To help prepare a successful speech or presentation, use the 5 P’s as a guideline. Before beginning, consider the purpose for the speech or presentation. Find your passion for the subject. The “P” for preparation doesn’t just involve preparing for your speech, it includes doing homework about the audience. Without this preparation, the other 4 P’s will not have the intended results. Be sure to practice by running through the presentation until you are comfortable. Your performance and familiarity with the subject will be key as to how your speech is received. Keeping the 5 P’s in mind will help to ensure success.

Professional pictures should be updated every three years or sooner, especially if there is a drastic change with hair color, etc. I am ashamed to say, like the plumber who has a leaking faucet, that I haven’t updated my picture in five years. First, in my defense, I like my current picture. So why change it? Pinterest is a wonderful resource to get ideas for poses, color choices in wardrobe, and thoughts for what you want your picture to look like. Looking at ideas ahead of time, helped me to be more relaxed and focused on the pose, clothing choices, makeup, and facial expressions – such as how big of a smile works best. Using my camera to take selfies for clothing choices, makeup, and eyewear choices before the session took place helped ensure I was well prepared. Attached is my new professional picture.

Roger Love, the number one singing and speech coach for celebrities, recommends speaking in full sentences to help prevent the “ums” and “aws”. Pauses are a great tool to use to prevent filler words and ramblings. Engaging the audience will also help bring focus to the conversation and help pace speech. Racing to talk causes filler words. It is best to think before you speak, use a pause, or just say “give me a moment to gather my thoughts”. Strong statements build confidence with the audience. Avoid beginning sentences with the words “I think.” Instead, use the end results as a beginning. For example, instead of saying “I think we should use . . . “ say “We should use . . . “ Keeping these communication tips in mind will help build confidence for you and for the audience.

In a recent brewing scandal involving a major sports organization, the president of the group made a statement about it. What impressed me about this is that the president refrained from the usual allegation denial. Instead, he expressed concern while stating the incident was under investigation and would be addressed after the findings were revealed.

It was genuinely felt that the organization would be honest with the findings. Delivering difficult news must be heartfelt and honest. This approach was much better than not speaking about the situation or worse, defending it before all the facts were in.

Recent articles in the New York Times and Chicago Tribune discussed how the suits for Sean Spicer and Stephen Colbert work or do not work. In the real world, suits for men seem to be evolving daily. That is because the fashion industry has been trying change the look of suit styles mainly to drive sales.

The current style for the slim and younger man is closer fitting jackets and stovepipe look pants. No pleat pants on the fuller body type or older men and lapels are back in vogue on the jackets for everyone.

Sean Spicer suits have a dated look because the jacket fit is too wide. He cannot wear the slimmer, youthful one. However, he can trim down the sides and bring in the jacket shoulder to sport a more fitted, smarter look.

Stephen Colbert finally got the message to wear flattering suits and say good riddance to the awful ones where the jacket and pants made him look like a stuffed sausage. Colbert now looks and moves with ease when performing his monologues.

Unfortunately, Spicer has not transitioned to the custom tailored suits that make him look more elegant and balance his rough speaking style.

Recently, I heard a comment about an executive that leadership-wise, he was not runway material. What exactly is runway material? It is someone who enters the room with confidence, poise and an understanding of the audience.

This person intuitively understands the emotional intelligence necessary to make a connection. Once a leader shows senior management s/he are runway material, the path to the C Suite opens wide!

There much to learn by watching the politicians on stage, from the way they speak to their clothing choices. In a recent New York Times article, the vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine, was featured about his clothing choices. He was compared to President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
President Obama is a Hart Shaffner Marx customer (custom tailored to his physical size – tall and slender). Vice President Joe Biden was not wearing an off the rack suit either. The average man on the street rarely wears a suit today and if he does, it is not custom tailored. Tim Kaine wore a non-custom made suit along with a matching shirt and a not-current-style tie. His clothing sent the message: I am just like the average guy on the street and I am for you. The idea is to dress for the audience you want to connect with.

Expressing passion when speaking about your subject is an important way to connect to your audience. The key is to control the volume of your voice. It is easy to mistake yelling for passion. Practice by audio and videotaping your presentations. This helps determine when and where the voice needs to change to reflect the key moments in the speech. When a voice raises in sound, it projects a different feeling than yelling does. Use one to three fingers on your throat to gauge when your voice goes too high or low. You can raise or lower your voice to make a point and determine the most effective tone based on the audience size and speech content.

In group presentations, the key is to provide what the audience needs. Sounds simple, but is it really? In a recent meeting with a client, we worked on major areas to master when giving a group presentation. One, the answer to the question being asked should be backed with common sense, stats if possible and some context or history around it.

Secondly, the answer must flow in the overall presentation, whether it is to present a situation or provide forecasts for the group or organization.

Lastly and most importantly, the presenter must truly believe in it. Using these three simple rules means a 90% chance for a successful experience.

In a recent New York Times Style section, it shows President Obama wearing an open collar shirt with his suit. The trend lately has been an open collar shirt without a tie for high profile men. This reminds me of a zillion years ago when DreamWorks was formed with Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and David Katzenberg. The only person wearing a shirt and tie was David Katzenberg. Steven and David Geffen both were millionaires and David Katzenberg was really still a working man.

In many firms, it’s okay to wear a tie with no jacket unless it is required for a presentation. So, there are situations where certain folks can escape from wearing a tie. However, when President Obama speaks to the nation he is still has on a tie. Also, not every man can look elegant when tieless unless the shirt is impeccable.