Coaching to Success

Our business is your success

Confidence

Do you associate with these business struggles…

I am no different than any other company in areas of a coaching/mentoring that I offer to that of other businesses when it comes to struggling. However, I recognise what they are and do something about it and would like to share some with you.

So in this feature we cover recognisable areas whether you head an organisation or work within one and come up with methods by which to address them.

On the Verge – All too often we work, work, work all hours possible. Warning! We are NOT robots and you will burn out. Do not be a martyr to the cause, look to see what can seriously be delegated. Learn to let go.

Using your head – Oh I have been there. I know best and it will take too long to explain to others as it’s all in my head. As well as this, tasks get done when you remember them (poor time management). Look to create your own protocols and procedures for consistency in what you do. If you have a team, insure they too follow the procedures which helps keep track of any element through its life cycle.

Fear of failure – Things seem alright, why rock the boat? Why take unnecessary chances for fear of potential failure as opposed to moving with your desire for success. This is a mind-set area not based on fact. Work with a positive ‘I chose to make the best of an un known rather than fearing it’. Try it a few times and see what positive affirmations can give you and your business.

Marketing ROI – What IS your Return On Investment? Be honest with yourself. Don’t know! Well I would strongly recommend assessing the time and money outlaid on marketing. Too many organisations rely on you simply throwing money at them without really giving what you expect. Look, monitor, re-evaluate.

Research – Do you really know the market you are aiming at? If your target market seems unclear, rather than attempting to sell to all, look at the Psychographics (personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles) of the Demographics (quantifiable characteristics of a given population) of your target market.

Constantly doing the same task – Look to see how repetitive tasks can be formalised with little input to create the overall masterpiece. This can be anything from quoting to copying and pasting messages. Look to formalise it. Use Mail Merge for creating a standard letter or quote with information extracted from a spread sheet. Copying and pasting cannot only be time consuming but is inherently open to mistakes (as I have found out to my cost historically!). Think Time Management.

Go it alone – Politically this is a bit of a hot subject at the moment, however, in business, I look to Aristotle’s wise words, “The sum of the total is greater than the sum of its parts”. Look to share your knowledge base and gain knowledge from others. Networking or Mind dump groups are great to accomplish this.

Stationary Skill-Set – To be blunt, it is a vicious market out there. If you stand still, not only will you miss the train but others will catch it! Never stop learning or looking forward to new ways. For those of you old enough to remember, look at Encyclopaedia Britannica or Kodak for examples of companies who thought the modern digital era would not affect them. Keep up with or ahead of the game. Look at every aspect from software enhanced presentations to innovative ways of pushing forward using time saving elements that will have a positive effect on everyone within the organisation.

Although some may appear obvious, we can easily get caught in the day-to-day running of the business. Step back occasionally, view what is going on. Treat yourself to regular reviews and learn to develop ways to get around what sometimes appear insurmountable problems that when broken down, can be manageable chunks.

Coaching to Success specialise in addressing ‘clarity’, you could say we demystify the foggy screen of your business’ windscreen. Should you or members of your team be looking to gain some direction in the organisation, first contact Neil either by mail at neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or direct via phone 07761 187238. Our business is Your success, let us help you move on to turn Struggles into challenges and challenges into positive rewards.

Let’s look at challenging beliefs that hold you back…

Sometimes our belief in being able to perform a certain task or achieve an objective can be influenced either negatively or positively. For those with a self-belief, the chances of obtaining that outcome is greatly increased, however, situations throughout our lives can have a massive bearing on us.

 

As an adolescent, I was told I would have to do an office job, that I would be unable to take up sport seriously, that I would be unable to do manual work! Why? Because I have type1 diabetes.

As I progressed towards the end of my teens, I began to question this ‘sound advice’ from those more knowledgeable (apparently) and took up martial arts by means of doing some exercise … and this is where I found that good advice was unfounded!

I trained hard. Minimum 3 times a week. Sessions lasting in excess of 2.5hrs and when I achieved Black Belt, trained harder still to maintain that level and I still train now (but maybe not to the same degree!).

So what has this got to do with this feature? My beliefs were being moulded by THEIR beliefs in MY capabilities. So I challenged and created my OWN beliefs and that was that having Diabetes would not stop me from being active!

Find out how negative and positive external influences have on you by carrying out some interesting exercises.

FIRST – Create 2 lists. The first being all the positive beliefs you have about yourself. The second with any negative.

SECOND – Look at every item in each category. Spend some time assessing and writing down the positive and negative things that have happened to create these beliefs.

THIRD – Take the top three ‘Negative’ beliefs and ask yourself

  1. Where did this belief originate?
  2. What effect is this belief having on me?
  3. What will the long term consequence be to remain holding onto it?
  4. Who provided me this belief?
  5. Is this person always right? Do you respect them?
  6. How would life be if you were to let go of it?

FORTH – Re-write the negative belief as a positive affirmation. (eg: “I am too old to change my job” to “The knowledge and expertise I will bring to a new employer can only be gained from the wealth of knowledge learned”

FIFTH – Focus your attention on 3-5 people who appear a positive influence on you and another 3-5 negative ones. Ask yourself these questions about each in their outlook:

  • What do they say and how do they relay it?
  • What actions portray them as positive?

SIXTH – What ‘Empowering’ beliefs do people hold? Make a list.

SEVENTH – What ‘Dis-empowering’ beliefs do people hold? Make a list.

EIGHTH – Create 6 sentences all beginning “I can’t..”

NINTH – Against each, ask yourself “What’s stopping me?”

TENTH – Against each, compile a list of things you can do to turn this into positive actions.

All too often our progress is hindered by our own negative beliefs. Those that know me will be familiar with my phrase “Evidence based” meaning that just because we believe in something, it doesn’t mean it’s a fact. Look at the evidence.

THINK positive. BE positive.

At Coaching to Success, we truly believe (and it’s evidence based) that our clients are capable of more than they think they can achieve so if you’re looking to move forward and break some of those beliefs that hold you back, contact Neil either by mail at neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or direct via phone 07761 187238. Our business is Your success, let us help you move on re-affirmed positive beliefs.

Is confidence natural or developed?

Is confidence about being born with the right gene or is it cultivated?

Confidence emerges from accomplishment with a belief in one’s capabilities, so is really nurture over nature and depending on how we develop, our confidence levels will be affected. It is also related to the symptoms of feelings when dealing with challenges whether personal or work related.

It’s also about judgement of how you feel others perceive you. This is not to say that you shouldn’t give a …., but more about not allowing other’s views effecting your own judgement about yourself.

As an example, I was with a client before Christmas in a high street coffee shop. We discussed confidence levels talking with regards speaking to strangers and if in a group of unknowns, how they felt. After they expressed their thoughts, I wished to prove a point about how we shouldn’t be fearful of what others may think of us. So, to demonstrate this, I stood up in the middle of a busy shop and asked for everyone’s attention, then simply wished them a Happy Christmas and a fantastic weekend, then sat down.

I daresay this caused conversations in the shop and well beyond but it proved a point that nothing negative happened to me and that I couldn’t control others views of me of which there would be a variety of, so best to let those thoughts go.

But how do we look about boosting our own levels? There are generally 9 exercises but here are 6 to help you on your way:

  1. BREATHE: When you are nervous or preparing for a big event, breathe evenly until you calm down.
  2. GET A NOTEBOOK: Record the good things that you manage to do. Whenever self-doubt creeps in, or you feel down, open this notebook and start reading it.
  3. BODY LANGUAGE: When feeling low, look at your posture. Change it to look up and forward with your back straight, keep your head high.
  4. SET GOALS: If you do not have goals in your life then you do not know where you are going. Set goals in every area of your life. Set goals that are very clear and have a certain deadline on them.
  5. COMPLIMENT YOURSELF: Talk about the great things you did in the past, this week, today. Say things like: “I am truly amazing! Just to think of how fast I solved that problem!”, “Wow, Fred came to me to help him as he knew I could help and I did”
  6. EXERCISE AT WORK: Notice the things that you do better than others. Find these things, then, admit to yourself that you accomplish these better than others, commit to becoming even better on it. Read books, talk to people in the know, become an expert.

There are many ways we can help boost the confidence levels but these are some good starters to kick off with.

Whether they be areas of personal or work related issues around confidence, contact Neil for a coffee meet (I promise I’ll try to refrain from standing on the table!) either by mail at neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or direct via phone 07761 187238. Our business is Your success, let us help you grow in confidence to reach up to your own personal goals of achievement.

How do I create a knockout presentation? Prt 2of2…

So now it’s time to look at the remaining topics in order to create that amazing presentation.

  • Timing: Speaking too fast, rambling on
  • Neglecting to check equipment
  • Reading from notes
  • Reading from the slides/reciting bullet points
  • Failing to rehearse

Timing

Whether speaking too fast (thus finishing earlier than expected) or rambling on with too much un-necessary details (causing you to rush through parts of the presentation or having to go over time). This shows negative points about your capabilities from poor time-management, possible lack of confidence and disrespect to the organiser and/or delegates and this can be addressed by rehearsing.

Three key areas to successful are practice, Practice and PRACTICE and always do this out loud. Many years ago I rehearsed in my head and when it came to the delivery, my head and mouth didn’t seem to engage as they should have!

If you need to slow down through nerves, write ‘Slow Down’ on your note sheets or if you have too much to present in the allotted time, actually reduce the amount that goes into the presentation, honestly, it’s unlikely people will take everything in so portray the more important elements.

Equipment check

I experienced this once when at an event and the projection system didn’t immediately connect with my laptop. Fortunately it was down to some settings was resolved. Nonetheless, even though turning up 20 minutes early, it still resulted in people waiting 10 minutes before we started which kills the mood to begin with.

Make sure you put your presentation together before the event. Check all handouts are sorted and put into order. Any equipment you are using works correctly.

Arrive half an hour before the scheduled time and check it all works correctly. If all’s fine, then spend some time to relax and speak to people as they turn up. All this relays a level of confidence for the delegates.

Note reading

As mentioned before, spend time practising before the event so you are familiar with the content, its order and timing.

If needs be, use a few bullet points but the more you rehearse, the more familiar you become with the presentation and even if you do not know it verbatim, you’ll still come across more professional and knowledgeable.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that some people just have it. Everyone that comes across proficient and slick have rehearsed and practiced over and over.

Bullet Point reading

I will assume that the people you are presenting to can read. Therefore, be respectful and don’t read the bullet points aloud.

Remember, these headliners for what you wish to present. Treat them as such. Bring up the bullet point and, without reading it, go on to make your point and the observers can read it for themselves. If they are all up, go into your speech and allow them to work out what element you are talking about.

Rehearse

This has been mentioned throughout so best to understand its importance. It REALLY does make all the difference to your presentation. And do this out loud, even in front of a mirror so you can see what those in front of you see. All too often, rehearsing in your head is different from practising speaking out loud, trust me on this!

Energetic finish

All too often the energy is central to the presentation and the wrap up is just that. This is your opportunity to re-visit what you’ve already presented in a draft but uplifting format and if you have a little diamond up your sleeve, bring it out to shine here thus leaving the audience inspired and uplifted.

Oh, before I forget, one last little tip … Question Time! Decide in advance WHEN you want questions to be asked. Either set these at set intervals throughout the presentation or ask the delegates to save them until the end (not always practical as the flow has gone by then for them). If allowing questions at any time, insure you manage these as questions raised may well stimulate others to get involved which could potentially throw timing out of the window!

That’s all 9 areas covered but nonetheless, presentations are not easy, especially if relatively new to doing them or not generating the desired results. Should you be looking to put together an amazing presentation and looking for support, you would do well by contacting Neil at neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or call 07761 187238 where you are assured a warm welcome.

How do I create a knockout presentation? Prt 1of2…

Have you ever been in front of monotone, boring presentations that seem endless? Do you need to create a presentation but are unsure how to wrap it up?

This is too big a subject to do in a single post so here’s todays and the next will be in two weeks’ time. Read on to find some tips I’ve learned over the years that will help keep the interest and get the message across.

Let us start by looking at 4 of 9 bad habits:

  • Failing to excite or show enthusiasm!
  • Disqualifying yourself
  • Not connecting with the audience. Avoiding eye contact, Alienating yourself
  • Stance: Fidgeting, swaying, motionless or standing to attention

Failing to enthuse

From the start you need to engage and capture your audience’s attention. First impressions and last comments are what people remember. Deliver a message that will leave them excited about what they are about to be told and the benefits they will gain.

Disqualifying yourself

You are there because you are knowledgeable in that particular subject. The audience have come to learn something so avoid statements like “I hope this doesn’t send you asleep”, “I know something of this but I’m not an expert in”. Avoid disparaging comments. Believe in yourself.

DO NOT APOLOGIES! You may start late due to unforeseen circumstances so this may seem a bit blunt but if you start off apologising then this sets a negative tone and sets the scene of being a victim. Start off as if nothing was wrong, thus illustrating you work well under pressure.

Audience connection

Personally, I feel one of the worse things a presenter can do is to stand there avoiding eye-contact with attendees. Fumbling around, looking at projections or even the wall behind the attendees. And whatever you do, please don’t turn your back to the audience. This may make you feel better but you’ve just dismissed everyone there.

If you’re not keen on looking at people directly in the eyes, look at their foreheads or, better still, the top of their lips. Try that one out when speaking to someone relatively close. Ask them if they felt you were making direct eye-contact, it works!

Other areas to consider is to insure you don’t alienate delegates. I was at a seminar a while ago and the presenter opened by saying “This is going to be mainly about the leisure industry so if you are not in this business, you won’t understand some of the terminology…”.

Make sure you use a language that all understand. Make it generic if dealing with a varied audience or specific if an isolated audience.

Stance

There is a fine balance between no movement and too much. Areas to consider are to avoid shuffling paperwork or waving something around you wish to talk about. Everyone’s focus then moves to that and not you.

Try not to fidget or sway on the spot and definitely (gentlemen!) avoid playing with change in your pockets. These infer nervousness.

And don’t stand still like a guard, move around and use ‘controlled’ hand gestures (this is an area I have to constantly be on top of as I enthuse and speak through hand movements). It’s very boring if you just stand there motionless.

Look at for the concluding part in two weeks’ time and in the meantime, should you have a presentation that you need help with, just make a call or throw us an email.

Contact Neil at neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or call 07761 187238 where you are assured a warm welcome.