Hacks, Communication Skills, Keynote Speaker
Dominic Colenso
Do You Fit Your Oxygen Mask First?
Do You Fit Your Oxygen Mask First?
Business, Communication Skills, Keynote Speaker, Presentation Skills, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Pitching, Speaking
Dominic Colenso
Can Story Liven Up Your Sales Conversations?

A few months ago I was having a pint with a mate of mine and he seemed a bit agitated. I asked him what was going on. “Let’s get another round, and I’ll tell you,” he said, rolling his eyes.

I’d scarcely got the drinks back to the table, and he was off. He launched into a tirade about a meeting at work the previous week and how unimpressed he was…

Can Story Liven Up Your Sales Conversations?
Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Virtual Pitching
Dominic Colenso
Fix Your Sales Pitch in Under 90 Seconds.
Fix Your Sales Pitch in Under 90 Seconds.
Dominic Colenso
Why Are We So Scared Of Rehearsal?

Would you take a seat on a plane with a pilot who’s never flown before? I doubt it. And I think you’d be pretty unhappy if your Premier League team did no pre-season training. Either of those would be unthinkable. At worst, life threatening; at least, risking a poor…

Why Are We So Scared Of Rehearsal?
Dominic Colenso
Can You Handle The Spotlight?

You don’t have to be Winston Churchill or Oprah Winfrey to be able to communicate with impact when the pressure’s on. You can’t just wing it and hope for the best either. Communicating with impact under pressure separates outstanding sales professionals and…

Can You Handle The Spotlight?

questions

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Don't Answer The Question.

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Do you get flustered by difficult questions in high-stakes situations? When we find ourselves under pressure we can often go into overdrive. We can open our mouths to start speaking before our brains have had a chance to catch up. We waffle and talk around the question rather than getting straight to the point. Here are my top tips for coming across with more poise and confidence when the pressure is on. It all starts with NOT answering the question!...

#IMPACT #Sales #Leadership

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Stop Before You Start.

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This is one of the most powerful communication techniques available, yet one of the most undervalued and under-used. And it doesn’t involve saying a single word.

You can apply this technique in both a macro sense and a micro sense to maintain focus, calm your nerves, and build rapport and engagement no matter what the context.

If that sounds a little mysterious, play the video and let me explain - it’s less than 2 minutes.

#dominiccolenso #impact #communication

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How To Start A Presentation: Three Guaranteed Ways To Grab Your Audience's Attention.

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No presenter in their right mind would set out to bore their audience to death! So why is it that so many presentations start in such a dull way?
“Good morning everybody, it’s very nice to be here. I hope you had a safe journey….” SO WHAT!?

Research suggests that it takes less than seven seconds to make a first impression, so the way you kick things off really counts! If you want to stand out from the crowd it makes sense that you have to do things differently from everyone else but most people are scared of rocking the boat. I’m confident that if you try one of the simple techniques I’m going to share with you below you’ll never fail to grab you audience’s attention again.

#1. DITCH THE NICETIES

Thanking people for their time, starting with your biog or giving an overview of what you’re about to cover puts you on the fast track to forgeability. So many people set themselves up to fail by beginning their presentations with what I call “middle management speak”. If you’ve got the courage to stand up in front of an audience then I’m sure you’ve got something important to say. So, don’t let it get buried under tons of small talk. Worse still never start with an apology. I’ve yet to see anyone start their TED talk by saying “I know you’re busy so I’m going to keep this brief. I promise not to take up too much of your time”!! The bottom line is, if what you’re about to say isn’t important, get off the stage and send an email instead!

So, assuming you’ve got something you really want to share, how should you begin?…

#2. START WITH A FACT OR A QUESTION

One of the best way to begin a presentation is make your audience curious. Starting with a fact or a question means that audience members have to engage their brains. How many times have you been bored watching someone go through their PowerPoint slides? .... It’s impossible to stop your brain from trying to answer the question! A bold statement or fact at the top of a presentation has the same effect. It also signals to the audience that you’re different and that you’re not going to follow the same format as everybody else.

#3. STOP BEFORE YOU START

My third tip is probably the most powerful and can be used in all sorts of situations, not just presentations. Rather than bounding up to the front of the room and starting to talk straight away, try the following technique. Walk up to the spot you are going to speak from, stop, take a deep breath and count from 1 to 7 in your head, all the time making gentle eye contact with your audience. Most people start talking straight away and this means that the people watching you don’t have a chance to take you in. Stopping before you start allows them this opportunity and also give you a chance to calm your nerves before you open your mouth to talk. Not only will you have instant gravitas you’ll also make sure that you have the audience’s full attention so that they don’t miss any of the important stuff you’re about to say!!

Are you brave enough to try out one of the techniques above in your next presentation? If you are, I’d love to hear what impact they on you and your audience, so please share your experience in the comments box below.

Until the next time

Keep shining!

Dominic