The Sykes Group's OnPoint

Had a great time this weekend speaking at the District 66 Toastmasters conference. Friday night with a Social Media Bootcamp and Saturday morning about leadership. Great group of people focused on improving their leadership and communication skills.

Many people ask me why do I also speak about social media.  Well, social media is another powerful communication tool that leaders need to master to be more successful in their careers, their organizations, and in their lives.  I find that many leaders are “behind the curve” when it comes to communicating with social media.  They are losing an opportunity to reach their followers.

The following are two resources that can help you become a better communicator and leader:

Seven Leadership Secrets to Being the Outstanding Leader Everyone Wants to Follow

The April 2012 OnPoint success newsletter is available now!  You will learn how to take advantage of career opportunities, stay motivated during challenging times, and how to present yourself so that your audience wants to act on your message.

Read your copy of the OnPoint newsletter at OnPoint success newsletter!

Enjoy!

‎”We can learn to soar only in direct proportion to our determination to rise above the doubt and transcend the limitations.” – David McNally.

Many times we put limitations for success upon ourselves.  This limits our ability to achieve success in many areas of our life.

One of the biggest limitations we put on ourselves is in public speaking.  We think, even before we speak, that we are not good public speakers.  The secrets in the following article will help you eliminate your fears and remove the limitations so that you can be successful and soar when making presentations:

How to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking in Seven Powerful Steps

Have you ever avoided a career or business opportunity because it required you to speak publicly? Did you ever have a great idea you wanted to share in a group setting but didn’t because of your fear of speaking in front of a group of people?

You are not alone in the fear of public speaking. In my travels, I have seen where the fear of public speaking have kept otherwise very successful people in all walks of life from achieving their full potential. When you let this fear dominate your life, you lose out on promotions, business opportunities, community activities, and most of all self-confidence.

The following are seven powerful secrets to empowering you to overcome your fear of public speaking and achieving a new level of success in your career, your business, and your life:

1. Ask Yourself the Important Question - Ask yourself, “Where does my fear come from and is it real?” Was there a public speaking opportunity in the past that you think didn’t go well or that you felt was poorly prepared? Maybe you had to stand up in front of your classmates in high school or college and someone made what you perceived as a negative comment concerning your presentation. Maybe you gave a good speech but you started to over analyze every detail of the speech.
2. Face Your Fear of Public Speaking - The fastest way to overcome any fear, much less the fear of public speaking, is to face your fear and attack it. Look for and embrace opportunities to make presentations. Start with non-threatening opportunities such as your children’s school meeting or a non-work related situation and work your way up to more important, high pressure situations such as work meetings. (Read the rest of the article at Overcoming Fear Public Speaking)

“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.” – Anthony Robbins

It’s that time again…the monthly meeting.  You break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.  Whether you present to your managers or your employees you are saying to yourself:

• What if I mess up during my presentation?
• What if I repeat myself during my presentation?
• What if the audience doesn’t like my presentation?
• What if I forget a part of my presentation?
• What if I look nervous during my presentation?

 It’s okay!  You’re not the only one feeling this way.  The Book of Lists states that the #1 fear is public speaking.  This fear is greater than the fear of death.

Well, I have the answers to your fears and can help you become an outstanding presenter.  These 10 tips will help you gain outstanding presentation skills, overcome public speaking anxiety, and become more confident making presentations that achieve results.

1. Start with an End in Mind – Ask yourself, “Why am I speaking?”  “What do I want the audience to do after listening to my speech?”  This will help you focus on the message you want to share with your audience.  It will help you focus on who is your audience, the key points, and what you want your audience to do after listening to you.
2. Keep It Simple – Keep your presentation simple by learning to “speak to express instead of speaking to impress.”  What I mean by speaking to impress is when you see speakers using $5 words for $2 situations during speeches and they look uncomfortable doing it.  Another example of this is when presenters overuse PowerPoint.  Your audience will soon lose interest in what you are saying.

Also keep it simple with the structure of your speech.  An opening, body with tree major points, and a closing will help you connect with your audience.

Just be sincere, concise, and simple in your presentation and you will always connect with your audience.  (Read the other secrets at Presentations)

July is Freedom from Fear of Speaking Month! So many people have a fear of public speaking that it keeps them from seeking out opportunities. The following article will help you overcome your fear of public speaking and be more successful:

Have you ever avoided a career or business opportunity because it required you to speak publicly? Did you ever have a great idea you wanted to share in a group setting but didn’t because of your fear of speaking in front of a group of people?

You are not alone in the fear of public speaking. In my travels, I have seen where the fear of public speaking have kept otherwise very successful people in all walks of life from achieving their full potential. When you let this fear dominate your life, you lose out on promotions, business opportunities, community activities, and most of all self-confidence.

The following are seven powerful secrets to empowering you to overcome your fear of public speaking and achieving a new level of success in your career, your business, and your life:

1. Ask Yourself the Important Question
   Ask yourself, “Where does my fear come from and is it real?” Was there a public speaking opportunity in the past that you think didn’t go well or that you felt was poorly prepared? Maybe you had to stand up in front of your classmates in high school or college and someone made what you perceived as a negative comment concerning your presentation. Maybe you gave a good speech but you started to over analyze every detail of the speech.First, realize that whatever happened did so at another time and place and you are no longer that person. With new experiences, you have grown into a more confident person with much to offer. Second, embrace feedback, extract the true areas of improvement from the feedback and work to improve your public speaking ability. Be honest and fair with yourself and determine if the feedback is coming from someone who is qualified to give quality feedback. I had one presentation skills student whose manager told her she was a poor speaker because she moved her hands and arms during the presentation. Was the manager giving qualified feedback? Doubtful. Yet, this manager’s feedback affected this employee in a negative way for years until the employee became my coaching student.Again, separate qualified feedback from unqualified feedback and learn from it. Also, don’t allow negative public speaking situations that happen in the past apply to your present or future public speaking opportunities.

1. Face Your Fear of Public Speaking
   The fastest way to overcome any fear, much less the fear of public speaking, is to face your fear and attack it. Look for and embrace opportunities to make presentations. Start with non-threatening opportunities such as your children’s school meeting or a non-work related situation and work your way up to more important, high pressure situations such as work meetings.Realize that each time you speak is an opportunity to improve your speaking ability. Look at your public speaking skills as a muscle. The more you exercise your public speaking muscle, the stronger it becomes and you will improve your speaking abilities.Go into each public speaking opportunity with a clear set of goals. Maybe for your first speech, you may have a goal of eliminating “hums” and “ahs.” For another speech you may have a goal of completing your speech with a powerful ending. (Read the rest at Overcome Fear)