In Part 4 of Persuasion Atrophy, I talked in-depth about securing credibility. Securing credibility is job one when it comes to your persuasiveness. Credibility must be earned and reinforced; it’s rarely just granted. The final installment of this series uses the last of The 4 C’s of Compelling Presentations pillars: being concise.

An organization I belong to holds an annual convention, which includes bringing in several subject matter experts as speakers. I was especially interested in hearing one particular speaker. His credentials were impressive, having written several books on his area of expertise. I got to his session early to ensure I had a seat as I expected the room to be full. His session was right before a break for lunch, so there wasn’t another speaker people needed to run off to.

He took to the stage on time and started his presentation.

His content was a meandering mess. He repeated himself. He didn’t talk about the topics on his slide. He was difficult to follow. And he went way over his allotted time, acknowledging that the only thing people would be missing out on was lunch.

I expected to be inspired. Instead, I was bummed.

Read more at ProjectManagement.com.

In Part 1 of Persuasion Atrophy, I introduced how I see social media and artificial intelligence not only impacting how we work and play, but also how they can fundamentally impact the skill of persuasion. Professionals now and in the future need to be intentional about how they build and exercise what I call their “persuasion muscle” to ensure the skill of persuasion doesn’t go the way of long division by hand.

To apply a layer of practicality to my argument, I’d like to use The Four C’s of Compelling Presentations as the roadmap for exercising the persuasion muscle. This installment in the series focuses on choreographing your content and delivery.

The most challenging and consequential talk I’ve ever given wasn’t to a large group of people or a room full of executives, and it wasn’t even a business presentation. It was when I eulogized my sister Lori, who died of lung cancer in 2012 at age 54.

Read more at ProjectManagement.com.

There are two seismic-shifting technologies that have already changed just about every aspect of our lives, and will continue to in the future. The first is social media. It’s enabled the rekindling of old relationships, the building of new ones, and the end of others. Anyone with a phone, tablet or computer and internet connection can participate in discussions with others anywhere in the world.

The second is artificial intelligence. Using the internet and its 150 zettabytes of information (that’s 150 followed by 21 zeros), AI can search, analyze and present information that is either humanly infeasible or impossible in no time. It’s changing the way we work and play.

Before going further, I am a fan of both technologies and do not in any way advocate a head-in-the-sand position on either one. I firmly believe that, as leaders and project managers, it’s incumbent on us to learn about these technologies first-hand and weave them into what we do.

I do, however, want to sound a warning bell about both technologies and how they can inhibit development of a crucial business skill.

Persuasion.

Read more at ProjectManagement.com.

Excerpted from The Truth about Getting Your Point Across…and Nothing But the Truth

If you're like many people, the thought of speaking in front of a group of people is like bamboo under your nails.  Truth be told, the audience wants to see you succeed and doesn't want to see a crash-and-burn on the stage.  The audience is rooting for you.

Next time you have to take to the podium, keep the following in mind:

• Let your passion flow – The audience wants to not only hear about what you have to say, they also want to see your passion and excitement about your topic.  Allowing yourself to get passionate about your presentation will help get your mind off of the audience and more on to the topic you’re presenting. You’ve got something important to say, so get up there and say it with passion.

Recently I was asked by a journalist how I practiced public speaking.  At this point in my life, getting up in front of an audience is pretty much second nature.  However, it wasn't always so.  I had to work hard at the skill and had to fail A LOT before I found my schtick and was able to get pretty OK at it.   

Here are the highlights from the interview along with six take-aways to help you be a better public speaker.