2-Minute Tip: You Know Your Stuff
Experienced speakers still feel anxiety and nerves before getting on stage, but there are a couple thing you can remind yourself of before you start speaking.
First, you know your stuff. The reason you earned that stage is that you are a subject matter expert (SME). You're likely speaking about your work or your passion. Or you're presenting material you've studied. Sure, there might be a question, you can't answer, but that's okay. You don't have to have all the answers at the tip of your tongue. Do your prep work. Rehearse your talk. And know your stuff.
The second thing to keep in mind is that people -- including your audience -- think about themselves 95% of the time. If you make a mistake, they likely won't even notice.
Remember, it's not about you. It's about your message and your audience.
Post Tip Discussion: Meet David Erickson
A lot of the speaking many mid-career professionals do is in the conference room or other small space. It might be pitching a potential client, reporting on an initiative, or briefing their own team. The core of it all is still the same, though. Know what you want to accomplish. Prepare. And establish a connection with the folks in your audience.
One of the valuable lessons to come out of today's episode is the importance of establishing that in-person connection -- that analog relationship with your audience, especially when you are selling modern products like digital marketing services to businesses.
I talked a few months back about the importance of balancing logos, pathos, and ethos back in episode 035. To put it much more simply, today's guest, David Erickson, reminds us that people like to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Establishing credibility and building a relationship with your audience is just as important as making logical points.
Machine Transcription
David and I recorded our conversation in January. One of the things he predicted at that time was how Google would probably start searching and transcribing audio content in the near future.
It turns out, he was right.
Within the past couple of weeks, news has come out about how Google is making transcribing some podcasts, presumably to make them searchable. You can read more about these early efforts here: https://9to5google.com/2019/03/27/google-podcasts-transcribing-episodes/
It's also helpful to note that YouTube (a Google property) has been converting audio to text for years as they do automatic closed captioning for videos. The main reason I also publish this podcast to YouTube is to take advantage of this feature so folks with hearing challenges can still follow along with the content. It's not good enough yet, but it will get there. You can take a look here: http://2minutetalktips.com/YouTube
And, of course, Microsoft is doing some pretty impressive work with audio-text conversion. Speakers ought to familiarize themselves with the free PowerPoint add-in Presentation Translator. I talked about this in Episode 65 -- http://2minutetalktips.com/2018/06/05/episode-065-close-to-open-and-presentation-translator/. I'll likely revisit this in a couple months since almost a year has passed.
On a related note, Microsoft has also started offering automatic closed captioning in Skype. You can enable it in the settings. It even support live translation into dozens of language. This opens tremendous opportunities for greater communication across ability, cultural, and language barriers.
My experience is that the English captions for English speech work well, but it adds a little bit of latency to the conversation so it's not something I use by default. But the fact that it works at all is amazing. And the fact that I can now have Skype phone conversations with folks that don't speak English is a huge benefit to our world.
Bio
Links
| David's website | |
| Beyond Social Media Podcast | |
| David on Twitter | |
| 2-Minute Talk Tips on Logos, Pathos, and Ethos | |
| 2-Minute Talk Tips on Presentation Translator | http://2minutetalktips.com/2018/06/05/episode-065-close-to-open-and-presentation-translator/ |
| 2-Minute Talk Tips on YouTube |
Call To Action
- What are your thoughts on this week's episode? Let us know in the comments below.
- Learn more about David's business or find the Beyond Social Media Podcast by checking out the links above.
- Share this episode with a friend, colleague, or relative by giving them the link http://2minutetalktips.com/david
- Don't get best…get better.
Robin came into the world able-bodied, but had a birth defect that resulted in a spinal aneurysm. After scheduling surgery to fix the aneurysm, she learned she was pregnant. During the surgery, she acquired a spinal cord injury that resulted in partial paralysis. She continues to recover while living in San Francisco and helping folks with disabilities navigate the world of sex.
Born and raised in southern Illinois, Jayne's Midwestern roots still influence her friendly, approachable demeanor, which can disarm and delight at the same time. Hearing an occasional “Well, hell’s bells!” or “I’m on that like green on grass, white on rice, and a duck on a June bug!” is not uncommon. At the same time, Jayne offer deeply insightful observations, sound solutions, and a quick wit.
Carol-Ann's love for the outdoors began during her years growing up in Oregon. She has enjoyed backpacking, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, hiking and running in mountains and rivers across the country.
Richard Flint, CSP is Chairman and CEO of Flint, incorporated, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals, companies and associations. He has had the opportunity to address people in talks and seminars throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and Spain. As a Keynote speaker and seminar leader, he addresses more than 200,000 people each year.
Gianna Rojas is the 
Some of us become speakers because we just love it. We love the stage, the crowd, the power of sharing a message -- It's intoxicating.
Stuart Rice has 24 years of experience in sales, purchasing and management focusing on strategic growth. In his career, Stuart has helped companies multiply sales by revamping their current strategies and introducing new concepts that increased customer traffic and created new experiences for customers and salespeople alike.
Joe Apfelbaum is the CEO of Ajax Union, a B2B digital marketing agency based in Brooklyn, NY. Joe is a business strategist, marketing expert and certified Google trainer. Joe enjoys speaking and writing about marketing, business networking and personal development in his seminars, webinars and articles.
Dr. Nirav H. Shah is a fellowship trained neurologist and sub-specialist in cerebrovascular and stroke medicine with board certifications in: neurology, stroke medicine, carotid neurosonology, 
Tim Pahuta spent 7 years as a professional baseball player before transitioning into a career in sales. As Tim navigated this journey of self-discovery. What h ultimately realized is that it’s not about figuring out who he is; it’s about creating who he wants to be.
Sasha Laghonh ( laa-go ) brings over eighteen years of experience to the commercial and spiritual realm by working with private and commercial clients hosting diverse backgrounds and life endeavors. As a seasoned MBA professional, she also specializes in Organizational & Human Behavior which grants her a broad base from which to approach many topics. These tools drive her corporate career by executing diverse business strategies in complex and evolving environments. As a Business & Lifestyle Strategist she works with clients ready to transform their paths by offering customized services relevant to their needs.
