Exceptional Mentor Coach - Jerry Wistrom

Today I attended the monthly meeting of ICF-Connecticut chapter. ICF is the International Coaching Federation which is the foremost governing body of Professional Coaches. Today's meeting was a panel discussion with some of the most experienced and leading professional personal and business coaches in Connecticut.

The panel answered questions and gave honest advice and feedback on many aspects of the business side of professional coaches. Five coaches served on today's panel.

An exceptional Mentor Coach - Jerry Wistrom

Jerry has been there, done that. As a coach focusing on helping small business owners achieve remarkable results, and serving the coaching profession as mentor coach and at national level of the ICF, he has the experience. Jerry answered questions about accreditation and what it takes to get to ACC, PCC and MCC. The ultimate compliments were paid as successful coaches in the audience greeted Jerry warmly and shared testimonials relating the exceptional impacts of Jerry's coaching on their own careers. Jerry is the best of the best, and as we say in South Africa, "What a nice guy!!"

I thoroughly enjoyed today's panel discussion, and met other interesting people who are Professional Coaches. The authenticity and of coaches and the fact that successful coaches are living out "Who I am" versus "Doing what I do" is unstoppably attractive. If you have not yet worked with a coach who is working from the abundance of "Who I am", then you owe it to yourself to take up the opportunity when you get a chance. Listening to the panel answer questions helps me to understand work/life balance.


On a side note, as a presenter, I was grateful to enjoy a live panel discussion today, and not a boring PowerPointless presentation. I have come to cringe at the thought of being invited to meetings and watch the presenter begin his "Death by PowerPoint" routine. Fortunately, the stars aligned for me this morning, and my horoscope excluded PowerPointless presentations for me today :)

Project Management Super - Speaker: Lee Lambert

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending another Lee Lambert presentation. This one was held in Avon, CT. Every workshop that Lee presents is distinguished by his humor, showmanship and exceptional insight into the challenges that project managers face every day. Yesterday's presentation lived up to Lee's high standards and set an enviable example for all presenters to follow.

Some of the presentation techniques that Lee applied are:
1. Opening the workshop with stories and questions from the audience. This immediately grabbed audience attention and got the audience involved.

2. Walked around the audience, among the audience members while presenting. This breaks the fourth wall and disintegrates the "space" that forms between speaker and audience.

3. Great eye-contact with various individuals in the audience.

4. Using specific examples from his vast experience in Project Management to make points.

5. Complimenting the specific people and the larger organization that hosted the event.

6. NOT reading the slides to us. (This alone puts Lee way in front of the "PowerPoint Abuse" pack).

7. Starting the workshop on time after breaks. Lee started talking and telling stories to indicate to the 190 participants it was time to quiet down. This very polite way of communicating beats the often-used technique of telling the audience that it is time to start.

A true professional integrates the components of a profession seamlessly so that the craft looks easy. Lee makes it look easy to present well, and is a true master of the art of public speaking. We have a distinct lack of public speaking exemplars. The reason most people accept poor presentations and don't demand better presentations, is because most people don't know what a good presentation looks like. We are so used to seeing presenters read PowerPoint slides to us, that we accept this poor example. Lee sets the example for other presenters to follow.

Lee touched on issues that project managers like myself and project managers in all large organizations face. We laughed at the proliferation of "standardized templates" that well intentioned but sometimes misguided PMO's enforce with the zeal of a new convert. We laughed with him, and at ourselves at the way we start projects with poorly defined requirements, insufficient resources, and wonder why we get into the mess that many projects get into.

Lee reminded us that we are likely to continue to face current challenges of not having dedicated project teams, but instead will continue to share resources who are working on many projects simultaneously. This makes it hard for teams to form lasting relationships, because "teams" resemble a revolving door more than a group of people working towards a common goal.

If I were asked to coach Lee on PowerPoint use, then the only comments I could offer would be to never apologize for a slide which is "busy". As posted elsewhere on this blog, we should never have slides that don't clearly convey our message. If in doubt, leave it out. Also, to put off the projector (with the "B" button) when telling a story, so that all focus is on the presenter without any distraction.

As a trainer, I know how hard it is to keep an audience engaged for a full-day workshop. Lee is a master trainer, and in his own words " he makes his audience learn without even realizing it".

If you ever get a chance, then attend a workshop with Lee Lambert, even if you are not a project manager. You will learn more in a day about presentation skills from observing Lee Lambert, that you will in a year of attending club meetings at your Toastmasters club.

Timeboxes

How much time should you invest when creating a presentation? Winston Churchill is said to have invested one hour preparing for every minute that he delivered a prepared speech. Winston's rule of thumb still holds true. If you are going to prepare, craft and rehearse a seven minute speech, then seven hours is a reasonable amount of time to set aside for preparation.

You can also invest too much time when crafting a presentation. I am currently preparing a presentation on South Africa that includes PowerPoint slides, to co-present with a friend at his Rotary club. My research on Flickr.com revealed hundreds of possible photos of South Africa that are candidates for inclusion in this presentation. I have so much to share with this audience about South Africa, the history, current situation, why my wife and I left with 6 suitcases, $400 and a dream to come to the USA back in 2001,

Every photo brought back memories and I soon realized that I could easily invest 40 or more hours just in creating the PowerPoint slides. This is without even talking about the rehearsal for the presentation.

The way to avoid getting into time pits, is to place a box around the activity. For example, this Rotary club speech is a 20 minute speech. Using Winston's rule of thumb above, I should invest about 20 hours in total for preparation. From experience, I know that co-presenting always takes more time to rehearse than if I presented solo and allowing for an additional five hours, the total preparation should not exceed 25 to 30 hours.

As a rough estimate then I should invest fewer than ten hours in selecting photos for this slideshow. The best way to stick to this limit and place the appropriate value on my time is to timebox the various preparatory activities. No more than 10 hours to select photos, no more than 5 hours to create the PowerPoint slides, no more than 5 hours to create the script, which leaves no more than 10 hours to rehearse with my co-presenter.

Although we all want to give the best presentation that we can, every single time, we need to keep this in perspective. As Alan Weiss says "Your presentation is not going to change world history". (In fact, I consider my presentation to be an outstanding success if the Rotarians can remember what I spoke about after the bar closes.)

I am sorry to say that I see this all too often in new Toastmasters. New Toastmasters want to write the perfect speech, and invest 30 or more hours in a single 5-7 minute speech that is given once to a Toastmasters club. This is a poor investment of your time. Your time is better managed when you put an upper limit on the amount of time you will invest in an activity. Then stick to your time limit, and stop to reassess your progress when the time is up. Don't invest limitless time into speech creation - it is dysfunctional.

So, keep your presentation in perspective as well. Put a box around your time investment for your next speech or presentation, then get up and deliver.

The TextUnread Rule

The Great TextUnread rule states: "The more text displayed on a PowerPoint slide, the less likely the presenter will read or explain the text, and the more likely the presenter will skip over the slide with a lame excuse.

Such excuses include, but are not limited to those listed below" (My comments are in parenthesis).

1. This slide is busy on purpose. (Why, why would anyone purposely create a slide that is busy? Your purpose as a presenter is to clarify and assist your audience to understand your message. Why would you place obstacles in the path of your communication to the audience?)

2. I know that you can't read this slide, but it illustrates my point. (What point? That you are an idiot to create a slide that you know no-one can read?)

3. I won't go through this now, but you can read it after my presentation. (Wait - let me understand how little you value my time in the audience. First, you created a slide that you did not intend to discuss with me. Then you did not rehearse your presentation where you would have seen that this slide should clearly have been culled from your presentation. Now, after you have insulted me by wasting my precious time, you think that I am going to invest more time trying to decipher your slide. I don't think so. Your busy slide does not motivate me to want to invest time reading your slide as a result of your lack of preparation.)

Over the next few weeks, as you observe presenters wade through "busy" slides with poor excuses, make a pledge to yourself to never, ever fall foul of the Great TextUnread rule yourself. keep your visually impactful slides simple and to your point.

Always limit the amount of text on your slides. Remember that less text on the screen means more probability that it will be conveying your carefully crafted message.

It was YOU all along

I just read a new book by Gary Spinell. The title is "It Was YOU All Along".

Very interesting read. Covers similar ground and includes the Law of Attraction, which I firmly believe in.

Gary starts off a bit slow, with a lot of his life experiences to set the foundation. If you continue past this foundation then you get into very strong truths.

I actually got goosebumps when Gary describes how he was laid off, and then unemployed for 6 months, but he found a job once he changed his beliefs in himself. This personal example illustrates how valid and powerful his message is to all of us today. I have twice gotten hired mainly because I believed I was the best person for the job and the job was perfect for me.

Knowing that we create our own reality has no value, unless we are able to take actions that help us create the reality we desire. Gary details in Chapter 17 how we can work towards creating the reality we desire.

The multitude of personal examples in this book illustrates the points that Gary makes. I would like to have seem other examples as well though, and not just examples from a single perspective.

In summary, if you accept the sameness of the many personal examples then you will enjoy the book. It will generate food for thought and shed new light on things you thought "happen" to all of us.

You will also learn tools to create your own reality, which is the most important reality for all of us. If you want to change your actions and your income, then get Gary's book.

WAH, WAH, WAH

This week the SNEC-PMI (where I am VP Of Membership) held our monthly meeting. The topic of Working at Home came up for discussion at my table.

Work At Home (WAH is one of the common acronyms while another is W@H) refers to modern day telecommuting. As Project Managers with teams located all over the globe, many of us are as effective working from home as we are when working from the office. We have high-speed Internet connections and reliable telephones in our home offices.

The appeal to W@H is naturally the lack of commute and flexible work hours. You don't have transportation expense, traffic nor frustration when you W@H, which results in less time wasted on the road, more time for productive Project Management, and a better work/life balance.

The consensus around our table was that W@H has advantages such as higher productivity and "to-do" lists becoming "got-done" lists. My dinner mates testified that you are more productive when you W@H.

The W@H downside is a complete lack of water-cooler chat and office gossip. My informal survey showed that when given the choice, 80% of Project Managers prefer to work from the office if their team is also located at the office. Productivity may be lower, but our social needs are met in the cube farm, even with the inherent disadvantages of zero privacy and frequent interruptions.

A few years ago, I frequently heard the wailing from colleagues "If only I could work from home, I would be more productive and a happier Project Manager".

So there you have it – no more crying allowed to Work at Home. WAH, WAH, WAH no more. Because W@H also has a downside.

We agreed that a combination of W@H and work in the cube farm for some days of each week is the best of all worlds. Two days at home and three days at the office seems to keep our scales in balance.

Work Less, Do More

I just finished "Work Less, Do More", by Jan Yager, Ph.D.

Great book. Here is my review. This book will save you time, right off the bat. I answer over 100 emails a day as a Project Manager on multi-million dollar projects.

Page 54 alone is the worth the price of this book. Now I know how to categorize emails and respond appropriately, depending on who sent the email.

I like the structure of this book. One chapter per day is bite sized chunks that readers can absorb and apply, one day at a time. (We are busy people, which is why we are looking to learn how to work less and do more).

Jan has packed the book with logs and worksheets, placed throughout the book to keep it interactive, with permission to photocopy the worksheets for personal use.

I agree that Self-esteem is the key factor in Time Management that is rarely addressed, as Jan quotes on page 38. I would have liked to see more discussion on how to improve self-esteem, or at least a reference to a good book on improving self-esteem, which is a key factor.

I would also like to have seen more focus on how to deal with the volume of meetings that Professionals deal with today. No-one in my office has a paper-based calendar like professionals had ten years ago. We have 6 hours of virtual meetings a day, mostly with team mates in other states and countries. Meetings are scheduled days and hours in advance. As such, it is not possible to see your meetings for the week, when you walk into the office on Monday morning. I would have like to have tips on the best ways to prioritize and attend meetings, beyond the appointment book on Page 76. Today's workplace is far more dynamic than a week-at-a-time calendar.

Page 50 has a nice tip on how to get motivated, that I have not seen before.

Overall, this is a wonderful book, jam-packed with tips and for employees, self-employed professionals and even students. Jan goes far beyond the simple "to-do" lists and her tips help all readers to prioritize better, make better decisions on where to invest time, so that we can have more time to do what is truly important to us.

I highly recommend this book and it has a special place on my bookshelf, so that I can reread it should my time get out of balance again.

What is the example of a good speech?

When last did you see a very good speech? How about a mediocre presentation at your office? During your college lectures? What about your Toastmasters club where a member completed Project #8 - Visual Aids?

I bet that you can't remember when last you saw a presentation that had you sitting on the edge of your seat, anticipating every word. (Although you have a better chance of enjoying such a presentation in Toastmasters than anywhere else)

We have come to accept poor presentations, especially when PowerPoint is used, because we don't know what a good presentation looks like. Most of our corporate presentations are terrible, and we accept this as the norm, because all we see are Pointless Presentations.

Today, I challenge you. Pay attention when you have the pleasure of watching a good presentation or speech. Then judge all presentations by this standard, including your own.

If we don't all start raising our own standards, eschewing text on PowerPoint slides and continue to read our slides to our audiences, then we will get the presentations that we deserve. And I am not satisfied with the presentations that I currently observe all over the USA.

The AmountaSize Virus - coming soon to a conference near you

Have you noticed how many PowerPoint Presentations invoke the universal AmountaSize virus of inverse proportions? I observed two presentations yesterday and was again astounded at the impact of the thriving AmountaSize virus. This dreaded virus continues to grow and mutate in polite society, despite my unwavering and vocal support for the visual slide revolution.

The effect of the AmountaSize virus is described as follows: "The usefulness of a PowerPoint slide is inversely proportionate to the amount of text on the slide, complicated by the smallness of the font."

In other words, your slides become less useful and tend towards complete uselessness, as the volume of text increases with the accompanying decrease in font size.

The lesson is clear for all presenters - "Text on PowerPoint slides is your enemy." Tread carefully as you add text to your slides. Use visual images on your slides. Remember that the best content for your slides is impactful and emotional photographs on your slides, not clip art.

Don't fall prey to the AmountaSize virus. Keep fonts large and limit the amount of text on your slides.

Remember to tune in for the next installment right here on this blog, when you will learn how to stay clear of the dreaded TextUnread rule...

Leadership Training

Do you want to be a better leader, but don't know where to get it? This week CIGNA After Hours Toastmasters Club in Bloomfield, CT held an Open House event. I am President of this club this year, but take no credit for the outstanding success of this Open House event.

Our Vice President of Education took the lead and organized the whole event. This is just one example of leadership training that Toastmasters provides. One can define leadership as the process of getting things done with the help of other people.

Planning, Leading, Organizing and managing a team of volunteer Toastmasters to successfully host an Open House is just one opportunity to develop Leaderships skills in your Toastmasters club. The greatest benefit of Toastmasters is the emphasis we place on supportive and constructive feedback. After the open house, our VPE received feedback in her Competent Leadership Manual on how she did and identifying possible areas for improvement.

If you are looking for current and pragmatic leadership training that goes beyond memorizing text books and studying the troop movements of military officers , then take a leadership role in your Toastmasters club. You will be surprised at the quantity and quality of training waiting for you at a nominal cost.

Toastmasters Fall 2008 District 53 Conference

Yesterday's Fall 2008 District 53 Conference in Trumbull, Connecticut was an outstanding success, as you see in these photos. I had the privilege of presenting my popular Panic to Power educational session that helps presenters overcome the fear of public speaking.

The audience enjoyed:

- Jana Barnhill's Presidential Visit as the current International President for Toastmasters International

- Evaluation Speech Contest

- Humorous Speech Contest

- Educational Sessions

- Good food and networking in a friendly and supportive environment

Congratulations to District 53 Leadership and the Fall 2008 Conference Organizers for putting together this successful event.

How to retain new members in Toastmasters clubs?

Today I answered a question on LinkedIn, on how to retain members in a club with 70 members and large new member turnover. My response is applicable to all Toastmaster clubs and is posted here for your convenience.

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To improve your situation, assign a mentor to each new member. As President of a smaller club and having filled various officer roles in the past, I have experienced the same universal problem.

The way to improve the situation is usually to ask more experienced members to guide new members through all the technicians roles and the first 3 speeches. The challenge is that seasoned members become worn out from always mentoring new members.

Also, mentorship is not all that it takes to keep members.

Mentoring increases retention, but members also leave for other reasons such as finding that the challenges of public speaking are just too much for them, the TM program consumes too much time or have higher priorities. You can't solve these personal decisions through mentoring.

Mentoring new members helps to retain members and eliminates some of the reasons people leave Toastmasters, such as:
1. Not understanding the meeting roles
2. Not feeling welcome in the club meeting
3. Not knowing where to turn for answers and guidance

Try to get a mentoring committee together so that the full load does not fall on your VPE. Also, try to find creative ways to mentor. We used a teleconference every week for new members and covered a different topic on each call. This allowed 3 seasoned TM's to lay the groundwork for mentoring the 10 new members.

We also often overlook the benefits that the Mentor gets out of the relationship. As a mentor you learn how to provide information in small doses so that your mentee can absorb your wealth of TM knowledge at a moderated pace. This trains mentors to be effective mentors as business leaders and mentors as well. You can also look for mentors outside your club. Perhaps your district officers can assist with conference calls, or a nearby club has members willing to assist?

In summary, Mentoring will increase retention, but is not the silver bullet. Even so, I recommend that you work to institute a mentor program.

Be a better speaker

"Wayne, how do I become a better speaker?" is the question I am often asked by new Toastmasters.

The answer is simple, although it takes some effort. It requires the new Toastmaster to invest time to develop, rehearse and present new speeches. You can only become a better speaker by practising the craft.

Then you get to a point where mere rehearsal and practise is not enough. If you limit yourself to only seeking advice, instruction and feedback from your fellow Toastmasters club members, then you are holding yourself back. To grow exponentially, you need to seek out advice, instruction and feedback from the best speakers in the world.

But how can the average Toastmaster afford coaching from top-flight professionals? Top speaking coaches charge over $10,000 per day.

I had this same problem. I was at a crossroads in Toastmasters in 2006. I had outgrown my club and the feedback from my Advanced Toastmasters club was only as good as the club members. I was about to quit Toastmasters when I found out about the best speaking membership program in the world.

Learn how you can get advice, instruction and feedback on public speaking, especially geared to members of Toastmasters. Sign up for this inexpensive program and then you will find new inspiration along your Toastmasters journey.