Be Careful With Edgy Humour

Edgy or offensive humour can quickly make you either a star or an outcast as illustrated in a feature  in the  Weekend Review section of the Vancouver Sun  on Saturday, Dec 17, 2011.


In this feature " Did he really say that?" by Rene Bruemmer he uses  a  joke by the Lt. Governor of Newfoundland and Labarador to illustrate this point.


It seems that during the swearing-in  ceremony for provincial cabinets ministers Crosbie cracked this joke:


" This fellow said, 'I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, social security, retirement funds etc., I called a suicide hotline and got a call centre in Pakistan. When I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited sand asked if I could drive a truck.'"


Of course he was  catigated by, among other the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Kathy  Dunderdale, who was far from amused.


The important point Brummer is making here is that as he says in the article, "Edgy of offensive humour done right, comedians says, has the power to illuminate society's ills and bring together groups separated by race or class by forcing them to question their beliefs and view of the world."


Remember it is all about setting and who is telling the joke and of course how he tells it. The trick according to comedians quoted in the article is to either use these types of jokes with an audience they knows you and what kind of person you really are as well to lead into such jokes gradually.


Remember it  is a very fine line between being funny and offensive


For more valuable advice on this topic see the  Dec. 17, 2011 edition or the paper on click on  "vancouversun.com"

Make The Main Points Stand Out.

Whether you are reading material you have written or some quotation or even a speech written by somebody else be careful to isolate the main points -- just like a painter accentuates parts of his landscape painting with different tones or a digital photographer plays with colors and shades to highlight important features of his subject.


If you don't your reading will be just like that desert countryside that goes on for mile after boring mile.


You can makes these main points stand out quite simply by appropriate pausing, changes in pace and the tone of your voice as well as by a change in the depth of feeling.


If you've written the material yourself you shouldn't have much trouble with this as you would have built your speech or presentation around these main points which all support or clarify  the theme or thesis of your speech.


If, on the other hand, you are reading a quotation or entire speech  written by somebody else take the time to site down and analyze what they have written --making sure you have the  ideas they are trying to highlight clearly in mind before you read that quote or speech.


This is where  reducing such copy written by somebody else to that Mind Map would be especially helpful. Just lay out those main ideas on the branches radiating out from their central idea.


Doing this will make your reading truly informative, memorable, and persuasive.


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Exercise:  You can of course practice all of this using sections of your own speech or presentation but if you would like extra practice    you can use one of the editorials in your local newspaper. Analyze it to isolate those main points  then practice reading the piece to capture that memorable and persuasive point of view

Make The Main Points Stand Out.

Whether you are reading material you have written or some quotation or even a speech written by somebody else be careful to isolate the main points -- just like a painter accentuates parts of his landscape painting with different tones or a digital photographer plays with colors and shades to highlight important features of his subject.


If you don't your reading will be just like that desert countryside that goes on for mile after boring mile.


You can makes these main points stand out quite simply by appropriate pausing, changes in pace and the tone of your voice as well as by a change in the depth of feeling.


If you've written the material yourself you shouldn't have much trouble with this as you would have built your speech or presentation around these main points which all support or clarify  the theme or thesis of your speech.


If, on the other hand, you are reading a quotation or entire speech  written by somebody else take the time to site down and analyze what they have written --making sure you have the  ideas they are trying to highlight clearly in mind before you read that quote or speech.


This is where  reducing such copy written by somebody else to that Mind Map would be especially helpful. Just lay out those main ideas on the branches radiating out from their central idea.


Doing this will make your reading truly informative, memorable, and persuasive.

Your Voice Paints A Picture of You

Your voice paints a picture of you in the first few minutes.


To see how this  true  go the movies, or watch a television drama -- or even some reality or quiz show for the express purpose of just painting a picture of the different characters or personalities  through the sound of their voices. Close your eyes to do this


Try and decide kind of person you are listening just through the clarity, volume, nasal quality, pace, pitch, and warmth or coldness  of their voices. With professional actors your mental picture should be very close to the person they are trying to portray.  A large part of their success in character portrayal  depends on how they use  different voice qualities to help you do this.


Now, as a speaker or presenter your voice also does this for you as well as a speaker or presenter  so turn on that tape or digital recorder and tape  your speech if it is  not already recorded record it and then listen to it  --  with your eyes shut -- just to the quality of your voice.


Ask yourself, what kind of character you are listening to. Is it a positive or negative picture?  If you were a member of your audience what would you think of the person speaking. Are you likable, confident, cold, indifferent etc?


Better yet ask your spouse or partner to listen to your tape (with their eyes shut too)  and get her (or him)  to give their honest opinion of the character portrayed by your voice.


Then work to eliminate any negative qualities.

Navigational Listening -- Learning To Use it!

When you're listening to other speakers and presenters  don't forget to you use your navigational listening skills in order to evaluate whey they are telling you.

For more information in this invaluable skill click on www.creatingwe.com

An Example of Words Motivating People

In the November 2011 edition of  Success  magazine Guy Kaswasaki in t he article " The Art of Changing Hearts & Minds" by John H. Ostdick gives a perfect example, if outrageous example of how the right information and words can motivate people.


In the article Guy Kawasaki, talking about creative a likable image  gives the example of the first wife of Steve  McQueen's first wife, Neile , who was on a trip to a race with McQueen and Paul Newsman in 1963.


 Kawasaki relates how, "On the way back, she had to go to the restroom, so they pulled into a service station. The line for the ladies' room was long, so she told the women ahead of her there was a car full of movie stars parked nearby, and they all scrambled. 'This was a win-win: Neile got into the bathroom, the girls met some famous movie stars and the men got back on the road in less time.' "


A bit sneaky no doubt. But she did illustrate just how powerful the combination of ideas and the right words can be.

Let Children Learn Communication Skills Like Birds

Would you like your young children to grow up to be excellent communicators?


Then take the time to read to them often -- using good speech and grammar skills.


Also take them on those family outings to explore nature as well as exhibits found in museums and art galleries, and other educational centers.


 Don't just look at things passively. Explain things to them, being careful to speak grammatically and clearly with good pronunciation and pausing.


When you get back home ask them to explain what they noticed in their own words. Don't grill them of course. Just ask things like what they enjoyed about the trip.   Let them learn to express themselves clearly in their own words.


Don't correct them as they speak. Commend them for the things they noticed and their explanations.  Make the whole trip and conversations about it with you enjoyable.


If you start all of this early enough and continue it throughout their early years they'll master communication skills much quicker and easier. Children learn best by following role models




Scientists have discovered that children are just like Japanese starlings and other birds who quickly learn and master complex melodies just by listening to their parents.


Children are just like that with language skills.

A Key To A Strong, Clear Voice

One of the keys to a strong clear voice is having a healthy, strong diaphragm -- critical to undetectable breathing in and out when you are speaking.


And this breathing in and out at such times is not that easy.  Many veteran television anchors and other speakers and presenters and up having to take in large gasps of air  --at times -- in order to finish their sentences.


There are a number of breathing techniques that will help you to eliminate this problem, but it all starts with that  diaphragm so keep it healthy.


There are a couple of ways you can do this.  One of course is by heading down to that gym and start working on those abdominal muscles.


Strong abdominals will help you to control your diaphragm as you speak.  And  as Dr. Harrison M Karr  Ph.D. said in his book, Developing Your Speaking Voice  back in 1953, "Precise, control of the muscles of exhalation [such as the diaphragm] is essential to provide for the full, round, and frequently modulated tones which characterize the efficient speaking voice,"


It will also, combined with breathing exercises, help you to eliminate those desperate gasps for air as you speak.


The other way to develop to develop strong health abdominal and diaphragm muscles is a good hearty laugh on a regular basis according to Dr. Karr, as it massages the intestines and helps to expel unused air from the lungs.


If this is not possible for some reason  closing your lips and laughing silently is an excellent substitute.


So get down to the gym and work on this abdominals -- but don't forget to build that good sense of humor as well and practice laughing.


Doing this could help you to build that strong, clear voice, unblemished by gasps for air. 

Never Let Others Determine Your Future

If you are pursuing a career as a professional speaker, presenter, or trainer you're bound to run into situations that others will try and use to determine your future success.   Don't let them!


A good example of this type of is the latest segment of  the X Factor and the sending home of the group called Lakota Rayne.   The MC tried to tell them, "This is the end of the dream!"


But one of the girls spoke up, telling him bluntly that, "No, this is not the end of the dream. You're going to see us in concert before long."


With a positive outlook like that plus the obvious talent these girls  have as a group and individual performers they are bound to succeed, despite that gloomy prediction from X Factor master of ceremonies.


That was similar to the response of Leroy Bell, a terrific singer who was also eliminated from the competition. 


And that is the same attitude that every  singer, actor, and public speaker needs to have to succeed in this world.


Don't let setbacks or those who would use them to try and derail you define you and your future.

The Best Support Materials

There is an ever wider variety of things you can use to enliven your presentation or illustrate your material, but choose it wisely.


Visuals and other supporting materials should enhance or clarify your material -- not replace it.  These things should explain the content of your presentation -- never the other way around.


And your visuals should be all tied together in some way. All of your Power Point slides, for instance, should have the same underlying design and colors.


Sometimes these things can be quite elaborate containing videos and other graphic images and drawings but don't forget sometimes something simple works the best.


A good example of  how something simple can work wonders is the speech  a minister friend of mine gave   on the Christian suit of armor described in Ephesians 6:14 in the New Testament or Christian Greek Scriptures.


This speech on the symbolic helmet of salvation, the shield of faith etc. As he explained each of these items he pointed them  -- on an actual suit of armor he had borrowed from a theatrical warehouse.


It worked wonders as his audience were deeply engrossed in everything he had to say and most of them commended him on his  memorable, motivating speech afterwards.


So remember, sometimes simple is best and make sure that whatever you use support or clarifies your presentation.


Also never forget to incorporate the use of one of the best teaching aids there is in your presentation whenever possible -- Mind Maps.


Take a few minutes before you start to pass out Mind Mapping materials ( large sheets of paper and colored markers) and show your students or listeners briefly how to use them to make notes as you speak.


This is one of the simplest and most effective tools you can use to clarify what you are saying and help your students or members of your audience to remember what you have said long after you have finished your live presentation.

Banish Boring, Time Wasting Meetings with Science Fiction?

Is your company plagued with boring and time-wasting meetings?  Some good planning and some science fiction ideas might help you eliminate these.


To see how pick up th  November 2011, edition of  Success  magazine.


This latest edition contains two excellent articles for meeting planners The first is, "Maximize Meetings by Jane Hodges with the real life experience of William Seidman, co-founder and CEO of Cerebyte in Lake Oswego, Oregon.


The second is titled, "Beam Me UP Scotty by John h. Ostdick. He says that, "Once considered science fiction, virtual meetings are very much a reality today."


He continues with the claim that, "The idea of stepping into a hologram for a monthly staff meeting may still seem a tad far-fetched for most small-business owners, but improvements to broadband quality and available technology are expanding virtual meeting options at warp speed."


Sounds interesting?

Be Ethusiastic

Enthusiasm in your speech or presentation  is critical -- without it you might as well keep your mouth shut because of the dual role it plays in a successful speech or presentation.


First it will not only attract the attention of your listeners, but will also create credibility for you because of your obvious belief in what you are telling others -- if your voice and face both reflect your believe in what you are saying.


Secondly such genuine enthusiasm will also move others  to listen closely  and accept what you are saying or  least to seek more clarifying information if they have disagreements with you by either asking you questions or doing independent research  themselves before making final decisions about the information about your ideas.


To develop this speech quality you need to do two things:  First of all take the time to sit down after you have done all of your research and think about your material.  Find out what you really think about what you have learned.  How does all of this affect you.


Ask yourself things like: What are my ideas? Are they really true or valid or valid for the people I'm going to be talking to? What evidence or proof do I have for my ideas? Are there opposing ideas?   
What are they?  Are they possibly just as valid?


Interview yourself, laying of this out on that Mind Map.This radiating way of thinking about your topic will help you create more ideas about your presentation topic and along with it more intense enthusiasm.


Then give careful consideration to how the ideas you are going to present to your audience are going to affect them.  Mind Map or cluster this as well asking yourself:  What are  possible benefits to them if they follow your advice or ideas. 


This will help you to build a genuine enthusiasm  for your ideas. This is critical because Any hypocrisy or superficiality on your part will soon show in your words, facial expressions and other body language. It can't usually be faked unless you're a professional actor or actress.


When thinking about your speech or presentation in this way  pay special attention to  the main ideas  that you want to get across to your audience and need special enthusiasm.


Plan how you are going to vary that enthusiasm. The same level of enthusiasm should not run right through your presentation or you will quickly become just as monotonous as the speaker who  drones son  in the same dull monotone throughout his speech.


If all of this is handled properly a enthusiastic speech is contagious and will create an audience that, for the most part, becomes enthusiastic about your ideas, and more convinced about the benefits of acting on them as you suggest.
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Q-Tips or Better Phrasing?

 do you find yourself repeating yourself continuously and your team just doesn't seem to get it  or they don't respond the way you would like there  is   something wrong.


Before you take off your shoe and start pounding on the desk or passo ut the q-tips to clean their ears, however, ask yourself if it could be your wording that's causing the problem.


What do you think would work best:  "We've had a terrible quarter. You people in marketing and manufacturing must have been  sleeping.  I don't know what happened, but we need to turn this around. Now.  I don't know how but I'm paying you to do it so...!


or something like: " W'eve had  a terrible quarter. Our profits have looked like somebody going down a ski hill with no skis, but you people have  solved problems like this before so I'd like you to brainstorm this problem and see what you can come up with for our meeting on Friday?

How Long Should Your Presentation Be?

How long your presentation should be is determined by a number of things such as the topic, available time, you audiences interest.


In the case of a seminar or workshop that is going to take up  several hours or more you need to break it up into shorter segments to give your audience a rest as well as make it easier for them to learn and remember what you are talking  about.


Tony Buzan and other leading educators  make it a point to break their classes up into segments of not more than 30 to 45  minutes. To make learning and remember much easier.


The trick is  stop after this time for  10 to 15 minutes.  Then before  continuing on with additional material conduct a brief review, using a Mind Map or oral review of the material covered before the break.


Do this repeatedly through your class or presentation if it runs over 30 minutes.  Buzan has found out that we remember most from the beginning and ends of learning sessions  so if you design your class or presentatin with more stops and starts you are naturally going to help  listeners or students to remember the material.


You make it much harder for them to remember if you continue on  much beyond that 30 to 45minutes. The learning and remembering curve drops drastically in presentations  that do not have breaks.


So remember to break up those long presentations into shorter segments and you'll  help your students to understand, remember, sand be motivated by your presentations.

Choose Them Carefully!

Do you remember the advice from the Bible about being "slow about speaking but quick about listening -- or words to that effect?  Good advice for the speaker or presenter in any situation -- particularly if you are dealing with a business problem.

Before you say anything think about the words you use. Don't just let words spill out of your mouth. Ask yourself, "Are they going to cause a negative or positive reaction?

If you are discussing a failed marketing or production project that really has you upset this is especially critical. If you come out with condemnatory words or words that point an accusing finger at members of your manufacturing them demanding that they do something to turn it around  you are going to get a reaction all right -- a negative one from a completely demoralized team.

If on the other, you started with a brief mention of the problem and then told them reassuringly  that you know that together we can come up with ideas to turn this around."  -- and then sit down and brain storming solutions with them (using Mind Mapping techniques especially)  you're more apt to win the support of your team and turn the problem around create a manufacturing and marketing plan that succeeds. 

Plans your ideas and words to create a positive, motivating atmosphere in your board or meeting room.


 For more information on this see the book  Say It Right the First Time  by Loretta Malandro, Ph.D.
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( For more ideas on business communication see the post below)

Become a Story Teller!

Powerful presentations can take many formats -- including story telling.


Many persons are using this technique to create oral histories about themselves and their companies including its services to persuade people to either hire them or to try their services or products.


An excellent guide  is  Tell to Win  connect, persuade and triumph with the hidden power of story by Peter Guber.


The cover copy for this books says: Historically, stories have always been igniters of action, moving people to do things. But only recently has it become clear that purposeful stories -- those created with a specific mission in mind -- are abosolutely essential in persuading others to support a vision, dream, or cause."  How true!


While teaching a security course I found this out personally when students told me. "Thank you. By using so many stories to illustrate the main points you have made it so much easier for us to remember things."


And of course oral history or story telling is also a powerful tool  in passing on oral histories of families from grand parents and parents to children to create priceless histories not only of families but also of this country.


It is is definitely a skill worth building and using if you are not already a story teller. As Peter Guber says in his book: 


"As I look back on my four decades in business, I see that persuading customers, employees, shareholders, media,, and partners through telling to win has been my single biggest competitive advantage." 


Make it yours!


(For more information on story telling in social settings click on: www.vancouverstorytellers.org     and www.storytellers-conteurs.ca/)

Keep Afloat With This The Help of This Site

In this electronic age there is  -- almost --no excuse for not keeping your presentation or speech fresh with new ideas and the latest information. But if you 're at all like me you're probably finding yourself just bit out to sea without a life preserver with constant gush of new information.


Yes  Google and other searches are an excellent ways to gather new material and ideas about your specialty as a speaker or teacher -- making sure of course, that you verify all these shiny nuggets of new information with independent research.


And then there are all the other online ways you already know about to gather and share information about your interests: blogs,  or other social media like Facebook, Twitter,  and Linkedin. And of course there are others you probably know about as well. But how do you sort through it all?  It can all get pretty time consuming and exasperating to put it midly.


But there is one site you might not know about that could help us solve this problem  and this is  Storify, developed by Burt  Herman to help writers and other awash in a deluge of information from online and other sources keep afloat as we try to pick through it all, capture those rare nuggets of useful information and make good use of it


I just clicked on it  and have yet to explore it so can't tell you much about more about this site yet but according to  to the article in the November 2011 edition of  The Writer the idea behind Storify  was, "to allow users to search multiple social-media streams at the same time, and then create new stories by pulling together the public content found on any or all of them."


It's definitely worth looking into as a much simpler way to do research. 

Update Your Presentation

When was the last time you  up-dated your presentation or speech with some new wording, illustrations, or ideas?   If you don't regularly do this you should and it is not hard.


There are number of fairly quick and easy ways to do this, both on paper and even online, which we'll look at in the next post. The first of  these is we have already looked at: Mind Mapping.


In addition to the smaller master-Mind Map of your presentation make a larger one, preferably on sheets of paper about the same size you use on your large flip charts. Make a master map of the entire presentation and then one for each of the main parts of your speech or presentation on a separate sheet.


You'll find this much easier if you use the same flip-chart board and stand that you use during presentations. Keep this handy in your office ready to use so as you gather new ideas and material for each of the sections you can simply turn to that page and either replace older sections with new information -- or add new information on additional branches on the Mind Map.


That way your material will always be current. Just before your next presentation all you have to is rewrite your material from the already updated Mind Map.  Or simply create another presentation  Mind Map with the new or revised information.


This will ensure that your presentation is always up to date with the latest or new ideas  and also that you become even more familiar with your material.


This will help you to create an even more extemporaneous  style -- which your audience will love.


( For more information on Mind Mapping simply click on Tony Buzan on your computer.)

Grab Their Attention!

They say that you have about 90 seconds when speaking to others for the first time to get their attention, a good impression and give them a good reason to continue listening to you.

Of course that's not written in stone, but still when making a presentation timing is critical.  First of all, you  have just a few minutes to gain your audience's attention -- and then it can not be too long.

What you say in the first few seconds will determine  if people in your audience are going to listen to what you have to say or to more entertaining ideas on their cell phones or daydream about more interesting things.

The first step to making sure that your introduction prevents this from happening  to create an introduction with each specific audience in mind.  What are the interests, the concerns, and the attitude of the persons who will attend your presentation. What do they know about your topic?

Once you understand all of these things you will able to design that introduction that will not only grab their initial attention but also promise them that they will benefit from listening to what you have to say.

This could be anything such as, a quotation, an anecdote, a bold or startling statement, a problem with the hint of a solution, or a question etc.

One lady who was going to to be speaking about the better use of  recreation time to a group of teachers made good use of this last type of introduction with the simple -- teasing -- question: "Who would like to run away  with me this afternoon?"

Where are you going to get such material?  Often just by  reading through you material  (as well as by being an avid reader generally) you'll find something buried  in the body of the presentation that would be perfect if you just reworded it a bit and moved it up to the introduction.

If this doesn't work get out that  big sheet of paper and cluster  (Click on Writing the Natural way on your compute for more information on this technique if you're not familiar with it.) your topic again letting your mind flood with possible ideas as you jot them down  on the paper with the main idea in that circle in the center of the page and related ideas radiating out in those smaller circles until they fill the page -- or you think of something you would like to use.

And of course you can use an appropriate quote or quotation from somebody else ( This is why it is good to be that avid reader of a wide variety of material.)  -- or that story that somebody else told you.

Whatever you decide to use spend enough time to tailor it to fit your topic and audience perfectly and if you are going to use humor tread very carefully -- making sure, especially, that any jokes do not cast anybody else in a bad light. If you want to make fun of yourself in some humorous or embarrassing situation that's fine.


Keep in mind too  when writing your introduction that it can not be too long; remember the example of the young lady who asked her audience if they would like to run away with her.  The introduction was just one sentence and highly effective.


Of course once she had the attention her audience she quickly followed this up with good reasons to continue listening to her with a hint of what she was going to be talking about -- and wove all of this material seamlessly into the body of  her presentation.


You do not want your introduction to drag on.   If your entire presentation was going to be some 3,000 words an introduction of  500 words would be fine, but in one of only 800 words this would have to be cut drastically to about 50 to 75 words at most.


Then go on to live to what you have promised in the introduction in the body of your speech or presentation.

Keep Your Camera Handy

Like your journal or notebook you should keep your digital camera or cell phone camera ready while going about your daily activities or doing research.


Fictional writers use their cameras to help them capture information for their novels or shorts stories tasking pictures of things like clothing and hairstyles; things like trees and other things they might want to do additional research on and include as part of the settings in their stories -- even information in magazines and books, and museums as well.


As a speaker or presenter you might be able to make similar use of pictures of people and things that could either help with your research or provide illustrations in your presentation.


So keep that camera ready --  And practice using it so you can capture that picture that could help with your speech or education seminar or presentation.


Just remember that in most areas of North America it is not illegal to take pictures of people in public.  Check if there are any problems with this in your neck of the woods first  and also remember that if you are going to use those pictures of people that are clearly identifiable then you must obtain a model release from them -- first -- if you are going to use the picture for any commercial purposes.


For more information on  use your camera as a notebook read a copy of the August 2011 edition of  the Writer and the article, "Use your Camera as Your NOTEBOOK" by Tanya Egan Gibson.


And if you would like to talk to her directly go to to www.tanyaegangibson.com  or  e-mail  her at tanya@tanyaegangibson.com
www.tanyaegangibson.com or email her at: tanya@tanyaegangibson.com

Play With Your Pauses and Emphasis

Take time to develop more flexibility in your voice by playing with your pauses when you speak or read to really create anticipation in what you are going to say next or to make points stand out better.


Start with taking a passage that you are familiar ( such as one of your speeches or even a newspaper editorial) and practice reading at different speeds -- sometimes reading whole sections rapidly, then slowing down to read more slowly


Do the same thing with individual words and word groups such as phrases and clauses. Sometimes pronounce words in a very clipped fashion.  Others times draw them out.


Over time this will help you to develop a much more flexible voice able to project different shades of meaning and emphasis much easier


Do the same thing with the use of pauses. Much of the time, especially when you are quoting or reading material, you naturally follow the pausing suggested the punctuation marks, but don't be afraid to experiment to create your own effective pausing even if there are punctuation marks to guide you.


Take for example this sentence written by King Solomon in the Bible: "The valuable things of the rich are his strong town, and they are like a protective wall in his imagination."


That is very clear and effective, but if you really wanted to emphasize that all of these material riches were not really a protection at all -- you put a pause after wall to make the last part of that clause read: " they are like a protective wall -- in his imagination."


The extended pause indicated by the dash would really make that point stand out.


So whenever you have a chance take some time to continue to practice these things to fine tune your speaking and reading skills.

Be As Natural As Possible.

Strive to make your presentation or speech as natural as possible. Don't put on any acts  reminiscent of the old circuit preachers with their cultivated tones and thunderous voices. Keep your presentation simple. You don't want your voice to sound stiff or artificial.

 The key is to be yourself speaking to that close friend. Some of us are more precise and careful in our speech. Some of us normally speak in a more casual manner. Either style is fine although always keep your audience and material in mind. Sometimes you might have to make your presentation a little more formal than you normally would -- other times a little more casual.

 Whatever you do  just don't put on any airs or special tones -- or be  -- overly  precise. Speak distinctly with proper pronunciation -- but don't over do it.

 

Of course don't go to the other extreme either.  Speaking in a natural manner does not mean resorting to jargon, or slang, or poor grammar or being overly casual.

 And if your audience  is made up largely of members of a certain culture that expect you to follow certain protocols when speaking to strangers then make sure you  learn and follow these in your presentation. But even in situations like this with the proper use of  volume, tone, and wording combined with appropriate smiles and other body language you can still create a natural friendly atmosphere when presenting your ideas.

Just remember -- natural is conversational and strive for this.

Build That Storehouse of Words!

A large vocabulary is essential to our success as public speakers and presenters.


No! Not to impress people -- but to enrich our mind with new and varied, and clear concise  to explain things to others.  A continually growing vocabulary will help us to do this.


 Such concise words are always the best way  to reach the hearts and minds of others, whether we are speaking to one person or hundreds, although the complexity of our language will naturally depend on who we are speaking to.


This conciseness has nothing or little to do with the complexity or length of a word. Sometimes a very simple, short word is not concise. It can fall short of describing things clearly and leave people confused and wondering -- whereas as more complex and longer word and create instant understanding.


Sometimes, too, you find that to make yourself clear you might have to rephrase something so the larger a storehouse of words you have to easier this will be.


But we want to have a rich storehouse of concise words to enrich our own thinking with stimulating ideas that the words will create in our minds.


So keep building that vocabulary with the help of some excellent books or courses that focus on the vocabulary used  by specific professions  as well as your general vocabulary with the help of the Verbal Advantage which comes in both audio and printed forms.


Of course there are numerous other vocabulary building courses and books out there.  Another one you will find very helpful is  The Power of Verbal Intelligence  by Tony Buzan.

How Does Your Face Look?

Have you ever thought about how your face looks when talking to others?


Although most of the type we don't think about this too much  it is critical in communicating with other -- because along with our words and body language people use what they see in deciding whether they like us or not and if they are going to bother to listen to what we are trying to say. All within the first 90 seconds of meeting us!


That does not mean that we want to speak to people with a neutral or expressionless face. Nothing will turn an audience off faster than that. We want to use your face to share and emphasize your  feelings with our audience. 


There is another facial expression we want to avoid or minimize (It could be appropriate in some brief situations.) which  some speech coaches like Arch Lustberg, author of Winning When It Really Counts,  have  described  as the "closed face" or the  grimace, when you freeze the muscles around our eyes and forehead creating narrowed eyes and a deep vertical crease between your eyes.


Most of the time you want to have  that " open face" with a natural, friendly expression on our face. Watch almost any newscast or talk show host -- particularly the morning shows like  Regis & Kelley shown on channels in the U.S. and Canada for good examples of this. Even when they are discussing tragic, sad or serious topics their faces are never "closed" and menacing.


The trick is to keep your facial muscles relaxed and then focus your attention on your topic which will help your facial expressions to come naturally as you discuss your topic.


This closed  or neutral face -- or even just keeping your forehead raised in a heavy creases for long periods of time are traps or habits that are easy to fall into.


If you are having any trouble with these mannerisms work on eliminating them  -- and keeping your face "open" and alive with appropriate smiles and other expressions   in front of a mirror or a speech coach (friend or professional).


Practice, practice, practice. And as you do visualize yourself  actually speaking to that audience. Then when you are up on the stage it effective facial expressions will be more likely to come spontaneously -- just like when you are talking to that close friend.

Write Out and Memorize Your Speech?

Nearly all speech trainers from Dale Carnegie on to this day will tell you not to write out and memorize your speech. They encourage you to  make an outline of  ideas and speak from that as it will free you from being tied to your  written notes which will help you to deliver a much more lively and interesting speech.  And this is true.

But I would not go so far as to say not to write out your speech as you are organizing all of your material.  It will help you to become more familiar with it. Particularly -- if you write it out by hand; this will help to burn it into your mind. Recent studies have shown that we remember things much more vividly when we write them out -- by hand.

 But then put it aside and reduce your speech to some sort of speaking outline, making it as graphic as possible. Reduce it to ideas, with as many illustrations, anecdotes and other supporting material as you can

Use your written copy of the speech, which should be choc full of information and details just only to refresh your memory on certain point as you practice mentally and orally with your outline.

Don't memorize anything. From this point on just review your outline and mentally and orally practice what you want to say and how you can say it in as many different ways as possible. Don't try to say it the same way each time. Just make sure that you know all of the main ideas and supporting information.

This is where reducing or organizing your speech to a Mind Map is especially helpful. Each main idea branches off from the nucleus of the map with supporting information branching off this main arm -- like the branches of a tree.

So yes, write out your speech (by hand) following that original Mind map outline you made to organize your material, but then put the written copy aside and practice and deliver your presentation using  that (Mind Map) outline or another outline.

Imitate Dancing with The Stars Contestants

Want to capture the attention and support of your audience?  Then copy the example of the current (as well as past) Dancing with the Stars  contestants, as legal journalist and television host, Nancy Grace  -- and practice, practice, practice, your presentation until you can pull it off as effortlessly and smoothly as possible.


None of the contestants have gotten this far without hours and hours of practice -- up to 8 hours a day. And the same thing is true of any other type of professional presentation.


It is not enough to just ready about or study speech and presentation skills.  Just like these dancers you have to practice, practice, practice, before each presentation -- no matter how good you think you are.

Look For Alternatives to Alcohol or Other Drugs

The on-going Michael Jackson case involving Dr. Murray not only of the need to choose your family and other doctors carefully -- but also of the need to seek other ways to relax before and after public presentations of any type.


Taking too much alcohol  or other drugs --even prescribed medication to help you overcome insomnia are both like sleeping with a cobra in your bed -- you never know when they can be lethal -- if you think you are being careful.


Of course sometimes pharmaceutical medications are necessary -- but you should be careful and look around for alternative to fight stress and insomnia.


One such alternative is reflexology -- the massage of points in your  feet, legs, hands, arms, head and even ears.  This type of treatment -- shiatsu -- has been around for centuries is is highly effective in fighting both stress and insomnia. And there are no side effects when these treatments are given properly.


You can find information on both reflexology and shiatsu -- on line, in your yellow pages by clicking  on either term.  This will bring information about local practitioners or associations that will be more than happy to provide you with more information.


Of course, discuss all such treatments with your family physician or other doctors first.  You'll find that more and more mainstream medical practitioners do recommend both or either one of these.


Remember, excessive use of  alcohol or drugs, like smoking will eventually destroy your lungs, throat  -- and you.

Draw Pictures In The Air

Draw pictures in the air to bring your presentation to life and help your audience to visualize what you are saying.  




This is something most of us do naturally when we are talking to others in our family, social  or business circle -- even with complete strangers we meet on the street. We use this technique to emphasize what we are saying  or help others to visualize what we are talking about.  But when we are more tense up on the stage talking to larger groups  we sometimes freeze up leaving our hands dangling by our sides, clutching the lectrum in front of us throughout our presentation and we are safely off the stage reducing ourselves to a talking head.


You can overcome this by marking up a copy of your speech or presentation with reminders to emphasize or illustrate a point with either those emphatic or descriptive gestures and then practice until you can incorporate gestures at these points smoothly into your material -- the same way script writer write down stage directions for plays and movie scenes.


Such a direction might say something like: "Emphasize each point with vertical finger gesture"  or "Use descriptive gesture to show height or dimensions".


Then, practice, practice, practice until it all comes off naturally.


This all works fine until you are more relaxed on the stage then you will find that in most cases you don't even have to use such directions anymore. Gestures will come as naturally as they do when you are talking to a close friend or group of friends -- which your audience will become if you are picking out individuals in the audience whenever possible and speaking to them for a few seconds at a time.  


And then really get  into your material, thinking not of words but visualizing your main ideas as visually as possible.  This is where Mind Mapping and Clustering can be a big aid.


These two things: (1) always making your presentation a discussion with friends and (2) making your material as graphically vivid as possible will help you to overcome any problem you have with using gestures -- those pictures in the air that can help you to emphasize important points as well as visualize and remember  what you are talking about.

In Your Car?

Yes!.  practicing your speech or presentation in your vehicle while driving or parked -- is an excellent  way not only to master the content of your speech -- but also to bring new life to your material.


Many a journalist, after doing research in the library or interviewing experts has saved a lot of time and captured ideas and facts while t hey still fresh in her or his mind by writing up the story mentally while drive back to the newspaper office.


Then when he  got to their desk the story was almost completely written and all she had to do was to transcribe it all onto the computer screen, make a few editorial changes before submitting to the City or other editor. This saved a lot of of time and most of the time resulted in a far better story.


You can do the same type of thing while working on your speech, not only after you completed research and want to write your speech or incorporate new material into an existing presentations.  Write it mentally as you drive around or do other things.


You not only save time but also find that while doing this new ideas and bits of priceless illustrations you can use to illustrates your arguments or facts will pop into your mind -- bringing new life to your material.


So make use of that otherwise lost time while stuck in traffic to rehearse your presentation (even out loud as people nowadays will just  assume you are talking on your cellphone)  -- or while you are helping your wife with housework like vacuuming  or doing the dishes.


Just remember to have a voice recorder or notebook/pad on the car seat beside your or placed around the house where it is easy to reach to recorder those new thoughts -- preferably in cluster or Mind Map format. (If you're driving make sure you pull over or stop first -- of course.)


You will not only save time but attract new ideas and spark to your presentation.