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| Harvard Says So |
Recently, we received an email from Harvard Business School proclaiming that the most important management skill is communication.
Well, of course I agree with that. I've been saying it for almost 30 years. So, how do you acquire the skills to make inspiring presentations, manage meetings effectively and give good feedback?
Why ESI, of course. Sign up now. |
| That's Entertainment |
"Being at the top of your field means you're often in the limelight: giving speeches, making presentations, organizing events," writes Agatha Gilmore, associate editor of Chief Learning Officer magazine, in a recent article.
The article further states that you can't motivate your audience without a little showbiz. Read the rest of her article. |
| About Us |
Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems changes lives by helping lifelong learners hone their natural communication tools.
As the premier provider of public speaking and presentation skills, we help individuals and organizations learn to communicate more effectively with their customers. | | |
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Hello. The holidays are upon us and things are exciting for us. Daughter Anne Boyd tied the knot with Rick Moore December 8 in the Belk Chapel at Queens University here in Charlotte. Here's hoping the holidays are just as festive and fun for you as they are for us here at Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems.
We'll discuss making holiday memories and giving honest feedback this time in Zipline. Now, let's get going.
Ty Boyd
Feedback
Socrates was right: to teach is to learn. The Greek philosopher believed that good teaching requires the teacher to ask open-ended questions for feedback to evaluate progress. A few thousand years later, Stephen Covey agreed, "if you would learn it, teach it."
Good, honest feedback is one of the most important elements of the Ty Boyd method in teaching great presentation skills.
In each of our classes, we turn the tables on students and ask them to become teachers or coaches. They must actively listen to their fellow students and then evaluate their performance. By getting them involved on both levels, they learn more about their own presentation skills.
The book, Action learning: A practitioner's guide, provides some excellent tips about giving effective feedback. Let's take a look:
Clarity -- Be clear about what you want to say.
Emphasize the positive -- This isn't being collusive in the person's dilemma.
Be specific -- Avoid general comments and clarify pronouns such as "it," "that," etc.
Focus on behavior rather than the person.
Refer to behavior that can be changed.
Be descriptive rather than evaluative.
Own the feedback -- Use 'I' statements.
Generalizations -- Notice "all," "never," "always," etc., and ask to get more specificity -- often these words are arbitrary limits on behavior.
Be very careful with advice -- People rarely struggle with an issue because of the lack of some specific piece of information; often, the best help is helping the person to come to a better understanding of their issue, how it developed, and how they can identify actions to address the issue more effectively.
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Making Holiday Memories
(From Ty Boyd's Make It Happen)
I love holidays. What wonderful times for family to get together and recollect tales from the past.
I remember being in the kindergarten play many years ago at Christmas time. I was a five-year-old bumblebee, and my opening act was a cute four-year-old butterfly. She was to go to center stage first. The teacher had put an "X" on the stage. Each of us was to go out to the X, stand and recite what we had been practicing all fall.
Well, it came time for the play. The butterfly entered on stage left, stepped to the X, looked at the crowd and the crowd looked back at her like a tree full of owls. Mothers and fathers dressed in red and white and in holiday spirits. It was frightening. She proceeded to create a little puddle there on the stage. Then, she exited stage right.
Now, Ty the bumblebee comes in, right on cue, stands on the X, and looks out. By this time, the owls are smiling, some of them laughing, and he thinks they are laughing at him. Embarrassing - and frightening!
I don't know whether you've ever looked out from the stage into the eyes of a Christmas play audience, but what it did for me was to help me add to the little puddle on that stage. Then, I exited stage right.
That's all I remember about that play many years ago. But I will never forget the experience!
This gives me the chance to urge you to create some holiday memories of your own. Happy Holidays!
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