Practice Effective Communication and Public Speaking
Every episode contained communication of some sort, and many of the episodes featured the teams giving presentations. First, we will look at some examples from the different seasons involving the teams and team members and how they communicated with each other and how they performed with their public speaking and presentation tasks. Next, we will look at how to improve communications by recognizing styles of communication and how to give better presentations.
The second episode of season one had the teams presenting to Donny Deutsch and his team at the Deutsch agency. The teams created an ad campaign for Marquis Jet that consisted of both a print campaign and media plan that incorporated a 30-second promo. Both teams gave professional presentations. It was interesting that Nick, who did sales presentations for a living, tried to advise his team on good presentation techniques. This illustrated that presentation skills would be important, and in fact they were, throughout all the seasons. In the end, Deutsch and his team members believed both groups were professional and organized, but the women of Protégé were declared the winners because the presented an edgier campaign that was a fresh alternative to the men of Versacorp’s more traditional campaign. One of the Deutsch team members described the two as, “The men had more steak and the women had more sizzle.”
The sixth episode of season one had the two teams negotiating with
celebrities to raise money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
It was interesting to watch the different negotiation and communication
styles among the different team members, most noticeably the difference between
The fifth week of season two had the two teams, Apex and Mosaic, working with QVC to sell a product on live TV. Maria and Jennifer M. were chosen to do the actual presenting on television for Apex. During the rehearsal, Pamela thought Maria was flailing around and said she looked as if she was having a seizure. Pamela replaced Maria with a bit of performance advice, “stop speaking.” Jennifer M. did a much better job in front of the camera, but it was not enough for the women of Apex to win. Pricing was the main issue regarding the loss, but the episode illustrated that presentation skills are vitally important.
Two other episodes of the second season also illustrated the importance of presentation. Episode eleven had the teams presenting an in-store promotional catalog for Levi’s. After the catalogs were designed, the teams gave presentations to Levi executives, including Robert Hanson, President of the Levi’s company. Kevin opened Apex’s presentation, and Jennifer M. worried that Kevin was too aggressive. In addition, she said that Kevin sweated while he talked and called it “disgusting.” Kevin then introduced Ivana, who was the creative force behind their product, the Fit Wheel. Unfortunately for Ivana, Jennifer M. jumped in with answers when Robert Hanson asked how the team came up with the idea. This presentation shows how important it is to be able to present effectively. While Ivana had the idea for the Fit Wheel and led the team with its design, Jennifer M. got the most credit. Hanson declared Apex the winning team and said the Fit Wheel communicated all of the categories of jeans the company had to offer, but could have been sexier. When Trump asked him who on Apex did the best job, Hanson replied that Jennifer M. did. Hanson only saw the presentation and the final product, and Jennifer M. received extra praise because of her speaking skills.
The very next episode, twelve, had the teams again presenting a product they designed. This time it was a new Pepsi bottle and marketing campaign for a new drink called Pepsi Edge. One of the most revealing scenes in regards to presenting was the look on Kelly, Ivana, and Kevin’s faces when instead of walking into a room to present to a few executives they walked into a large, theater-like room with more than one hundred Pepsi marketing team members. Checking out your platform and knowing who you will be speaking to beforehand gives you the opportunity to prepare much more and give a better presentation. When you pay attention to all of the details, your presentation will be much more polished, professional and persuasive. It is never good to be surprised, but fortunately none of the team members choked, because as we soon will see, Trump hates chokers.
During episode two of season three, John tried to speak to Brian about his tone of voice. The way he communicated to his teammates was abrasive and it was creating conflict among the team. Brian never did realize that his communication style was not working and that a change could have brought him respect from his teammates and maybe have turned the task around. This was a very clear example of how communication style can affect one’s leadership abilities. Recognizing and adapting your communication style to connect with those you are leading and communicating with will enable you to become a much more effective leader.
During episode
four of the third season, Donny Deutsch made an important point regarding
presentations. The team members of
Apex dressed as chefs when they went in to present their Dove Cool Moisture Body
The task given to the teams during week eleven of season three consisted of designing a line of clothing that combined technology with fashion for American Eagle Outfitters, a leading retailer that sells casual clothing for the youth market. The team that had the most compelling presentation of wearable tech clothing, as judged by American Eagle executives would win the task.
Both teams designed clothing and presented to two American Eagle executives. Magna went first, and Tana opened the presentation by introducing the product line and how her team had done a lot of research. When one of the American Eagle executives asked the group what the most important piece of technology was for their customers, Bren answered without hesitation that it was the cell phone. This pleased the judges, and the presentation ended well.
Net worth rushed in, almost late for their presentation. At the last minute, they discovered that they had left one of their items behind. This flustered Angie, and she stumbled through the beginning of the presentation. She made many mistakes, repeated ahs and ums, and resorted to reading her notes. When asked what the most important piece of technology was for their customers by the executives, Angie replied that she thought it was the iPod. The judges were not nearly as pleased with this answer and the presentation ended on a low note for team Net Worth.
In the boardroom, Trump declared the presentation as lousy, and Carolyn added that the presentation was horrendous. Other issues were discussed, but it came down to the fact that the team lost because of the presentation and Angie had cracked under pressure. In the end, Trump told Angie that she had choked during the presentation and fired her. When the candidates were gone, Trump told George and Carolyn, “If you’re going to work for me, you’ve got to be able to handle tremendous pressure, and she did choke. And I don’t like chokers, I don’t want chokers working for me.
Other presentations from the third season were also not polished, nor
professional. During episode twelve,
Chris opened the presentation to the
As we can see from these examples, communication skills were extremely important for the candidates on all three seasons. If space permitted, we could look at many more examples from the series. Each of the members had to communicate with their teammates, with Trump, George, and Carolyn in the boardroom, and with various celebrities, executives, vendors, employees and consumers during all of the varied tasks. Many of the tasks involved giving business presentations to different groups. We saw that communication and presentation skills directly influenced the results during certain episodes. These skills are critically important. The remainder of this chapter will focus on a few important considerations regarding improving communication and giving better presentations.
Communication
Whether motivating someone or negotiating with them, communication is how you will get it done. Communicating with others is one of the most important skills you can develop. It can make or break a career. The communication process is the base for all persuasion and negotiation as well as many other skills and tasks a leader must perform. It may be the most important thing we do.
Text books delve into communication by defining it with terms such as the sender and message recipient and discussing any response to any stimulus as communication. In this portion, rather than analyze different models of the communication process, basic principles of communicating and being understood will be addressed. In business, especially in leadership roles, objectives and goals are important. Effective communication will assist in achieving these. Communicating with other individuals and communicating to groups are important skills to master. There are many ways to communicate with others. However, for purposes here, the focus will be on oral communication or speaking.
Communication Style
Research suggests that if you can control communication style, you can control the outcome of most interactions. Communication style is concerned with how you say what you say. Many times, people respond to how something is said, the style or manner in which the words are used, more than what the actual words mean. Many learned the “Golden Rule” when younger, “treat everyone as you want to be treated.” Unfortunately, this is not necessarily the best approach to effective communication. Treating everyone the same with communication results in being effective with only those who share the same communication style. This unintentional miscommunication can be a significant factor in unsuccessful relationships and negotiations. There are various communication style models. Here is an example of four different communication style’s characteristics:
Style A
Outspoken, impatient, decisive, short conversations, frequently interrupts, not a good listener. Focuses on objectives and results.
Style B
Very reserved, deliberate, careful and patient listener, likely to ask very specific detailed questions, will take notes while listening. Focuses on process, detailed information.
Style C
Spontaneous, talks at length, likely to tell stories and jokes, talks more than listens. Focuses on challenge, action.
Style D
Very
thoughtful, casual conversations, likely to tell people stories, good listener,
asks general questions. Focuses on
feelings, relationships.
No style is right or wrong, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. The key to effective communication is to recognize the styles and match your style to the person you wish to communicate with. An obvious example can be made with a person who communicates with Style A meets up with someone who communicates with Style D. The first person focuses on results while the second person focuses on feelings and relationships. Person A will seem rude and brash to person D. D’s feelings more than likely will be hurt and communications between the two will not be effective. At the same time, A doesn’t care about establishing the relationship that D does, and thinks all the feeling stuff is a waste of time and is keeping them from accomplishing the task, so A becomes frustrated with D and adds to the ineffectiveness of the communications between the two. If one of these two people can recognize the differences in communication styles and adapt their style to that of the other, much more will be accomplished with more effective communications between both parties. For a more in depth look at communication styles, Linda McCallister’s book “I wish I’d said that!” How to Talk Your Way Out of Trouble and Into Success is a great resource.
Public Speaking
The ability to speak in public is essential to maximizing your leadership potential and achieving the highest levels of success. It is not enough to be able to stand in front of an audience and say a few words. You should be able to stand and deliver a well thought out presentation that captivates your audience. There are many resources on public speaking and one of the best anywhere is Toastmasters International. This organization has clubs all over the world, and its mission is to help club members become better communicators and leaders. Speaking is a skill that you become better at by doing, and that is exactly what Toastmasters International is about. You can read all the books, listen to all the tapes, and watch all the videos, but until you actually get in front of an audience, your speaking skills will not improve. The great thing about Toastmasters is you are provided ample opportunities to speak in a supportive setting. Other members are there to provide positive feedback and assist you in becoming a better speaker. The organization has minimal dues and ample training resources to help you achieve your speaking goals. To find a club near you, go to www.toastmasters.com.
Most of us have heard speakers that almost memorized us with their presentation, or spoke with such passion about a topic that we couldn’t help be moved. We have also heard those that nearly put us asleep, or maybe they did as well as those that because every other word was ah or um we could hardly bear to listen. There are many aspects of effective public speaking, and in this section we will look at three of the elements needed to make our presentations enjoyable, memorable, and most important, effective in communicating our message. Let’s make our presentations simple, let’s make them sincere, and let’s make them sizzle.
Simple
The old formula of telling the audience what you are going to tell them, telling them, and then telling them what you told them, works. It works because it is a simple formula for organizing a message in a manner that an audience can follow, understand and remember. You must organize your speech in a logical manner that the audience can follow. Present your ideas in an orderly and clear manner. You want a compelling opening designed to catch immediate attention. Follow this by the body of your presentation which contains the factual support for your purpose. Conclude your speech with a climax that produces results in your audience. The conclusion should tie in with the opening and leave no doubt about what you want the audience to do with the information you presented. Finish forcefully and confidently. Follow these simple steps and you will be on your way toward effective public speaking.
In addition to a simple formula to keep you on track, a simple presentation is one without bi words, complicated jargon, and language that is over the head of your audience. Be yourself and use words you are familiar and comfortable with. The words and language you use must fit the audience. If you are nuclear physicist speaking to an audience of nuclear physicists, you will use different language than you should use talking nuclear physics to a group of high school students. Simplicity is relative to the audience. The key is to be yourself and ensure the presentation is appropriate for your audience.
Sincere
Successful speeches and presentations are sincere and made in earnest. You want your presentation to radiate conviction and sincerity. Obviously, speaking about something you care about is the first step toward being sincere. After deciding on the topic, you must develop the technique of conveying your true feelings to the audience. You want to be natural, but also forceful. When an audience is giving their time to listen to you, you owe them more than superficial words. Speak about a subject that has meaning for you, and convince the audience of that fact. If you do this, they will listen and be willing to consider your point of view.
Sizzle
All successful people give one hundred percent when performing, and speaking is no different. You must give all of your heart, mind, strength and energy to your audience. Do this, and your presentation will be on its way toward sizzling. Remember that the women of Protégé won during week two of season one because their team had more sizzle while the men’s team, Versacorp, had more steak. Sizzle can go a long way, as long as you do have content to back it up as well. Use your voice and expressions in a sincere manner, making your voice louder and softer, quicker or slower, as necessary to effectively communicate your message and engage your audience. Keep it lively by changing your tone of voice and varying your sentence length with short and long sentences. Ask questions and make your audience think and participate with your presentation. Avoid being monotonous and using a flat boring tone that even with the most interesting of topics will put the audience asleep.
Move, but do not just pace back and forth. Movement and action add to a presentation. Body language and movement portray messages just as do words. Using your voice and movement can be a powerful combination to get attention. Clenching a fist, raising an eyebrow or stomping a foot can turn a simple phrase or word into a powerful statement. Learning to gesture while speaking will hone your presentations toward professionalism and make them more effective. Good speakers use every part of their bodies to communicate with the audience. Do not just pace back and forth or move without purpose. Your gestures and movements must enhance your message, not detract from it.
Be natural and keep it simple, be sincere, and add some sizzle and your presentations will be far above average. Practice these and work toward becoming the most dynamic speaker you can be, and your skills will help you achieve successes on many levels.
Successful Business Presentations
Business presentations should incorporate the ingredients listed above for public speaking. However, one should realize that business presentations differ from many other forms of public speaking, and need to be prepared for accordingly. Public speaking often has a strong performance element, while business presentations usually have the goal of providing specific information to the listeners. Public speakers usually have to be entertaining and business presenters must be clear, audible, relevant, and willing to discuss issues. Both use similar skills, but the demands are different. Many people that would never dream of giving a public address are called upon to give various presentations for their job. For some, this is downright terrifying. The first key to being an effective presenter is determining that you will be successful. Make up your mind right now that you will succeed with every presentation you ever give. Go into every presentation confident, prepared, and professional and you will succeed.
You must be confident in your abilities presenting. Some people believe they must be perfect. Who anywhere is perfect? Think of all the people you have seen present during your life or career. You probably saw some people that were fantastic and others that put you to sleep. You are most likely somewhere in the middle. More than likely, you can present just fine right now. You can probably do better, but so can everyone. Do not let worry prevent you from presenting. Remember, the audience wants you to succeed, they are not out to get you. Prepare your presentation and practice it. Look and act professional. If you do these things, there is no reason to not be confident that you can do a fine job.
You must prepare for every presentation. As your skills develop, your preparation time will decrease, especially for those presentations on topics that are extremely familiar to you. However, you still must prepare for each and every one if you really want to improve and give highly successful business presentations. The basics you should focus on to prepare are context, message and the roadmap. The context refers to why you are making the presentation. Why are the people gathering to listen to you talk on this subject? The message refers to what the listeners must know, think, or do when you have completed your presentation. The roadmap outlines the topics or groups of facts that you need to present or review so the listeners will know, think, or do what you want them to know, think or do. Preparation, including all the little details, will help give you confidence, and more importantly will lead to a successful presentation.
Dress according to the message you want to send. For most business presentations, this means looking professional. You want to send the message that you are professional and your ideas are important. In most corporate settings, you will want to comply with the corporate norm, which is usually a basic color suit for men and equivalent attire that matches the corporate norm for women. When the environment is less formal, it is still a good idea to be a bit more formal than your listeners to help project the professional image. At the minimum, you want to match the formality of the audience, but sometimes even when the audience is wearing business casual, you will want to dress one level up to be the expert.
As a final note, I’m going to again reiterate that the best way to improve your communication and public speaking skills is through practice. You must actually speak to improve these skills. Volunteer to speak whenever you can, and join a group such as Toastmasters International and you will be amazed at how rapidly you become more comfortable in front of an audience. Communication and public speaking skills will assist you in all areas of your business and personal life.
Trump Time Out – God
is in the Details
“Many times you hear the expression that God is in the details. When people come in to buy something, especially very rich people, they see details. If something is wrong, they see it, and it reflects in the price. That’s why I’m up early in the morning to check every detail of my construction sites. It’s a little bit like watching someone sell their used car and not wash it. You can spend $10.00 washing the car and get another $200.00 for the car. And I’ve seen guys, they’re selling cars that are dirty. And I say, that guy is a loser.” - Donald Trump from The Apprentice, season one, episode seven.