Tag Archives: Margaret Smith
January 21, 2015 What Can YOU Achieve in 90 Days?
Did you make a resolution this past New Year’s Eve? How’s it holding up? And how have you done with past New Year’s resolutions? If you’re having trouble meeting your goals year after year, then maybe it’s time for a new approach. There has to be a better way, right?
There is. It’s called the 90-Day Quick Plan, and it’s something I learned from speaker and author, David Horsager.
The idea behind creating a 90-Day Quick Plan is this: accomplish one concrete goal in 90 days, using a step-by-step strategy. Horsager claims that 90 days is the “sweet spot” for achieving your goals. It’s a meaningful amount of time, yet not so long that the goal will slip away from you. So, how do you go about making significant changes in 90 days?
The first step is to create a tangible goal (or up to three). Horsager advises against focusing on more than three priorities. Otherwise, you’ll be spreading yourself too thin. Ask yourself, “Where am I right now?” and “Where do I want to be in 90 days?”
And then, ask yourself the most important question of all: “Why do I want to make this change or reach this goal?” If you have a clear why, then you’ll have the motivation to accomplish your goal(s) in 90 days. For instance, why do you want to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle? Is it so you can be around for your children or grandchildren in 25 years? Is it so you can feel more confident about yourself?
Another example: Why do you want to learn how to create a website? Is it so your business can grow and blossom? Is it because you want to keep your mind fresh and young?
Whatever reason you choose for your “why” is, of course, a personal one and it should be at the very core of your motivation.
After you’ve figured out your goals and why you’d like to achieve them, ask yourself how you are going to get there. Horsager says to be very specific; make a detailed plan and ask yourself how you’re going to stick to it. He advises people to boil down their plan by continuously asking themselves, “How, how, how?”
For instance, let’s say you would like to write the first 50 pages of your memoir within the next 90 days. How are you going to do that?
Maybe you’ll decide to write every day. (That’s great, but how?)
You’ll wake up at 5 a.m. every day and write for an hour. (Ok, excellent plan, but how are you going to hold yourself accountable?)
You will let your friends and family in on your plan so that you’ll be held accountable. (Great, now we’re getting somewhere!)
See the importance of how?
Once you have your plan in place (and you have a clear understanding of the why and the how), get started! You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in 90 days.
Need help formulating your 90 day plan? Contact me for guidance.
Tags: 90 day plan, 90 day quick plan, accomplish in 90 days, achieve goals in 90 days, change your life, David Horsager, keep your resolutions, Margaret Smith, UXL
- 1 comment
- Posted under Advice from a Life Coach, Changing Your Life, Thrive at Work
January 14, 2015 Create an Interactive Talk
You’ve all seen it—that mind-numbingly boring presentation that makes your thoughts wander and your eyelids droopy. Or maybe you’ve been the presenter and you noticed your audience’s attention slowly start to drift as they checked their cell phones or doodled in notebooks. But how to engage today’s audience with their short attention spans and long to-do lists? Here are five ideas for jazzing up your presentation and getting people interested:
1. Get people moving
I like to start my presentations by getting my audience up, out of their seats, and moving around. I usually start with some kind of prompt like, “Find the people in the room with the same birth month as you,” or “Find people wearing the same color shirt as you” and gather together. Then, I ask questions relating to my topic and have the group brainstorm answers. This gets people talking to each other and mingling and it energizes the audience for the rest of the presentation.
2. Show YOUR energy
An audience often follows its speaker’s lead. If you don’t seem excited about the topic you’re presenting, why should anyone else? Step away from the podium, use your hands to gesture, show excitement in your tone of voice. I periodically ask open questions to the audience to keep them engaged. Also, don’t forget to smile! Your positive energy has a direct effect on those watching.
3. It’s all about images
Have you ever seen a PowerPoint presentation that is filled with text? What do you tend to do when the speaker is speaking? That’s right, you read the text! Instead of filling your slides with words, use as many images as possible. Images keep people engaged without distracting them and they act as a prompt to help you remember your place. If you do decide to add some text, keep it to under 20 words per slide. Anything more is overkill and will most likely be too small to read anyway.
4. Use smart handouts
Handouts are nothing new—it’s useful to have a brochure or postcard about your presentation waiting at the seat of each audience member—but some handouts are better than others. The most effective handouts are the ones that keep the audience’s attention throughout your talk. I’ve found that fill-in-the-blank handouts work great if you want people to really engage with what you are saying. They force your audience to pay attention and listen for when you’ll give them the answer to the next blank space. Here’s an example:
5. Make it personal
Know your audience. If you’re talking to a group of teachers, make specific references to the educational field; if you’re talking to a group of bankers, reference finance in your talk. You don’t have to be over the top with your references, but you do want to make your audience realize the value of your words and understand how, specifically, your presentation relates to them. That way, they won’t be left wondering how to apply the information you gave them.
Take the boredom and drudgery out of presentations. Apply these five steps and I guarantee you’ll have a room full of alert, interested audience members and chances are you’ll enjoy the presentation as well!
Tags: interactive presentation, interactive speaking, keep your audience interested, keep your audience's attention, Margaret Smith, outstanding presentation, UXL
- Leave a comment
- Posted under Communication, Leadership, Tips for Improving Interactions
UXL Blog 