Welcome to Coach U!Conducted by Jennifer Hebblethwaite
SMPS Virginia
February 28, 2019
®
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Hey, Coach, What’s Your Goal?
Every presenter can benefit from a coach. A great
coach facilitates success through a combination of
proven techniques and gut instinct. These two pow-
erful ingredients administered with trust can truly
set a presenter free - not just for one presentation,
but for a lifetime of effective public speaking.
As a coach, your goal is to help free your presenters.
You accomplish this goal by helping them:
• Feel free to be themselves.
• Find their own story.
• Speak passionately from their hearts.
• Get over themselves & become unselfconscious.
• Go out of their way to help their audience.
Earning The Presenter’s Trust
Speaking in public is tough. It’s uncomfortable for
most people - and terrifying for many. Great coaches
earn trust by consistently having their presenters’ best
interests at heart, being real, and telling the truth.
For presenters to feel safe enough to step out of their
comfort zones, they have to believe you’re on their side
and you’re telling them the truth.
Help the Presenter Believe the Truth
As humans, we all have beliefs that affect the way we
live our lives. For presenters, these beliefs have a big ef-
fect on how they present. Some of these beliefs are true
and others are lies. As a coach, your job is to help the
presenter discern the truth from the lie and replace the
lies with truth.
Listen for any indication of what the presenter inwardly
believes. As they talk, you’ll hear clues as to their beliefs.
These clues can come at any moment, so listen, listen
and listen some more.
When you hear a lie or misconception, expose it. Tell
them. If need be, have others reinforce the truth. It may
be hard for the presenter to trust a new viewpoint, but
when they can actually replace the lie with truth, they’ll
experience freedom.
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Putting it All Together
We’ve covered the fundamentals of how to make The
Human Connection®. Now, it’s time to walk through a
preparation process that works driven by seven pre-
senter’s tasks.
This process is designed for a team preparing a presenta-
tion for a sales or shortlist interview, but can be used by
anyone looking to create a passionate presentation.
A Proven Process
Everyone has their own way of doing things, but how do
you know that what you’re doing is bringing out your
best? What follows is a process that has been developed
and validated by over twenty years of experience working
with teams preparing for shortlist interviews.
Commit to this process, and you’ll see that it produces
cohesive teams that can connect with the client in the
interview.
On the next page, you’ll see the Presenter’s Tasks woven
into the seven milestones of the presentation preparation
process. The seven milestones are:
• Kick-off Meeting
• Homework
• Ugly Rehearsals
• Homework (again)
• Final Rehearsal
• Presentation
• Debrief
How long will it take?
You’ll notice there are no specific times on the next
page. If you have a month (yeah, right) this process will
take a month; if you have a week, it’ll take a week; if
you only have a day, it’ll take a day. What’s important
is that you hit all the milestones in the time that you’ve
been given.
Having said that, try to get started as early as you can:
• Start your research sooner than you do now – this
change will buy you valuable time toward the end
of the process.
• Alert the people you plan to include on the team.
Make sure they have all the data and research
on the project so they can start processing the
information as soon as possible.
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Preparation
A. Information
• Everyone reads any available material that contains
important information on the project.
• Leaders collect and distribute data from debriefs
and research.
B. Scheduling
• ASAP
• Held early in the process to buy time to rehearse at
the end
• Strive to get everyone in the same room, face to
face.
• May require more than one meeting
Agenda
A. Review The Human Connection® materials in
your handout.
B. Review/confirm roles and responsibilities.
C. Provide a brief project overview and interview
logistics.
D. Share/brainstorm client fears, concerns, and hot buttons
or “splinters.”
E. Share/brainstorm team strengths, passions and
message(s).
F. Develop working agenda based on client concerns.
G. Develop rehearsal schedule.
Outcomes
A. A written agenda with estimated times for each
speaker
B. A decision on the type of graphics (slides, boards, etc.)
C. Individuals enabled to develop their part
D. Someone assigned to research room size, logistics, etc.
E. An approved schedule for the rest of the process
After the Kick-off Meeting, it’s time for individuals to go
away and develop their part of the presentation. Home-
work consists of three tasks: Create your story, create
your notes, and develop your graphics.
1. The Kick-off Meeting
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Create Your Story
A. First, ask yourself, “How do I feel about my
subject?”
B. Find your Personal, Positive, Passion!
C. Tell the story the way only you can tell it!
Create Your Notes
A. Feel free to use notes – it’s just fine!
B. Don’t write or memorize a word-for-word script.
C. Boil your notes down to short road map bullets.
D. Bullets should be short – no more than five words
or a small, simple picture.
E. Remember: The story is in you; your notes are just
cues.
Develop Your Graphics
A. Story first. Graphics second. (This is not a typo.)
B. Don’t shoehorn your new story into an old
PowerPoint show.
C. Review your story asking, “What graphics would
help my listener?”
D. Storyboard graphics and animations.
E. Give the sketches to the graphics team.
F. Resist the temptation to tinker and fiddle with your
slides.
2. Homework
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With individual homework complete, the team recon-
venes to put the presentation together. These meetings
are called Ugly Rehearsals to lower expectations – the
first run-through should be a train wreck. However, push-
ing through it will build momentum and set you on your way.
Preparation
A. Do your homework.
B. Graphics team should prepare a rough draft of
the graphics based on the storyboards they received
from the presenters.
C. Physically warm up prior to the rehearsal.
Process
A. Attendees
• Everyone involved in making the presentation
• An objective coach not participating in the interview
B. Six Ground Rules
1. Warm up.
2. Sit down around a table.
3. Speak through the presentation.
4. DO NOT use graphics during this run-through.
5. Don’t interrupt each other (or yourself!); take notes
instead!
6. Someone times it (ball-park timing).
This rehearsal is for trying things and for taking chances.
Non-speakers, listen to the speaker.
Afterward, talk it through: What worked? What didn’t?
C. Refinement
• After discussions, take time and make adjustments.
• If you’ve made substantial edits, you may need to do
another Ugly Rehearsal to ensure your team story is
solid.
• After your discussion, review the PowerPoint or
graphics that were created by your marketing team
based on what they were given by the presenters.
• Practice on your own without your graphics a lot.
Then practice with them, and start coordinating
graphics with your content by working your clicks
and reveals.
• Do a Less-Ugly Rehearsal.
• Consider inviting outsiders who can offer fresh,
constructive content critique. Before you begin, brief
the newcomers on the project.
• Based on refinement from the Less-Ugly Rehearsal,
review graphics with the graphics team.
Outcome
Following this Less-Ugly Rehearsal, everyone should be
able to work on their own part. They should tweak it for
the Final Rehearsal.
3. The Ugly Rehearsals
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Practice
A. Fine tune your message using notes from the Less-
Ugly Rehearsal.
B. Don’t practice in front of a mirror.
C. Practice out loud and with props.
D. Practice with a clock. Cut content if needed; don’t
just speak faster.
E. Practice, and fine tune your clicks and reveals.
Remember: Your audience likes to see and to hear
something simultaneously. Refining coordination of
graphics with your content is the FINAL step.
Refine Graphics
If your story changes, your graphics may need refining.
If your graphics change, notify your graphics contact
about the changes ASAP.
Prepare for Discussion
Write down five questions you hope they don’t ask.
Brainstorm your ideas here:
4. Homework (again)
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It’s time to put the finishing touches on your team pre-
sentation. This rehearsal is about building confidence,
tweaking transitions and streamlining your stories. Most
importantly, strive to maintain your conversational
attitude and enthusiasm.
Preparation
A. Scheduling
• Preferably, the day before the presentation
• Don’t schedule this rehearsal on the day of the
interview (go in hungry and fresh).
B. Graphics
• Should be 95% done – clicks and animations should
be set up
• Placeholders can stand in for final images.
C. Set room up to mirror the actual presentation venue.
D. Physically warm up prior to rehearsal.
Process
A. Attendees
• Everyone involved in making the presentation
• An objective coach not participating in the
interview
B. Objectives
• Incorporate adjustments from the Less-Ugly
Rehearsal.
• Maintain your conversational attitude.
• Use the notes you plan to use in the presentation.
• Get comfortable with the following:
- Flowing between presenters
- The physical “choreography”
- Handling graphics and props
• Time the presentation to a few minutes under the
allotted time.
• Complete two to three non-stop run-throughs with
at least one within the allotted time.
• Brainstorm and practice Q&A discussion.
Determine who moderates questions from the
audience, and who answers which types of
questions. Make a plan for addressing questions at
the rehearsal.
• Decide on dress code and presentation day logistics.
C. Final touches
• Graphics team finalizes graphics.
• Do not rewrite your notes after your final rehearsal.
Outcome
Presenters are prepared; they go to dinner together and
get a good night’s sleep.
5. The Final Rehearsal
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The day is here. All the hard work is behind you; you’re
prepared, and you know it! Don’t be careful, and don’t
try to do it all perfectly. Instead, trust yourself, help your
listeners and have fun!
Before the Presentation
A. Come together as a group.
B. Do physical warm-ups together.
C. Do not run through the entire presentation on this
day!
At the Presentation
A. LET IT RIP!
B. Discussion (or Q&A)
• LISTEN TO THE QUESTION!
• Breathe and remain calm.
• Restate the question if needed.
• Avoid one-on-one discussions.
• Don’t pile on each other’s answers.
• Be honest.
• Support each other.
• Keep listening!
After the Presentation
A. Write down what went well and what didn’t go so
well.
B. DO NOT debrief on the day of the presentation.
C. Relax, celebrate and reward yourself!
6. The Presentation
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You’re not finished yet! Learn from your experience so
you can be even better the next time! Actually, there are
two debriefs: one with your team and one with your
client.
Debrief with Your Team
A. Schedule a meeting or a conference call a few days
after the presentation to debrief with your team.
B. Have everyone contribute at least one thing that
worked and one thing that needs improvement.
Debrief with the Client
A. In a sales presentation, whether you win or lose the
job, ask for a debrief from the client.
B. Knowing why you won is even more important than
knowing why you lost.
C. Note what went well and what could be improved.
Use the Feedback
A. Add all feedback to your “Lessons Learned”
database.
B. Incorporate this feedback as you prepare for your
next pursuit.
7. The Debrief
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Whom does your client care about? They care about
themselves. Period. If you’ve got something that can help
them solve their problems, they’ll listen to you. But, it’s
so easy to go in and say, “This is who we are, and this
is what we do.” And, the client asks for your relevant
experience, so of course you have to talk about your-
self, right? The key to sharing your relevant experience
is packaging. Following are two models to help you
structure your story to ensure you deliver the “You-You
Show” instead of the “We-We Show!” The Skeleton
Team Agenda is below, and the Help Your Listener
Story Structure is on the next page.
Create the “You-You Show” (instead of the “We-We Show!”)
The Skeleton Team Agenda
Introduction
Speaker: Project Leader
• Starts by saying something about the client, their project, and why he/she is so excited about working with them
• Introduces the firms that make up the team – how he/she put this team together
• He/She says, “But it’s not the firms that do the work, it’s the people.” He/she introduces and gets to brag about
the speakers who are present in the room using the “Superlative Introduction Model.”
• Here’s the model. The leader says these four things about each person: 1) Name 2) Project title 3) Experience
qualifier 4) Your personal testimony of that person’s skill or character.
• Hands it off to the Project Manager
Overview of Project and Key Issues
Speaker: Project Manager
• The PM takes ownership of the project by sharing why he/she is so excited about working on this project.
• He/She OVERVIEWS the main “what keeps them up at night” points.
The rest of the interview is organized around those key issues. For example, let’s say there are three things…
Issue #1
Speaker(s): Those people on the team who will have a hand in this issue. Try to tag team people from different firms –
a great opportunity to demonstrate teamwork.
Repeat for Issues 2, 3 and so on.
Close
Speaker: Either Project Leader or Project Manager
• It’s about a 30-second “from the heart” close. Not “Why Us.” This close needs to take it to the next level.
Discussion
Speaker: PM leads Q&A (fields questions)
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Help Your Listener Story Structure
Use the model below to help you structure any conversation you may have! Remember, this conversation is linear. It
always works for the listener if you talk about them first and what they care about. Then, back it up with a possible
solution, benefits of that solution, and proof or relevant experience showing where you’ve solved the issue before. And
then, always end your conversation by bringing it back to them.
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Accentuate the Positive
If someone tells you 10 things you do well and one thing
you could improve upon, what do you remember? We
humans have been trained to hear only the critique. We
live in a culture of critique. Add to that the harsh criti-
cism architects and engineers endure in their training
and practice – it’s no wonder we’re prone to only hear
the negative.
Yet, people will naturally excel when they feel safe,
when they believe that they’re doing well, and know
they’re appreciated, respected, and cared for. When we
feel secure and can accept the fact that we are doing
well, often the things that need some improvement will
take care of themselves.
So, when you are coaching presenters, it’s critical that
you tell your presenter what they are doing well FIRST.
It must come first. Even if they finish presenting and
say, “Okay, tell me what I’m doing wrong.” Don’t do
it. Tell them what you like about what they are doing.
Bear in mind they may have shut their ears, so you may
need to repeat it more than once, and others may need
to tell them. Don’t offer ANY negatives or constructive
criticism until you believe they have received the honest
praise.
The rules to praise?
• Be honest. You have to tell the truth. It’s the basis
for your success as a coach.
• Be specific. Otherwise, it may sound like you’re
blowing smoke.
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Inside-Out Coaching
To bring your presentations to life, your presenters need
to be alive. When a presenter is struggling, applying
technical band-aides won’t help. There are many outside
gimmicks that, when used, may make the presenter
appear to be “all right.” But, they’re not. Their fear is
just covered up by a plastic veneer. Worse, this coaching
approach stifles the presenter, and makes them focus on
how they appear to others — a sure way to make them
more nervous, self-conscious and critical.
The antidote? Coach them from the inside out; help
them focus on the right things. Address the inside issue
that is causing the problem instead of telling the present-
er to manufacture a result. Presenters cannot successfully
produce authentic results from the outside. When they
try to, they become awkward, uncomfortable and fake.
For example, if someone is monotone, don’t tell them
to add voice inflection. Voice inflection is the outward
result of an internal emotion. If you merely tell them to
add voice inflection, they’ll try to modulate their voice
artificially. The result is fake and makes the presenter
uncomfortable.
Instead, look for the internal catalyst that will lead to
freedom. If someone is monotone, help them connect
emotionally to their story, and their voice inflection will
take care of itself. How do you help them emotionally
connect? Lead them to the experience.
Once you realize they need to emotionally connect to
their story, it would be tempting to say, “You need to
connect with your passion.” But be careful — this ap-
proach is still results-coaching. Depending upon their
thinking preferences, they may not know how to tap
into their emotional connection.
Don’t tell them what to do. Help them experience it. Then debrief it.
Presenters make long lasting changes when they:
• Experience the new way.
• Believe that it works.
• Try it in real life.
• Get positive feedback.
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Present as a Team
So, how do you communicate that you’re a seamless
unit? Whatever you do, don’t tell them — show them.
Make your handoffs count
Transitions are golden opportunities to showcase how
you interact with each other. Usually, they’re stiff at best
and completely absent at worst. A couple of clues:
• Do not refer to each other in the third person (now,
Jim will talk to you about...); talk directly to each
other (Jim tell us about... or simply, Jim?).
• Never say, “Now I’m going to let Jim...” How rude.
And dictatorial!
• Talk to each other conversationally. Enjoy each
other. Have fun. Laugh.
Listening, the crucial element
The most important thing each member of the team
can do to convey the sense of team is to actively listen
to each other. You are as much an active part of the
presentation when you are not speaking as when you are
speaking. Active listening:
• Helps the audience focus on who is speaking.
• Shows the team’s respect for each other.
• Allows you to help your teammates.
• Sets up authentic handoffs.
• Takes great concentration and practice. Be sure to
practice listening as part of your group rehearsals.
Fight the tendency to think about yourself either before
(okay, what am I going to say?) or after (whew, I’m glad
my part is over.) you speak. Discipline yourself to focus
and keep listening!
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About Some of Our Trainers
Jennifer Hebblethwaite, Senior Vice President & Champion of All Things Grace, heads up our Atlanta office. From commercial real estate to coaching Atlanta’s finest Men in Blue at the Forest Park Police Department, Jennifer is an experienced corporate trainer. She’s spent 10 years as a Teaching
Artist for a Tony Award-winning theatre and has taught everything from playwriting to MBA Leadership/Com- munication on an undergraduate and graduate level. She is foremost a compassionate coach and trainer, but as our rogue academic, Jennifer also gets excited about things like semantics and semicolons. She leads our Gracewriting® program and is trained in Whole Brain® Thinking, which is designed to use every last brain cell. Jennifer’s teaching style is big and bold, and she can’t wait to help you help your listeners!
Carol Doscher, President & CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer) has been captivating audiences since she performed in Broadway’s “Sweeney Todd.” For this former actress turned trainer and coach, it’s not so far from the boards of Broadway to the boardrooms of America.
Since founding Graceworks in 1995, she’s trained thou-sands of professionals globally to make that vital human connection in sales presentations, client meetings and lec-tures. Featured in The New York Times and on “Bloom-berg Television,” Carol also has published numerous articles on presentation and communication skills. Prior to her current work, she marketed design and construc-tion services for many years.
Responding to the growing need for the human connection in the corporate world, Carol is a certified practitioner of Whole Brain® Thinking – a great tool to help people understand and leverage their own thinking preferences.
Graceworks in a Nutshell
Headquartered in New York with offices in Atlanta and Cleveland and trainers stationed as far west as Portland, Oregon, the Graceworks team travels globally helping corporate professionals become more effective presenters, leaders and communicators.
For us, Big Bold Choices represent vision, growth and expansion! We share this idea with you as an encourage-ment to hold fast to your visions and dreams.
In addition to our flagship presentation and communication training, we are excited about our Gracewriting® and leadership communication pro-grams. People connecting with people is the heart of any business. So whether you’re writing a proposal, leading a team or giving a presentation, our goal is to free you to make The Human Connection® with colleagues, clients and associates. We customize all our in-house training and coaching to meet your goals.
Also, check out our Train-the-Coach workshops. Learn to coach The Graceworks Way®. Our fun, interactive style helps you think in new ways, brings your team together, and – most importantly – produces measurable results!
A powerful tool we use throughout our programs is Herrmann International’s Whole Brain® Thinking. By helping individuals and teams leverage their thinking preferences, we improve their problem solving, decision making, creativity, communications and teamwork.
Finally, there’s Graceworks With Kids and Graceworks Goes to College. From elementary school kids to post grads, we love helping our leaders of tomorrow make “big bold choices.”
If you have any questions, would like additional informa-tion on our training and coaching services, or just want to call and say, “hi” (please do!), you can reach us at:
Graceworks Inc.470 West End Avenue
New York, New York 10024
Tel: 212.724.1541 Email: [email protected]
Fax: 347.577.9941 Website: www.graceworksinc.com
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