress rehearsal,” said a Washington, D.C. salesman. “At first it seemed silly, but it has helped all of us who have participated in the meetings. The rehearsals reduce fear.”

9.* Check the need for “refinders.” Occasionally the speaker will leave his notes for a few minutes. He may walk to the chalk board, or step aside for a demonstration. Any such break in the routine throws him off pace. When he returns to the lectern, he finds it difficult to resume the use of notes and takes several seconds to find the proper place. This delay is embarrassing and causes him to lose poise. To avoid this, advise him to use “re-finders.” This is, have him mark his notes so he can readily find his place again. A star in the margin of his notes will do the job. Then he won’t lose time and confidence after each departure.

10.* Have him get the feel of the rostrum. Anyone not familiar with the speakers’ stand should visit it before the meeting. He can determine how to handle his notes, can see if they’ll stay in place. He gets an idea of how the room looks from the platform. He can visualize the audience. Then, when he jumps up to make his talk, he’s acquainted with the surroundings and much more sure of himself. As a consequence, he will have less fear. “This has done more to help me than anything else,” a Wichita man declared. “I realize now I had been afraid of the speakers’ stand. I didn’t
want to visit the stand . . . not even before the meeting. But now I have no fear at all.”

11.* Don’t remind him that big shots will be there. The speaker may have complexes regarding certain “big-wigs.” In short, he’s afraid of the “brass.” It probably dates back to a “chewing” that he’s not forgotten, but why remind him of it? Silence can be golden. A public speaking teacher said, “A few people like to show off before the boss. But most speakers are apprehensive if the boss is present. Even I feel less sure of myself if the president of the college is in the audience when I’m making a speech. So don’t play up the presence of company officials. It makes your speaker less sure of himself.”

12.* Give a pep-talk prior to the meeting. Rendezvous with all speakers shortly before kick-off time, to answer any last minute questions. Inspire them by telling briefly of over-all plans. Let them know there’ll be a sequence of subject matter. Tell them a variety of events will be staged. Assure them there’s no duplication of
material. Then close on an encouraging note. “Let’s top all previous meetings. We can do it-let’s go get ‘em!” “I’m no Knute Rockne,” said a Monroe, North Carolina sales leader. “But my pep talks inspire confidence, if nothing else. Give ‘em a try. You’ll be glad you did.”

13.* Make him take a few deep breaths. Deep breathing relaxes the respiration system and reduces tension in the right places. While a “pro” is being introduced, watch him closely. You’ll see him breathe deeply three or four times before taking the stand. This reduces symptoms of fear, which, in turn, reduces fear itself. A speaker from Kansas City does push-ups before taking the stand! “They relax me,” he said. “I get behind a screen and do a few push-ups. As someone once quipped, ‘Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it!’”

14.* Let him do a solo. He can’t feel comfortable when you seat people behind him. It’s bad enough to seat people on either side. A St. Paul merchant said, “When people are sitting behind me, I become conscious of them. I try to look at them from time to time. When I do, I lose contact with the rest of the audience. It’s no good!” If at all possible, put the total audience in one place. Any speaker will be less apprehensive. He’ll be more capable, too.

15.* Bring him on with a bang/ See that he’s introduced in an enthusiastic way. Let everyone know he’s a great guy. Explain why he’s qualified to handle the subject. This gives him that last-second certainty. Also, the emcee should wait for him to reach the stand. A handshake and verbal pat on the back are encouraging. “I’ll never forget the moment I got up to speak,” reported the owner of a greeting card company. “The emcee gave me that last moment boost that I needed. He acted as if the sales meeting would finally be a success now that I was about to speak. It helped!”

There are many things you can do to help speakers. How much help you should give will depend upon a number of things. For larger meetings more help should be offered. That’s because more is expected of a speaker at a large meeting and his task is more difficult.

There’s also more reason to help if the speaker has an extremely important subject. The length of his talk is a factor, too. The longer the talk, the more chance that he will bog down. Another consideration is the amount of help he’s willing to accept. A few speakers know it all-or think they do. They’ll accept little help. Others will listen to your suggestions but forget them the moment the meeting begins. Trying to help such fellows is a waste of time. Expend your energy on those who will accept direction.

What every speaker should know about fear

There’s little reason for a speaker to be afraid. More people have died in the audience than at the speaker’s platform! Besides, the speaker knows more about his speech than anyone else. So why should he be afraid? Most speakers do experience fear, however. And a little apprehension is good. It causes the individual to be keyed up, and as a result, he actually does a better job. Nervousness helps him rise to the occasion. Without stimulation his delivery would be flat and the speech, a miserable flop.

Some speakers develop real jitters-stage fright! They’re tense, yet they shiver and shake. Their voices are shrill and trembling. Their gestures are stilted. Some are so tight they make no gestures. Still worse, they can’t think as well. They’re dazed-even a little confused.

When a speaker is this conscious of himself, he cannot make his best talk. His natural reaction is to end the agony as soon as possible. This causes him to speed along in an ineffective manner. He doesn’t communicate with his audience. He merely exposes his message.

Be alert to the danger of using the same speakers too often. It’s easy to create the feeling that you have a couple of “fair haired boys.” Nobody wants the boss’s favorites “crammed down his throat.”
There’s another reason for rotating speaking assignments among several of your stronger men. It’s good for their development. A wise executive is continually developing his personnel, and this is an opportunity to do it.

At larger meetings you can’t afford to use mediocre speakers. There’s too much at stake.
Small meetings require less professionalism. An average salesman might do a creditable job at a small meeting. But look out! The fellow who merely talks a good game won’t be respected by the others. Too often he talks about what he wishes he had done, instead of what he’s actually doing. The other salesmen realize it, too.

“It hurts more than you think when you use a speaker who’s known to be a failure in the field,” a company official declared. “Knowing that the one speaker has never set any records, the audience starts wondering if certain other speakers might be poor producers. So you’d better have your best men do the speaking.”

Short talks are better than long ones

Few speakers can interest an audience for more than ten minutes. A talk may glitter at first. As it grows longer, though, it usually becomes dull. Keep talks short. Two brief talks are much better than a long one. To have short talks, divide a subject into two or three parts. Then assign a speaker for each part. For instance, customer service might be divided into two parts-follow-up calls and follow-up correspondence.

Make any logical division of a subject that helps avoid a long boring speech. Secondly, allot only so much time to each speaker.

Puce your strongest speakers at crucial spots

Aim for a good start and a strong close. This helps make any meeting successful.
The same is true of each session within the meeting. The first and last events are important. That being the case, place the best speakers in these crucial spots. “You’d better have a real stem winder in the final spot-someone who can rock ‘em and sock ‘em!” This advice came from a Texas insurance executive. It’s good advice, too.

Keep the subjects in logical sequence

When you spot speakers there’s something else to consider. You should arrange a logical sequence of subject matter to permit continuity of thought. It makes for a better meeting.

An example-a speaker on “How To Approach Prospective Customers” should speak before a demonstration of the product. Another example-a speech on getting new customers should precede a movie on how to keep customers.

In planning your agenda you should have considered the sequence of subject matter (Chapter 2). Stick to your plan. Don’t heed someone’s request to, “Let me talk first and get it over with.”

Produce a change of pace

Mix them up. Create variety. Sandwich women speakers between men. Place a speaker between a quiz game and a slide series. If at all possible, avoid having two speakers in a row.

How to get speakers to prepare

There’s only one way of making certain that a speaker will develop his material. Request an outline of his speech. This prompts him to do some thinking. The value is many-fold . . . The obvious reward is a better talk because of more thorough preparation. More important is the review it affords. You can tell in advance whether there’s a good chance of accomplishing the objective of the meeting. An omission of a vital subject can be noted in time to make the desired addition.

You also can detect any overlapping of material. For example, a speaker may consider objections to be nothing more than offered closes. Instead of sticking with objections, then, he would dwell on closing techniques. His material might cover the same ground as the event that follows his talk. Such duplication can be eliminated when outlines are submitted in advance.

Because of these advantages, request outlines of all speakers-even the boss. Specify the deadline well in advance of the meeting. If someone fails to meet the deadline, check with him immediately. This may prevent embarrassment.

Minimize the amount of speaking

Meetings are often spoiled by too many speeches. There are too many speeches because there are too many speakers. Audiences have been bored to death! You can easily avoid this common error. It’s all in the preparation. When planning a sales meeting, forego the natural inclination to review available speaking talent. First, decide on what you want to accomplish. Ask yourself some questions:

What do you want everyone to do as a result of the meeting? Work harder? Sell more merchandise? Improve in certain respects? Develop new techniques?
How can you make them want to do it?
What subject matter will do most toward achieving this?
How can the subject best be presented?
Who knows the most about each subject?
Is he actively and successfully involved in it now?
Can he get it across by doing something other than speaking on it?
Can he demonstrate it? Would role playing be effective? Are suitable audio-visual aids available?
Should special audio-visual aids be improvised? What other props would help?

Insist on giving yourself satisfactory answers. You won’t have as many speakers but you’ll have better meetings. You’ll be recognized as a good organizer, a showman, and a top flight sales executive.

Select the right speakers

Only about one subject out of three should be covered by a speech. Go heavy on demonstrations. Salesmen want to be shown -not told. Even the speeches should be laced with visuals and enough dramatics to avoid monotony. But for the speaking that will take place, don’t settle for theory. Select speakers who are currently successful in the areas assigned. Use men who are on the firing line, daily faced with their topics. Star salesmen often know more about sales than the presidents of their companies! The other salesmen will listen to one of their own kind. They’ll respect him. They’ll never consider him “a company official who’s trying to preach at us.”

Displays create the right mood

To produce background or setting, use an exhibit. You can display product, literature, merchandising materials, or sales aids. Such displays help create the proper atmosphere and mood . . . the right “climate.” This preconditions the audience, causing better reception of the material to be presented. Backdrops related to the theme of the meeting can also serve this purpose. For example, where the Harvest theme is used, displays could include pumpkins, a bale of hay, a shock of grain, and so forth. For the football theme you could display pennants, footballs, helmets, and megaphones.

Don’t rush by the exhibit booths the next time you’re visiting a trade show. Look at the exhibits. You’ll get many ideas for making displays. When taking in a state fair you can see display after display after display. Many of the principles and techniques used at fairs can be employed in creating your own displays.

Audio-visual aids are invaluable-use them

As you see, audio-visual aids can do much for sales meetings. They help set the stage, get attention, stimulate interest, and make things clear. They cause teaching points to be grasped more quickly and remembered longer.
Therefore check availability before each meeting, to see which aids can be obtained or improvised. Then determine which ones will best project your message and accomplish your objective.
Work out the details of use-rehearse-in order to have a smooth presentation. The satisfaction that comes from the proper use of audio-visual aids is immeasurable.

How to use audio-visual aids effectively?

* Work Films Into Meetings Rather Than Meetings Into Films
* Consider Producing Your Own Films
* Check All Sources of Audio-Visual Aids
* Test Projection Equipment Beforehand
* Use Audio-Visual Aids at the Best Time
* Develop a Competent Projectionist
* Introduce Films-Then Summarize

Employ various audio-visual aids

* Moving Pictures
* Filmstrips
* Slides
* Opaque Projector
* Overhead Projector
* Chalkboard
* Generated Charts
* Prepared Charts
* Slap Board
* Flock Board
* Tape Recorder
* Displays

A tape or wire recorder adds zip to a sales meeting. It’s useful in producing prerecorded sounds that are not readily available at the location of the meeting. As an example, let’s suppose a V.I.P. is unable to attend. Get a taped message from him and then play it at your meeting.
Caution: audio without visual can quickly become boring. Use only brief messages. For maximum interest, project a picture of the V.I.P. so that the audience can see him while hearing him.

Recorded music can often improve your staging. A New Jersey sales training manager reports, “I once made a talk on positive thinking. I used a recording of the song “Accentuate The Positive.” The music climaxed my speech quite effectively. In fact, I was given a standing ovation!” Another executive spoke on the future of salesmanship. He used a recording of “I Believe.”
Still another used a recording of an automobile wreck, followed by the eerie wail of a siren. It animated his subject, “The Accident That Killed a Sale.”

A food supplement concern developed a library of talks that were taped by outstanding sales personalities. The tapes were used time and again at various sales meetings conducted by their salespeople. “This added to the meetings,” reported a company official. “I highly recommend a tape library.” A recorder can also be used to present the commentary for a slide or filmstrip series. The preparation of such a series is a big job and is seldom undertaken unless the series will be shown many times. A recorded narration can be played every time the series is projected. This gives a professional flair to the proceedings. It also saves breath!

A company distributing auto parts made different use of a tape recorder. Reports of poor sales meetings emanated from the company’s western division. So a recorder was used to monitor the meetings. A tape of each meeting was sent to the home office. Knowing the “brass” would hear the tapes, the division manager conducted better meetings. And the suggestions he received from the home office made his meetings still better.