Who is Sitting Next to You?
Are you the type of person who gets on a plane and keeps your head down? Or are you the type of person who strikes up a conversation with the person sat next to you?
For those who know me, you'll know that I'm definitely the kind to strike up a conversation! And I'm glad to say I did this just a few weeks ago.
Picture this - I'm sat there reading my 'TED talks' book (which I highly recommend by Chris Anderson) and the person sat next to me asks me if I'm doing a talk? 'Yes' I say, 'I'm talking to 60 people at a Women In Tech Sales event next week' to which her response was 'Amazing… I'm a professional speaker'!
I couldn’t pass this up
Now, there was no way I could pass up this opportunity so I asked her for all her top tips and was soon sat there scribbling them all down in my book.
Imagine how happy I was when a week later I did my presentation, having weaved in ALL of her top tips, and received some fantastic feedback.
So let me share with you her (and now my :)) top tips:
1. People love stories so use the phrase 'Imagine' to get them really engaged and using their imagination.
2. 'Picture this' is another great expression to use, to get their creative minds going
3. And finally but most importantly, we're humans and we love thinking about ourselves - so as much as you can, encourage them to think about themselves by asking questions- this will result in people feeling much more connected and engaged with what you're staying - for example, instead of just starting a presentation with 'I got chatting to someone on a plane' change it to 'Are you the type of person who gets on a plane and keeps your head down?…'
And one bonus top tip taken from the TED talks book - If you think you can memorize your talk but are still nervous, then print out your script, put it within reach on stage, BUT not within eye sight - it will boost your confidence knowing you have a back up, but as it's out of reach you won't be tempted to get distracted by it.
I'd love to thank the amazing Sherry Winn for these great tips and for being 'one of those people' who strikes up a conversation with the person next to them on a plane.
If you loved Tara’s blog and would like to see more of what she writes, go check her out here at Cocktails and Coaching