How do I effectively communicate my strategy?

Have your 3-5 strategic priorities to refer to in every discussion. Keep it simple, stupid: this was the cornerstone of Richard Baker’s approach. Like a politician who has decided the answers they wants give, even before they’ve been asked the questions, Richard was able to bring all of his responses back to his key priorities for the business.2.Expect to communicate it over 6,000 times. If a strategy has a ‘life’ of three years and we assume that there are circa 200 working days a year and that you have 10 opportunities to articulate the strategy each day, there are up to 6,000 separate strategy sound bite opportunities over the three years. It may sound simplistic, but it’s a good place to start.
3.Have conversations, not speeches. More important than your big, set-piece speeches is the drip, drip, drip of your daily conversations. Unless they are in line with your key messages, your carefully crafted annual speech will be quickly forgotten and ignored.
4.Create an emotional connection, not just a rational argument. Strong logic and rationale will help your people understand the new strategy, but they will only become committed if there is an emotional impact as well. For example, one of my clients, Avon Cosmetics, focuses its message around its goal of ‘empowering women’. This message helps create an emotional connection between the company and its thousands of, almost exclusively, female representatives around the globe.
5.Use stories and examples. When Sir Stuart Rose became CEO of M&S he used the story of how one product manager developed a new espadrille shoe in just 12 days -– by ignoring the company’s usual development processes – as an example to the rest of the business about effective risk taking.
6.Take visible action. In the end, of course, actions speak louder than words. For example, one way in which P&G’s ex-CEO, AG Lafley, hammered home his message that ‘the consumer is boss’ by ensuring each of his business trips included in-home and in-store customer sessions.

What's in an 'Innovators DNA'?

So what did they find out? Here are the five skills shared by great innovators:

1. Associating: “What the innovators have in common is that they can put together ideas and information in unique combinations that nobody else has quite put together before,” researcher Hal Gregersen, a professor at Insead, told CNN.com.
2. Observing: Spending time with other innovators and watching them in action is crucial to innovative thinking.
3. Networking: While this is a key for most successful business people, true innovators will take their networking efforts beyond their own peers and industry. “Data says that people who have more varied connections hear more diverse information, and see patterns before other people,” Gregersen told CNN.
4. Questioning: Continually asking questions such as “What if I tried this?” or “Why do you do that?” while networking with and observing other innovators is important.
5. Experimenting: Most innovators don’t get it right the first time; building prototypes and showing them to others for feedback are vital to eventually getting it right.

Meeting Communication Template

--- HOSTING A MEETING OPENERS ---

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to join us for today's meeting to discuss ____.

You are all very welcome to today's meeting to discuss ____.
Thank you for taking the time to be here today to discuss ______.

Before I give you the opportunity to share with us what specifically you want to extract from today's meeting.

I will take the opportunity to share with you what our objectives for the meeting are.

Firstly, i would like to spend some time understanding your business, uncovering your information access challenges and discovering what is important to you.

Then I would like to spend some time positioning how we may be able to help in the context of that description. And get your feedback and inputs to this positioning.

Finally, I would like to put into place some next steps and action plans following on from our discussion in order to carry this momentum forward.

How does this sound to everyone? Everyone pleased with this?

--- MEETING INTRO ---
Before we kick-off, it would be useful to circle around the room to get a feeling for the different representatives joining us today and their specific interests in the topic at hand ________.
So, if we could get a -name -role -whyhere that would be great. I can lead the charge.

[Who I am?]

Hi everyone, my name is ______ ______ .

[What I do?]

I am responsible for FAST Technical Pre-Sales @ Microsoft from an internal business productivity/partner perspective.

[Why I should be here]

The reason I am here today is to

- 1. Get a better understanding of your companies challenges around information access.

Where you are now. Where we would like to be and the current challenges keeping you from getting there.

- 2. Better understand your current Data Topology.

What types of data repositories? Types of data? Utilisation? No. documents? Volume?

- 3. Position FAST technology within that context

[Why I should be here]

The reason I am here today is to get a better understanding of the companies you work with and the industries you operate within.

Specifically,

- 1. Better understand your solution offerings

Challenges they address. Technology components they encompass.

- 2. Understand the common Challenges around information access that you encounter

What challenges do clients have? How are they addressing this today?

- 3. Position FAST technology in the context of your technology and your client pains

--- HOSTING A MEETING AGENDA ---

I hope you all got a chance to read the agenda i send yesterday.
The 3 key driving principles of the meeting are a) ..b)..c)..

I described earlier what I would like to get out of this meeting?
Just quickly re-visiting the agenda I will cover off _______,
from {representative} i would like to get. Then i would like {representative} to cover off..

if we have the following outputs in 2 hours time, by the end of the meeting we will have had a successful meeting:

The critical success factors from my perspective are a).. and b).... Would you like to share your measures of success?

--- MEETING MOMENTUM ---

[Right, OK, Yes, Sure, I agree, That is true, Oh really, I see, explain further, that is interesting, could you possibly illustrate with an example]

How would information access work for you in an ideal world?

What are your ideas/opinions/thoughts on ___?
Can you possibly elaborate on that point?

Have I got that correct?

Can you share the highlights of that conversation?

How are you currently working with that today?

If you could touch on _____ that would be great.

My understanding of that situation was that ______ is this correct? Could you assist me in correcting this?
Why in your opinion is this such a problem?

Why is that important in your opinion?

What would you say the cost of ______ is to your organisation?

Would you see that being of benefit to your organisation?

Why is that relevant to your company in your opinion?
How does that sound to you?
Can you give me some examples of___?
How would you define____?
What exactly does that mean for you?

--- MEETING PARTICIPATION ---

John, you shook your head. What exactly do you disagree with?
I would like to hear from Bill on this.
What may we be overlooking?
What don't we know that we need to know?
Is there anyone who has not weighed in on this issue?
What is your view on ..?
In your opinion, How would you like to improve?

What would it be like in an ideal world?

Would it be of benefit if you could {OUR OFFERING}?

What would the value of ______ be to your organisation?

What are some of your priorities around the product?

What are some of your challenges around ___?

What would you ideally like to change with respect to _______?

--- MEETING OUTRO ---
Thank you all for taking the time out to be here and for your constructive inputs.
Before we break, I would like to quickly playback my understanding to ensure we are fully aligned.

In terms of next steps, the actions i have captured are as follows John to {task} by {deadline}.
I think it would make sense to reconvene on ___ to assess our progress and establish resources, if any, necessary to push forward.

Does anyone have any further inputs, any objections

How do I effectively qualify a sales opportunity?

o One liner on the account
o Business Problem
What’s the situation
What’s the problem
What’s the consequence of the problem
- Inconvenience
- Economic pain
What value can be derived for the business by solving problem
- Revenue improvements.
- Quality improvements.
- Delivery improvements.
- Cost reductions.
- Risk reductions.
- Recruitment and Retention.
- Pain Reductions. How much easier will life become with this solution?

What’s our solution to the problem
- Approach, product, services etc.
- Deal value
- Stakeholders and process
Who owns solving the business problem
Who owns delivering the solution
Other influencers (internal and external)
How and when is the decision to be made
Our access to the stakeholders
What leverage do we have or can get:
 MSFT
 Partners
Competition
 Incumbent?
 Other – what advantages do they have from the customers perspective
 How are we going to mitigate their advantages?
Timing
 Compelling Event?
 The sequence of events

How do I build up my confidence before a meeting or presentation?

Many Olympic athletes know at the start of their event, that even if they beat their personal best, they will be a long way short of a medal. Importantly, it does not matter. What does matter is that they perform well, do not disgrace themselves and enjoy the event. They do not need to be the best, they need to be the best they can.

In achieving this personal goal, they know that every event, every race, will add to their abilities.

But they also know something else. They know they have to work at it and of course have to give themselves as much help as possible.

Confidence does not just happen The airline pilot is not afraid of flying, he is afraid of crashing. Equally I could argue that people are nervous not of speaking in public, but of it going wrong. Continuing that analogy, the pilot therefore takes control of all the aspects of flying and virtually eliminates the crashing option.

Nervous speakers need to do the same. In their case that is taking control of themselves, the material, the audience, and the resources. It is here that there is often incongruence between ideal and reality.

CONFIDENCE = CONTROL.

When I ask the nervous speaker what they do 30 minutes before a presentation, the most common replies are: panic, re-write the speech notes, rush around getting things ready, and a whole variety of other answers. Is that taking control? One candidate told me recently that they would most likely be in the taxi to the venue, writing the ending of their speech. Let me compare this with a confident speaker, and what they might doing in the same 30 minutes.

Meeting and greeting the audience is one option. Visualising the successful presentation, preparing themselves physically and mentally to speak, breathing and vocal warm up exercises are other options, as well as looking forward to speaking. What they are not doing is still preparing the content or the notes.

They are not running around sorting the venue, their notes, any props or technical items or otherwise stressing themselves.

We know confidence is crucial for presenters. The commonest cited attributes for a good speaker are confident and professional.

With confidence, everything is under control, you are in charge. Little obstacles remain little and easily overcome.

CONFIDENCE = PREPERATION.

However this confidence can come from knowing you speak and deliver well. It can come from knowing that the material is well prepared and relevant to the audience. It comes from having the grounding of knowledge in the subject that will allow you to cater for the unexpected question.

LACK OF CONFIDENCE = SELF PERPETUATION.

Lack of confidence is also self perpetuating as well. The less confident speaker will become aware of every fault that exposes their shortcomings and vulnerabilities. They will note every hesitation, every error in their presentation and allow this to further ‘prove’ that they were right in the first place to doubt their abilities. These are what hypnotherapists call ‘ANTs’, something I have written about before - Automatic Negative Thoughts.

These are the statements we say and repeat to ourselves such as, “I can’t…”, “I will never be able to…”. “I am not very good at…..”, and so on. The more we re-enforce our negative beliefs, the more we struggle to combat them. We all have doubts, fears and anxiety. We can all learn to control them and keep them in perspective.

CONFIDENCE = POSITIVE FEEDBACK & AFFIRMATIONS

Your own performance feedback, the feedback from colleagues and the audience, and the response you give to that feedback.

As a trainer I might get a pile of positive evaluation sheets after a course and just one that is critical. Over the next few days the positive pile will be placed on the mental back burner whilst I worry about the one person who did not share the view of all the others. If I am not careful it will nag at me, demand that I consider each aspect of the course and how that failed to meet the attendee’s expectations. It is human nature.

Imagine how much your confidence would increase when you allow your skills to be recognised and rewarded with praise. Imagine the effect of putting all feedback into perspective. Not everything will always go well and there is always room for helpful comments. Even if you have a nightmare of a presentation, you can learn from it and evaluate it in the perspective of it not being the norm, but the exception that warrants some consideration as to why it went wrong to ensure lessons are learnt.

This approach is so much more beneficial than deciding that one poor performance wipes out all the positive experiences.

GOOD PRESENTERS = ACCEPT IMPERFECTIONS

The successful presenter learns from every presentation and knows that obstacles can be overcome. Alternative skills can be developed and one poor presentation is not the end of the world. Indeed working to overcome the obstacles continues to build the confidence and provide new energy. In order to gain confidence and experience, there has to be the less successful events to provide the learning.

We also learn and get motivated by others. I speak in competition regularly and have had some success. However when I don’t win, the initial disappointment is quickly changed to motivation to improve.

Confident people aren't threatened by constructive criticism, but unconfident people are. Consequently, confident people are more likely to focus on what they can improve rather than dwell on what went wrong.

STRESS SPIRAL

A presenter can get caught in a confidence draining cycle. Beware allowing yourself to feel stressed as that in turn causes anxiety, the anxiety causes panic, the panic leads to mistakes, mistakes allow self-doubt to creep in, escalating the panic, causing the presenter to forget things. Pretty soon, the focus goes from delivering a great presentation to just wanting to get off the stage alive, and dreading the next speaking opportunity.

I was delighted to win the National Championship in 2004. I was equally delighted to recognise publicly just how much I had learnt from other top speakers. From one I learnt powerful pause and pace techniques. From another I learnt to enhance my vocal range in a way that was particularly effective. We all learn at all levels. Never stop allowing yourself to learn and grow.

Think back to when you learnt to drive. You had lessons and you then practised. You were determined to master the skills; you took every opportunity to drive. Of course the result was that your driving got better and your confidence grew. You never attempted to avoid driving. You worked hard at it, studied, took lessons and found that things that were immensely difficult just suddenly became easier. You were embarrassed at the start, engine dying and missing gears. But if you had stopped then in that fear and embarrassment you would have never progressed. Great speakers do not just happen. They work hard at perfecting their skills, learning new techniques, getting real life experience and begin to enjoy the whole process.

BELEIEVE = SUCCESS

Experience, practice, skill development are all important but so is self-belief or self-esteem. Set goals for yourself, acknowledge your successes however small and regard them as building blocks as you develop. Each situation you handle, each presentation you deliver is another positive learning step and another indicator that whatever happens you will be able to manage and conquer – not just because of your faith in yourself but because this is enshrined in the hard work, dedication and determination to succeed.

If you believe you will deliver an effective presentation, it increases the chances that you will.

TRUE CONFIDENCE = BELEIF & PRACTICE.

It is knowing that you have hidden resources that will rise to the occasion as required. Not blocked by undue anxiety or fear, the creative mind can be allowed to work positively in the most demanding of situations. Like an athlete who says they are in the ‘zone’. The speaker who remains calm will find words, phrases and techniques will rise into the conscious mind without effort. Stop and listen to yourself as you speak. Build on what you HEAR YOURSELF say.

USE NEGATIVE ENERGY FOR POSITIVE.

It is as if the energy that is required when worrying, fretting and feeling anxious is released and can be used instead positively. The mind and body will almost go into automatic. Allow your powerful mind to impress you sometimes. If you don’t block it, believe me it will.

CONTINOUS LEARNING.

Confidence, self belief, expertise and experience are all great to have. Never stop working, challenging yourself and learning. It was the hard work that developed your skills and confidence in the first place. Always work for that special ‘buzz’ that comes from concluding a presentation and knowing that you really did your best.

SMALL STEPS OF PROGRESS = SUCESSFUL SPEAKER.

There is not one thing that I will teach them that will improve their skills dramatically. It is the many many little things that will add up to making a substantial improvement. Allow each small step to increase your skills, and your confidence. Just like any other achievement, it will be a bit at a time. Of course training and learning skills will help give you the tools. You can practice using your new skills in a variety of different ways and each time you will find yourself more adept.

ACCEPTED THE HICCUPS.

Accept that the ups and downs of your presentation are all learning points. Accept that by making the conscious effort even to read this article you are already ahead of many people who just give up emotionally and decide that they can’t speak. You know you have a more positive attitude so let that flow. Accept you are not infallible, but that with determination, a positive attitude, some skill development and learning, your abilities and your confidence in those abilities will grow. Let it happen!

Ian Price

How do I appear more smart when I describe concepts?

Use Mathematical and Statistical language:
The distribution ...
A standard deviation..
The X-axis , Y-axis ...
Of ststistical significance..
Its a function of ...
The common denominator here is...
Stochastic..
Deterministic..
Non-Deterministic..
Probabilistic..
Marginal increases..
Marginalised..
Towards zero..

How do I make my presentations alive and Fresh?

There is a way to break through the wall and establish the direct human connection that is so vital for effective delivery of your message: Customize. Get to know your audience.

Talk Sharp and Snappy as if you are really excited about the topic. Don't over do it or your listeners won't be able to keep up. Think Seth Godin. You don't to cover ALL the content you wanted , it's more important that it is sharp & snappy than comprehensive. People sleep with TOO MUCH GIVEN TOO SLOW!

Direct Reference. Refer to one or more members of your audience by name. If you can, mention a well-known fact or figure about the person or the person’s company or market. “Just before the presentation, I was chatting with Linda whose company has just experienced …”

Mutual Reference. Refer to individuals, companies, or organizations familiar to your audience. “You know what I mean…” "You are probably familiar with" "You know what I mean when I say"


Back-, Forward-, and Cross-Reference. If you are part of a larger agenda with other speakers, refer to preceding or following speakers and their content. “Earlier today, you heard Steve tell you…” or “Later on today, you’ll hear Bill talk about…”

Contemporize. Refer to relevant events in the news on the day of your presentation. “This morning’s Wall Street Journal has an item about…”

Localize. Refer to the venue of your presentation. “Right here in this city, there are a number of companies that …”

Graphics. Display the current date and location on your first slide. Wherever you can, insert the logo or brand identity of a company in the audience.