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Often, I have seen people refuse to use a microphone when they’re presenting, whether at an office meeting, community event or industry conference. Yet, using a microphone correctly can make it easier for the audience to hear you and understand your message – which is the whole point of your presentation.

Here are the 5 reasons I hear for not using a microphone – and how you can overcome them.

1. You Don’t Think It’s Necessary
You may think, “my voice is powerful enough and I don’t need it,” but often, that is not the case. Realize that it may be difficult for the audience to hear you, given the size of the room and the amount of surrounding noise. Also, according to a 2009 study by the Better Hearing Institute, the number of Americans with hearing loss has grown to roughly 11 percent of the U.S. population – and six out of ten of them are below retirement age. So it is likely that there are people in your audience with some level of hearing difficulty.

2. You Aren’t Used to Hearing Your Own Voice
The more you listen to your own voice, the more comfortable you will get listening to it. Almost every computer and smartphone has an audio recorder, so use it to record yourself and play it back, so you can get used to how you sound.

3. You Don’t Realize It Can Protect Your Voice
Most people don’t project well without a microphone (unless you have been trained in singing or acting). So you end up shouting when you try to project, which can leave you with a sore throat, laryngitis or vocal cord damage.

4. You Don’t Know How to Use a Microphone
This concern is legitimate and can easily be addressed by practicing with the microphone. Ask the AV staff or a techie friend to help. You want to find out things such as: where to clip the microphone or how to hold it; who will control the volume; how to avoid ear-splitting feedback (don’t point the microphone at the speakers) and where to get an extra battery. Then get in the room ahead of time and practice using it.

5. You Think It’s Too Formal
You may think that using a microphone is only for professional speakers on a stage in front of thousands of people and that it would be arrogant to use it in a smaller setting. Not at all. Used well, a microphone can demonstrate that you’re a smart and respectful presenter who cares enough about your audience to use every tool at your disposal to ensure they can hear and understand your presentation.

The first rule of breaking the ice is to involve the audience. Whether we are presenting a keynote or a workshop, the more we can get participation from the members of our audience, the more attention we will receive for the rest of our presentation.

If we can get them involved the minute they walk into the room we’ll already have a jumpstart. One way to accomplish this is to have a puzzle and/or questions for them to consider while waiting for us to begin. I hand it out or have it up on the screen and tell them that it is fine to work with anyone else on the answers. Usually, I create a sheet of questions and/or a fun puzzle that relates to the day’s subject.

If the group has been doing a great deal of sitting already, get them physically involved. Being a fitness instructor, I have lots of spunky tapes. I will often start a presentation on creativity with music and asking everyone to stand up, breathe deeply and stretch. Then I will say something like, “All right. Now we are going to stretch our minds and creativity, because when the mind is stretched by a new idea, it never returns to its original state.”

Well designed questions will also get your audience involved. The two questions that are effective and also help you the presenter — as suggested by Bob Pike, training guru — are as follows. Supposing your topic is time management, you would ask, “What happens when people don’t handle our management of time well?” and “What happens when we handle our management of time well?” Ask for the answers, and, if time permits, have someone record them on a flip chart. The first will list the problems that need to be addressed and the second will list the benefits that will be gained by listening to your presentation.

We can also make use of snappy introductions. If it is a small group, I will often have members stand up – one at a time – say their name, tell us what they did as a profession yesterday (this will actually be their profession) and what career they have today (which can be completely “off-the-wall.” They can be a movie star, an astronaut, an Olympic athlete – you get the idea). If the group is large, have members of the audience turn to the person next to them and do the same thing, or you can give them other questions to pose to each other.

The reasons for doing this breaks the ice for the group (even if they already know each other) because it will get them interacting and laughing, so that when you bring them back to the presentation, they are relaxed and open, rather than thinking, “Oh, now I have to sit through another speech.” The one warning here is to have a way to regain control. I use a drum, a bell, or another musical instrument to pull back the attention of the participants.

For those that aren’t aware, LeBron James is a basketball player mega superstar. When superstars negotiate, they’re afforded a certain negotiation latitude. So, who can fault LeBron James for taking control of an advantage he had when negotiating? When you’re in a ‘power’ position, that’s the time to ‘push’ your agenda forward.

Most savvy negotiators know how and when to advance their negotiation position. Are you aware of the times in which you hold advantages in a negotiation, and how to utilize those advantages?

This article examines the negotiation pros and cons of what occurred when LeBron James negotiated for his freedom. In it are negotiation lessons from which you can increase your negotiation skills. By the way, don’t lynch the author for saying LeBron negotiated his freedom. By freedom, it is meant, the pursuit of his dreams.

Be Fearless:

• When you’re fearful about negotiating, think about the outcome and weigh what you seek to achieve versus settling for what you have. If the odds are in your favor to stride forward, do so. Be courageous. After all, courage is nothing more than possessing the judgment to realize that something else is more important than fear. (LeBron tossed naysayer comments to the wind in seeking the path he felt best served the outcome he sought.)

Understand the ‘value proposition’ in the negotiation:

· Sometimes, money is not the deciding factor in a negotiation. Thus, if you’re focusing on dollars to solve a negotiation problem and the other negotiator is seeking another form of resolution, chances are the negotiation will not come to fruition. When you’re at an impasse, understand the root cause of that impasse and address that point of contention. (The management of the Cavs (LeBron’s former team), thought money would be the deciding factor that would keep LeBron in Cleveland, which turned out not to be a major factor in LeBron’s decision.)

Reframe a ‘point of contention’ to one that’s more favorable to your position:

· Cav’s management shifted the inference of the conversation, related to LeBron leaving Cleveland, to one of the pain that such action would cause the city. They didn’t highlight the fact that LeBron had fulfilled his contractual agreement, and thus was ‘free’ to explore other avenues. To do so would have weakened their position, as they played to the sympathy of the public.

Consequences: There will always be consequences to the actions you take. Weigh them and proceed accordingly.

· Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and a host of former NBA (National Basketball Association) players, and non-superstars have derided LeBron’s decision to leave the Cavs. Nevertheless, LeBron, knowing the desire he had to play for a team that could win a championship has pushed all the negative rhetoric aside to follow his desires. (When you’re sure about the direction in which you’re going, go on! Since you’re the one that will have to endure the consequences, follow the path that suits your interest for the negotiation.)

Expand the scope of the negotiation:

When seeking leverage in a negotiation, consider expanding the negotiation to metaphorically include parties that will be affected by negative or positive actions, based on the outcome you seek. (i.e. The owners of the Cavs brought up the fact that Cleveland’s economy and its people would be negatively impacted, if LeBron left the team). They were attempting to make the situation affect a broader segment of people. In so doing, they wanted to increase the perceived level of pain that would be inflicted upon the people of the city.

When you negotiate, after weighing all the options of a potential outcome, if you’re prepared to incur the consequences and you wish to go forth, ‘go for it’. Do so with all the zest and zeal you can muster. Fret not about ‘what could have been’. You’re the person in charge of your destiny. If you fall short in the negotiation, just remember, sometimes, that’s the way the ball bounces… and everything will be right with the world.

The Negotiation Tips Are…

· Utilize your negotiation power when you’re powerful in a negotiation. To allow it to wane is to forgo an advantage. Even if you chose not to use it, let the other negotiator know that you realized you had an advantage and chose to forgo utilizing it. In so doing you still gain mental credit with him for having it.

· Consider ‘playing the victim’ when placed in a precarious negotiation position. The owners of the Cavs cried ‘wounded’ when LeBron was considering playing for another team. They lamented, “how could LeBron leave us after all we’ve done for him”. In a negotiation, sympathy can beget interest. Just be careful how you utilize it.

· When you negotiate, there will be times when you’ll have to lead with your head and other times when you’ll have to lead with your heart. Regardless to which you choose, do so confidently. It’s your life and not another soul can experience the sorrows and joys that you experience, except you.