Presenter Yoga Or How to get your brain and body in gear We always do our best in any presentation when we have taken the time to warm up our voice, body and brain. These exercises are intended to not only limber you up, but to increase the communication between your left and right brain. Brain Buttons: Using your middle finger and thumb, massage thymus gland just below the collarbone. Place other hand on your navel. Reverse. Cross Crawl: Reach right hand to left knee and left hand to right knee. Start gently and then increase the spinal twist. Pretzel: Put both hands out in front, palms away from each other. Cross right hand over left hand and clasp fingers. Draw hands down and under so they rest beneath your chin. Cross your right leg over your left leg. Take three deep breaths. Reverse positions and do again, stepping to the opposite side. Adapted from Marcia McGilley, Presentation Skills Coach. Copyright 2007, Denver, CO. All rights reserved. Shareware: May reprint with footnote attached. www.limelightpresentations.com 303.794.6760
Pyramid: Place all fingertips together and make a pyramid with thumbs resting on navel. Breathe deeply... Set an intention, such as mentally repeating I will teach an effective workshop today. Ear Rub: Massage your ears vigorously, until red with circulation. This increases blood flow to the brain! Crazy Eights: Make a thumbs up with one hand at arm s length and at eye level. Do not move your head as you move your eyes, relax your neck and follow your thumb. Focus on your thumbnail as you follow the pattern of a sideways 8 or infinity sign. Do left thumb, then the right and then both thumbs, with 3-5 repetitions each. Zip Ups: Reach down to your toes and bring your fingers upwards as if you are zipping up a zipper in front of your body. Stop at your mouth and gesture outwards away from your head as if you are blowing a kiss. Adapted from Marcia McGilley, Presentation Skills Coach. Copyright 2007, Denver, CO. All rights reserved. Shareware: May reprint with footnote attached. www.limelightpresentations.com 303.794.6760
Vocal Warm-up's Top 10 Voice Exercises to Try Before a Speech or Presentation Start with moving jaw side-to-side, then up and down. Roll tongue. Repeat the sound for each vowel: ah, ee, ii, oo, uuu... Repeat each of the tongue twister 5 times... 1. Good Blood, Bad Blood, Bad Blood, Good Blood 2. Around the Rugged Rock the Ragged Rascal Ran 3. Unique New York 4. A Real Rare Whale 5. Double bubble gum bubbles double 6. Eat fresh fried fish at the fish fry 7. Sixty-six sick chicks 8. Tie twine to the tree twigs 9. Which wily wizard wished wicked wishes for Willy 10. Shy Sarah saw six Swiss wristwatches
Don't Be a Lemon in the Limelight! 25 Habits to Avoid While Speaking Publicly 1. Swaying, shifting of weight or excessive wiggling. 2. Noticeable crossing or shuffling of feet. 3. Lack of confidence in your subject matter. 4. Speaking too loudly / shouting or too softly / in audibly 5. Inappropriate smiling, telling cheesy jokes and/or laughing at your own jokes. 6. Chewing gum, cough drops or any food in the mouth. 7. Speaking too quickly or too slowly. 8. Inappropriate voice use such as: Lack of modulation (monotone or sing-song rhythm); Quality (nasal, mumbling, breathiness) 9. High pitched or shrill voice. 10. Verbal mannerisms such as: Uh, You Know, Okay, Right, Um, Like, and other distracting and repetitive words, phrases, verbal ticks or fillers. Slow down your pace to stop these. 11. Distracting gestures not appropriate to topic or content. 12. Poor eye contact or no eye contact. 13. Reading your presentation word-for-word. 14. Audible annoying habits like tapping feet, jingling change or clearing throat. 15. Visually annoying habits such as: lip biting, nose wrinkling, eye squinting, head scratching or ring twisting. 16. Habits that project insecurity such as: tossing or playing with your hair, adjusting your glasses or your clothing, having your hands in your pockets, playing with objects like a pen, a book or your notes. 17. Avoid the "I'm sorry" stance with hunched shoulders.
18. Avoid roaming or walking around constantly without purpose. 19. Avoid stance problems of putting your hands behind your back, folding you arms, standing too tensely or sloppily. 20. Avoid qualifying every statement (such as "I'd sort of like to explain...") 21. Using unnecessary qualifying words such as "just" and "really." 22. Tagging questions as an apology for making the assertion (such as "It's hard running workshops, isn't it?" or "We've been here a long time, haven't we?") 23. Sighing or incorrect breathing - or yawning. 24. Choppy pace. 25. Deadpan face with low or no energy.