Nick Morgan looks at three US Presidents' speeches in times of great tragedy. He defines what is needed at these moments and analyses the speeches in terms of those needs. The latest instance, of course, is Obama's response to the Fort Hood events. There is much for us all to learn, though we may not be political leaders, in Nick's analysis.
Rich Hopkins has a great new blog post that should have us all using reading aloud far more effectively ...
There are times when reading during your speech is appropriate and necessary:
A. Letters, memos, and reports that must be heard in there entirety
B. Quotes, short and long
C. Poetry, lyrics, short excerpts from books
D. Manuals
E. Religious readingsReading the written word effectively can be a daunting task. We've spent our lives listening to others read out loud in school, church, and the workplace, and it is often so excruciatingly bad, we fear our own reading will be heard with the same critical ears.
Read the whole post here
Nick Morgan writing at his best ...
What is the single most powerful way to increase your persuasive connection with an audience – and your charisma at the same time?
Listening.
When you listen with your whole body, using your intuition or unconscious to read the emotions of those with whom you’re communicating, the result is a connection with the other people in the room that they experience as engaging, fascinating, and indeed charismatic
There is so much more to this amazing post that you'll want to read it all ...
“What do I do with my hands when I’m speaking?” is a common question that I hear when I’m teaching public speaking. Your hands form an important part of your non-verbal communication, or body language, and can help you convey confidence and communicate more effectively to your audience.
Here are 5 tips for what to do with your hands:
Every so often we are called upon to make a difficult speech...you know the kind I mean. It might be a speech informing your employees that budgets are being cut by 25% and layoffs are required; it might be one where you communicate that the incentive trip everyone worked so hard for is canceled; it might be announcing to your faithful supporters than you are withdrawing from the campaign.
How do you deliver these kinds of messages with grace, poise and confidence?
Most everybody would agree that working with Microsoft PowerPoint software probably ranks as one of the most frustrating things anybody encounters on a daily basis. There are, of course, masters of PowerPoint in just about every organization, but for most people, working in PowerPoint is after all these years still a painstaking experience.
The only thing more painful than a person working in PowerPoint is two people trying to work on the same PowerPoint presentation. And the only thing more painful than that is three people, and so on and so on.
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/vizard/reducing-the-pain-of-powerpoint/?cs=37212#cf
There were two great orators from ancient Mediterranean: Demosthenes the Greek and Cicero the Roman.
It was said that when Cicero spoke, people exclaimed, "Great speech. Wonderful message. I couldn't agree with you more." And they showered him with accolades, adoration and standing ovations.
It was said that when Demosthenes spoke, people shouted, "Let Us March!"
Did you notice the difference?
Two great orators. People admired and loved the one. People were gripped and compelled to act by the other.
Cicero appealed more to logic. And reason. He carefully crafted his message to speak to the analytical and rational side of people.
Demosthenes appealed more to emotion. His message touched, tangled and transformed people's feelings. Feelings so strong they were willing to drop what they were doing to go into battle.
Let's travel in the time machine to the present...
Christy gave an excellent speech about her involvement with Women's Empowerment International. They help provide small loans to the world's poorest women, lifting them out of poverty, and creating a better future through their own hard work and ingenuity. You could say WE International is providing the dream of entrepreneurship to help poor women provide for their families, to better themselves and to live with a heightened sense of dignity.
She talked about the founder, Muhammad Yunus. She displayed a blown-up photograph of Rosario, a Mexican loan recipient who is making cheese and selling them door-to-door because her husband is no longer able to work. And she talked about what we, the audience, can do to help.
Christy had everyone's attention. You could almost hear a pin drop throughout her talk. When she concluded, we knew she had more to share. She did a phenomenal job. Everyone loved her message.
While there were a few people who wanted to join WE International, the majority sat on the sidelines. Why is that? Why wouldn't more people join up or donate their resources after Christy's fine presentation?
It goes back to Cicero and Demosthenes...
While Christy's message was technically sound, it didn't connect on an emotional level. Her message touched minds. It lacked the ability to touch hearts. And this is huge.
Here's the difference in a nutshell:
The audience thought WE International is a great idea. They felt good about its purpose and mission. A few donated $20 to become members.
But not one person said, "Let us march. I'm going to get involved. I'm going to pick up the WE International torch and run with it. I'm going to spread the word to everyone I know." Not even one.
Here's an important point...
Practice to become the best speaker you can. If your audience adores you, that's a good thing. You're taking up after Cicero.
But if you really want to move people to action - take up after Demosthenes. You'll touch people on a gut-wrenching, emotional level. You'll know by appealing to their hearts... their minds, desires and actions will follow.
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Want to include this article in your newsletter? You can if you include this blurb: If you're a speaker, trainer, coach, or a consultant, the major challenge you face is connecting with your audience. You talk, shout, or recite your message while they are dreaming about dinner. Their eyes are glossy, their minds' elsewhere, and their bodies ready to bolt. You don't have a lot of time, so you've got to grab their attention fast. Or else, you'll die wrestling against audience resistance. Find out how... |
PowerPoint Alternatives - From Browsers to Blogs, Part II
In Part I of PowerPoint Alternatives, I talked about presenters who use HTML to display the visual portion of their presentation. Now that blogs are popular, some speakers are using blogs as presentation tools, including Steven Cohen of Library Stuff fame. Here’s a presentation he created in a blog last February and his post on the Note that he used Blogger, a tool that is free and can get you up and running with a blog in just a few minutes. Downsides of using a blog instead of PowerPoint include a busier screen that you would find on most PowerPoint presentations. Also, a blog entry is not going to fill the screen the way a PowerPoint slide will, so it could be more difficult for the audience to read. From the presenter's standpoint, getting the slides in the proper order is cumbersome; you need to tweak the dates and times so as to get the blogs to display in the proper order, then remove the date from the blog template, since in this context, it’s irrelevant.As with HTML, the advantages of using a blog are greatest when you be presenting using a live Internet connection. You can include the links you want to visit in the blog/web page, and easily link out to web sites. The blog also makes a great "take-away."
Use humor in presentations to make yourself more likable. Humor is a great rapport builder which knocks down audience resistance to your message. Make sure you space it throughout your presentation. You will subconsciously or consciously be tagged as trite by the audience members and out of touch if you tell a joke at the beginning and then forget humor for the rest of the presentation.
(Ref: Wake 'em Up Business Presentations Page 4)http://www.antion.com/wakebook.htm
Sometimes it can be a huge challenge to be funny.
But being funny and using humour are incredibly powerful tools in public speaking. They can make an audience relate to your message. They can provide contrast to a serious subject and lighten the mood, making the audience more receptive. They can improve your image as a speaker and as a person.
Sometimes humour can be spontaneous and that is oftentimes the most effective it will be. But sometimes it takes practice and serious attention to writing the speech to create that spontaneity - faking it till making it is one of the rules of public speaking after all!!
We can research jokes. We can copy the successful styles of speakers who use humour.
And another way is to learn from the comedians. While comedy is different in many ways from public speaking, or maybe can be seen as a specialised form of public speaking, there is much that can be learned from the comedians and implemented in your speeches.
Larry Wilde did just that. He interviewed great comedians for a book and learned much in the process. He interviewed famous comedians like Woody Allen, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Phyllis Diller, Bob Hope, and Jerry Lewis.
And now you can hear an interview with Larry Wilde about his experiences and the education in comedy that he gained. The interview is conducted by none other than Patricia Fripp, herself an award-winning speaker.
Learn the inside secrets of America's greatest comedians. Hear the collective wisdom of the people who defined American comedy.
What the Great Comedians Teach Us About Comedy - Recorded live at the National Speakers Association of Northern California. Download here from Patricia Fripp's website.