The Think on Your Feet® workshop begins with quick coherent thinking – the bedrock of communication – and ends with dramatically sharpening skills to speak more convincingly. The workshop provides all-purpose strategies for organising your ideas and shows how to match your message to your audience. The primary focus of this course is developing the ability to get your ideas across clearly, concisely, persuasively and quickly; which is a core skill in any workplace.
Think on Your Feet® introduces the “capsules-of-persuasion” concept: Clarity, Brevity and Impact ™
Clarity Means Being Understood
While 100000000 is ‘unclear’, 100,000,000 isn’t. Structure makes the difference. Learning how to structure ideas, using both left- and right- brain logic, makes even technically complex topics accessible to listeners.
Brevity Means ‘Getting to the Point’
‘Getting to the point’ requires focus. Structure forces focus. In an era of information overload, brevity is valued.Less is more.
Impact Means Being Persuasive
Persuasion stems from relevance; anticipating listener interests is the secret of relevance. Add memorable structure and you produce lasting impact.
- Techniques to package persuasion
- Structuring ideas simply and clearly
- Speaking in different situations: one-on-one, on the phone, in meetings, informal presentations, e-mails
- Using three-part plans to display analysis
- Helping your listener understand by placing your ideas into a simple, unifying structure
- Relying on structured reasoning to answer questions quickly
- Making sense out of a mass of facts
- Explaining step-by-step processes clearly
- Following the “Rule of Threes”
- Creating logical pegs to hang your thoughts on
- Announcing & Recapping
- Achieving impact
- Supporting large or complex topics
- Adding depth to your message
- Keeping on track
- Avoiding information overload
- Addressing your listener’s core concerns
- Achieving objectivity
- Expressing thoughtfulness
- Addressing issues from different viewpoints
- Buying yourself time
- Answering the right question
- Handling objections and tough questions positively
- Moving from detail to big picture, or vice versa
- Handling sensitive or confidential information
- Countering sweeping generalisations
- Negotiating a win-win outcome
- Dealing with controversial topics
- Moving to action
- Presenting benefits, not features
- Showing advantages to your listener
- Employing the “So what?” test
- Using examples to increase understanding & recall
- Developing ideas through the use of opposites
- Explaining an idea by cause & effect
- Ensuring all relevant information is included
- Arranging the 5W’s as your idea peg
- Combining the 5W’s with other techniques
- Shaping content for your listeners
- Preparing informal and formal presentations quickly and effectively
- Delivering a persuasive message
Key Business Benefits
- Decreases the potential of mistakes through greater impact
- Heightens manager respect through increased clarity and brevity
- Increases revenue or decreases costs through greater productivity
- Maximises sales potential
- Benefits cross organisational interaction through enhanced communication skills
Key Participants Benefit
- Builds confidence through the provision of 10 ‘invisible’ structures
- Develops your ability to connect with audiences and be memorable and/or persuasive by understanding what they value
- Allows you to answer difficult questions like a pro by ‘buying time’ to prepare
- Increases respect by cutting out fundamental mistakes people make when speaking
- Saves time and makes you look polished if you have to present by connecting the structures for optimum impact
- Answer questions quickly and coherently, especially when under fire
- Structure ideas simply and persuasively
- Use six basic organisation formats to focus communication and display analysis
- Flesh-out ideas with memorable examples
- Avoid common communication traps
- Handle objections positively
- Deal with hostile situations
- Use “bridging” strategies to clarify questions, defuse issues and buy time
- Anticipate questions and prepare answers
- Use techniques to identify listeners? hopes, fears and background knowledge
- Use simple, jargon-free language that listeners can understand
- Turn nervousness into energy
- Separate topics clearly using transitions
- Organise ideas while talking
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About Microsoft On-Demand Learning
Build your Microsoft technical expertise while balancing the demands of your schedule. The new MOC On-Demand series courses combine high-quality video lectures, live hands-on labs and knowledge-checks in a self-paced format to help you build skills as your schedule allows—all at once or five minutes at a time.
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