OVERCOMING YOUR FEAR OF PREPARATION

FEAR OF PREPARATION  Here's a scene I encounter pretty much every week. There's a gathering of leaders...sometimes from the same company; sometimes from the same business leaders group. They all say they're nervous. And indeed they are. They talk of sweaty palms. They talk of shaking hands. They talk of butterflies in the tummy.    They're about to have their communications skills tested - and taken to a new, more inspirational level. It could be to make a presentation. It could be do a brief business introduction. It could be to answer tough questions. What makes them even more apprehensive is the presence of the camera operator setting up in the corner. There are surveys which show people fear speaking in front of audiences more than they fear rattlesnakes, death and going to the dentist. But here's the crucial thing I've discovered. What they really fear is not speaking in front of others - even the camera. They fear PREPARING to speak. And the reason they fear this is frequently because they don't know quite how to prepare. When they're shown how to choose the right content and the right structure for those presentations, introductions and questions they feel so much better. And as we spend the session focusing on how to prepare - and then actually preparing, it makes the world of difference. Those business leaders who were so nervous feel so much better. They prove to themselves they can actually do it - if they know how to prepare and then actually take the trouble to do so. And when they know how best to stand, how to involve their hands and how to best utilise their voice, they feel still more at ease. Those sweaty palms and shaky hands disappear. And if there are any butterflies left, at least they're flying in formation. There's more on "Presenting with Confidence, Impact and Pizzazz" at http://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/presentation_training.php AT LAST!!! In many of the groups of business leaders I work with, the participants have to give the professional speakers who conduct the session a mark out of ten. Your reputation as a speaker lives or dies by these marks. And there's one brand of groups who actually pay the speakers in accordance with their score.   No pressure, eh? But while the participants can be generous with their marking when they feel they've made great progress, it is - quite understandably - tough to completely satisfy everyone in a session. So it was nice to finally hit the jackpot with a group outside Wigan where for once all members managed to give a score of ten out of ten.  Wigan in the English North-West Three cheers for Wigan, Adrian Sharpe and members of his Vistage K231. And a big thanks to all those chairs of business leaders groups and members for your constructive suggestions to put me on the right track over the past few years. Alas the scores can only go down from here!!!  ANSWER THE QUESTION MR BATES It's fair to say that the Canadian company, Research In Motion, which produces Blackberrys is feeling the heat from its rivals Apple and Samsung after a massive loss in market share. How do I know? Not by studying the Blackberry figures, but by listening the interviews given by the company's European Managing Director, Stephen Bates. When I say "interviews" I am using the term loosely. Interviews traditionally involve actually responding to questions. Mr Bates's approach to being interviewed is to avoid answering the question completely - time after time. As a result he looks and sounds dodgy....as bad as the worst of politicians. Viewers watching his performances can be forgiven for shouting at their TVs and radios: "Answer the question, Mr Bates." Questioned about the delay in the launch of a new model Blackberry on BBC Breakfast TV, Mr Bates was asked repeatedly "What went wrong?" His answers began variously with: "Actually it's interesting..." "So, so you know I'm always excited to be part of this ..." "Traditionally, this is a great market..." "This is a phenomenal market..." You can re-live all Stephen Bates's non-answers at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014f3p9  Mr Bates similarly evaded all questions on Radio 5 Live on the subject of what had Blackberry learned from the Apple iphone? The conclusion you have to reach from all the non-answers is "Lots and lots and lots". Judge for yourself at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014f43k?utm_source=February+2013&utm_campaign=12th+February+2013&utm_medium=email HOW YOU SHOULD TREAT THOSE QUESTIONS    If you want to come across as devious, slimy and insecure under pressure then copy the Stephen Bates technique whenever you're interviewed. If you want to look honest, relaxed and in control then do what Mr Bates should have done: ANSWER THE QUESTION RIGHT UP FRONT. Once you have answered the question, you then have a license under the normal rules of conversation to add a bit more - and convey an additional message. But if you don't answer then your audience and the journalistic world will draw their own conclusion - which is probably far worse than any embarrassing truth. You can get the Michael Dodd Communications free media interview tipsheet at http://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/products.php/#mediatipsheet And if you want to be prepared for a media crisis, I have a way of bringing it to life through an unfolding series of mock media stories based on what your organisation would have to deal with if something goes wrong. There's more information about master classes in media interview response at: http://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/media_training.php  THE PRIME MINISTERS AND ME I hope none of you missed the interview I did on Australian radio twenty years ago with then Canadian prime minister, Brian Mulroney. In the unlikely event that you missed it, it was conducted in Munich where I was covering what was then called the G-7 conference of the leading economic nations. Mr Mulroney was giving a press conference as a controversial Canadian domestic issue blew up involving French-speakings in Quebec - and only Canadian journalists were admitted. Brian Mulroney, 18th Prime Minister of Canada The press conference went on ages and we journalists from other countries were locked outside listening on a speaker system, but unable to put our questions to the big man of Canada about issues important to our audiences. Eventually the press conference ended and the Canadian journo's all rushed out to file their stories. I stormed in and went up to Mr Mulroney saying "Canada locked Australia out of your press conference!" He was apologetic, in a jovial kind of way, and asked me if I knew Bob Hawke - the then Australian Prime Minister. As I had previously been a Canberra correspondent, I could tell him that I did indeed and had asked Mr Hawke many questions at many press conferences Down Under. Mr Mulroney told me how much he liked Bob Hawke, and said that as I knew Mr Hawke he would give me my own exclusive interview. He did it on the spot. Brian Mulroney proved to be a fascinating, colourful and engaging interviewee (who actually answered the questions - Mr Bates take note). My lords and masters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation were very pleased with the result. So I had a good, albeit narrow, perception of Canadian politics...until this week when I was sent the following story supposedly about the latest Canadian PM. Please read it with a massive pinch of salt... SPIN, CANADIAN STYLE (ALLEGEDLY) Judy Harper an amateur genealogy researcher in Northern Ontario, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's great-great uncle, Remus Rudd, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Winnipeg in 1889. Both Judy and Stephen Harper share this common ancestor. The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows at Canada's Manitoba Provincial Jail. On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: 'Remus Rudd horse thief, sent to Stoney Mountain Jail 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Canadian Pacific (Railway) and Canadian National (Railway) trains six times. Caught by Mounted Police Force, convicted and hanged in 1889.' So Judy recently e-mailed Prime Minister Harper  for information about their great-great uncle, Remus Rudd. Believe it or not, Harper's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research: "Remus Rudd was famous in Ontario during the mid to late 1800s.  His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the CP and CN Railways.. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroads. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the Mounted Police Force. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honour when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed." It would be fascinating if this story were true. Unfortunately, in my attempts to verify it, I came across an almost identical story on the web put up earlier about the former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. Here's a picture of Mr Rudd's supposed long lost relative being hung...or as Australian's were told "taking part in an important civic function in his honour."    It seems the Australian story is as untrue as the Canadian one. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Meanwhile, as the descendent of an Australian convict who escaped to New Zealand where he had children by a Maori (my great-great-great grandma), my policy is to reveal all on the topic of family skeletons. The plus side of this true story means I may be entitled to fishing rights in New Zealand waters. I've just had the pleasure of basking by Middle Eastern waters, on a mission in Dubai. Picture credit: Anthony Miles But it's nice to have the option of making a living from the waters further south if the need arises. So being truthful about the family history isn't always so bad. Keep smiling, Michael