blog - Page 2 of 41 - Lee Jackson

Zoom in and Zoom out! Beating Zoom meeting gloom!

April 27, 2020 By Lee

Zoom in and Zoom out! Beating ‘Zoom gloom’!

Since the Covid-19 lockdown and the changes in how we work have kicked in: two things have happened. One, more of us have been working from home – often wearing shorts and pyjamas to work meetings! And two, we’ve all been having more video calls.

But I don’t know if it’s just me but I can get a bit tired of them. Now, don’t get me wrong l like connecting with real people but also I’m realising that video calls are making me feel tired too. So I thought I’d investigate.

Are we all Zoom’ed out? Does looking at others on a screen make us tired?

It wasn’t just me thankfully!
According to Gianpiero Petriglieri (Associate Professor of learning and development in the workplace) even though we are meeting face to face online, video meetings are way more draining. Because we aren’t able to relax as much and we are always trying to read the little clues that people project, the micro-signals of their tone of voice, body language and even their tiny facial expressions. Phew, no wonder I get “brain fog” after long Zoom meetings because I’m working harder trying to “read people”, something that I took for granted in face-to-face meetings. He goes on in the BBC article: “…paying more attention to these consumes a lot of energy. “Our minds are together when our bodies feel we’re not. That dissonance, which causes people to have conflicting feelings, is exhausting. You cannot relax into the conversation naturally,”

Awkward.
There has also been a lot of talk above the awkwardness of online meetings. I was speaking on the phone to a friend the other day and we were talking over each other getting animated and excited and it was fine and seemed very natural. But over video you can’t talk over each other and worse than that there is often a short delay too, where the call drops or there is an awkward silence that makes us repeat ourselves. We had a call with friends last week where we had to abandon it as the connection was just not working and we spent 20 minutes saying “what”, “sorry”, ”can you say that again?” – it was the equivalent of speaking to a friend while sat on the hard shoulder of the M1 – we were talking but couldn’t hear a thing. It felt ‘odd’. No wonder we find them more tiring than face to face meetings.

Zone out.
I remember thinking as a kid how amazing video calling would be, and now it is here in full force, it is not quite all it is cracked up to be! I was on Zoom for five hours the other day and my brain was tired. But why was it, it is only a video call. I then realised that in real-world work meetings we aren’t always 100% there, let’s admit it! We all zone out a bit, i.e. when someone is speaking for too long – we tend to let our minds wander, we notice the odd paintings on the wall, and if they are really boring we start to count the tiles on the ceiling or start thinking what we are going to have for lunch. Then of course we usually zoom back in, but the act of ‘zooming out’ (no pun intended) is a little break for our brain, it’s good for us. We need to remind ourselves of that.

So if you have a long video call or a few in one day, don’t forget to:

Take regular breaks.
Try and get them to keep it to an hour!
Allow ourselves to ‘Zoom out’ occasionally.
Mute your audio/video so you can stand up, stretch and walk around.
Don’t schedule back to back video calls
Also, don’t expect yourself to be more efficient in the lockdown, we are all dealing with lots of change, so schedule rest and breaks.

Video calling is now a big part of work, and it is important, but we as humans cannot be focused on someone’s face on a screen 100% of the time, we’re not robots, so be kind to yourself, take brain breaks and hopefully we’ll start to keep video meetings useful, especially if everyone decides to get to the point a little quicker! But that’s another article altogether!

Lee Jackson is an award-winning Speaker and Presentation Coach. He delivers his ‘Get Good At Work (from home)’ sessions on and offline internationally. You can find him at leejackson.biz and on twitter @leejackson

Further reading:
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting
https://www.insider.com/virtual-hangouts-why-ok-to-decline-protect-mental-health-2020-4
https://cupcakesandcashmere.com/lifestyle/a-few-ideas-for-shaking-off-that-zoom-gloom
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/coronavirus-zoom-fatigue-is-taxing-the-brain-here-is-why-that-happens/
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-Is-Zoom-So-Exhausting-/248619

24 free episodes of the Get Good At Presenting podcast are now available everywhere…

April 14, 2020 By Lee

The latest episode is number 24, enjoy all the episodes here.

In episode 24, Lee interviews Rob Geraghty a presentation coach with a telecoms background. They talk about getting the most out of the online meetings and talks we have to deliver. They talk about ‘virtual presence’, being more punchy/conversational, the advantages of having a co-host and much more.

And don’t forget Lee’s popular ‘Get Good At Presenting’ book is available right now on Audible, you can get it via a free months trial or just buy it outright. Includes some extra content and an accompanying PDF too, just click here.

The Get Good At Presenting Audiobook is now available!

February 24, 2020 By Lee

Audiobook announcement!

I am delighted to say that I am now available on Audible!

My popular ‘Get Good At Presenting’ book is available right now on Audible, you can get it via a free months trial or just buy it outright.

Includes some extra content and an accompanying PDF too!

Audible U.K: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B084KV72BF/?source_code=AUKFrDlWS02231890H6-BK-ACX0-181647&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_181647_rh_uk

Audible U.S: https://www.audible.com/pd/B084L1K6M7/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-181647&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_181647_rh_us

I can make you a better speaker in the comfort of your living room, kitchen, car or on the train!

Enjoy!

Podcast interview with Speaker Andy Cope aka Dr. Happy, available now…

February 24, 2020 By Lee

A new ‘Get Good At Presenting’ Podcast episode is out now with the amazing speaker Andy Cope aka “Dr Happy!” – we had some fun !

Grab it anywhere where you get your podcasts, full info here: https://leejackson.org/podcast/

Ep17 – Lee interviews Andy Cope aka “the Dr. of Happiness”! Yes, that’s his name!

Andy has spoken to thousands of people and people often mention him to me. So I had to get him on the show. We discuss happiness, wellbeing, anxiety, presentation nerves, “emotional soup!”, being funny, after-dinner speaking, using music before gigs and lots of speaking skills including the difference between small and large audiences, all to help you to be a better speaker.

Please note that there is an occasional swear word on this episode, you know – ‘the S-word’, but it is not too bad I promise!

You can reach Andy Cope here… https://www.artofbrilliance.co.uk and on twitter he is… https://twitter.com/beingbrilliant

Lee’s Get Good At Presenting the audiobook is out now – grab it on Audible today:
https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B084KV72BF/?source_code=AUKFrDlWS02231890H6-BK-ACX0-181647&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_181647_rh_uk
https://twitter.com/leejackson

Podcast Episode 15 with Coach Jim Johnson and the story of the basketball viral sensation J-Mac

October 18, 2019 By Lee

New podcast episode…

This time Lee interviews Coach Jim Johnson a US-based speaker who became a viral sensation after he asked his team manager, an autistic student, to sub into his basketball match. J-Mac scored 20 points in 4 minutes!

Amazing story, hear about it and how he now speaks about it in business and beyond…

“Err, so yes, I have managed to get basketball and speaking into the same podcast – I love my job :)”

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/get-good-at-presenting-podcast-with-lee-jackson/id1439480430

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4JZAKkQCILYs9Le4g2nePb?si=k3y87XdSROWjikYJSMsEkw

Everywhere else: http://leejackson.org/podcast

Ep15 – Interview with US-based Professional Speaker + YouTube viral sensation Coach Jim Johnson – made famous when his high school basketball game went viral after he substituted into the game the team manager J-Mac. J-Mac is an autistic young man who went on to score 20 points in 4 minutes! Hear more of the story here.

Jim’s website is here: https://coachjimjohnson.com

The videos and more info is here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_McElwain

https://www.tiebreaker.com/jason-mcelwain-autistic-high-school-basketball/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tui8EOdv_VU

Learning from Brene Brown’s risk-taking in her famous TED Talk…

October 14, 2019 By Lee

Related image Image result for brene brown ted

I was watching Brené Brown's Netflix special* last night and she told the story of her very popular TED talk...

...so firstly it was actually a TEDx talk (not the same at all no matter what people might hint at or where they stand in front of TEDx sign ?) and it was also at a place she had lectured at before and where she knew a third of the audience. She went there after doing 4 days of work in a corporate where she'd been challenging leaders to be more vulnerable. So challenged by her own research - she took a risk too and ditched her normal academic research style and she chose not to hide in her comfort zone. She decided on the flight back home from the corporate event to do something different this time, to take a risk herself and share more of herself and tell more personal stories. It was a big risk.

That video was recorded in front of just 300 people in her hometown and she hoped it would just sink without a trace... it has now been watched by almost 44 million people!!

Sometimes when we present we have to get out of our comfort zone and take some calculated risks, the main one being vulnerability.

Why do we see so many boring talks still?

Well, the more I do the Presentation Skills part of my job I'm convinced that delivering dull talks is more to do with anxiety, self-esteem, confidence and the fear of what others will say than actual stagecraft. Not taking risks on being ourselves can often hold us back.

Join me in January to help you find your voice, book now to get the early bird rate:

Businesses/Organisations: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/76235102243

Third Sector/Faith sector: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/76256891415

"I attended a fabulous workshop led by Lee. He is a very authentic speaker, warm, funny and very much himself. It was a great session which taught us to think differently about how we use our slides and the way we use story to express ideas. I highly recommend Lee to anyone who wants to improve their presenting skills."
University of Derby

*Brene's Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr-WvA7uFDQ

*Netflix direct link: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=WhZ721MinoRRnoRlm9qn4-O7wUV8MTU3MTEzMzMwMkAxNTcxMDQ2OTAy&event=video_description&v=gr-WvA7uFDQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.netflix.com%2Ftitle%2F81010166

Get Good At Work Bitesize – Why do I work here?!

October 10, 2019 By Lee

Get Good At Work Bitesize – Why do I work here?!

We’ve all had days like that at work. I had a lot more until I became my own boss and then I suddenly realised that the buck stopped with me!

I visit loads of different workplaces in my work. I might be in a school one day and then in the NHS and then a firm of solicitors. That is one of the reasons I love what I do. No day is the same. And in all the time I’ve spent in other peoples workplaces as a visiting speaker, I began to realise that most people spend their time at work just getting on with it and are often so busy that they rarely take time out to stop and think why they do what they do. ?It is a privilege to be someone who gets them to stop and think why they work there, why they keep coming back and how they can enjoy work more. “OK, well that’s all very nice Lee” but I know what some of you are thinking – they work for the money stupid!

Well, yes as Zig Ziglar said: “Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the ‘gotta have it’ scale”

But actually, when you look at research into money and motivation at work, you’d be surprised. ??Money only motivates people for a very short time. A pay rise sometimes only motivates people for two weeks and then that’s it! ??Then we kind of forget it, especially if it goes straight into our bank account, and we then become more bothered about working hours and whose buying the milk this week! So if work isn’t all about money, what is it that keeps us there?

Well, it’s lots of things, but often when we really want to perform well and stay motivated in the day-to-day it boils down to knowing our “Why”. Simon Sinek wrote the book and did the Talk “Start with Why” a few years ago and he brought it back into mainstream thinking, but seriously that was nothing new, people have been talking about this for years and when I do a talk I often mention that motivational speakers like me only ever really talk about three things – “The Why” The How” and the “Keeping On Going”. There’s nothing new under the sun as they say. ?

We were designed to work, but we need to know why. In fact, work is good for us. Have you ever been off work ill for few days – the first day is a novelty but then after three days, you start to realise that daytime TV and not being able to go out of the house is not all its cracked up to be! Work helps us to get out of the house and it pushes us into new experiences, both good and not so good.

Little-known tale: The book that chronicles the Death Row All Stars by Howard Kazanijian and Chris Enss

I found a story of a group who found their “why” very quickly!!

In Wyoming State Prison in 1911 they formed a baseball team, nothing remarkable about that, prisoners need occasional exercise. Except that this team was made up of men who were on death row. You see, in 1911 if you were sentenced to death, it would happen within a few months, nothing like the 10 or 20 year wait they have today. So the new warden Felix Alston who was a baseball obsessive decided to set up the Wyoming State Prison All-Star team. And this was the deal:

If the team won they were promised a stay of execution and if they lost, their execution date was to go ahead as normal!Chris Enss in her book, Playing for Time, tells the story of this bizarre set of games in the American West between 1911 and 1912.

Oh yes, that team was very motivated and as they say, they had found their “WHY”! In fact they won 39 games and only lost 6. They were almost invincible, over the 15 months. Not surprising really, they were playing for their lives, literally.

When we really want to perform well and stay motivated in the day-to-day it boils down to knowing our “WHY”. So stop today and think “WHY” do I go to work? WHY do I do what I do? Go on, its good for you! Stop and think WHY.

Get Good At Presenting Presentation Skills Masterclass Leeds Tuesday 14th January 2020

October 10, 2019 By Lee

Get Good® At Presenting – Presentation Skills Masterclass Leeds

Just released, book now – only 15 places available…

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/get-good-at-presenting-presentation-skills-masterclass-leeds-tickets-76235102243

Get Good® At Presenting – Presentation Skills Masterclass Leeds

Date And Time Tue, 14 January 2020 09:00 – 16:30

Description
Do you need help with your face to face communication?
Do you or your colleagues often feel nervous when presenting?
Are you lost at sea when trying to prepare a talk?
Are you drowning in too much data and death-by-powerpoint?
Want to be more confident pitching for business or within your organisation?

Lee’s course can help you present with more confidence.

He can help you ‘Get Good At Presenting’.

“Lee’s training was informative, interesting and fun – I went away with some great tips.”
The Co-operative Insurance

Based in the excellent conference facilities at Bridge Community Church with FREE on-site secure parking and very close to Leeds city centre too, this is an ideal venue to come and be encouraged to be a better speaker.

Strictly limited to only 15 places you’ll get lots of top tips, some personal coaching from Lee and lots of follow up notes and materials too.

Your host:
Lee Jackson is one of only 25 people in the UK and Ireland who’ve received the Professional Speaking Award of Excellence. He is also the Past President of the Professional Speaking Association in the UK & Ireland, has written the book ‘Get Good At Presenting’, hosts the ‘Get Good at Presenting’ podcast too, and has done this for most of his life – who better to teach you or your colleagues Presentation Skills?

“Brought me out of own comfort zone – a great achievement!”
“The most interactive course I have ever attended – great job!”
“The practical exercises were excellent”
From some previous delegates.

The bottom line is that your presentation skills make a massive difference to you, your workplace, your reputation and your career. Yet people rarely invest time and money developing a crucial skill for today’s leaders.

Today’s leaders have to communicate well, it’s not an option. That’s why Presentation skills training is key.

“Lee…was excellent. Really clear, concise advice and tips about delivering a great presentation (whatever your level of experience) and all delivered with pace and humour.”
Addleshaw Goddard

By the end of the session, you will be able to:
Plan & prepare presentations better
Understand the pitfalls of poorly prepared and delivered presentations
Produce a professional presentation
Deliver upfront with greater personal confidence
Draw up a personal action plan of skills to be practised further
The Presentation skills training sessions content will cover:

Preparation
Keeping the ideas flowing using idea-generating techniques
Researching the presentation’s key points.
Producing a presentation.
Looking at the style & content in relation to the intended audience

Delivery
Basic dos and don’ts
Voice volume, subtleties and body language

Anxiety
Simple and well-researched mindset techniques on calming nerves and building confidence while upfront

Then, of course, follow up and feedback to deliver even better next time.

“Lee got the whole team involved, and we had a cracking time!”
Yorkshire Bank

Approximate timings…

9.00 Coffee

9.30 Start

10.45 Break

12.30 Lunch (provided)

2.30 Break

16.30 End

Free drinks, refreshments and lunch will be served.

Book now to avoid disappointment! Book now to Get Good® At Presenting!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/get-good-at-presenting-presentation-skills-masterclass-leeds-tickets-76235102243

I just got a big award and I was, ironically, speechless…

October 10, 2019 By Lee

Lee Jackson Speaker PSAE Award 1 0T1A6303 comp

Wow.

It was an honour last weekend to become one of only 25 people ever in the UK & Ireland to receive the PSAE (the Professional Speaking Award of Excellence) from my senior peers in the PSA.

I was genuinely speechless, which I guess was, indeed, ironic given the nature of the award!

Me and Richard McCann were sharing a room at the conference and both got the award together representing Yorkshire, which made it even better, as we have worked together many times over the years.

I am so grateful for my friends, colleagues, mentors, clients and supporters on this journey over the last few years.

But reflecting on this, as much as it is lovely to get a big award, that is never my focus, my focus remains not on me as a speaker (because that would be weird!), but on my clients and how I can serve them and make their event go well.

From the PSA website...

"PSAE...is our highest award and is given to Members or Fellows of the PSA who have consistently demonstrated platform excellence and professionalism in addition to making a contribution to the PSA."

So, if you need an award-winning(!) speaker please do get in touch.

(Thanks to Peter Thomas for the photos capturing my joy and surprise too)

The Press release...

Lee Jackson Press release Tuesday, 8 October 2019

Putting Yorkshire on the map for in the UK Speaking Industry

One of Yorkshire’s most experienced motivational speakers and speaking coaches has just won the most prestigious award from the UK’s trade body for professional speakers, the Professional Speaking Association UK (PSA UK & Ireland).

Leeds-based speaker Lee Jackson has received a Professional Speaking Award of Excellence (PSAE) this weekend at the organisation’s annual conference.

Helping others to speak better
The PSA was formed in 2003 and is the professional body – to “speak more for the UK & Ireland Speaking industry. The award of excellence has only been awarded 23 times in its history and currently has over 600 members. It recognises members who have not only succeeded as speakers with excellent platform skills, are ambassadors of the association but have gone the extra mile in supporting other speakers around the UK.

Lee Jackson has over 25 years of experience as a speaker delivering in schools, organisations and businesses. Lee is well known for his Get Good At Work Keynote talk and his Get Good At Presenting Speaking Masterclasses.

His funny, down-to-earth approach to presenting is well received by audiences from in Yorkshire and internationally too. He has been a member of the PSA since 2008 and was the PSA UK & Ireland President in 2017.

A passion for developing people
Lee has a passion for motivating people to be the best they can be, and their mission is grounded in excellent communication skills.
Lee Jackson said, “I’m also honoured to have received the award. It’s a privilege to be able to be able to help others to communicate better and achieve more in life. Being able to present to an audience is a great life skill to develop.”

For anyone wanting to develop as a speaker either to further their careers or even to become professional speakers themselves, they can find more information on the PSA at www.thepsa.co.uk

Further information:

Lee Jackson
0113 2170081

07977039015

www.leejackson.biz

lee@leejackson.biz

The key to less stress and real success may be simpler but more unfashionable than we realise…

June 28, 2019 By Lee

Probably like most of you I watch a bit of TV. Of all the things in life, TV is one of the easiest ways for me to relax. After a day of speaking or training where I’ve often been on my feet all day, working the room, keeping people engaged and happy, it is exhausting. My feet hurt and my brain is tired, emotionally tired as they say. So when I get home or back to my hotel room, an hour or so of ‘mindless’ early evening TV really helps me to reset my brain and move on. My wife Clare has learnt to ignore me for an hour or so I’m sure too. I shut the door in the living room or to my hotel room, put on the ‘mindless’ TV and I enjoy a strong cup of Decaf Yorkshire tea and a snack while I ‘come into land’!

But even though I do find TV helpful at times, there is a growing problem with TV and media these days. It is ingrained into our culture but it can be something that we miss. And that is that TV is more and more about extremes. Extreme situations and extreme people sell programs and it is getting bigger. Look at some of the programs that are really popular. The top programs watched in the first half of 2019 so far are Line of Duty, Britain’s Got Talent, Manhunt, Call the Midwife, Luther, Cleaning Up, Cheat, Death in Paradise, Coronation Street and Vera. What do most of them have in common?

Extremes!

Extreme situations and eccentric people make good TV and clickable news posts. As someone said TV is life with all the boring bits taken out. Now, I’m not saying that we need more boring programs, I mean Gardeners World is there for all to see and we probably had enough of those ‘fly on the wall’ documentaries in the 2000’s to last us a lifetime.

But my point is this. If we always pump out extremes as the norm then we miss one of the best ways to live our lives.

And that is with moderation.

Yeah I know it sounds a bit dull. But I am keen to celebrate moderation. Sure we’d lose such gems as the derivatives of ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’ and ‘My 600-lb Life’, but we’ll probably survive, I reckon.

So…

Imagine when it came to money, people just spent a bit, saved a bit and gave a bit away?

Imagine if people’s beliefs made them happy, made a difference, but didn’t make them into a noisy bigot or a terrorist?

Imagine if people enjoyed doughnuts, chocolate and takeaways, but were then careful on the other days so they didn’t get really ill?

Imagine if people enjoyed a drink or two but didn’t feel the need to have a skinful and end up in the hospital?

Imagine if people didn’t jump into bad relationships or treated their partners badly, but they were fun sometimes, serious other times and were a little more steady? Everyone likes a bit of romance and the occasional surprise but ‘Steady Eddie’ beats ‘Krazy Keith’ in long-term relationships any day.

Moderation is a lost key to happiness and success.

I study people and why they do what they do. And as the world gets a little crazier and we get exposed more and more to the extremes of life, we need some moderation.

I’m not saying let’s all be boring, I’m just being honest. Oh, and I believe in excellence too, I want to be excellent in what I do and how I live, but I won’t bow down to, or promote perfectionism or extreme behaviour.

Moderation certainly isn’t fashionable, but it might be just what we need right now.

What do you think?