Well I turned up with about a dozen other women (it was a women only class) dress in lycra gym gear as instructed. Well I am not exactly a small girl, and I do tend to avoid any images of myself if lycra if at all possible, so the first indication about just how far out of my comfort zone I was about to get was the full length mirrors along one wall of the studio.

Then the instructor turned up… a Latin America beauty with long flowing locks, curves in all the right places, and non in the wrong places. And she proceeded to tell us that Burlesque was all about flirting and teasing (in a suitably sultry Latin American accent!!). She then proceeds to sashay across the dance floor in full flirtatious mode indicating that we should copy her every move.

I have absolutely no problem standing up in front of a board room and holding my own; a conference of 100 delegates, no problem; I have even sung at BNI (twice!!). But crossing that dance floor I felt like some 13 year old geek at their first school disco!!

So what does this have to do with BNI?

Remember the first time you had to stand up and do your 60 seconds, waiting whilst all these super confident, experienced BNI’ers did their 60 seconds, praying that somehow the floor would swallow you up before it got to you?

How many of you have now got into the comfort zone of paying vague attention to the 60 seconds, maybe scribbling a few notes in prep for your 60 seconds, or just relying on the fact that, when it is your turn to stand you will open your mouth and out will pop 60 seconds somewhat about your business?

Conclusion

For any visitors or newbies here today… we have all had the feeling of dread, don’t worry it does get easier

For the old hands… be supportive and welcoming to the newbies (remember how grateful you felt to that boy/girl who broke the ice and asked you to dance at the school disco!)

And for next week, push yourself out of the comfort zone, be a little different/creative/zany with your 60 seconds. You only have to push out of your comfort zone as far as you want, we are not asking you to do your 60 seconds in burlesque dance style… unless you want to?

I contend that the answer is actually pretty simple, remember that “Givers Gain”.

Who do you remember?

Think back to your last networking event, who are the people that you remember? Those who went me, me, me (while you went yawn, yawn, yawn), or those who engaged you in conversation?

We all hear a lot of me, me, me at networking events, after all we are trying to get round as many people in the room and tell as many people as possible about us and what we do. But in honesty that is pretty monotonous, so how can you make yourself be more memorable?

Go for quality not quantity?

Rather than trying to spend 60 minutes giving your 60 second presentation to 60 people, spend 6 minutes with 10 people (or even better, 10 GROUPS of people so that you still get more people to hear your pitch).

Engage them in REAL conversation

Keep your elevator pitch very short and sweet so that they do know what you do, but then make enquiries about them, what’s top of their mind? What challenges are they facing right now? What are their plans for the future?

And while they are telling you, be thinking about what help you could suggest for them. For example:

• my business is growing really fast … let me have your card and I’ll get Charlies Angels to give you a call, they can really help take the admin work off your plate
• I’m moving to new premises … have you thought about security, I’ll get Fiona from Signature Security to give you a call
• I had such a nightmare, my computer crashed last night … do you have a back-up? Dan’s your man from Cyberhub

So where is the benefit for you?

1. They are far more likely to remember the person who gave them something
2. It gives you an excuse to call them to see how things went with Charlie/Fiona/Dan
3. You have their card so can now add them to your database

Remember, givers really do gain

Now is time for feedback. Use this form-  feedback form - Ask two people to give feedback about each person, collect and collate all the sheets at the end and give all comments to each individual.

These are the questions asked on the form;

Lisa Mackay is Managing Director of HRtoolkit Ltd.

As educational coordinator for her BNI chapter she ran a series of educationals; this is the last of five.

We now know that: 

1. We can’t expect to be noticed if we don’t tell people to notice us
2. We each only retain 160 our of 2 million bits of information each moment
3. We can use our words to increase our listeners recollection

So what else…

1. Do something different

When we are doing our 60 seconds we each stand up, speak, then sit down.  20 minutes of this can be hard for the audience to concentrate, and we all tend to drift off.  By doing something out of the ordinary it will draw their attention back to you, and break them out of their ‘drift’.  For example: 

• Walk to the front of the room to do your talk
• Stand on the chair
• Cough loudly to get their attention as you start 

The most unusual I have heard of was someone who sang their 60 seconds! 

2. Use Props

Again this is about doing something different to grab people’s attention.  But make sure the link is clear otherwise your audience will: 

1. Be distracted trying to work out the link

OR

1. Remember the prop, but not you!

3. Tag lines

A clear tag line which explains what you do and is memorable are a great aide memoire.

4. Involve the audience

This requires them to think and therefore listen more closely.   For example, you may ask a general question to the whole audience such as ‘can someone give me an example of when …’.  Of you may address your question to one specific person, “Lisa, can you tell me the last time you …”. 

 5. Repetition

Using the same 60 seconds several weeks running will help people remember the whole message.  Even the most attentive listener will not be able to repeat back word for word your whole 60 seconds.  So if you repeat the same thing several weeks running you will help them to ‘fill-in the blanks’ correctly. 

6.Call to action

Include a clear call to action in your 60 seconds.  E.g. what kind of referral, call me for a dance, visit my website etc.

Lisa Mackay is Managing Director of HRtoolkit Ltd.

As educational coordinator for her BNI chapter she ran a series of educationals; this is the fourth of five. Next week... Bringing it all together

Remember, for every 2 million bits of information we are only retaining 160 from every moment.  So you need to fight to get into that 160.

In BNI we are all working together and we all want to do the best in terms of selling each others businesses.  But we are far more likely to sell the business/service/person who we know/understand/can see how they will add value etc.  In this we are all competing with one another to be the most memorable, the most referable etc.  So make it easier for your fellow BNI’ers by giving them the info then need in the most memorable way possible.

None of the following will be news to anyone, but how many of you actually do it each time you are speaking about your business?

1.     Be Clear and to the point

• Don’t ramble
• Make 1 or 2 clear points only
• Tell the audience what they want/need to hear, not what you feel like telling them.  They are not interested in what you did last week unless they can see what the solution and applicability is for them
• Tell them what you are going to do for them/the person they are referring you to

2.     No Jargon

We all use jargon as part of our normal day to day language.  I still get pulled up on “what is HR?” 

Unfortunately not everyone will admit they don’t understand, they will:

• Switch off and stop listening
• Make up what they think you are talking about (which could be well off the mark)
• Dismiss you as ‘too technical’ and therefore not relating to them

3.     Don’t wing it

A good polished 60 seconds will stand out miles from the ‘off the cuff’ made up as you stand up 60 seconds.

4.     Don’t Mumble

Use your volume and tonality to make them listen, not put them to sleep

5.     Repeat your contact details

Say your name and company at the start and at the finish to maximise the chances of them recalling it.  If you don’t tell them who you are at the start they will be distracted by ‘who are they?’.  Then the body of your presentation will answer the question of ‘why do I need to listen to this person’ so you need to remind them at the of who you are once they know the answer

6.     Be Concise

Often less is more, 60 seconds is a limit not a target!

Lisa Mackay is Managing Director of HRtoolkit Ltd.

As educational coordinator for her BNI chapter she ran a series of educationals; this is the second of five. Next week... Tricks and tools to increase your memorability