May 21, 2010

Jed York and the 49ers: Leadership

 by Terry Gault

I've been a die-hard 49ers fan since Oct. 11, 1981 when, from out of nowhere, they spanked "America's Team" 45-14.

I think this response from Jed York communicates volumes.  He could have responded with the org chart answer but instead hears an opportunity to display some leadership by expressing confidence in his coach.

It reminds me of one of the most important truths I learned from our co-founder and my mentor, David Henderson: "Tell your first truth first."  That means that when you are caught in confusion and feel off balance, take a moment to search within yourself and identify the most important, most authentic message.  Once you have identified that (Masters do this process in the span of seconds), you respond with conviction.

Speak Fearlessly with The Henderson Group >>

photo credit: Monica's Dad

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May 19, 2010

Tim Ferriss: 7 Great Principles for Dealing with Haters

Dealing with negativity online can be tough, which was why Mashable was all ears when Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week, took the stage at The Next Web ‘10 event in Amsterdam to discuss how to learn to love haters.

Mashable caught up with Ferriss backstage at the event to find out more about his seven principles for dealing with haters.

  1. It doesn’t matter how many people don’t get it. What matters is how many people do.
  2. 10% of people will find a way to take anything personally. Expect it.
  3. “Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity.” (Colin Powell)
  4. “If you are really effective at what you do, 95% of the things said about you will be negative.” (Scott Boras)
  5. “If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” (Epictetus)
  6. “Living well is the best revenge.” (George Herbert)
  7. Keep calm and carry on.

Full Story at Mashable >>

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photo credit: ShashiBellamkonda

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May 12, 2010

Prezi: Let the Presentation Revolution Begin!

by Terry Gault

I first met Angelie Agarwal in January 2009 when I saw her present with her blogging partner, talking about their killer blog: MuniManners.com.  We did a post about that Pecha Kucha presentation on January 27, 2009 titled, "MuniManners.com stellar presentation at Pecha Kucha #30".

Angelie met with me last Friday to give me a one-on-one training on a truly revolutionary presentation tool called Prezi, where she holds the role of Chief Evangelist.

The company started in Budapest, Hungary but has gained ground quickly in the U.S. 

The tool is a big paradigm shift away from PowerPoint and a welcome one! It's built on Flash and the tool works like a large presentation 'canvas' that can incorporate images, text and videos.  The tool allows for panning and zooming so that you can step back, look at the Big Picture or zoom into an image, pan to a block of text or a video or a grouping of any of the above. That is a BIG departure from the linear and severely limiting frame-to-frame progression of a typical PowerPoint slide deck.  Plus, it's often problematic to embed video in PPT.  Embedding a YouTube video in Prezi could hardly be simpler and the video launches automatically when you transition to it.  

In fact, as I started to use it, I saw it as half-way between PPT and film-making.  And over the last few years, I've taken up film-making first as a hobby and and will soon be launching our new video production company.  More on that soon!

The tool is web based and clearly embraces an 'open' philosophy allowing users to post their Prezi's and allow others to use them.  I can already hear the presentation veterans asking, "But what if I don't have a connection?  How will I present?"  Your Prezi's can be downloaded onto your desktop and presented from your machine, even when you don't have an internet connection.

In order to truly 'get' what Prezi is about, you need to see it.  A video of James Geary using Prezi at TED.com should give you some idea of how this tool works.  You can also play videos at their website.  

Good luck to you both, Angelie and Prezi!  The Henderson Group is in your corner.

It's interesting to note that TED Conferences invested in Prezi last summer, the first company they've ever invested in. 

You can contact Prezi directly.

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May 5, 2010

X = Y: The Mathematics of Metaphor

by Terry Gault

Metaphorically speaking: James Geary on TED.com

Aphorism enthusiast and author James Geary waxes on a fascinating fixture of human language: the metaphor.  Friend of scribes from Aristotle to Elvis, Geary says metaphor can subtly influence the decisions we make.

This video makes the point that metaphor is more than a communication tool, it shapes the way we think in ways that we are not even aware.

Notice how elegantly he opens and closes with a reference to Elvis.

Also, take a look at the presentation tool he uses: Prezi.  We'll be doing another post about this revolutionary presentation tool in our next post.

 

 photo credit: Global X

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April 28, 2010

Sell It Like Steve Jobs: e-learning via the iPhone

Presenter Pro is a cool app for the iPhone that helps people prepare for presentations.  Presenter Pro features:

  • Advanced presentation skills techniques with eye-catching supporting graphics, audio, and video clips.
  • A “tip shaker” for accessing hundreds of quick presentation tips. Shake the device while viewing any of the sections for a quick tip.
  • A checklist feature, which enables you to store and e-mail any topic paragraph(s) you want to refer to later.
  • A Notes feature for writing (and e-mailing) comments and notes. Exercises to practice your skills and knowledge check quizzes to help you remember the information.

Rexi Media is proud to introduce the first Presentation Skills mobile application, called Presenter Pro. You can download it from the iTunes store.

presenterproonphone

While there are a couple of questionable pieces of advice — not necessarily awful, just techniques that I wouldn’t advise a beginner makes use of — in general, the lessons are clear, concise and certainly appropriate for individuals looking to boost their presentation skills.

There are some cute extra features, too, like sending text to the Checklist section for future reference. Plus, the presentation tips are an unexpected, but certainly welcome feature, popping up at random intervals.

The iPhone is potentially a great medium for delivering rich learning experiences. While it’s not a replacement for the real thing, e-learning via the iPhone can reinforce real-world experiences. Paired with the opportunity to test out your presentation skills regularly, Presenter Pro would prove to be an invaluable tool.   – Olly Farshi, The Apple Blog

 Don't forget to subscribe for more tips from The Henderson Group.  Also, be sure to check out our new Yelp and Facebook page if you haven't visited yet!

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April 14, 2010

Focus on One Thing

Day 303/365 - Focus by Tiagø Ribeiro.

Editor's NoteThis is a guest post by Robert Graham, GrahamComm

Becoming a much better speaker is simple. It’s not easy, but it is simple. That’s why people are amazed at the progress they make during a one or two-day presentation workshop. They key is to focus on one thing.

Many people think that you are either born a gifted speaker, or you’re hopeless. But my job in helping people become more confident and effective speakers is actually easy. That’s because most speakers have one or of what I call “quick wins.” These are the skills that if they can improve, will make the most dramatic improvement in how they are perceived. All I have to do is point these out and help them focus(not always easy), and they become a new speaker, often in a matter of hours.

Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about. 

David was a mid-level manager at Microsoft. He was very personable, with a quick wit and an outrageous French accent (in the words of Monty Python). He knew his stuff, and his team liked him. But when he spoke, he paced back and forth in front of the room like a caged lion. One hand thrust in his pocket, the other gesturing wildly, he would deliver his talks to the carpet with nary a glance at his audience. Once I got him to stand still and talk to one person at a time, his messages were clearer, he connected better with his audiences, and he was able to read the room to see how people were receiving his words.

Jessica was a young engineer at Cisco. She spoke so quietly that even if you were in front of her, you had to strain to hear what she was saying. When I asked her about it, she said that she figured if she spoke quietly enough, nobody would hear her if she made a mistake. Getting her to speak up wasn’t easy, though. We had to recalibrate her internal volume sensors (ie talk louder). At one point, she felt like she was yelling when in reality, she was almost up to a normal conversational volume. She immediately came across with more confidence, authority and presence.

Andrew is the CFO of a medium size tech company. He describes himself as “passionate about slouching.” A small man, he rolls his shoulders in, puts his head down, shuffles from one leg to the next and avoids eye contact. Though Andrew knows his stuff and has a great rapport with his team, he did not come across as a leader of a company. Getting him to stand tall with his chin up, weight evenly on both legs, move around the room with purpose and have individual conversations made all the difference. He immediately had a bigger presence, projected more confidence and spoke with more authority.

How, then, can people correct these habits? 

Focus on one thing at a time. If you’ve ever played golf, and I do it badly, you know that there are dozens of things to focus on every time you swing. Same with presenting. If you try to keep them all in mind and get through your content and focus on the audience, you’ll be overwhelmed.

Here’s the simple (but not necessarily easy) solution: Figure out, through speaking workshops, watching yourself on video or getting candid feedback, what are your quick wins. What is the one skill that if you improve, would make the biggest difference in your speaking style? Once you know that, focus on it like a dog digging up a bone (or whatever metaphor you choose). Don’t worry about anything else. Before you know it, that skill will become a habit. Once it’s a habit, you move on to your next quick win.

When I first started presenting, these were my speaking challenges:

  • My eye contact was too quick
  • My voice was monotone
  • I used lots of verbal crutches (during my first 3-minute speech at Toastmasters, I said “um” 26 times and didn’t remember any of them!)
  • My style was too serious
  • My energy was too low

One by one, every time I spoke, I focused on one skill at a time. I’d write the words “eye contact” or “Energy!!” in my notes to remind me of what I was working on (just had to make sure I didn’t actually say those words).

And, one skill at a time, my speaking got better to the point where I made it one level away from the World Championship of speaking at Toastmasters.

Now it’s your turn. Figure out what are your Quick Wins, and stay focused. Know that you are only one or two skills away from becoming a much better speaker. 

photo credit: Tiago Ribeiro

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March 14, 2010

The Impact of Public Speaking on Top Sales Performance

by Chuck Kuglen

If you can get more comfortable speaking, your authenticity comes out and your sales "performance" becomes more like a dialogue where you are really just trying to understand and connect.  Oddly, sales can go up because you put your client (the audience) more at ease with how you can help them.

  • Good public speakers get into the imagination of their audience. They get the audience to think big-"expanding" a potential sale.
  • When public speaking becomes a true "two way conversation," half of the sales process is won.
  • When you see and hear a great public speaker, it could be said that they already really "know" their audience (you). The game in sales is "knowing" your client; a direct correlation.
  • Public speakers, when proficient, make you feel at ease. If sales people do this key part of the process well, no one feels like they are being sold to.

Posted in contribution to:

DeFinis Communications' Blog Carnival

photo credit:  Goddard Blog

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March 9, 2010

Art of Presentation, May 6-7, San Francisco

Terry coaching AOP 2005 - 3.jpg

Once a quarter The Henderson Group holds a "By Invitation Only" Art of Presentation workshop in San Francisco, led by our VP of Services, Terry Gault.  The next one is scheduled for May 6-7, 2010.

Our work has to be experienced to truly understand its value.  We use these workshops as a way to introduce our work experientially to new prospective clients. With that in mind, we set aside a couple of free seats for the right candidates. 
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March 1, 2010

Why doing good is good for business…

By Terry Gault

A recent article that I read in Fortune magazine fits nicely with previous posts about transparency, our ethos as a company and the skills that we teach in our Complete Communicator, Consultative Sales, Consultative Communication, TeleSales Mastery, and Conflict Resolution workshops. 

 There are several excerpts that I wanted to highlight:

The world has changed, (Dov) Seidman argues, and winner-take-all strategies are obsolete. He contends that the rise of information technology has made good behavior more important because it has become increasingly hard to hide bad behavior. (Ask Wall Street.)

Ultimately, the only way to enjoy a good reputation is to earn it by living with integrity. "We can't control our stories," Seidman says. "We can control how we live our lives."

(NY Times Columnist Thomas) Friedman credits Seidman with inspiring some of the arguments in his 2008 bestseller, Hot, Flat and Crowded. "It's too bad Tiger Woods never read How," said Friedman, speaking from the sidelines of December's climate conference in Copenhagen. "Today people can see into your life farther, faster, and cheaper than ever before. Dov really helped me understand the behavioral implications of that: You are on Candid Camera, so be good."

(Seidman) makes an economic argument: Globalization has made it increasingly difficult for companies to differentiate themselves based on their products alone. Whatever your product or service might be, chances are that someone on the other side of the world can copy and sell it for less money. And if money is the only bond between you and your employees, they will quit the moment another firm offers them more cash.

All the more important, then, for companies to compete at the level of behavior: crucially, how they treat customers and employees. "It's about who has the most trust in their relationships, and where most people want to work," Seidman told me. "This will be the soft currency of the 21st century."

But can you really measure the impact of good behavior? One promising area of research is around trust.

In his book Seidman discusses Jeffrey H. Dyer and Wujin Chu's landmark 2003 study of buyer/supplier relationships among eight major automakers in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. Dyer and Chu found a strong correlation between trust and procurement costs. The least trusted buyers in the study incurred procurement costs that were five times higher than the costs of the most trusted buyers.

Moreover, the least trusted companies in the study were also the least profitable. And companies that trusted each other were more likely to share valuable information like new product designs. "Trust between companies leads to more trust," Seidman says. "It sets off an upward spiral of cooperative, value-creating behaviors."

All these principles that Siedman preaches to companies apply equally to individual “brands” as well.

Do you model integrity and transparency?

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Article Source: Why doing good is good for business  

 photo credit: spettacolopura

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February 23, 2010

How to Tell if You Work in a Fear-Ridden Environment

 

Editor's Note:  This is a guest post by BrillianceInc

Check any that apply:

  • “cya” by email is an evolved and widely practiced art.
  • Managers are expected to know micro-details of every project on short notice.
  • The word “accountable” is used often.
  • The phrase “I messed up” and its cousin, “It’s my fault” are heard rarely.
  • People initiate and respond to emails after 11:00 pm.
  • Employees in different departments are considered competitors.

If more than 2 apply to your workplace, you probably work in a high fear zone. If you are the boss, we should talk…soon.

Don’t despair. The situation is reversible. Here’s a list of action you can take to lower fear and increase the IQ and overall effectiveness of your organization.

To-Do List for the Courageous Leader

How to create a blame-free work zone where problems are surfaced early and people do their best work.

  • Evaluate your beliefs and behaviors about risk, blame, leadership, and emotions (see the Confidence and Ego Assessments in our e-book, Conversations for Brilliance).
  • Apologize for acting like a jerk.
  • Strike the word “accountable” from your vocabulary. It’s been ruined and only creates a witch-hunt mentality where people scramble to avoid blame.
  • When you discover problems, quickly and publicly admit your contribution. Use active voice and speak in first person: e.g. “I messed up.”*
  • Calibrate your expectations and illusions of perfection: accept that if you are to have any chance of creating outstanding products and services, then mistakes must happen, and despite such imperfections, you and your customers will most likely survive. Share this belief with others.
  • Invite people to disagree with you. When they do, don’t debate. Instead, ask “What else?” or ‘How can you tell?” or “Say more about that.”
  • Thank the messenger.
  • Take a deep breath, and remind yourself of who you want to be and what you want to create.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
- Philo of Alexandria

“I don’t recall…Mistakes were made.”
- U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez in testimony to the Judiciary Committee investigating the firings of eight US Attorneys.

“The person who can describe reality without laying blame will emerge the leader.”
- Susan Scott, best-selling author of, Fierce Conversations and Fierce Leadership

*This advice pertains specifically to American, and potentially other, high individualistic cultures.

photo credit: Doug88888
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