During business conversations and presentations, would you like to reduce your filler words, to sound more authoritative and get buy-in faster?  You can do it with a technique that actors use when they are preparing to speak extemporaneously.

You already know that filler words (um, uh, so, well, like, you know) rarely add meaning and are usually just a distraction for your listeners.  And that they jeapardize your ability to project confidence and commitment.  Reducing your use of fillers will help you enhance your credibility and your leadership presence.  Borrow this practice technique that actors use:

Set a timer for increasing time periods of time, two or three minutes to start, and record yourself as you speak in extended sentences on a topic of your choice.  Choose a business topic that you know well, something you enjoy speaking about (but not your elevator speech or a sales pitch).

As you speak into the recorder, imagine that each word that comes from your mouth is connected to the next one, which is connected to the next one, and so on:  the way pearls are connected on a string of pearls.  When you feel the urge to use a filler

• Stop yourself
• Pause
• Say the filler silently to yourself

When the timer rings, play back the recording and notice your fillers.  Then repeat the exercise, with new topics of your choice.

As you become comfortable with this exercise, increase the setting on the timer, perhaps starting at five or seven minutes.  Then, continue the practice until you can speak extemporaneously on new topics of your choice for fifteen or twenty minutes straight, without the use of fillers.

I guarantee:  when you practice this on a regular basis, you will find that, over time, you are decreasing the number of fillers that you use.  You will sound more confident and more authoritative.  And you’ll increase your ability to influence!

When you prepare for your business presentations, do you try to make everything perfect? It’s great to get personal satisfaction from excellence. But trying to make your presentations perfect can actually jeopardize your leadership presence and success.

Here’s a case in point:  a story about my earliest years as a professional singer.

I always loved singing on Broadway, but what I really wanted to sing was jazz. I feel in love with jazz after I had been singing other styles for a few years. And I can tell you why I fell in love with it: it forced me to dare to sing with a kind of freedom that I had never known before.

Until that time, my singing was about executing everything in a certain way, locking it in – duplicating over and over my idea of how something should sound. My attempt was to freeze what I thought was my best performance. I was trying to be perfect. And the quality of my singing suffered.

My perfectionism went hand in hand with a preoccupation with the audience’s response; would the audience think that I was “good”, or good enough? I thought that perfection would give me their approval. Perfectionism kept me in bondage, because it robbed me of the freedom and spontaneity I needed, in order to be truly creative with a song. And it took the fun out of singing, until I was able to learn to let go.

So, how does this relate to your business presentations and your leadership presence? Leadership presence is an energy that says, “I am so happy to be with you, and I have a message for you that you’re going to value. And during our time together, whatever happens, I can handle it!”

The purpose of your preparation and rehearsal for a business presentation is to give you a solid foundation for the delivery of your message, so that by the time you get in front of your business audience, you will have the ability to project gravitas while being spontaneous, conversational, and authentic.

So, take this tip:  When you rehearse for your business presentations, internalize your content. Don’t memorize it. The only parts to memorize are the opening and closing sentences, bearing in mind that you will always need to be “in the moment” and ready to be flexible at any time.

When your business listeners see that you not only “know your stuff”, but have the confidence to be spontaneous, your leadership presence will skyrocket.

Being flawless or slick is not always engaging. Being “in the moment” is compelling.

Perfection is an illusion. So, take the risk. Let go of perfectionism when you speak for business

Are you a decisive person? And how can decisiveness enhance your leadership presence when you speak for business?

You can see the importance of decisiveness every day in the realm of business speaking.  Take business presentations, for example.  I’m sure that you’ve seen presentations that were lifeless or boring.  Sometimes this happens because speakers are afraid to use their top energy to engage their listeners:  afraid that using their top energy will make them appear phony if they’re not feeling a big emotion underneath the words.

Don’t be afraid of appearing phony.  You don’t have to have a big feeling in order to take a strong action.  Be decisive!

Here’s a story from my own professional life that provides some insight about the fear of appearing phony and the importance of being decisive.

Years ago, I had the happy privilege of being directed by James Earl Jones in a play called The Road to Rome, by Robert Sherwood.  It was an anti-war comedy, set in ancient Rome.  Hannibal’s Carthaginian army invades Rome.  I was playing Fabia, the wife of the Roman Emperor.  At one point in the play, Jimmy (we called James Earl Jones “Jimmy”) directed me to feint. My character was supposed to be so overcome when Hannibal’s army invades our home, that I fall onto the floor in a dead faint.

Now, as a young actor, I wanted this feint to look authentic.  I did not want to look phony.  And I was worried that I was not going to be able to do realistic-looking feint.

At every rehearsal, I was unable to fall onto the floor.  At every rehearsal, I said to James Earl Jones, “Jimmy, I’m so sorry; I’m having such trouble; I want this to feint to be realistic;  I don’t want to look phony!”  At every rehearsal, James Earl Jones said to me (in his beautiful, resonant voice), “Maria, just fall on the floor!”

I couldn’t do it.  Finally, on opening night (it wasn’t until opening night!), I made a decision.  I decided to throw caution to the wind and let go.  I decided that when it was time for the feint, no matter how I felt, and no matter how phony it might look, I was going to fall on the floor.

And that’s exactly what I did.  And the audience bought it.  And, not only did they buy it, but they laughed so hard that they almost fell onto the floor!

So, back to your business.  Ask yourself:  Are you waiting for a big feeling to hit you, before you

• use your top energy to engage your business listeners?

• speak up at a meeting to voice your own perspectives?

• make a difficult recommendation to senior management?

Don’t wait for a big feeling to hit you!   Be decisive.  Just fall on the floor!

Have you ever made a mistake during a business meeting or conversation: a big mistake that was obvious to everyone?  You don’t have to lose face in situations like these.  Here is a tip that will help you save face.

At one point or another, in your professional life, you may at one time or another, have dropped the balls. You said the most inappropriate thing or your spoken mistake that everyone noticed was a serious one.  These situations present two choices for you.  You can

1:   Pretend that it didn’t happen:  this is never advisable when you are sure that everyone noticed your mistake!

2:   Accept that you dropped the balls and demonstrate humility.

Humility might be an instant and sincere apology. It might be self-deprecating humor.  It might be that you allow others to see you try with your heart and soul to correctly your mistake and maybe even fail to correct it!  Humility means that we accept our right relationship with nature and allow people to see our human-ness.  Because human beings make mistakes and are sometimes wrong — and most everyone we do business with can identify with that.

Humility is a very importance ingredient in successful business speaking.  It’s not a weakness.  It’s actually strategic.  It’s a quality that makes us approachable, more likeable, and more attractive to do business with.

Do your prospects believe that you will be a true business partner for them? To help you achieve this goal, I shared with you in my last video the first three steps of active listening. Today, I’ll share the final 2 steps.

I shared Step 1 for active listening: Blend; Step 2: Backtrack; and Step 3: Clarify.

Now, here are the final two steps:

Step 4: Summarize
Here, your goal is to show that you have listened and understood. Paraphrase what your partners have just said. Say something like, “So, if I understand you correctly…xyz. Paraphrase their meaning as accurately and concisely as you can.

Step 5: Confirm
Here, your objective is to be sure that your conversation partner feels satisfied. Ask: “Do you feel understood? Is there anything else?”

When you use the five steps of active listening (Blending, Backtracking, Clarifying, Summarizing and Confirming), you’ll be better able to convince your prospects that you’ll be a true business partner for them.

That’s a strategy for building relationships and generating business.

Would you like your clients and prospects to believe that you will be a true business partner for them?  You can help make this happen by sharpening your active listening skills.  Active listening helps you project a spirit of good will and project your most positive, professional image.

Very often, it’s wise to listen as your conversation partners express themselves fully, before you present your own thoughts, opinions, and perceptions. People are more likely to agree when they feel that they themselves have been heard!

Here are three steps that will help you listen actively:

Step 1:  Blend
Blending is any behavior that helps reduce the differences between you and your conversation partners. The goal is to increase rapport.  As we speak, listeners are often subconsciously wondering “Are you with me, or against me?” — so building rapport is very important.  Blending will help you do it.  This means that you will mirror – and not mimic – your conversation partner’s tone, pacing, volume, facial expressions and posture.  Give receptive signals: “Oh, yes, I see, I understand”, and use a lot of head nodding.

Step 2: Backtrack
The goal of backtracking is to show that you are listening and want to understand. When you backtrack, you repeat verbatim your conversation partner’s words.  It is important not to paraphrase; use the exact words. This is particularly useful during business conversations on the phone.

Step 3: Clarify
Ask clarifying questions.  Your goal is to gather as much information as possible and delay giving your own responses. Clarifying questions begin with the words “why”, “how”, and “tell me about…” There are three main benefits to backtracking: it shows that you are patient and supportive, it helps an unreasonable conversation partner behave more reasonably, and it helps reveal any hidden agendas that your conversation partners may have.

These three steps for active listening will help you project a spirit of good will and caring.  Next time, I will share the final two steps to help you listen actively and make it easier for your clients and prospects to believe that you’ll be a true business partner for them!

Would you like to increase harmony during challenging business conversations?  You can do it by monitoring your speech!

We all know that business discussions can be challenging whenever one of the participants is stressed or behaving inappropriately in any way.  Monitoring the way you speak is a powerful opportunity to influence conversations and business relationships for the better.

Monitoring your tone may be the most obvious and most important approach you can use.  Your tone of voice is a strong indication of the opinions you hold about your conversation partners.  It reveals the truth of your feelings.  Those feelings can easily leak out and, if they’re negative, obviously they can jeopardize business relationships. 

People respond to tone of voice.  When your tone of voice contradicts your words, your tone of voice is what people respond to the most.  Whenever you hear yourself sending a mixed message (when your tone and your words don’t match), acknowledge it verbally in the moment, and explain it to your listeners, using a different tone.  For example, you might say something like, “I’m sorry if I sound a bit rushed.”  Or  “I know that I sound angry; that’s because this issue is very important to me.”   

Monitoring and modifying your tone of voice in the moment will have a very positive impact.  It’s an important step in increasing harmony during challenging business conversations.

Whenever you speak/present in business, it’s very important to keep your focus on your listeners:  on what you ultimately want them to feel or do.   Nervousness (which is a focus on self) and a preoccupation with word choice or how you are coming across can jeopardize your power to influence.

Listeners care about one thing: “What’s in this for me?”  This is why speakers must always project a “you focus” and why rehearsing in front of a mirror is so dangerous:  it trains you to focus on yourself and on how you look (which is often detected by the audience and can project either arrogance or anxiety).

In my blogs, I have presented a theater technique that helps business speakers focus the mind on listeners; the technique is the pursuit of what actors call “acting objectives”.  “Acting objectives” are separate from the types of objectives that should be obvious from your content and which you might even articulate to your listeners.  Instead, “acting objectives”  have one purpose:  they are designed to propel your energy toward your listeners and project a “you focus”. 

Once you have chosen powerful acting objectives for each “beat” (see my previous blog about “beats”), keep your acting objectives private:  they should be your secrets. Have you ever noticed that your secrets hold great power for you?  For speakers, this is helpful; we want our acting objectives to hold power over our demeanor; we want them to give us an audience-focused delivery style.

Rehearse the way actors do:  rehearse aloud, rehearse often, and rehearse at top energy.  As you speak the words of each beat, focus on the underlying acting objective.  Your energy and commitment in this pursuit are key.  As you speak the words of each beat

• Focus on the acting objective (what you want the listeners to do or feel), rather than on the exact words you are speaking
• Keep the acting objective at the forefront of your mind
• Pursue the acting objective with complete commitment:  as if your life depended on it

Finally, always be sure that your demeanor communicates, “My message is important for you, so I love being here with you.”

Pursue “acting objectives” to focus your mind where it belongs:  on your business listeners — to engage them fully and increase your power to influence.

Would you like your business listeners to trust you more?  Would your business improve if you could convince prospects that you will be a true business partner for them?  Would you like to generate more new business and keep more the business you already have? 

If you’re answer is YES, you won’t want to miss my exciting program called “Enhance Your Leadership Presence with Acting Improvisation.”  You’ll learn how to enhance your leadership presence by using acting improvisation, storytelling techniques, and the “yes and” mindset to transform your communication skills. You’ll learn how to generate business by deepening interpersonal connections, speaking with authenticity, building trust, and engaging your listeners. And you’ll learn how to address the changing needs of your existing clients by expanding your creativity and spontaneity. 

I describe this work as “serious fun”. You’ll be engaged in playful, interactive activities:  acting improvisation, theater and imagination games, and mind, body, and voice techniques that will help you project a spirit of collaboration and convince your prospects that you can (and will) help them solve their business problems. 

Let me tell you how acting improvisation will enhance your leadership presence: 

#1:  Whenever you speak for business, your listeners have one over-riding concern: they want to know what’s in it for them.  Acting improvisation addresses this concern.  Early in their training, actors learn that the audience is always asking the question, “Why are you telling me this?”  Acting improvisation teaches that you must answer this question, and answer it in a way that is compelling for your listeners.  This is a skill that every business leader needs!  If you’re not answering this question in a way that is compelling for your listeners, you’re losing business. 

#2:  To generate new business and keep the business you already have, you need to engage your listeners.  Acting improvisation teaches what a message is made of, what needs to happen; it teaches you how to discern when the beginning should be over, when your listeners have had enough of the middle, when it’s time to move on to the ending, and how long that should last, etc. Leaders who use this knowledge and the timing that it develops become truly engaging:  become masters of engagement.  And they have a measurable competitive edge! 

You, too, can become a master of engagement. Acting improvisation will teach you how!  Don’t miss the opportunity to experience this innovative program: you’ll take away powerful techniques to transform your leadership presence.  

Discover how play will enhance the way you work. And get ready for some serious fun!  I look forward to working with you.

I recently played the role of Amanda Wingfield in the play, “The Glass Menagerie” and was reminded that so much of the rehearsal process for a play should be used by business people who want to make a dynamic impact when they speak.  Here are two tips that can help enhance your credibility during business meetings, presentations, sales calls, and more.

Engage With Vocal Variety:
Our director was confident that we actors would have no problem making ourselves heard by audience members in the last row of the theater.  Knowing that there were some intimate, “lower volume” scenes in the play, she took the extra precaution of planting an assistant at various spots in the last row to listen, so that we actors could be told of any moments when we could not be heard adequately.  Business speakers/presenters who are not using a microphone can benefit from a similar strategy, to help you use a range of vocal dynamics (sound volume) to engage your listeners.  Do the following:  Arrive at your speaking venue/meeting room early; arrange to have someone listen as you speak parts of your talk, and be sure to speak any sections where you will choose to use a lower volume than usual (perhaps for dramatic effect).  Use your sound assistant’s feedback to guide you on your volume levels, so that you can use a range of vocal dynamics with the confidence that you will always be heard.  This range of dynamics is key to listener engagement.

Feel and Look Like Your Message:
As we rehearsed “The Glass Menagerie”, I naturally wanted to immerse myself in the character and the setting as quickly and thoroughly as possible.  One way that I do this when rehearsing a play is to wear rehearsal clothes that give me the same (or similar) feeling as the costume(s) in performance will.  This helps me feel/appear to be “one” with the character, so that the audience will perceive no difference between “Maria” and (in the case of this particular play) “Amanda”.  As a business speaker/presenter, your rehearsal process can help you become “one” with your content, so that every nuance of your delivery will project and support one, seamless message.  Try the following as you rehearse.  Consider the nature of your message, who your listeners are, and how they dress.  Allow this information to help you plan what you will wear.  When rehearsing, wear those clothes or even just one or two pieces from that outfit (shoes, blouses, and jackets are particularly useful for giving you the right feeling).  Become conscious of the way your clothing affects your feelings about yourself and your demeanor, and make any necessary adjustments in clothing.  This will help you feel and project the image you desire.

Use these strategies from the theater, and watch your prospects, clients, and other business listeners become increasingly engaged when you speak!