The Japan Business Mastery Show Dr. Greg Story

Okay, now its time for the show, Soredewa ikimasho, so let's get going. The hush has now swept across the room.  All eyes are fixed on the MC, breaths are being held, awaiting the announcement of this year’s winner.  Amazingly, it registers that it is your name they are calling to the stage.  Emotion wells up.  Your team join you for handshaking, shoulder hugs, high fives and backslapping.  The prize is now firmly ensconced in your hand and you are beckoned to the microphone.  What happens next?
Do you find your mind is experiencing whiteout and goes blank.  Do your nerves suddenly kick in when facing a sea of faces with thousands of eyes boring into yours?  Do your knees mysteriously seem to have been drained of all their sinuous strength?  Do you launch forth into a raging torrent of Ums and Ahs, followed by indiscriminate rambling, punctuated with pathetic apologies for your inability to string two words together?
Are you having an out of body experience watching yourself have a public meltdown of stupendous scale.  Seeing yourself trash your company and personal brands simultaneously, because you are demonstrating to all that you are a total dud as a professional?
What would have been a better approach?  Expecting to win is a good place to start.  From that thought flows a stream of things that must be done, just in case lightening does strike, unlikely as that may have seemed at application time.  What will be the content, how will you start, how will you end?
 It could go like this:
 “Ladies and gentlemen, let me say thank you to the judging panel for selecting us.  I am sure it was a very demanding job for you and the organisers of today’s competition. On behalf of all the candidates, allow me to say thank you one and all for your efforts.
Inside our company, Taro and his team regularly took the last train home in the coldest, darkest depths of winter and were back early the next day, bright eyed and bushy tailed, to get the Z project completed.  Thank you all for going the extra mile, for your loyalty, commitment and perseverance, when so many doubted we could do it.
We would not be standing up here tonight, if it wasn’t for Tanaka san at XYZ company.  She gave us a chance to demonstrate we could deliver on schedule, on budget and at the right quality.  I know that she had to weather some particularly tough internal meetings with her Directors last fall, but she went to bat for us.  So we all say a very big “Thank you” to her and we are delighted she can be with us tonight.
As we all know, we often spend more hours working with our colleagues than we spend with our own family.  When we get home, exhausted, we unburden ourselves and share our concerns and worries.  We need to set the ledger right and also share in the good times and tonight is just that occasion.  I would like to thank my own family for their total support, which keeps me going. 
I would also like to recognise all the families of our team members who equally are giving their support.  We know it is a sacrifice and we appreciate that you make that on the company’s behalf.  So this prize tonight goes to all the angels at home who keep us going and make it all worthwhile.
Finally, I would like to say how proud I am of our widget.  We are committed to making the lives of our clients and their clients easier and more effective.  We are on a mission to serve as many people as we can, because we know we are bringing value and growth to their businesses.  Entwined inside their growth and success is our success and that thought drives us each and every day to do our best.  Thank you!”
That is two minutes.  We have managed to say a lot in two minutes and we will leave a very positive impression with the audience hearing that speech.
What if you go to all this trouble and you don’t win.  You have definitely improved your speech making skill and you have put yourself out of harm’s way.  Both are ma

If we are presenting a brochure, flyer, price list, hard copy slide deck or any other typical collateral item, then we should adopt best practice for greatest success.  Have two copies always, one for you to read and one for the client, unless you are a genius of reading upside down (which by the way seems to include all Japanese!).  
At the start, put your copy to the side for later if you need it and turn the client’s copy around to face them. Then proceed to physically control the page changes of the document. 
Don’t just hand it over, if you can avoid it.  You want to walk them through the pages, under your strict supervision. There is usually a lot of information involved and we only want to draw attention to the key points.  We don’t receive unlimited buyer time, so we have to plan well.  You don’t want them flicking through the pages at the back and you are still explaining something up the front 
By the way, don’t place any collateral pieces in view of the client at the start of the meeting.  Keep them unseen on the chair next to you or in your bag.  Why?  We want to spend the first part of the meeting asking solid questions to uncover their needs.  Don’t distract the buyer from answering your questions – this is vital to understanding their business and their needs.
As we hear their answers we set off a chain reaction.  We mentally scan the solution library in our brain and start lining up products for them.  The details will be in a brochure or a flyer etc., but by showing them at the start we will distract the client.  It also implies I am here to sell you something.  What is our mantra?  Everyone loves to buy but nobody wants to be sold. Keep the sales materials out of sight, until you absolutely know what you will need. 
If we hand over the sales materials at the start, they will be reading something on page five and you will still be focused on page one. If you allow this to happen, control of the sales conversation has been lost.  The salesperson’s key job is to keep control of the sale’s talk direction, from beginning to end. If you can’t do that, then selling is going to be a tough employ for you.
After placing the document in front of them, facing them, pick up your nice pen and use it to show them where to look.  There are many distractions on any single page, so we need to keep the show on the road and them focused on the key items.  Our pen is our navigator.
Know where the items of most interest in your materials are located, based on what you heard earlier and skip pages that are not as relevant.  Do not go through the whole thing, from beginning to end.  You want them focused only on the most relevant and interesting elements of your presentation.  Also you have to narrows things down, because you just don’t have that much time available to you.
Action Steps
1.  Control the reading flow of the presentation document
2.  Use you pen as the navigator through written materials
3.  Only show the materials after you have had your questions answered and know what they want

We are all pretty average on recalling events, people’s names, locations, sequences, inanimate objects, etc., but we are geniuses on remembering feelings. We are especially good on how people made us feel and what super memories we have developed in this particular department. Business is deemed to be logical – cool, balanced, unswerving on the road to greater efficiencies. Ironically, we are such emotional beings trying to be detached, but we are usually not very good at it though.
Ever find yourself still chewing over some ancient injustice? Something doesn’t arrive on time or in the right format and we have that chemical reaction that is triggered by the emotions of anger, disappointment, fear or frustration. People say something trying to be funny or witty but we take it badly. We instantly feel insulted, embarrassed, hurt, mortified or humiliated. There are some basic principles of successful human relations we forget at our peril.
“Don’t criticize, condemn or complain” is an all weather wonder. Let’s resist the urge to correct others, to tell them off, to bring their personal failings to their attention immediately. It is not a cure that works well and in fact just builds pig-headed resistance, as the guilty party seeks to justify their dubious actions.
“Let the other person save face” is a handy principle to keep in mind in public situations. Not everyone is quick, elegant or urbane and some people seem to invite correction, but let’s resist that urge. Just because they may not obviously react should be cold comfort. Remember to beware the dog that doesn’t bark.
“Show respect for the other person’s opinion. Never say you are wrong”. Even if you feel they are so totally incorrect it is barely fathomable. Restrain yourself from leaping in and pointing out they are an idiot.
“The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it”. Incredibly, even people in sales forget this sage advice and want to argue with the client. We might win the battle over the point of contention, but we will lose the war over the long term. Maya Angelou summed it up brilliantly:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. So how do you make people feel? Apply these principles and let life get easier.

The Master of Ceremony (MC) goes to the microphone to get the programme underway but the audience are simply oblivious, caught up in their own riveting conversations.  The situation is much worse at receptions where alcohol is already flowing and the people down the back are generating a roar, a positive din, that drowns out the speakers.
Here are seven ideas that will shut down the noisy rabble and provide a proper platform for the speaker to be heard. 
Make sure to turn off the background music well before you are ready to start. Surprisingly, this is often forgotten by the organisers. Speakers should not try to compete with irritating white noise in the background. Preferably always have someone else introduce you. Their job is to quiet the room in preparation for your presentation. This doesn't always go to plan though, because it can be a lucky draw on who introduces you. Be ready to take over if you need to, in order to restore some decorum. Don’t allow the podium to dominate you If you worry about speaking behind high podiums and appearing to your audience as a stylish coiffure just peaking above the water line, always arrive early and have the event staff provide a small raised dais behind the podium for you. Even better, dismiss the podium altogether, because now we can use our body language to maximum effect.
Voice projection is key for cutting through crowd noise.Today’s microphone technology is very good, so you don’t need to have a stentorian voice to be heard.  However, placing the microphone too close to your mouth creates dissonance, making it harder to hear you. Mysteriously, some speakers have the opposite problem and hold the microphone so low that there is almost no sound being heard.  I saw a guy the other day wrap his entire hand around the microphone mesh – don’t do that if you want to be heard. Use Pauses. When you face a challenging noisy crowd, make sure to hit the first few words very hard. To get things going, start with a strong “Ladies and Gentlemen” with power invested into the first word and remember to draw that first word out slightly (Ladieeeeees). Elongate it for effect but don’t overdo it .  Now include a small pause before a strong finish to the phrase. Like this: “Ladies and Gentlemen” I have seen speakers using assorted cutlery to bang on a glass, to create a chime that signals it is time to “shut up everyone and listen”. It works, however, one word of warning - don’t speak while pounding. Get their attention then speak. Similarly, you can also use powerful music to drown out the crowd’s babble and make them listen to what is coming next. Just a short piece will do, as it signals action is about to commence and people will switch their gaze to you at the front of the room. After the music ends, again use a slight pause and then start. To be heard above the din, remember: turn off the BGM well before you start; have someone else quiet the room for you; don’t allow the podium to dominate you; practice with the microphones, so that you know the correct distance and angle of elevation to use; hit the first word hard and elongate it slightly; use pauses – they add power to the speaker; if you strike a glass to produce a crowd-quieting chime, don’t speak while pounding; a short burst of music can silence an audience and clear the way for you to start speaking
 
 

Usually this isn’t even a question for most presenters, because the organisers have already set up the room when you arrive. Our speaking spot has been designated for us.  But have we been designated a spot by experts in public speaking or by the venue crew who usually just haul chairs, lug tables around and set up the stage?  Sadly the coalescence between expertise in public speaking and membership of the logistics team is rare.
 So where should we stand?  This will depend on the venue size, the illumination of the room, the size of the audience, the layout of the stage, where the screens are located and what you want to achieve. 
If we are using a screen, then is it hoisted high above us, are there two giant screens on the left and right or is it at our height in the center of the stage?  In smaller venues, the screen is normally at our height and usually set up such that the podium is on the audience right of the stage.  No particular thought has gone into this location and the choice is purely random, often linked more closely to power outlets and cabling considerations, than the speaker’s effectiveness.
Stand on the audience left of the screen, so that the audience can read your facial expression and body language and then move their eyes right to read text or images on the screen.  We read left to right, so this is a natural progression.  We always want the screen to be subordinate to us.  So set the proceedings up such that they have to look at you first, rather than at the slides on the screen.  Our face is a trillion times more powerful as a communication tool, than anything that is on that screen.
If there are giant screens above, then the chances are the venue is pretty large and the stage will be quite wide.  Rather than being stuck in one place, work the stage area.  I don’t mean nervous, fidgety, random pacing across the stage as I have seen done by many amateur presenters.  I mean move right to the very apron of the stage and to the extremes of left and right to engage with all of your audience. 
Start in the middle of a large stage, as close as you can get to your audience.  Remember, that to those seated at the back or up on the first, second or third tiers of seating, you are the size of a peanut.  Yes, they have the giant screens but try to bring your physical presence as close to your audience as you can, to create a closer connection. 
Move slowly to the extreme left and then stop.  Now we can engage everyone on this side of the room.  After a few minutes move slowly back to the center and stop.  Now move slowly across to the extreme right and stop.  Then slowly back to the center, by which time it will be getting very close to your peroration. 
To be an effective speaker, we need to include consideration of the best logistics needed to support our efforts.  Don’t rely on the clueless to prepare the venue properly, instead have a clue ourselves and always be in command of our environment.
 

To succeed in our own business, we need three critical skills:  the ability to master our time, to clone ourselves and to be persuasive.
Time: Poor time control leads to inefficiency, wasted efforts, stress and missed opportunities.  Entrepreneurs are geniuses at trying to do too much. This means they are run ragged with time demands and no good solutions. This has to be turned around and time gotten under firm control. Follow this mantra:  “I can’t do everything on this list everyday but I can do the most important thing”.  Each day decide the number one priority for your business and complete that, then start number two, and so on.
Delegation: Being so busy is a result of not having trusted people around us to whom we can delegate.  We must get leverage through our team.  But we don’t.  We cannot find the time to develop them, so we are stuck like a rat on the treadmill. 
Getting a better grip on your time will create space to spend on training your key people.  Don’t fluff the delegation process, because you are clueless on how to do it.  Don’t just dump stuff on people, expecting them to magically get it and somehow be able to come back with excellent work.  Stop dreaming, it won’t happen. 
Have a meeting with the delegatee, where you explain the task in terms of how this is designed to help them grow and succeed in the business.  Talk in terms of their interests not yours. 
Inspire: Investors, potential new staff, valuable existing staff, clients, all need your persuasive ability to impress and keep them happy.  If you are an unclear, unimpressive speaker, it is hard to get people to believe in you and follow you.  You can be a tyrant, but let me know how that is working out for you?  Honey does better than vinegar, when it comes to communicating with people.  You will never work it out on your own.  Get the necessary speaking training and stop kidding yourself.
 Master time, grow the leverage throughout your team and learn how to inspire people.  Get on to it.
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About The Author
Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training
Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com
The bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery" and his new books "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めま
Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki.
He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter
Has 6 weekly podcasts:
1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series,
2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series
Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え
3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series
4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series
Also every secon