Geronimo Leadership Coaching

I'm Yours

Sunday post- Radiant Day- I'm beaming with happiness and wanted to share it with YOU!
I've got this song stuck in my head: I'm Yours , from Jason Mraz, and the lyrics are simply beautiful.

So I figured I would tweet them, and send a link to the You Tube Video. Then I asked myself: why not just simply post it on my blog, with the lyrics, so that I can look at it when I want, read the lines and dance along with you?

What does it all have to do with leadership and women?

Everything! It's about LOVE, it's about Empathy, it's about Choosing Joy in Your Life, Opening Yourself and Finding the Freedom to Express Your Essence.

It's about Open Leadership!

I'm not sure whether it would fit in a Harvard business Blog, but who cares?  :-) If you're reading my blog, you already know it's both professional and personal, non-conventional and irreverent!

So, enjoy your SUN DAY!

"Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but your so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks, now I'm tryin to get back
Before the cool done run out I'll be givin it my best test
And nothin's gonna stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some

But I won't hesitate no more,
No more, it cannot wait
I'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
Listen to the music at the moment people dance and sing
Were just one big family
And it's our godforsaken right to be loved loved loved loved loved

So, I won't hesitate no more,

No more, it cannot wait I'm sure

There's no need to complicate our time is short

This is our fate

I'm yours

Scooch on over closer, dear
And I will nibble your ear

I've been spendin' way too long checkin' my tongue in the mirror
and bendin' over backwards just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
and so I drew a new face and I laughed
I guess what I'd be sayin' is there ain't no better reason
to rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons
it's what we aim to do
our name is our virtue

But I won't hesitate no more,
no more it cannot wait
I'm yours

well open up your mind and see like me
open up your plans and damn you're free
look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
listen to the music of the moment come and dance with me
ah, la one big family
it's your god forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved, loved

open up your mind and see like me
open up your plans and damn you're free
look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
listen to the music of the moment come and dance with me
ah, la happy family
it's our god forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved

it's our god forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved
listen to the music of the moment come and dance with me
ah, la peaceful melodies
it's you god forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved"

Stuck by the Ash Cloud? Get Your Business Online!

All those silent skies and planes all grounded has got me thinking. What if the Icelandic Volcano Ash never cleared? What if this was the end of travel as we know it? Could the technology we have now enable us to carry on and communicate and have relationships with people that we never met? The huge growth in technology-based communication tools such as Twitter and Facebook show us that online communication is growing at an ever faster pace - our clients are talking to each other online all the time, so why not to us as their coaches?

And at the same time I was thinking about people I know that are stranded abroad and can't get home. If that was you, and that was your business, could your business manage without you? Personally I want to build a business that could still bring me in money if I was stuck away from home stranded like those people (or more realistically when I'm out doing the school run or walking in the vineyards!).

There's a webinar coming up next week I'm going along to, that is going to teach exactly that -  this video will give you a taster of what it's about (watch it just to hear the beautiful music!) - will you join me? Click here for your free place 

JigsawBox from Nicola Bird on Vimeo.

Giving a Great Presentation Is Like Cooking a Great Meal.

There are three subjects that passionate me : Women, Cartoons and ...Cooking!

• You already had a taste about my first passion with  a series on Women Speakers (the second is coming out soon!)

• I love comics, cartoons characters and animated movies (here more on Pixar, Disney, The Incredibles, the use of figurines in learning and coaching, Ratatouille, and many more to come!)

• Now I am starting another series on Presentations Recipes From The Around The World  (first with Roman Cooking, Presentation a la Cicero!)
  

Thanks to Lisa Braithwaite 's initiative to create a Ning group: Speak Schmeak, on Making Presentations Fun, we had a virtual brainstorming discussion about Food and Presentation, triggered by my Story of M&Ms...

Here's what Steve Cherches shared:

"I once opened a presentation skills class by saying (with spatula in hand) "They say that giving a great presentation is like cooking a great meal." Then I asked them as a group to come up with 20 ways that presenting is like cooking a great meal. This lead to a 45 minute discussion touching on most of the things we were going to cover throughout the two day class. It opened up one of the best discussions I've ever had in a class.

Maybe you could have participants put together their own cooking show to develop their presentation skills. They can even have a Top Chef competition. Sounds like a fun way to get people going."

I love this idea! Organizing a Top Chef competition to teach people presentation skills!

What do you think about that?

...I already have some ideas about where it would take place, in my home town Lyon, The Capital of Gastronomy.

As you may have guessed, the idea would be to promote Women Chefs, as well as men, since women are missing leadership positions not only as CEO's, but as Restaurant Chefs and conductors.

Next two posts :

1. Cooking Recipe: Presentation "à la Ciceron"
2. Women Chefs: Cherchez La Femme!

A Creative and Powerful Way to Boost Your Presentation Skills Online

1. Would you like to  develop confidence in giving online presentations?
2. Are you aware of the impact you have on others when you speak?
3. Would you like to create a presence virtually as powerful as face-to-face?`
4. How would it be if you turn silence into participation and foster audience interaction?
   
5. Would you like to find your own style of communication which fits you like a glove?
   
6. Wouldn't it be nice to have some one guiding you, step by step, at your own rythm, at each stage of the preparation?
   
7. Can you imagine if you could have access to the latest resources,greatest  tips and most entertaining videos, personalized and made easy just for your needs?
   
8. Have you ever dreamed of having a personal virtual and friendly coach within a mouse click? 
9. At your own rythm?
10. Just for you?
    

There's a Simple Way to achieve successful presentations without spending hours attending Presentation courses,workshops, Public Speaking seminars reading self help books, or spending precious hours struggling on a poor presentation and eventually building stress.

This  successful presentation programme will help you to: 

• Understand what you are good at and play to your strengths
• Develop greater confidence live and online
  
• Design Presentation Zen like slides
• Know which media is most appropriate
  
• Create a presence with Impact
• Win your audience
• Tap into your Creativity
• Create a winning pitch
• Eventually increase your communication skills in conferences, speeches, meetings, any interpersonal interaction.

Clarity-Confidence-Enthusiasm

Call me                          00 33 6 73 70 53 09

Contact me on Skype     marionchapsal

Email me                       [email protected]

Fun is Incredibly Powerful in Presentation

I thought this post would be the easiest to write, in the series of Six Trends in 2010 Presentations.

Incredibly hard! I've been struggling with it for one week. Okay, there was Christmas in between, and a house still full of teenagers, their friends and a husband in holidays, all hungry all the time and wanting to be entertained...Still...I thought I'd have fun writing this last post of the year and "end in beauty" 2009.

 What is Fun? Is putting a silly hat and making jokes fun? Mmmm, NO!

(By the way,the title of this picture is fun "overexcited nerd")

What is NOT Fun? Serious-Hard-Tedious-Soporific-Moralistic-Preaching-Self-centered-Righteous-Perfection-BORING!

Why is Fun so hard? It's because it's often unpredictible. If I tell you I'm going to write a post about fun , I find myself seriously paralyzed by the injunction I need to find funny stuff to say...

Why is it so powerful in presentation? It makes us human and alive! And we're craving for humanity in our virtual world...

                      

What is Fun? Fun is the "E" in TED. Fun is Entertaining.Fun is humour. Fun is play. Fun is light. Fun is creative. Fun is joy. Fun is freedom. Fun is free!

Here are The TED Commendments - Rules that every speaker needs to know, thanks to Tim Longhurst.

1. Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick
2. Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou Hast Never Shared Before
3. Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion
4. Thou Shalt Tell a Story
5. Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Sake of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy
6. Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success.
7. Thou Shalt Not Sell from the Stage: Neither thy Company, thy Goods, thy Writings, nor thy Desparate need for Funding; Lest Thou be Cast Aside into Outer Darkness.
8. Thou Shalt Remember all the while: Laughter is Good.
9. Thou Shalt Not Read thy Speech.
10. Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee

What is NOT fun? You would think statistics, graphs, data, figures are not fun.Or announcing the decline of Occident.Think again!Have you ever heard and watched Hans Roesling talk about statistics and the rise of Asia?

So you've got it. Anything can be fun, entertaining. Even the most boring business report.

Why is Fun so hard? Especially when we're speaking in public.

• Hey, we want to be taken seriously! We present our personal selves in front of others, publicly...at work!
• Work is supposed to be a serious place, (Working is for adults-Playing is for Children...)
• We don't want to make a fool of ourselves!
• We want to be in control and "masters" of the situation!
• We're supposed to be the Experts...
• We don't want to show the others that in fact...we don't know
• We are afraid of humiliation in front of our peers
  

Why is fun so powerful in presentations? And especially online?

"Le rire est le propre de l'homme"   Rabelais Laughter is unique to man said Rabelais(and not" laughter is the cleanser of man", like I found in Wikipedia!)...although laughter can clean the soul...

When we're funny and making people laugh, we are saying:

"Hey! I am a human being! Just like you!"

We make mistakes. We fail.We're authentic. REAL. VULNERABLE. ALIVE.
Opposed to the remote and virtual perfect image on our desktops...

Fun has become part of our life, personally, socially and professionally.

• Just read Peter Bregman 's article in The very academic Harvard Business Review "How to Make Problem Solving Fun?"

• Or Michael Deutch in the Mindjet 's blog "Become a presentation Superhero"

• And a last one, before this post gets too long, Carmine Gallo in Business Week "Your next presentation Should borrow from Broadway".

What are you waiting for?

When you prepare for Your Next presentation:

1. Make it Simple
2. Make it Short
3. Make it Personal
4. Make it Interactive
5. Make it Collaborative
6. Make it Fun!

And I'm still working hard on point 2!

Bonus! If you are a presenter and want to learn more about Making Presentation Fun, join Lisa Braithwaite's  Ning Network at  Speak Schmeak 

You will find, among many others, Olivia Mitchell, Steve Cherches, Cliff Atkinson, Rich Hopkins,Tony Ramos sharing stories on what they have done to add fun to a presentation.

You can share your own stories right now, in the comment box just for you!

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve

Have Fun!

Top 5 Reasons Why Your Next Presentation Should Be More Interactive

  We all know that the more you interact with your audience  the greater impact you  have on them.The more you relate to people, the more they will be able to memorize and take action after your presentation. What used to be true with "classical" offline presentations, speeches, conferences and seminars, will be all the more relevant for online /remote/virtual communication.

Right, let's assume you already manage to establish a good "rapport" face-to-face, what happens when you go "virtual"?

 Did you know that an increasing majority* of people today in business don't work in one place but they communicate virtually from anywhere?

*"In fact the mobile workforce in the U.S. — which has the largest percentage of mobile workers in the world — is set to become 73 percent of the nation's workforce by 2011." According to the International Data Corporation

What does it mean for YOU and for presentations?

Next time you will be speaking, chances are high that you will be by yourself, alone, speaking from a computer microphone, using a bluetooth headset, watching a webcam and checking one or two flat screen monitors at the same time. Scary?

Looking more like an overwhelmed air traffic controller than a Roman Orator at the Agora (I know, there should be space for something in the middle, like a cheerful effective and inspiring speech, clear and simple).

Top 5 Reasons Why Your Next Presentation Should Be More Interactive:

•  People will be multi-tasking: How to create and maintain interest when your audience is ALSO doing many things simultaneously? Checking their emails, tweeting about you or about anything else, polishing their own presentation,(if not their nails!) reading, writing, drinking, eating, doing absolutely what they want, as long as nobody watches!

  Or worse, they will be tweckling ! " Tweckle (twek'ul) vt. to abuse a speaker only to Twitter followers in the audience while he/she is speaking. " by Steve Wheckler in Weapon of mass detraction

•  They will be listening to you from anywhere in the world: How to create and maintain interaction with people separated from you by space, time and cultures? How to be still relevant when you relate to people who have almost finished their day when you're just having your first cup of coffee? How to make appropriate cultural connections when radically different maps of the world meet ?

• They will be connected via their laptop or mobile device: How to bring the human factor in electronic technologies? How to bridge the gap created by physical, but also emotional distance? How to balance the "Robot" effect and simplify, personalize sophisticated technologies?

 

• They will be out of TOUCH, not sharing the same SPACE They might not get the same "feeling" of you as if you were physically in the same room. How could you add your personal "touch" and warmth? More on this innovative approach of what used to be called "proxemics" (from Edward T Hall' studies) to include now Virtual Distance . This might concern you and the person at the closest cubicle from you.

"Virtual Distance^TM is the perceived distance between two or more individuals when their primary method of communication and coordination is not face to face

  Virtual Distance can exist regardless of whether people are separated by millimeters, miles or continental masses."

• You probably won't SEE them! How will you be able to read their non-verbal cues?  You used to "read" people's faces and measure their satisfaction by the non verbal messages they sent you.Now you will have do this differently and develop other skills.Imagine you're speaking blindfolded, people's contexts being totally invisible for you if you don't explicitly ask for them.How will you do that?

This is the fourth post about the Next Presentation trends

In the very near future, presentations are going to look:

• More simple
• Shorter
• More personal
• More Interactive
• Collaborative
• More Fun

Next post is going to be about collaborative presentations...

And before Christmas, how to add fun into your presentation!

My purpose is to bring you solutions to manage these new challenges, and offer you a step-by-step online presentation class.

What kind of comments does this post trigger in you? What other aspects of interactions challenges do you see in the next future? Have you already experienced confusion, discomfort or stress while communicating online? Have you ever faced an intimidating silence while giving your webinar? What worked well for you?

Augmented Presentation

Let's imagine you're Dan.

It's 8:15 am.Dan is in his bathroom.

He's getting prepared for his next presentation at TAT.

He checks himself in the mirror, and also looks at his own reflection in his mobile mirror, (which looks like an iPhone on steroids).

He selects which social networks he wants, including Twitter, Slideshare, Facebook, YouTube,etc...

As he clearly comes out of a very joyful and busy party night, he doesn't want it to show on his public profile. So he switches off face book and Twitter and morphs into more professional appearance, leaving only slideshare and contact infos (he could have added LinkedIn)

It's 9:30 am. The presentation has started.

Through their mobiles, people can now easily find and use Dan's information.

They can also rate Dan's presentation and comment ("Backchannel on Twitter"), and even chat while Dan's presenting.

So, imagine you're Dan. How do you get ready for the backchannel?

• I received yesterday this link via Twitter " @cliffatkinson Free webinar Dec 18 "Getting Ready for the Backchannel – with guest @OliviaMitchell" 

• If you want, you can also read at Pistachio How To Present While people are Twittering by Olivia Mitchell or better, download her free ebook on her site

This is happening now, not in 2020...

When I first watched this video on Michelle Martin's  Blog, The Bamboo Project, I thought it belonged to Science fiction. Even now, I must admit it still scares me to "scan" people like  a bar-coded product...

Images of Minority Report, George Orwell's 1984 and even excellent Wall-E rush to my mind (as you can see, my tastes are quiet soft, because that's the scariest it gets!)

• Read in Fast Company  if you want to understand what augmented reality is

" Augmented Reality Is No Longer Science Fiction" 

• Oh, and just when I'm writing this, on friday afternoon, I google "Augmented Reality" and discover an Article by Kit Eaton, from Fast Company, written today... Read more Exciting new examples of applications to travel and Art...

As he says    "The mind boggles as to how this will get used." 

Change  is happening now. Let's understand it and be prepared.

Picture Yourself Doing A Presentation...In Ten Years!

Picture yourself in 10 years...

 

You've been selected to present for a major professional event, high stake for you and your company.

 Chances are high that your presentation will be live and online.

It could be broadcasted on many media, corporate social networks, may be on The Next Corporate "WeTube" and directly on personal mobile electronic devices, in your clients' pockets.

Your presentation will be at the same time global and local, "glocal". You might even perform from your home office, or from any virtual room, rather than from a big convention center.

You're likely to reach thousands or more rather than dozens. Their attention span might be even shorter than it is now...They (your audience) will be able to switch and zap you in seconds, too! They will comment and even grade your presentation, publicly chatting while you're speaking...

You'll have to be entertaining as well as informative!

It's likely that the content will be completely free and sharable on web 2.0.

How would it look like? Definitely not like a PowerPoint!

• More simple
• Shorter
• More personal
• More Interactive
• Collaborative
• More Fun

Why?

Because Gen Xers, Millennials and Gen 2020s will integrate at work their social and personal lifestyles, the totally Milennial approach.

What is " a totally Millennial approach"?

" It's optimistic, proactive, innovative, and it utilizes social media."

(Quoted from MillennialGeneration.org)

Here are some questions for you:

• What does it mean for presentation training , NOW?
• What are the skills we need to develop to be ready?
• How to protect professional data?
• How to deal with challenging  time zones? (you're in US, east coast , your team is spread between San Francisco, India and Europe )
• Will pandemic diseases reduce dramatically the corporate travels?
• How will the companies be able to pay the ecological and financial costs for travel expenses?
• When will face to face meetings and presentations will really be essential?
• Will physical PRESENCE become the ultimate luxury?

I am sure you have other ideas and suggestions in your own crystal ball, please add them in your comments!

Meanwhile I'm going to answer my totally Millennial Birthday Card!

A Totally Millennial Birthday Card!

Saturday November 28th, was my birthday.

Usually, I receive a one or two hilarious & creative electronic birthday cards, mainly from my American friends .

I also have still some faithful friends (2) who write by hand and post by traditional mail a hand picked birthday card.

Mainly, I'm lucky to have my big family around to give me birthday hugs, and that's the most precious.

This year, however, was different...

Look at what I received,thanks to my wonderful friend @elizeweiland, from all other the world!

Boulder, Colorado, London, Mubai India, Brussels, Montreal, Hadrian's wall UK, Warsaw, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Fort Collins, Colorado, Ascott UK, Mexico

 

This is a personalized & worldwide video birthday card

Are these international friends geeks , professional actors, or both?                                                        Well, most of them aren't, except maybe @TanveerNaseer..., from StarTreck Production. But look at what they've created, altogether, with "genuine fondness" (@TimDouglasHR 's quote!)

Apart from the fact that it moved me to tears of joy, and will remain one my best birthday surprises,it also shows us the impact of new technologies in our daily life and the necessity of adopting with simplicity and confidence this new online media.My tittle, "Millennium Birthday Card" refers to Gen Y, also called "Millenniums", who grew up with social media and the web 2.0. (More about Generations in Five Generations Of Speakers, Which One is Yours? )

Here are a few tips for you!

Recording a video may be easier than you think.                                                                                

 " Maybe your laptop comes with a camera. If you have a Mac, click on your QuickTime Player, select File, and then New Movie Recording.  Click on the red button at the bottom of the screen, and viola, you’re recording!  Easy, peasy! You can record and trash as many attempts as you need. (I must have tried a couple of dozen times until I got my recording down to :14 seconds.)

If you have a PC, here’s one link that might help you get started. You can search & find others, as well:

http://dvr.about.com/od/tvcapturemethods/ht/ht1.htm

You can use a fancy home video camera and upload it to your laptop and then to our site. Even small digital cameras often have video features that allow you to do the same." 

by Janice Jensen, Executive Producer , creator of TweetaVision.

Follow her on Twitter, she's creating the Next Generation of Television!

My warmest thanks and hugs to , (in order of appearance...) :

Elizabeth Weiland Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Tim Douglas Ascott UK.

Amy Bryant Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Skip Zilla Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

Gurrpriet Siingh-Joy Mumbai, INDIA.

Dorothy Dalton Brussels, BELGIUM.

Tanveer Naseer Montreal, CANADA.

Monica Diaz Mexico City, MEXICO.

Colin Lewis Warsow, POLAND.

Sharon Eden London, UK.

Kendall Thiessen Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Andrew Crane Adrian's Wall, Northern UK.

Lolly Daskall New York City, USA.

Peg Rowe Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Ava Diamond Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Each of them is exceptionally talented, with a genuine gift that can change your whole life. Visit their websites, blogs, twitter streams, believe me, they're precious and you'd better watch them in the coming years, they're going to "Play Big"!

Five Generations of Speakers. Which one is Yours?

Are you a Traditionalist, a Baby Boomer, a Gen X, a Gen Y or Millennial, or a Gen 2020? (well, I doubt you're reading my blog now if you're under 12...)

In 2020, companies will have to adapt to five generations at work. Read in the excellent Harvard Business Blog the article by visionary writer Jeanne Meister Are You Ready To Manage Five generations of Workers?

 

Quick recap (and ages do change according to the sources, this one is from Grown Up Digital, by Don Tapscott, quoted from Jeanne Meister's fantastic blog, New Learning Playbook.

1. Traditionalists, born prior to 1946
2. Baby Boomers*, born between 1946 and 1964
3. Gen X, born between 1965 and 1976
4. Millennials, born between 1976 and 1997
5. Gen 2020, born after 1997

How will it impact you and your business presentations?

• Getting familiar with each generation and developing curiosity and tolerance
• Developing flexibility to adapt to different generations
• Adopting new technologies (mobile devices, interactive presentations on line, podcasts...)
• Integrating social networks (Twitter, LinkedIn,You Tube, etc...)

Are you ready?

If not, what new skills will you need to develop?

What other skills do you think we might need in order to better collaborate together, all generations ?

*I thought I was a Gen X. Born in late 1962 (my birthday's tomorrow!), I definitely identify with Gen X"s tastes and preferences  The proof is that I used to love Scoubidoo!:-)

I think generation isn't so much a matter of chronological age, as it is a matter of what your cultural touchstones are. What events define your personal recollection, the differences in upbringing and outlook on history. But that's another story...