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?
by Peter Jeff
End your speech with an attitude, not a platitude.
Instead of firing off a perfunctory “thank you,” consider launching fireworks of final passionate thoughts from the podium.
Want to look confident? Want to hold your audience's attention? Want to make your point stick? You can do all the tricks and tropes out there, but these six phrases, in my experience, almost always grip the listener, make the speaker look strong, save her from a world of trouble, and invite real connection with your audience. Keep these in your back pocket for a stronger speech:
This is a video produced by a presentation training company as an example of how NOT to make a PowerPoint presentation.
From Jeff Bailey at Wired Presentations ...
I have a friend who is a world class rifle shooter. He even represents the USA in international competition. I would trust him to shoot a quarter out of my hand at a hundred yards. If my life depended on a rifle shot I would want him to take that shot. That being said, he will occasionally miss. Not by much but his standards are very high; he aims for perfection.
If you want to perfect your public speaking skills then you have to treat ums and ahs the same way that my friend treats his occasional miss.
[ By Stephanie Leibowitz]
When we travel to another country and do not know the local language or have only rudimentary foreign language skills, we expect that some of what we say may not be understood by the other party (the native speaker). We are prepared for potential misunderstandings and may even see these exchanges as a source of humorous anecdotes with which to amuse our friends, families, and colleagues upon our return to familiar ground (literally and figuratively).
However, it's no laughing matter if your prospects/clients, colleagues and employees, strategic partners, or other important stakeholders and constituencies don't fully understand or misunderstand what you want and need them to know. This is particularly critical in today's multicultural work environments and global marketplace. A dictionary will give a word's definition (and a Thesaurus will give you synonyms), but your ability to communicate successfully also depends on the nuances to word usage that can mean the difference between getting your point understood and creating a communication blunder with tangible negative consequences. We sometimes mistakenly assume that two parties who 'speak the same language' - that is both parties are native speakers of the same language, such as English - receive the same message when they hear/read the same word(s). Experience shows that if you ask your management team, staff, and clients to define familiar terms such as leadership, value, planning, strategic, communication, and performance, you will get responses that vary greatly, not in the literal sense, but in the interpretive sense. Context and perspective act as translation filters and these filters determine whether our intention has been communicated in addition to any facts.
Here are a few tips to ensure that your intended messages are received:
• Understand your audience's perspective on the topic. This helps you identify what part of what you want to communicate will be perceived as most important / of interest, the level of detail you will be expected to provide, and what you want the recipient to do with the information (read and file for future reference vs. take specific action).
• Understand the cultures of your external audience's organizations. This gives you clues about preferred communication styles as well as how they speak about their organizations. You want to mirror that.
• Know your audience's preferred vehicle for receiving communication as well as what you have determined to be the most effective one (defined as more people understand your message, less or no need for repeat communication and clarifications).
• Clearly communicate what you mean when you use a specific term or phrase. For example, when you tell others that the goal is "effective communication" or "sound financial performance", it is up to you to define what behaviors demonstrate this, quantitative and/or qualitative examples of what these look and sound like.
• Speak/write using simple words. Avoid jargon, abbreviations, and acronyms. The same acronyms/abbreviations can mean very different things to different groups. I'm sure you've conducted an internet search on an acronym only to find many results that are not the one you expected.
Remember to start by asking "Why is it important that I communicate this particular content to this specific audience?" When you communicate with purpose and clarity, your audience won't need a translator.
-- Mariah Burton Nelson (Mariah@MariahBurtonNelson.com)
What does the audience hear when the speaker says "Good evening"?
"Blah, blah, blah."
If the speaker then proceeds to thank the introducer, the committee, the... see what I mean? I don't even want to finish that sentence, because I'm going to lose your attention -- just as you will lose the audience's attention if you drone on and on, thanking people.
I call this the Blah Blah Blah Opener. The audience has sat through this opening so many times, they literally won't hear you; they'll just wait (if you're lucky) for something more substantial to come along.
Don't bore your audience to death before you've even hinted at your main point. Did Abraham Lincoln open with, "Greetings ladies and gentlemen. I'm so glad to be here in Gettysburg"? No.
He dove right in: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." How can you not keep listening after that?
I know: You want to -- and need to -- thank people. But you can thank people toward the end of the speech, when the audience has already enjoyed a rousing call to action, or a poignant story, or an intriguing new theory, or whatever the speech is intended to convey. At that point, a few "thank-you's" don't detract from anything, because the "anything" is almost over.
How, then, should you open a speech, if not with "Good evening. I'm so glad to be here in ______, and I'd like to thank blah blah blah"? Say something interesting instead! Make a provocative statement. Challenge the audience to think about, or do, something new. Promise them you'll soon reveal the answer to some mystery -- or otherwise build suspense. Tell a lighthearted story about someone the audience knows well. Describe your morning -- if you can make it funny and relevant. Ask a question -- a real question that you're curious to see how the audience will answer, so you can get to know them better.
All of these openings will immediately signal the audience that you're NOT going to be a typical boring speaker, and that they're in for a treat.
"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here," said Lincoln at the dedication of that Gettysburg battlefield. As it turns out, he was wrong about the world forgetting what he said. We do remember. Good thing he didn't start with a Blah Blah Blah Opener or the audience might never have heard the rest!
There are two types of speeches used in public speaking, either you are “selling” something or you are “telling” something. The type of speech you select will depend on the reason you are presenting, and the nature of your audience.
In public speaking selecting the right type of speech will increase the effectiveness of your speech. The purpose of your speech can range from enjoyment to convincing the audience to take a certain action. How much the audience knows about your topic and their attitude towards it, also needs to be considered when selecting the type of speech you will deliver. ... more
Many tools can be implemented for success in delivering your speech, whether you are giving a speech to a public audience, talking with members of a company board meeting, or simply offering a sales presentation. Such tools comprise explaining detailed examples, designing statistical charts, in addition to providing influencing testimony. Below, we will add another public speaking skill to the list and explain four special tips for using “evidence” in a influential speech.
Seth Godin says ...
I'm sorry, we're out of time
What do you do when the deadline looms?
I often hear blowhards on the radio, wrecking the entire interview because they don't know how to call it quits when the host tells them they have thirty seconds to wrap up. They try to say one more thing, one more thing, one more thing and they get hung up on and the message is lost.
I often hear presenters who always manage to need just two more minutes than the time allows.
Read more ... http://adjix.com/3i6h
