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!

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.

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Your Three Questions

Lets talk about the power of intention. Instead of focusing on you, lets
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?

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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 lets 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.

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This habitual negative thought is really draining your energy, so the first
step is to transform that thought into its 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. Thats how you break a habit!

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02.Your Plan
Procrastination is a powerful beast, isnt it? But dont let your urge to re-
organize the closet, itemize your receipts or tackle those 12,000 digital
photos youve 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?)

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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!
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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?
Heres 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.

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04.Your Stories
Lifes 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:
Whats 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 audiences 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

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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_wh
o_you_are?language=en

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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.
Thats 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 whats coming next.


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

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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!

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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!

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07.The Moment
Youve done the work. Youve practiced out loud. Now, its 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. Its really that simple.

Do it for them. We need your light now more than ever.

Shine on,

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