Speaking coach David Griggs gives tips on effective communications at work

YOU might look the part, but your body language could be giving you away. Here are the tricks experts use to get what they want, whether it’s a promotion, a pay rise or nailing that pitch.

Pitching yourself and your ideas is easy if you take heed of some simple tips.

THERE’S the old adage that people fear public speaking more than they do death, so that at a funeral, a fair chunk of the room would rather be in the coffin than give the eulogy.

It seems like an exaggeration but that mild anxiety before you’re called up is a familiar feeling to most — that butterfly-esque tumble in your stomach which reminds you dairy was a bad idea.

And it doesn’t have to be a presentation or a client pitch. It can be about asking for that promotion, going to a job interview or just making sure you are communicating professionally and effectively in the workplace.

But whether it’s in front of the boss or the intern, in front of three people or 300, you don’t have to let yourself be overtaken by nerves if you follow some easy steps.

Speaking coach and business pitch consultant David Griggs of the Speaker Studio said: “The ability to be able to stand in front of an audience or even just one-on-one, across a desk, to be able to pitch your idea is incredibly important. And it is one of the most misunderstood processes we go through as human beings.”

Mr Griggs gave some pointers to an assembled crowd of entrepreneurs earlier this month at an event organised by start-up accelerator ANZ Innovyz Start. While it may be obvious, he said it’s crucial to keep your message clear, and that means literally, as in diction and articulation.

Mr Griggs is an advocate of the ‘iceberg’ theory of presentations, which is based around the idea that the content of your presentation is only 10 per cent of what you’re pitching, akin to what you see of an iceberg above the water.

News_Image_File: Just like an iceberg, most of how you pitch yourself is under the surface.

The main bulk of your presentation is underneath the content, and it isn’t what you’re saying but how you’re saying it.

According to Mr Griggs, what’s beneath the surface or the content is:

PROCESS

This is the format in how you deliver your pitch. For a presentation, Powerpoint slides are often a default option but it’s not the only choice. Mr Griggs said the humble whiteboard is making a comeback, especially when it came to financial figures.

He demonstrated that having too much information on Powerpoint slides will often divide your audience’s attention, ensuring they are not giving full focus to either you or the slides. A whiteboard could be used to great effect if you use it to emphasis important figures or concepts, rather than as a dumping ground for the bulk of what you’re saying.

Mr Griggs said where it’s appropriate, audience interaction can be very effective, as can props.

News_Image_File: Ditch the fancy technology, the humble white board is making a comeback.

PERCEPTION

Mr Griggs said people should be aware that there is no way for them to NOT communicate when they’re pitching themselves.

He said: “What’s the perception you create? Our subconscious is so powerful and [people are always making] judgments and assumptions. So what is the perception you want to create?”

Things that could influence the perception you put out there includes grooming and body language.

PERMISSION

Permission is where many people unravel before and during presentations and pitches, and it’s something your audience can’t give you.

“Permission is something you give yourself,” Mr Griggs said. “It’s that voice in your head. Some people have a whole committee. You have to give yourself permission to be brilliant, to access that higher level of consciousness.”

So if you’re dreading the talk because you think you’re going to fail and humiliate yourself, then you’re more likely to do so. In other words, psych yourself up, but in the good way.

News_Image_File: Banish the nerves and ace that presentation with these simple tips.

BREATHING

It seems so simple but, apparently, this remarkably easy trick will make a big difference to the ‘zone’ you find yourself in during that all-important meeting.

Mr Griggs said elite athletes are the best examples of this. You often see them right before a race or game on the sidelines intently concentrated on their breathing. He said: “They’re putting themselves in a bubble and they’re focusing on their breathing.”

Other little tips:

— Research has shown that every fifth slide in your presentation can be more impactful if it is different (such as an impactful image rather than text).

- Use different colours in your slides from line to line because the brain sorts by what is different.

— If you’re in the audience, you’re more likely to retain information if you write it down, even if you never look at the notes again.

— Ask if your pitch appeals to both areas of the brain — the creative and the logical side. Most people talk to the left brain (logic) in presentations with statistics and facts but if you incorporate the creative side as well, you’re more likely to make a lasting impression.

— Use full bleed images (pictures that run all the way to the edge) wherever you can. Apparently the brain can process pictures 80 times faster than text.

— With slides, less is more. In other words, one idea on one slide. And stick to the rule of three which says that no more than three points or three images on one slide.