Hello everyone! My name is Michael Fantin. I would like to tell you about a famous presenter I learned about, and provide some interesting facts about public speaking / presentations. It has been said that the most important skill in business is communication. So let me take you on an interesting tour of this topic, while we reflect on Peter, “Canada’s Presentation Guru” (Guffey, Rhodes, Rogin, n.d., p. 485) Just to keep everyone up-to-date, I will be posting every few days. Enjoy!
“My past was perfect to get me where I am today.” “The main thing I learned was that to everything there is a system. If you learn the system, even a mediocre person can be successful.”(Guffey, Rhodes, Rogin, n.d., p. 485) These are some of the great words of Peter Urs Bender, who was a best-selling Canadian author and international lecturer and speaker. He believed that no matter what your past was, no matter what hardships you had, you could overcome them to achieve great success.
Born in Basel, Switzerland on September 9th, 1944, Peter had a difficult time in school. He often felt frustrated and believed that he was a total failure. Peter immigrated to Canada when he was 23. As an adult, when his son was diagnosed with dyslexia, he realized that he also had the same learning disability; a disability that makes reading and writing difficult.
While working at a high tech company, Peter was asked by his employer to take a Dale Carnegie course. The course helped him realize the importance of communication, presentation and overall leadership skills. Peter was so inspired that he decided to help people around the world to become better speakers. After the course, he continued to further develop his skills and, through perseverance, began teaching at Ryerson University where he made his lectures fun and easy to understand.
In 1987, Peter started a public speaking business and in 1990, he self-published his first of five books called Secrets to Power Presentations. Peter, also known as "Canada's Presentation Guru", ("Peter Urs Bender: A Canadian Self-Taught Leader", 2011, p. 485), informed, entertained, and motivated audiences all over the world. His success came from knowing his audience, being down-to-earth, keeping his message simple and speaking the language of his audience.
Unfortunately, Peter Urs Bender died on March 7th, 2005 after a courageous struggle with Cancer, but his legacy still lives on.
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This article inspired me because it shows that you can achieve great things in life as long as you work hard and, follow a system.
Personally, I am always nervous when I have to make a presentation. I become so overwhelmed that I start to feel warm, dizzy, sweaty, and fidgety. I even start to doubt myself. Am I going to say my material right? Is the audience going to like what I have to say? Will they be bored? Will they be hostile? Maybe I haven't prepared well enough. But, I manage through my anxiety by rehearsing my lines before I give my presentation, and I pretend the presentation is not a big deal. By doing this, I put my mind at ease, and I am better able to focus on getting through the presentation. With a clear mind, I am also able to calm myself down and use critical thinking to adjust my presentation as I go. This might be the system that Peter talks about.
Whether you’re a student, employee or business owner, presentation skills are key to your success. What challenges have you faced when giving a presentation?
Personally, I am always nervous when I have to make a presentation. I become so overwhelmed that I start to feel warm, dizzy, sweaty, and fidgety. I even start to doubt myself. Am I going to say my material right? Is the audience going to like what I have to say? Will they be bored? Will they be hostile? Maybe I haven't prepared well enough. But, I manage through my anxiety by rehearsing my lines before I give my presentation, and I pretend the presentation is not a big deal. By doing this, I put my mind at ease, and I am better able to focus on getting through the presentation. With a clear mind, I am also able to calm myself down and use critical thinking to adjust my presentation as I go. This might be the system that Peter talks about.
Whether you’re a student, employee or business owner, presentation skills are key to your success. What challenges have you faced when giving a presentation?
Can this be you? You are not alone!!
References:
Guffey, M., Rhodes, K., Rogin, P. (2011). Business Communication: Process and Product. (Canadian 6th ed.) Toronto, ON: Nelson. Chapter 14.
Moore, S. (n.d.). Peter Urs Bender: Biography of a self-taught leader. Retrieved from http://www.peterursbender.com/fullbio.html
Picture source http://www.creativekeys.net/PowerfulPresentations/article1023.html
the problem that I face while presenting is that I talk too fast....
ReplyDeleteThat’s okay. I do that as well . Try to find the right pace in between; the speed of your delivery is key to showing off your confidence, your control over speaking, and is useful when dealing with hostile audiences (you use calm and controlled speech; audience want to take charge or are emotional). Even if you need to be brief, make sure you are very clear, and watch their body language to see if they are digesting your information. If they look like they are thinking about what you said, they probably heard you well and are interested; if they looked confuse, you might be talking to fast and if they look bored or restless, you are going too slow. Is this information helpful?
ReplyDelete