Effective Communication In Harmony With Your Favorite Song; It Engages You

What is your favorite song? Why is that your favorite song? Most likely, your favorite song is one that captured a moment in your life that you continue to relate to today. A great songwriter has the ability to craft lyrics that are consumed by the masses much the same way great communicators are able to win over the public and their consumers will well crafted presentations.










(photo courtesy Canadian Music Week)

Recently, I was fortunate to attend a Songwriting Showcase in Toronto held in conjunction with Canadian Music Week. On this panel were legendary songwriters Dan Hill, Don Schlitz, Dave Stewart and Paul Williams.
Each of them have written songs you are very familiar with - songs that still connect with you today.

Dan Hill wrote "Sometimes When We Touch" when he was 19 years old to try to win back the heart of a girl. That is just one of many big songs he has written for other performers.
Don Schlitz wrote a song when he was working as a computer programmer at the age of 22 living in Nashville that took 6 weeks to craft until he had it finished. Ever hear of "The Gambler"? That was just one of over 50 Top-10 hits written by Don Schlitz.
Dave Stewart has written many incredible songs like "Sweet Dreams are Made Of This" for the Eurythmics, and other huge hits for Ringo Starr, Tom Petty and Gwen Stefani.
Paul Williams' repertoire includes many of the Carpenters hits like "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays", Barbra Streisand's "Evergreen", "The Rainbow Connection" from the Muppet Movie and even the theme from "The Love Boat".

These songwriters are more than just master word-smiths. They are master communicators.

But do not think that writing a hit song and communicating with your target audience can be completed overnight. The process takes courage, creativity, insight and more importantly, it takes time.

Effective communication starts with a well thought out plan and is always focused on impacting and engaging your target audience - your clients or customers.

Ready to write a hit song today?

-Darren

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Effective presentation techniques

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to become a more confident and effective public speaker, you will quickly learn it will take a lot of practise and persistence.

Not everyone was born to be a smooth-talking, confident and engaging public speaker. Phew. That should make you feel more at ease. However your roles may have changed and you now find yourself having to make presentations to the media, share holders or other interest groups. Are you prepared?

Effective public speaking is an art that can be learned. You must first take stock of your strengths and weaknesses.
Comfort Level:
Do you get nervous at the thought of standing up in front of others? Or, are you comfortable giving presentations?

Voice Tone:
Do you speak too fast or have a monotone delivery? Or, are you able to control your voice to make it the most effective during a presentation?

Presentation:
Do you stumble with a script that is written and prepared? Or, are you able to make a presentation as if you had rehearsed the script for days?

Audience Engagement:
Does your audience seem to lose interest after only a few lines of your presentation? Or are you able to draw your audience into your presentation and keep them engaged?

When it comes to audience engagement, use these words of advice from Author and Public Speaking Coach, Alan Stevens:
1) Insight. Your audience expects you to be well-informed on your topic. You need to be general enough to get your ideas across, but show that you have an insight that no-one else has come up with.

2) Analogies/Parallels. You need to be able to demonstrate how a current situation relates to one that has gone before. This makes it much easier for your audience to understand.

3) Evidence. It's no good making statements that you can't justify. You need to provide examples to support your argument, rather than to make your argument.

4) Endorsement. This is like calling an expert witness in a court case. If you can cite (other) acknowledged experts who agree with you, it makes your case much stronger.

5) Humour. This is not (definitely not) joke-telling. Leave that to the stand-up comedians. Your humour should be natural and in context with the speech.

And finally, a few tips that will help you feel more at ease with your next public speaking engagement.
- Prepare a script and rehearse it many times. Practise in front of objective but supportive friends or family members. Allow for a few minor edits along the way, but at least you will be prepared. Try to stick with the script as much as you can.
- Someone else prepared your script. These are the most tricky because the person writing the script is not familiar with your delivery. So take the time to personalize the script (within reason) and be sure the font is big enough so you can read it.
- Arrive early to your presentation. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the room and your surroundings. Even if there are only a few people in the room, test the sound system to be sure everything is working.
- Eye contact. It is very important to make eye contact with as many people in the room as you can. If you are too nervous, look to people you recognize in the crowd. This should make you more comfortable.
- Water is your best friend. Keep a glass of room temperature water close by. You will find other liquids like soda and fruit juices will create a lot of phlegm while coffee and tea can dry out your vocal chords. Just remember, too much water might cause the need to make a quick trip to the washroom just before your presentation.
- Control your nerves. Before making your presentation take a few deep breaths and slowly exhale.
- Slow down and focus on key words. If you find that you talk too rapidly, you must make a conscious effort to slow down. Take the time to stop on key words or phrases in your presentation. Allow the audience a moment to evaluate the point you are making.
- Open and close with your strongest statement. You need to earn their interest at the beginning and you need to leave your audience with something to remember at the end.
- Video tape or record your presentation. This one usually hurts to watch but if you want to become more effective in your presentations, you need to be able to critique your own performance. All the top presenters do.

Good luck and happy presenting in the New Year.

-Darren

To view Alan Stevens blog click here.

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