Manner of Speaking

50 New Year’s Resolutions for Public Speakers

John Zimmer — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:38:23 +0000

Some ideas to help you take your public speaking to the next level in 2012.

In no particular order:

1. I will prepare.

2. I will practice.

3. I will have a clear message.

4. I will be able to distill every speech and every presentation into a single sentence.

5. I will always ask myself: “Why should the audience care about my message?”

6. If I cannot answer that question, I will find a new message. Or a new audience.

7. I will arrive early for my speaking engagements.

8. I will make sure that the equipment works.

9. I will have a back-up plan in case the equipment doesn’t work.

10. I will be well rested before speaking.

11. I will use less text in my slide presentations.

12. I will use more images in my slide presentations.

13. I will speak without a slide presentation.

14. I will read Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds.

15. I will watch one TED Talk every week.

16. I will get feedback on my performance.

17. I will join Toastmasters or another speaking association.

18. I will give a toast at a party.

19. I will seek out speaking opportunities at work.

20. I will seek out speaking opportunities in my community.

21. I will join public speaking groups on LinkedIn.

22. I will actively participate in discussions in those groups.

23. I will read Resonate by Nancy Duarte.

24. I will get comfortable using props.

25. I will give a speech without notes.

26. I will tell more stories.

27. I will smile.

28. I will remember that being a little nervous before a speech is normal.

29. I will make eye contact with the audience.

30. I will read good blogs on public speaking such as the ones found here.

31. I will pause effectively.

32. I will find out as much as I can about my audience beforehand.

33. I will not speak longer than my allotted time.

34. I will get comfortable using a remote control for my slide presentations.

35. I will read Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.

36. I will be passionate.

37. I will breathe deeply.

38. I will video myself speaking.

39. I will watch the videos.

40. I will work on elimination distracting gestures or habits.

41. I will focus on the audience and not myself.

42. I will use quotes.

43. I will use humour, if appropriate.

44. I will speak without using a lectern.

45. I will be willing to be vulnerable on stage.

46. I will remember that my audience doesn’t expect me to be perfect.

47. I will remember that my audience does expect me to be present.

48. I will remember that all the great speakers were bad speakers at first.

49. I will will recognize that there is always room for improvement.

50. I will enjoy the ride.

Happy New Year!

Photo courtesy of virginsuicide photography

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 110)

John Zimmer — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:25:20 +0000

Steven Covey - American Author, Speaker and Management Consultant

“Prepare your heart and mind before you prepare your speech.”

— Stephen Covey

Photo courtesy of Abras2010

10 Ways Public Speakers Should Be Like Santa Claus

John Zimmer — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:56:37 +0000

1. Prepare thoroughly. Santa spends most of the year getting ready for his one big night. When he takes off in his sleigh, there’s no turning back. Similarly, when you step on that stage, be sure that you know your material.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Sure, on Christmas Eve Santa is the main attraction, but the Big Man can’t do it all by himself. He needs elves to make the toys; reindeer to pull the sleigh; Mrs. Claus to keep him fat. In short, he has a superb support team. Likewise, you can (and should) seek support from others: brainstorm ideas with colleagues for that big corporate presentation; practice your speech in front of friends and family; seek feedback from your Toastmasters club; arrive at the event early and meet the technicians.

3. Make a list and check it twice. Santa’s got to stay on top of a lot of logistical matters: bag full of presents; several billion addresses; fastest routes; best places for a pit stop. Similarly, public speakers have to keep track of several logistical matters. Get in the habit of having a checklist of the things you will need. Here’s a comprehensive one that you might find useful.

4. Deliver the right material for the audience. If Jimmy wants a Lego set, then Santa will bring him a Lego set and not a toy truck. (Of course, the foregoing is based on the assumption that Jimmy has been a good boy). Speakers need to tailor their messages for their audiences. Always ask yourself the following question: “Why should the audience care?” If you cannot come up with a good answer, you’ve got a problem. Perhaps your message would best be delivered to another audience.

5. Create memorable sentences or phrases that will resonate with the audience long after your speech. I don’t care if it’s the middle of August and you’re on the beach, if you hear “Ho! Ho! Ho!”, you’re going to remember Santa Claus. Great speakers spend time working on their speeches to come up with memorable lines that reinforce the message.

6. Dress for the occasion. Santa making the rounds in blue jeans and a plaid shirt just wouldn’t feel right. Only red and white will do. Likewise, speakers should dress appropriately for the occasion. A good rule of thumb is to dress at least as well as your audience, or perhaps a little bit better.

7. Project your voice. Santa knows how to make himself heard. Just check out T’was the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore: “And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name! … But I heard him exclaim ‘ere he drove out of sight, ‘Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!’”. Although you should not necessarily shout, you do need to make yourself heard. Practice breathing deeply to give your voice resonance. If you have a soft voice, practice speaking in different tones and at different volumes to extend your vocal range. Arrive early and check out the acoustics, especially if you are speaking to a large audience. Test the microphone. Have someone stand at the back of the room to let you know how you sound. And remember, an auditorium full of people will absorb and dampen sound more than an empty auditorium.

8. Be present for your audience. Sure, Santa brings presents, but he also brings presence. He reads all that mail; he sits through all those photo sessions in all those malls; he eats all those cookies and drinks all that milk; he arranges the presents just so. Bring that same level of presence to your speeches and presentations. Your audience wants to feel that you care about them. They don’t expect you to be perfect, but they do expect you to be present.

9. Have fun. Look at Santa: “His eyes, how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! … He had a broad face and round little belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly!” He clearly enjoys himself and so should you. Public speaking is both a privilege and a responsibility, and we should treat it as such. However, there is no rule that says we cannot have fun as well. Only the most sombre of occasions will be the exception. So smile and enjoy the ride. You are being given the chance to share your message with others.

10. Leave them looking forward to the next time. Children never get tired of Santa Claus. They always eagerly anticipate his next visit. If you make the effort to do a good job, not only might your audience invite you back, they might also recommend you to others. And that’s a gift that every speaker would like to receive.

A very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and enjoyable holiday season to you all.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Meath

Slide Transitions: Everybody’s Changing

John Zimmer — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:20:24 +0000

I remember the first time I saw the features on PowerPoint that allowed you to animate text and slide transitions. I played around with it for awhile and soon had things zooming in and bouncing around and what not. My initial thought was, “This is neat.” After playing around a little more, I had another thought: “This is too much.” And when I added sound effects—the screeching tires, the breaking glass, the ka-ching of the cash register—I thought, “This is way too much.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, the animation and transition features on slide presentation software are pretty impressive. And, depending on your content and audience, they might all be appropriate. However, the reality is that for most presentations, less will be more. Once again, I find myself returning to that great piece of advice from Leonardo da Vinci: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

Having movement in a slide presentation can certainly make it more interesting. However, too much movement, or “gimmicky” types of movement, can easily become a distraction. In such situations, your message (and possibly your credibility) can suffer.

In a future post, I will share some specific tips about using transitions and animations in a slide presentation. I will also show the main ones that I use. However, given that the Christmas season is fast approaching (as I write this) and people are in a festive mood, I thought I’d have a little fun.

So, using the 2009 version of Keynote, I animated the lyrics to a terrific song by the English alternative rock band, Keane. The song is one of my favourites by them and, fittingly for this post, is entitled “Everybody’s Changing”.

And so, I give you Keane + Keynote … “Keane-note”.

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 109)

John Zimmer — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:47:59 +0000

Samuel Clemens / Mark Twain (1835 - 1910) American Author and Humorist

“A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.”

— Mark Twain

Podcast on Public Speaking

John Zimmer — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:51:22 +0000

Last year, I wrote a post explaining how I had been invited to be a regular participant in a weekly talk show on World Radio Switzerland (WRS) called The Connectors. Featuring a teams of expats and Swiss, the show takes light-hearted look at life in Switzerland. We have discussed hundreds of topics ranging from cultural faux pas to traveling around the country to eating fondue.

Last week, the subject of the show was public speaking and presentation skills. We invited sales expert Jack Vincent to join us. The result was wide-ranging and free-flowing discussion about what makes a good speech or presentation. To have a listen, please click the icon immediately below.

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 108)

John Zimmer — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:53:28 +0000

George Carlin (1937 - 2008) American Stand-up Comedian

“You can’t be afraid of words that speak the truth. I don’t like words that hide the truth. I don’t like words that conceal reality. I don’t like euphemisms or euphemistic language.” — George Carlin

Photo courtesy of Bonnie Murphy

“You’ve Got to Get Naked on Stage”

John Zimmer — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:43:19 +0000

Dan Mangan is a Canadian indie folk-rock singer and songwriter. There is a raw honesty in his voice that is beguiling. His latest album, Oh Fortune, was released to wide acclaim.

Another powerful moment for Dan Mangan

Dan recently wrote an article for The Guardian entitled, Magic gig moments. It’s a very personal, very moving article that offers tremendous insight into the life of a musician. It also offers an incredibly important lesson that is as relevant for public speakers as it is for musicians: Your most powerful moments on stage will come when you are willing to be vulnerable.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

[T]he concerts that I have cherished the most are the ones that left me with very distinct memories. They could be subtle or grand, but my recollection of those evenings are split in to specific moments. An entire evening’s experience recounted decades later, thanks to one action, one facial expression, or a moment of true, unconscious “aliveness”. … When I play a concert, I want to create those memories for myself and for the audience. … I want people to go home with a story to tell. I want to leave a footprint …

———

So how do you do that at every show? How do you make that night any more memorable than the last, while walking the balance beam that keeps it sincere, honest and in-the-now? … You have to put in the work.

———

You have to get vulnerable. It’s a scary thing to do, but the payoff is enormous. People get bossed around by the fear. The fear of your vulnerability not being reciprocated. Non-reciprocation can be painful, but giving in to that fear is how we bond as people. That’s when we feel faith in humanity. Those warm moments of colour in the tepidness of status-quo life.

———

We watch people on a stage. The ones who really blow our minds are the ones who tap in to that carnal part of inspired humanity that allows us to just be alright with each other. The ones who really inspire us are the ones who put down their armour. They get naked with such brilliance that instead of cutting them to bits, everyone in the room wishes they had the balls to get naked, too. They get so vulnerable that we nearly get embarrassed for them, and then it comes around to this whole other thing where we’re not embarrassed for them at all, but now we ourselves are embarrassed that we questioned them to begin with.

———

What I’m suggesting is that those truly memorable moments of gig beauty can only come at the intersection of vulnerability, honesty and spontaneity. You can’t anticipate when they’ll happen. You can’t expect it to be the same moment every night, and you can’t expect you’ll be able to reach that place every show. But when it clicks, it’s magic.

———

It’s like being in on this amazing secret. … You realise that getting vulnerable is a catalyst to having boatloads of memorable moments in your life. You learn that most people will actually meet you there. And you stop caring if they don’t. And you learn to disregard people who don’t “get it”. The good ones will. I want goosebumps as many times as possible, then I want to die gracefully without regret.

Great, great stuff! Public speakers take note. When you allow yourselves to be vulnerable on stage, magic moments can occur. So when you speak, the focus should be outward instead of inward. Focus on your message; show some emotion; tell a story; be 100% in the moment; smile. And most importantly, care about your audience. Be like Luciano Pavarotti who said, “Some singers want the audience to love them. I love the audience.”

You can read Dan’s entire article here. My thanks to Christina O’Shaughnessy for bringing it to my attention.

Photo courtesy of Christine McAvoy

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 107)

John Zimmer — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:25:28 +0000

John Ford (1894 - 1973) American Film Director

“You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.”

— John Ford

Rick Perry’s “Oops” Moment and Five Lessons We Can Learn

John Zimmer — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 21:01:54 +0000

Drawing a blank. It’s one of people’s biggest fears when it comes to speaking in public. It is painful for the audience and excruciating for the speaker. And during the Republican Presidential Debate on 9 November 2011, Rick Perry experienced it firsthand.

In case you missed the debate, this was the moment:

I’ve not been following the Republican Presidential primary that closely, but I do know that this is not the first time that Perry has made a gaffe. And it is certainly not helping his standing in the polls (though it is providing a steady supply of material for late night comedians).

So what lessons can we learn from Perry’s cringe-worthy moment?

1. Be prepared and have your key points down cold. Yes, we are all human. Yes, we all make mistakes. But … good grief, the man is running for President of the United States! And he was not talking about some esoteric issue; he was talking about shutting down three major federal government agencies. That’s huge. If you are going to take that kind of position, you have to be able to name the agencies and articulate the rationale for abolishing each one at the drop of a hat.

2. Deal with the mistake quickly. Had Perry acknowledged that he had forgotten (around 0:15), he would have minimized the damage. But like a punch-drunk boxer, he kept coming back for more and each attempt just made it worse. By the end of the clip (at 0:53) you can hear someone (another candidate or one of the moderators) say “Oh my!”. It would have been much better if Perry had said “… commerce, education and … I’m sorry but I’ve just drawn a complete blank. I’ll come back to you with the third agency in a moment.” Doing so would have minimized the time spent on the issue, it would have moved the debate along and it would have given Perry time to collect his thoughts.

3. Organize your notes. At around 0:50, Perry shuffles through his notes to find the answer but quickly gives up. Your notes must be prepared in a manner that makes them useful. They should not be handwritten; they should not be typed in small font; they should not be written in paragraphs like an essay. They should be: (a) key points with sub-points; (b) typed in large, easy-to-read font; and (c) organized in a way that allows you to scan them easily, and quickly find what you are looking for.

4. Use humour, but use it the right way. Perry tried several times to use humour to defuse the situation, but he went about it the wrong way. Instead of poking fun at himself, he ended up making fun of the substantive issues:

(0:15) “… and the, uh, what’s the third one there? Let’s see …” Remember the issue he is discussing—closing down a federal agency. He was just too glib about the “third one” as he tried to remember it. I doubt that many federal agency employees or their families found it funny.

(0:25 – 0:30) In response to a suggestion by Mitt Romney that the third agency was the Environmental Protection Agency: “EPA! There you go! No, I’m kidding. Hah! [Slaps table.]” If Perry was looking for a quick way to alienate environmentalists, he succeeded. Worse, the line resulted in Perry having to offer a pitiful “No sir, no sir” to the moderator who asked if he was serious.

(0:57) “Oops.” Really? “Oops”?! It’s not like he forgot to take out the garbage. He forgot which government agency he is planning to close!

Perry should have directed the humour toward himself. He could have, at the same time, taken a good-natured shot at his rivals. (After all, this is politics.) So, for example, he could have said something along the lines of “Clearly, I’ve been spending too much time around Mitt Romney.” Or, because he drew a blank while looking at Ron Paul, he might have said, “I’m sorry, I was momentarily hypnotized by Congressman Paul’s tie.” The important thing is to take yourself lightly but treat the issues with the utmost respect.

5. Don’t just say that you can’t remember; promise to find the answer. If you don’t know the answer to a question or if you forget your point, don’t just leave it at that, like Perry did. Instead, promise to find the answer and come back to it. Of course, in a televised debate, you don’t have the luxury of phoning the office or checking your email during a coffee break. Either you remember the answer or you find it in your (well organized) notes. (See Point 3 above.) In fact, later in the debate Perry did manage that the third agency was the Department of Energy, but by then it was too late.

Do you have any thoughts on Perry’s brain freeze? Or do you have any other ideas about how to handle the situation when you forget what you wanted to say?