Understanding your Audience

To create an immersive and informative presentation, we must first reach our audience. Engaging our audience may be the most critical part of our work as each individual has their own background, interest level, and motivation to learn from our presentation. However, there is a simple guide to establishing a unique, entertaining, and informational speech by catering to four distinct groups of people.  

• The first group are individuals who focus on the big picture. Think of a busy CEO who is interested in getting the most out of your presentation with the least amount of time commitment. These people search for key statements supported by bottom-line results. By including a mission statement or central theory at the start of our presentation, we can reel these big picture audience members in, enticing them with the important facts and then delivering relevant details.  

• Next are individuals who are exactly the opposite! These audience members are process oriented, searching for data, statistics, and spreadsheets that backup our claims. These are the analysts who love to get into the nitty gritty and pick apart the problem themselves. In order to reach these audience members, I would recommend including a few impactful pieces of research throughout your presentation. By calling attention to reputable sources and intriguing results, we catch the attention of these detail-driven groups. Finally, include links to data or provide a handout to share the complexities of the presentation. Through this process, we can capture the attention of both the big-picture and the little-details audience members. 

• Following these two groups are the collaborative thinkers. Similar to those obsessed with details, these individuals care about the step by step process of our presentations, emphasizing the usage of communication and teamwork to achieve the ultimate solution. This group may be filled with team leaders or conflict mediators interested in working with their group to implement the strategies we share. To attain their attention, discuss small but actionable changes that can be made to reach an eventual goal. These individuals will take your tips to heart and share them with members of their organization, spreading knowledge and inciting change!

• Finally, we have our audience members interested in the overall impact of the presentation. These are individuals focused on innovating their office culture. To reach this group, we can close our presentation with insights into how our presentation can change the team, organizational, or even global environment. Highlight how the central themes of our presentation can be used to solve problems in the workplace and surrounding community. Through this process, we illustrate the ripple effect our speech can have on their lives. 

To summarize these tips, here are four main ways to reach these distinct groups in your presentations: 

1.     Start with a bang!

A high-level main message will call your big thinkers to attention, ensuring that they are captivated immediately.

2.     Showcase our knowledge 

Throughout our presentation, we can expand our viewer’s knowledge and explain important facts and figures. These bits of information will grasp detail-driven audience members and increase our credibility.  

3.     Share the process

To create a relatable and influential presentation, we must share actionable tips which can be used to create an impactful change. Process-oriented individuals will latch onto these descriptions and implement our advice in the future!

4.     Create an Impactful Closing 

By tying our presentations to their personal, professional, and cultural effects, we highlight the advantages of actively employing our techniques in the workplace. While this ending will enrapture all audience members, it specifically fuels the impact focused individuals by showing their potential for change. 

Each time I give a presentation, I keep these four groups in mind, working through my four steps to ensure that I meet the needs of each and every audience member. This advice helps to create more engaging and interesting presentations that accomplish the ultimate goal of informing and inspiring our viewers to make a change.

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Dima Ghawi is the founder of a global talent development company. Her mission is providing guidance to business executives to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and to implement a multi-year plan for advancing quality leaders from within their organization.

Through keynote speeches, training programs and executive coaching, Dima has empowered thousands of professionals across the globe to expand their leadership potential.

8 Tips for Managing Your Fear of Public Speaking

Imagine just as you’re about to begin your daily tasks, you hear the footsteps of your supervisor approaching you. They ask you to give an engaging presentation about a project you’ve been working on. Your face flushes and your heart begins to race as you picture yourself on a massive stage looking out into a sea of blank faces. But, what if you didn’t have to feel like this? What if you could meet the challenge of public speaking with excitement and confidence? Here are eight tips for understanding and overcoming your fear of public speaking.

1. It's all normal

The fear of public speaking affects nearly 75% of the world’s population, so it’s important to remember that this anxiety is completely normal (PSYCOM). It can be difficult to picture yourself in the same position as Barack Obama, Simon Sinek, or colleagues who seem like naturally gifted speakers; however, nearly everyone gets the jitters before delivering an important address. The first step to overcome this fear is acknowledging that our feelings are completely normal. After that, we can begin to overcome our anxieties with courageous action! In this case, practice is the key. Practice, practice, practice! Feel the fear and speak anyway. 

2. Prepare a question

If I feel particularly anxious about a presentation, I have learned to ask the audience an open-ended question at the beginning of my talk. This first step allows the audience to connect with me and activate their brains for my upcoming talking points. As they answer my question, I can take a moment to catch my breath before starting my talk. Through this method, we can overcome that initial surge of stage fright and begin to form an engaging interaction with our audience. 

3. Focus on the value

My first speaking coach shared a powerful statement with me: Your talk is not about you; it’s about the value you have to offer to your audience. This message is a constant reminder that that the purpose of a talk is the value we share with our audience. Reframing the presentation in terms of the audience’s benefit emphasizes that the presentation is not about our fears and the audience judging us. Instead, we remember that our mission is to use our voices to share impactful information and educate, inspire, or incite change in our audience. 

4. Create your own ritual

Having a routine does wonders for managing anxiety before a presentation. This may be going to bed early the night before, avoiding salty foods, or doing yoga the morning of your talk! Our ritual could be anything that makes us feel calm and confident. By focusing on these activities, we can trick our brains into thinking we are in control of the day! Implementing and following through with an uplifting ritual helps our bodies feel at ease and gives our minds the space to prosper.

5. Arrive early

The smallest changes can truly increase our comfort level at stressful events. One of my biggest tips is to arrive even earlier than you usually would! This allows ample time to explore the space, test out equipment, and begin to feel at ease. Showing up early illustrates our preparedness and also provides us with time to evaluate our space and even relax. 

6. Visualize yourself

Throughout the hours, days, or weeks before my events, I like to actively visualize myself giving my talk. To do this, I close my eyes, relax my body, and imagine the sound of my name being introduced. In the mental image, I see myself walking confidently on stage, sharing my knowledge with the audience, engaging with viewers, ending my talk, and walking back to my seat. Through this process, we ease the anxiety of the unknown! By the time we actually give the talk, it will feel like we’ve had ample preparation, calming our nerves. Each time we visualize our speech, we grow more and more comfortable with this scary process and eventually overcome our fears!

7. Do a POWER pose

It may seem silly, but I personally have found doing POWER poses being very helpful. Standing straight and tall with arms akimbo, similar to Wonder Woman, may actually increase our levels of success! The TED talk by Amy Cuddy shares the power of body positioning and how being in an open body position can boost self-confidence. Instead of closing in, we need to expand outwards! By taking up more space we can subconsciously change our inner emotions for the better!  Before giving a talk, trying out some POWER poses my give us that extra edge to overcome our fears. 

8. Square Breathing

Simple breathing techniques can help decrease anxiety and depression and even boost our immune system (Harvard).  My favorite exercise is square breathing. This technique encourages level and controlled breathing sure decrease your stress levels. To start, breath in deeply for four seconds. Hold your breath for four seconds, and then breath out slowly for another four seconds. Hold your breath for another four seconds, and then repeat the process. By engaging in deep breathing, we take control of the anxiety levels in our body and almost force ourselves to calm down! This tip is the best way to calm the butterflies in your stomach before going on stage. 

With these eight tips, we can begin to gain control of our fear of public speaking. Sharing our ideas doesn’t have do be nerve-wracking, and I hope these techniques help increase your comfort levels and self-confidence. 

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Dima Ghawi is the founder of a global talent development company. Her mission is providing guidance to business executives to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and to implement a multi-year plan for advancing quality leaders from within their organization.

Through keynote speeches, training programs and executive coaching, Dima has empowered thousands of professionals across the globe to expand their leadership potential.

Terrified of Public Speaking? Here is What You can do about it

Many years ago, when I first started giving speeches, I was in my hotel room in Dubai on the morning of my first keynote address at a leadership conference. My eyes opened wide before my alarm clock sounded, my body was tense with anxiety and overcome with total terror.

I got out of bed in a panic and paced the room repeating, “I cannot give this presentation, I cannot give this presentation, …”

The thought of myself standing on stage in front of 200 people with blank stares quickly escalated my anxiety. So many “what ifs” swarmed my mind: “What if I lose my breath in front of everyone? What if I forget my points? What if the audience does not like it?”

I had traveled across the world from North Carolina to Dubai just for this conference. Changing my mind at the last minute was not an option. In the taxi on the way to the conference, I closed my eyes and prayed that the taxi would get in an accident so I had an excuse not to speak. Yes, I was that terrified and was desperate for any legitimate excuse to get me out of this speech.

The good news — my prayers were not answered and the taxi made it safely to the conference. However, I was visibly trembling in fear as I heard my name announced.

I took a deep breath and said to myself, “feel the fear and give the presentation anyway.” I walked on the stage still shaking, looked at the audience and trusted my mouth would say the words that I had prepared. After few minutes, I realized that even though it was still tough, the fear somehow started to fade once I connected with the audience. I started to feel a sense of joy-filled adrenaline.

Many years have passed since that terrifying morning, and I am now regularly speaking in front of new audiences all the time — even to audiences of thousands. The fear is still present, but over the years, I learned to transform that fear into power that motivates me.

I constantly meet people who avoid public speaking due to the same fear. Many of them do not realize that they are not alone and that this stage fright and fear of judgement is common. Many end up avoiding presenting at all, which yields horrible consequences for their career advancement.

If you are one of these people, here are some tips I learned over the years to help conquer stage fright:

1. Practice, practice, practice. Trust me, you will not be able to conquer the stage fright without actually speaking in public. Volunteer every time there is an opportunity for you to give a presentation. After you volunteer, make sure to practice in front of friends or co-workers. Practicing in a safe, judgement-free environment will help you prepare your body movements, eye contact, and using your visual presentation.

2. Don’t memorize your presentation. Memorization makes you more nervous and reciting by memory is boring for the audience. When you memorize a speech word-for-word the fear of forgetting becomes more overwhelming and makes you less comfortable giving your presentation. Instead, create an outline with one word for each main point that you want to cover, and get comfortable with the flow.

3. Focus on the value that you are delivering. Your presentation is not about what people think about you. Instead, it is about the positive value that you are bringing: new ideas, innovations, and products. Once the audience senses that you have value to offer, they will connect with you. This feeling of connection will put you at ease.

4. Create a ritual to do before each presentation. Some people need to calm down, sit in a quiet place, or do breathing exercises, while others need to feel energized and do physical activities that increase their energy. Find what works for you and create your own ritual.

5. Prepare a question. The best advice I ever received was to prepare a question ahead of time to ask the audience in case you lose your breath at the beginning of the presentation. While the audience is thinking about the question and answering it, that gives you few moments to catch your breath.

6. Go to the conference room early. Before anyone arrives, stand there, feel the environment, and practice your presentation. This will allow you to feel more comfortable with your surroundings.

7. Engage the audience. Initiate a discussion, make them laugh, and encourage them to share their experiences. The more you engage the audience, the less fearful you will be since you can now gauge how they are responding to your presentation.

8. Be open to feedback. It is okay for your presentation or speaking skills to not be perfect as long as you learn from the experience and are open to input so you can continue to improve. A great way to get feedback is to join a local Toastmasters chapter. It is the best environment to practice and receive constructive feedback from individuals who practice weekly.

So, next time you get the chance, say yes to public speaking and prepare with these eight tips. Remember, you can feel the fear and give the presentation anyway! You can do this!

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Dima Ghawi is the founder of a global talent development company with a primary mission for advancing individuals in leadership. Through keynote speeches, training programs and executive coaching, Dima has empowered thousands of professionals across the globe to expand their leadership potential. In addition, she provides guidance to business executives to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and to implement a multi-year plan for advancing quality leaders from within the organization.

Reach her at DimaGhawi.com and BreakingVases.com.

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7 Tips for Effectively Engaging a Virtual Audience

Deliver a dynamic presentation that keeps your audience tuned in and wanting more.

Presentations, speaking engagements, and panels are great opportunities for business professionals to elevate their career, network with new audiences, and demonstrate their leadership skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has moved many of these events online, making it more difficult to connect with people and capture their attention. 

To help you face these challenges, here are seven tips on how to effectively engage with a virtual audience for a dynamic presentation that successfully demonstrates your skills and talents:  

1. Send out a survey before the event 

Virtual presentations provide an opportunity to be more intentional with our messages and key points. By surveying attendees before the event, we are able to learn more about our audience and gain a greater understanding of the specific topics they would like us to cover. This allows us to customize our key points and deliver a powerful presentation tailored to the audience’s needs. 

2. Prepare your virtual stage 

Our stage has moved from an auditorium or conference room to our home, and we must become our own AV team. It is important to make sure the internet connection is strong and reliable, the lighting is soft and bright, and the audio is clear. When I am hosting a virtual event, I connect directly to my router instead of relying on a wireless connection and use lighting accessories to make sure my space is well-lit. Natural light is also a great option if you do not have the extra equipment; just make sure your lighting is in front of you, not behind you. 

The web cameras built into our computers work well for virtual presentations; however, if you prefer using an external camera or more than one computer screen, make sure the screen with audience comments is close enough to your camera so you can maintain consistent eye contact instead of appearing to continually shift your gaze.

It is also important to test the audio in advance to determine whether an external microphone is needed. Setting up in a small, quiet room with soft surfaces can help to prevent an echo and unwanted background noise.

3. Create a space with minimal distractions

In addition to preparing for the technical components, we must also make sure the area is clean and organized. We can create a space that supports our brand by including some relevant items in the background, like framed degrees, books pertaining to your field, or even simple wall art. Whatever you choose, make sure to keep it simple. 

We should also plan to minimize potential interruptions and prevent pets, children, or family members from moving around the room. However, sometimes things do not go to plan, so if there is an unexpected event, do not dwell on it for too long; make a joke and keep moving forward!

4. Generate conversation and use shorter slides

According to a study by Microsoft, people have an attention span of only eight seconds. Other research shows that an audience’s first lapse in attention during a presentation happens within the first 30 seconds. Trying to connect virtually with an audience creates even greater challenges because people have more distractions and are more easily able to multitask while leaving you on in the background. Dialogue is key to creating an inclusive and engaging environment that keeps everyone involved. 

As presenters, we must ask and answer questions to intentionally draw in focus. Taking a poll and requesting that attendees leave answers in the comments is a great way to make sure people feel included in the conversation. We should also make sure our slides are concise; the focus should be on generating discussion instead of sharing lots of bullet points.

5. Use storytelling and humor

In my keynote presentations, I share my message through personal stories to connect with the audience and capture their interest. Telling stories and using humor allows us to both entertain and engage; we are able to draw people in and hold their attention. Appeal to your audience through adventure, emotion, and personal experience to make a memorable impression. 

6. Be mindful of your body language

As presenters, our body language helps to convey our messages and share our ideas. When we speak on stage, we are able to move around, gesture to the audience, and use props to engage the crowd. Virtually, we are limited to a certain area, but we can still create energy through our voice and gestures. We should position our camera at eye level and make sure to look directly into the camera when speaking to capture attention and to create a connection with those tuning in. 

As business professionals, we want to engage our audience and create excitement as we share our message.To do this, we must vary the cadence of our voice, bring energy to the presentation and match it appropriately to our topic. We should stand to allow ourselves to move freely instead of being rooted in one space. This will encourage us to use natural hand gestures and movements as we present. Studies show that standing helps us to focus better and for longer periods of time. When we stand, we are able to grab everyone’s attention, and we hold more authority. Even though a virtual audience is only seeing us from the chest up, the free movement and tall posture we demonstrate when standing allows us to gain this authority. 

When I present to a virtual audience, I stand 1 – 1.5 feet away from the camera, so I can be seen from the chest up. As a general rule, you want your head to take up roughly one-third of the screen with your shoulders and upper body also showing. This will give us enough room to move around, use hand gestures in frame and remain close enough to read the comments on the computer screen. 

A standing desk or laptop stand will enable us to raise your computer to eye level. When using an external camera, use a tripod for some added height. If you prefer not to invest in the extra equipment, a stack of books can help do the trick.   

7. Practice, review, and improve 

Virtual events are new to many of us, and it can take time to get accustomed to speaking to a screen. This will be the “new normal” for a while, so we can use this as an opportunity to work on our craft. We can practice by recording test videos before we present and by recording our live presentations to review later. Reviewing this footage is helpful for identifying areas of improvement moving forward.

While we face new challenges, virtual presentations are a unique opportunity to connect with our audience directly from our home to theirs. We can use our space to create an inclusive environment for learning, encourage engagement through storytelling and body language, and demonstrate our powerful leadership skills through impactful presentations. 

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Dima Ghawi is the founder of a global talent development company with a primary mission for advancing individuals in leadership. Through keynote speeches, training programs and executive coaching, Dima has empowered thousands of professionals across the globe to expand their leadership potential. In addition, she provides guidance to business executives to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and to implement a multi-year plan for advancing quality leaders from within the organization.

Reach her at DimaGhawi.com and BreakingVases.com.

Unlocking the Power of Public Speaking to Increase Book Sales

As writers, we know how to put pen to paper and create engaging, powerful content. However, promoting our work is equally integral to strong writing, and public speaking provides a valuable way to increase book sales.

When I first published my memoir, Breaking Vases, I gleefully set up a book signing with a local bookstore. However, to my dismay, I spent two long hours trying to catch the attention of anyone willing to listen. I only sold six copies that day—I was completely disheartened.

In the same week, I was booked to present at a conference, and had set up a small booth in the lobby of the event. After my speech, there was a line of people eagerly waiting to purchase their signed copy. The two boxes I brought stuffed with books were empty by the end of the event – I sold over 60 books.

These experiences were an eye opener as a self-published author. To this day my public speaking events have produced much larger book sales, and I learned that connecting with an audience is the most powerful marketing tactic to increase sales.

If You’re Uncomfortable With Public Speaking:

It’s completely normal to be terrified of public speaking, but what matters is not allowing this fear to stand in our way. Start small and contact your local libraries, chambers of commerce, and places of worship—this will give you smaller, low-stakes engagements to get use to speaking.

It’s also important to remember that you don’t have to be the loudest, most energetic person in the room to be a good speaker. Your speaking style should be a reflection of who you are—whether that’s energetic or soft spoken and inviting

Before Booking an Event:

Speaking to the right audience and knowing what they need is essential to the success of our presentations. We need to start by defining our audience. Who would benefit from hearing our talk? Why should they care about our messages? What value are they gaining from reading our book?

When writing Breaking Vases, I knew my book would revolve around my journey of leadership transformation as a woman, so I focused on speaking at conferences for women; and I crafted my presentation to hit on the key points my audience would care about.

Once a speaking engagement is booked, I recommend three things to make sure presentations boosts book sales:

Give Away a Copy of Your Book

Giving away 1-2 copies of our books as a door prize will excite any audience. It makes us look generous and also makes attendees excited for the possibility of winning the book. Additionally, before the door prize, I always like to pass around a copy or two of my book to my audience to peak their interest. Usually, attendees will be more likely to purchase it after holding a physical copy.

Ask for a Vendor Table

Always request a vendor table for book sales. This gives the opportunity to meet interested audience members, sign copies of the book, and make sales right after the speech. If you’re unsure how many copies to bring, I usually estimate that about 25% of my audience will buy a copy of my book and plan accordingly.

Negotiate Bulk Sales with the Event Organizers

Contact the event organizers and see if they are interested in purchasing copies as a gift to attendees at a bulk rate. I usually give them 25% off. This way, every audience member will leave with a copy and will spread the word within their networks. While it may seem like a large discount up front, but this allows us to sell a large quantity and share our message with the entire conference.

When we get on stage to share our work, we’re not only sharing our books’ mission, but we’re sharing our energy with attendees—igniting a passion for our books that will spark the greatest word of mouth. Public speaking is one of the most authentic and powerful marketing tools at our disposal, and once we harness its power our book sales and readers will skyrocket.

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Dima Ghawi is the founder of a global talent development company with a primary mission for advancing individuals in leadership. Through keynote speeches, training programs and executive coaching, Dima has empowered thousands of professionals across the globe to expand their leadership potential. Reach her at DimaGhawi.com and BreakingVases.com.