The Broadband Connection. Alan Carroll

      

       Praise for Alan Carroll and The Broadband Connection

      “Alan Carroll’s teachings on communications have been instrumental to our success. These methods really work. They aren’t merely training; Alan shows us how to develop new habits that have profoundly impacted our ability to communicate with our customers.”

       —Sam Alkharrat

       Managing Director, Cisco Systems

      “There is no one better in the business than Alan Carroll. His program is unique, he has a passion for the art and science of presentation skills, and his results speak for themselves. I have been to countless media and presentation skills training classes, and Alan’s has always stood atop them all. I utilize the things I have learned in his training sessions to this day.”

       —Bill Nuti

       Chairman and CEO, NCR

      “Alan Carroll’s seminars have been the most powerful and influential training sessions that I have provided to my colleagues, improving their performance and helping them to achieve their full potential. His new book captures the essence of this experience, and should help anyone for whom good communication is an essential part of his or her professional success.”

       —Jonathan White

       Chief Information Officer, Pfizer, Inc.

      “The most important skill that knowledge workers in the IT industry must have today is the ability to manage a customer conversation. Clear, articulate communications and impeccable presentation delivery are often the difference in making the customer connection and closing the deal or simply leading with influence. Alan has coached thousands of professionals through the communications ‘mind block’—transforming nervous presentations into memorable performances. Learn here the skills that will let you confidently own the room (and own time and space), and approach each speaking opportunity with a new presence that will guarantee you hit the target every time.”

       —Randy L Wood III

       VP of Worldwide Sales, Agent Logic, Inc.

      The Broadband Connection

       The Art of Delivering a Winning IT Presentation

      Alan Carroll

      BENBELLA BOOKS, INC.

      Dallas, TX

      Copyright © 2009 by Alan Carroll

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      First e-book edition

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title.

      978-1935251-90-3

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      Cover design by Laura Watkins

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      Acknowledgment

      There are three groups I want to acknowledge for the wonderful contributions they have given to me in my development of The Broadband Connection: First, and most importantly, the thousands of students over the last thirty years that I have had the privilege of training and being trained by. Secondly, the spiritual teachers Sai Baba, Sri Aurobindo, Old Chinese and modern day transformational masters Werner Erhard and, most recently, Eckhart Tolle, whose illumination has been dazzling. And I especially want to thank my wife, Donna; the twins, Alan and Jennifer; and Shelly for their support through this process.

      Contents

Introduction

1 Wireless Packet Delivery

2 Through the Firewall and Beyond

3 The Structure of the Conversation

      4 Own the Room

      5 Managing Resistance

      6 Conscious Awareness

      7 The Art of Questioning

      8 The Manager of the Conversation

       Appendix: Visual Aids

       Glossary

       Bibliography

       Index

       About the Author

Introduction

The purpose of this book is to share with you the tools and insights I have discovered after almost thirty years of teaching presentation/communication skills worldwide, in order to support your transformation from a so-so presenter to a “superstar.” Although most of the people I have coached are from the IT* world, the presentation tools and insights discussed are applicable to anyone who has to stand up and talk in front of audiences.

      I have had the privilege of working with thousands of IT professionals in over fifty countries and representing many diversified cultures. And the one fact that is readily apparent is that cross-culturally our similarities far outweigh our differences. The blocks and barriers that stop an engineer or account manager in Tokyo from having full self-expression and presence are the same that block the engineer or account manager in New York, London, Moscow, New Delhi, or Johannesburg. We may speak different languages. We may have been raised in different cultures. But the essence of our humanity, being, and spirit are all the same.

      The key element in this transformation for any person is the ability to stay in present time while delivering your communication and not get distracted or seduced by the data.