rock your talk workbook

Your Workbook

Join thousands of other people committed to cracking the code on presenting with confidence. This workbook is some of my best strategies to become a prepared, powerful speaker. Enjoy!

7 Strategies to Rock Your Talk © Alexa Fischer -‐ alexafischer.com 2

Getting Started Before we dive into the training, let me ask you a few questions….

Question 1: On a scale from 1 to 10, how do you feel about standing in front of an audience and delivering a presentation? (1= piece of cake, 10 = totally terrified)

Question 2: What specific challenge are you experiencing with your speaking skills? Preparation? Procrastination? Telling engaging stories? Freaking out? Write it down here.


Your Three Questions Let’s talk about the power of intention. Instead of focusing on you, let’s make this presentation about your audience.

Before you begin preparing a presentation, you must ask yourself:

• How do you want to make the audience feel?

• What do you want the audience to discover?

• What do you want the audience to DO after the talk is over?


01.Your Fears We all experience fear. In fact, the number one fear in the world is PUBLIC SPEAKING! So, relax, you are perfectly normal in feeling some degree of hesitation and uncertainty before you present. But let’s take those sneaky fears and bring them into the light of day, shall we?

Write down your TOP TEN fears (or insecurities) about getting up on stage and rocking your talk:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Next, review your list and circle your BIGGEST FEAR.


This habitual negative thought is really draining your energy, so the first step is to transform that thought into it’s opposite… A POSITIVE STATEMENT! My old-‐negative-‐habitual-‐limiting thought is: My new positive-‐believable-‐uplifting affirmation is:

Good for you! Now make sure you monitor your thoughts so when that pesky negative one pops up, you immediately replace it with your new, awesome positive affirmation. That’s how you break a habit!


02.Your Plan Procrastination is a powerful beast, isn’t it? But don’t let your urge to re-‐organize the closet, itemize your receipts or tackle those 12,000 digital photos you’ve been meaning to review stop you from getting your goals mapped out.

When you have deadlines, you get things done.

Here is the template I use to get myself organized before any speaking engagement:

STEP ONE: GET THE DETAILS DOWN

Complete this step within 24 hours of learning about an upcoming presentation.

Title: (This is your opportunity to be as specific as possible, however your title may change as you develop exactly what you want to say)

Venue: (What do you know about the room? Is there a stage? Podium? Microphone?)

Audience: (Who are you speaking to? How many people will be there? What are they hoping to learn from you?)


Your Goals: This is your WHY. Take your time to answer these questions as thoughtfully as possible every time you begin to map out your content.

• How do you want to make the audience feel?

• What do you want the audience to discover?

• What do you want the audience to DO after the talk is over?

STEP TWO: Brainstorm. Write down all the points you potentially want to say. The more the merrier.

This step must be completed not later than THREE WEEKS before your speaking engagement, but earlier if possible.

STEP THREE: POLISH. One week later, review your brainstorm list and edit them down to the most essential talking points.

STEP FOUR: PRACTICE. Do not, I repeat, do not skip this step. Allow yourself ONE WEEK before your presentation to really practice your material on your feet in front of a real, live human being. It makes all the difference in the world.

Lastly, always make sure to put those deadlines into your calendar. Commit the time, do the work, and I promise you will rock your next talk!


03.The Polish

Once you have completed your brainstorm list, you likely have more than enough material to share in your presentation. Now you need to step back and consider the most essential points of your presentation. What are the key ideas you want to share?

Here’s a simple formula to PREP what you want to say:

Point

Reason

Example

Point

Make sure you are clear and concise with each talking point and see where they fit in the above formula. This is the key to being persuasive and memorable.


04.Your Stories Life’s too short for a boring Power-‐Point presentations. STORIES are the key to making your content come alive. So, how do you do that?

Ask yourself:

• What’s a favorite story of yours that you tell?

• What makes it so great?

When you are choosing stories to illustrate your point, look for ones that paint a picture in your audience’s mind. Use descriptive language and juicy details. Really take them on a journey as if they were there.

A great story is one that:

• Is meaningful

• Is vivid (Lots of great, juicy details!)

• Is true

• Is memorable

• Is concise


Helpful hint: Watch TED talks to see what I mean. Each speaker uses specific stories to help illustrate their point. Here are a few I love:

Susan Cain: The Power of Introverts http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts.html Brene Brown: The Power of Vulnerability http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html Amy Cuddy: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en


05.Practice Here is where all of your thorough content preparation really pays off. Once you know what you want to say, you can then really practice how you want to say it.

Now, I know you are going to ask me this question… Should I write a script so I know exactly what I want to say?

My answer:

Ask yourself: Would you rather watch a person reading a script on stage or would you prefer having them “speak unscripted”?

When you carefully prepare your talking points, you no longer need a script. The heart of what you want to say is more important than the words themselves.

That’s why you distill your talking points to only the ESSENTIAL elements to convey your message. The leaner it is, the easier it is to remember. Your slides (if you have them) will be the reminders of what’s coming next.

Ask yourself: How do you typically practice? Does it work for you?


Try this: Stand and Deliver. Doing it out loud to a real live human being gives you the best opportunity to see how you will be on stage.

Here are all the reasons why this is such a great idea:

• It helps you get the talk out of your head and into real life

• You can rehearse the transitions (which is the hardest part!)

• To help you focus your attention outwards, to an audience

• Receive valuable feedback from others

• You build your confidence when you practice!


06.Visualize Great athletes do it and so should you. Really picture yourself giving an incredible presentation. Here are the five elements you should visualize as you picture yourself on the day of the big event:

• See exactly what you are going to wear

• See the room with as many details as possible

• See the faces of the audience as listen to you

• See yourself on stage – calm and confident

• See the response from the happy audience

The more you see it, the more you will believe it. This stuff works. Try it and see for yourself!


07.The Moment You’ve done the work. You’ve practiced out loud. Now, it’s show time! Here are my very own strategies to make sure I am calm, focused, relaxed and grounded before I take the stage.

• Get plenty of rest the night before

• Listen to great music to get you in the mood

• Avoid too much caffeine and drink plenty of water

• Do light exercise in the morning to release extra energy

• Smile, smile, smile.

When you empower yourself with the ability to rock your talk, you inspire others. It’s really that simple. Do it for them. We need your light now more than ever.

Shine on,

rock your talk workbook

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