Tag Archive for: public speaking

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Thought for Thursday

"Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all. "
-- Sir Winston Churchill

Well, that's William Churchill's thought.

My thoughts ...?

Broadly speaking of course.

Keeping it simple always works in any endeavour including in public speaking, but short varied with long will have more power.

Old words - ah that appeals. There is so much less chance of misunderstanding, and people feel comfortable with the familiar.

And here is Churchill using the rule of three for great power, not to mention repetition and building to a climax.

Love it!!

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The Power of the Mind: Reduce Your Fear of Public Speaking

Lisa Braithwaite has shared her experiences with panic attacks and anxiety on her blog.  I admire her candour, and am thankful she shared her experiences, because this sort of story encourages those who feel trapped by the condition.  I went through a similar time - panic attcks and anxiety, and certainly would not recommend it.

But in this particular article Lisa has given us all a new way of looking at the situation, especially as it applies to public speaking, with some incredibly powerful tools to use.

If our mind is powerful enough to create fear from “nothing,” it’s also powerful enough to reframe our thoughts to propel us forward in a positive way. There have been many books written about the power of positive thinking – the most well-known of these is Norman Vincent Peale’s, first published over 50 years ago. Recent medical research shows, for example, that a positive expectation of a medication has real measurable physical effects (not just the psychological “placebo effect”) on our health.

How does this apply to you as a public speaker? You can control the amount of fear and anxiety you experience around public speaking. You have the power to turn negative and fearful thoughts into positive ones. How do you do it?

Here's how ...

Public Speaking and Adult Learning Principles

 

If you haven't already--as a public speaker, you should dedicate yourself to a lifetime study of adult learning principles. It will pay you colossal dividends.

And there's a lifetime of "adult learning stuff" to learn. Today we'll look at one such principle; Elaborative Rehearsal.

It's more than practice. It's a proactive approach of making the most out of past learning in order to maximize new learning.

For your audiences to make the most out of this proven learning and memory technique, you will have to teach them. Most adult learners just aren't aware of these methods. Here are five tips you can pass along to all of your audiences.

1. Proper Note Taking. For a learner's notes to enhance one's memory, it is important that a learner is able to record the speaker's ideas in their own words. And, as a presenter you need to tell them so.

2. Paraphrasing. This is like the above note taking, except that care is given to the actual words the note-taker uses. Ideally, the words the learner replaces the speaker's with has equal or added meaning to the learner.

3. Predicting. It will help a listener to project a speakers message into the future. This "projection" allows a person to simulate the material they are learning in the theater of their mind.

4. Questioning. A good Q and A will help your audience learn your principles better. Challenge your audience to come up with creative and meaningful questions, and then dig into them together.

5. Summarizing. There much talked about the concept but it is seldom used in most learning environments. Plan a specific, "Now what did we learn here today?"

There's a lot more to the idea of Elaborative Rehearsal than these five tips, and we'll discuss them in future articles.
The "take-away" today is the need for the public speaker to "train" their audiences how to use elaborative rehearsal to their greatest learning benefit.

One thing that will help your audiences to be able to "practice" your message is a strong visual representation of your message. The presentation world calls these graphics by many things, Process Models, Method Maps, Matrix's, and Hierarchy Models, etc.

Wayne Kronz

Wayne Kronz is the host of http://MethodMap.blogspot.com. Visit it today for the best free, online information about the design and use of visual aids in public speaking. You'll discover many actual models you can use in your next presentation plus a host of videos showing you how the top pros are using visual aids in their public speaking. And a lot more!  Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash
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Seating Strategies to Engage and Involve Your Audience… and Boost Back-of-Room Sales


 with Paul O. Radde, PhD


Paul Radde

Your normally well-received presentation isn't going so well. You are used to people laughing, nodding, and being engaged, but this room is set with rounds of 8 and people's backs are to you. And the last row is so far back you can't see their eyes. Or maybe you're a light-hearted speaker and the rigid straight-across rows don't allow anyone to see each other, which you know is critical for humor.

What is the right setup for your presentation? How do you specify and educate meeting planners to set the room to get more engagement from the audience? Are there better designs to give the planner and the hotel staff? How can the seating setup affect back-of-the-room sales?

You will learn how to:

  • use state-of-the-art seating arrangements to optimize the learning environment, and increase capacity and back-of-the-room sales!
  • improve line of sight, comfort, safety, access, audience responsiveness, and networking.
  • utilize 4 state-of-the-art seating principles to design, set or troubleshoot or set any meeting room, and use 3 factors to fine-tune the room.
  • put into action tips on design, A/V, traffic flow, noise, and lighting.
  • accommodate last-minute registrations and ADA requirements.

Click here for all the details ...

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Using Computer Presentation Programs effectively

People are tired of worn-out power point presentations!

Does this mean we should jettison the technology and go back to the "stone age", as one person put it, in giving our presentations?

No more than we should ban television because of the likes of Jerry Springer and Temptation Island.

The medium itself is not to blame, it is how that medium is used that falls short. Too often, presenters rely solely on their software to provide every bit of their presentation's creativity. The problem with this approach is that the entertainment value of PowerPoint and other programs, leaves a lot to be desired.

When a speaker decides to use it as a crutch, instead of as an enhancement tool, it can give a presenter a false sense of security about a bad presentation. I've sat through many a bad presentation where the insecure presenter just hides behind a barrage of screen activity as a gratuitous gimmick rather than having good illustrations and attention-getting visual element to add in making their points. So how should this medium be best used?

Obviously, there are millions of reasons for a presentation, and therefore, millions of effective and creative ways to deliver it. Creativity can take several forms, from the spontaneous quip to the extravagant special effects of a Hollywood blockbuster. Keep in mind, though, that a crummy movie with very impressive special effects is still a crummy movie, and the same rule applies to presentations. Things that may work well in some presentations will not do so in others, but here are some general guidelines for successful use of electronic slides.

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Add to Your Speaking Revenue as a Professional Emcee

Add to Your Speaking Revenue
as a Professional Emcee
with Mark Standriff


Mark Standriff

Are you looking for additional sources of income in these difficult financial times? Have you ever considered being an emcee? Marketing yourself as a master of ceremonies not only provides value-added opportunities for potential clients, but also gives you access to high-profile events for which you might never be considered as a main speaker.

Emceeing is a different skill from delivering a speech. It requires different marketing, and certainly demands different preparation — there are a number of challenges you should avoid or you’ll be cleared out before the main course. But it can be a lot of fun and quite lucrative.

Mark Standriff has worked as a professional emcee for hundreds of events during his 25-year speaking career and will share his secrets on knowing how to shine without being the star attraction. If you’re open to looking at a different side of speaking, this session will open your eyes to professional opportunities you may never have known existed.

You will learn:

  • Key selling points that will make you a sought-after emcee
  • How to prepare so that your agenda complements the event’s agenda
  • Creative ways to command attention and keep the program flowing
  • How to handle hecklers and other audience problems
  • Common concerns and how to overcome them

Get all the information here ...

How to avoid distractions

Lisa Braithwaite at SpeakSchmeak has highlighted a vital problem in public speaking - how to avoid distractions, althought she has turned it around and called her post "Keep your focus" - a usful way of looking at it.

Distractions don't have to interfere with your presentation. Instead of perceiving them as problems, see them as part of the deal. Every presentation will have its distractions; they only become problems if you let them get to you.

she says, and provides some very useful tips on just how to avid those distractions and stay focussed.

Ballet and Public Speaking

At the Speaking Energy: Adventures in Public Speaking blog, Bjorn had compared public speaking to ballet.  He obviously enjoyed the performance, or at least appreciated the energy.  He looks at performance, everyday life and art, giving us, in the process, another way of looking at public speaking.   http://bit.ly/75oFP8

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Public Speaking – How to Close a speech

One of the worst mistakes you can make as a public speaker is talking too long. Not only will you send some folks to never, never land, you will make some of them downright mad. It doesn't matter if your entire speech was brilliant and the audience came away with information that will change their lives. If you talk too long, they will leave saying, "That speaker just wouldn't quit." Don't let this happen to you! Say what you have to say and sit down. Before you do, give them a well thought out closing.

... How to do it? Read on ...

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Anyone can improve the way they are perceived in the market place through networking and public speaking.

And death came third

by Andy Lopata , Peter Roper

It has often been said that the two key skills for any business in the 21st Century are an ability to communicate a message - and a hungry market to communicate that message to. Now, for those outside of the corporate world, the best way to achieve these two objectives is through networking and speaking to groups.
Andy Lopata and Peter Roper have written a really handy book on how to achieve this. But the book is more than just a guide to the shy and anxious. In a very simple way Andy and Peter have explained how anyone can improve the way they are perceived in the market place through networking and public speaking.

Read more ...

or check it out at Amazon