I was recently leading an in-house, 5 session workshop for a construction company. After our first workshop, I gave the participants an assignment to prepare for a one-on-one session with me the following week. A couple of the guys came to that individual meeting...
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Does speaking order matter in project interviews?
Yes and no. While earning my Master’s Degree in Speech Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, I learned some theories related to persuasion: The Primacy Effect suggests that the information we hear first is more likely to have sticking power. Alternately, the...
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Are your beliefs setting you up for presentation success?
Are your beliefs supporting or hindering your desire to be a more effective speaker? “What you believe has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you believe.” – Oprah Recently I was preparing a very bright and...
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Changing Pace
There are certain times in your presentation when it is a good idea to slow down the rate at which you speak. When painting a picture you want to make sure your audience does not miss any details, therefore take your time describing it. ...
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The Golden Circle
A friend of mine recently sent me a video featuring Simon Sinek. According to Wikipedia, Simon is a marketing consultant known for developing “The Golden Circle,” a model based on human decision-making that guides organizations on how to inspire people to buy or support...
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Transitioning Speakers
Speaker transitions can be made more smooth and effective by: 1. Having the current speaker, we’ll call her Jane, introduce the upcoming speaker: “I’d now like to have Bob Jenson, your Project Superintendent come up and discuss our phasing plan.” 2. As the speakers...
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Demonstrate Good Listening Skills in Your Project Interviews
You show the client how well you will listen to them on the project by how well you listen in the project interview. Do you attentively listen to the other members of your team when they are presenting? Do you talk over people? Did...
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Question: What if it appears that a member of the selection panel is not paying attention?
The key here is the word appears. It may not be you or your presentation. It be a momentary lapse in concentration as a result of sitting for a long period of time and getting a lot of information. So it might not serve...
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Introductions with Impact
Take your individual team member introductions from boring and blah to powerful and memorable. How? Here are a few ideas: If your principal or project manager is introducing his or her team, have them say something unique about each person. For example: “Joe Marks...
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7 Steps to a Successful Project Interview
Few things cause more panic in a project manager, superintendent or estimator faster than these two words: interview presentation.
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