Don''t Ever Gesture Like This!

Gestures when speaking are excellent ways to emphasize or help to create ideas of how something looked, but -- never -- use gestures when you are reading printed material and are not looking at your audience.


I recently saw one excellent reader make this mistake. But his head was buried in his written material (It is a good idea even when reading to somebody to pause and look around quickly at your audience once in a while.), but his hands where waving around in some gesture like the hand on a old wind mill that was about to break off and fall to the ground.


Needless to say the gestures were not only useless they made him look ridiculous.  Too bad. He was an excellent reader with a lot of warmth and feeling.

Keep It Handy

Here is another "downtime" technique to help you capture those ideas or words -- even while driving -- that you can use in your presentation.


Keep that  mini or micro recorder out of your pocket on your seat or other convenient spot near. If thoughts occur to you that you want to follow up in your research or use in your presentation all you have to is push the record button and speak.


Just keep the volume turned up so you don't have to pick it to speak into and risk getting a hefty fine from the police for using a "hand-held device" while driving.


Any type of recorder will do. I use a big, older model portable as I still have and use a bunch of tapes and find it very handy. But if you have a cell phone recorder you could likely even use that. The recording time is short on most of those cell hones though.  And of course if you have a digital recorder which could be the most useful of all.


Whatever you use just make sure you have something (even a notebook) with you while driving around because that is  when many good ideas are going to pop into your mind or you hear something on the radio you want to recorder or make a note of.

Enjoy Yourself on Stage

Jenifer Lopez, one of the American Idol judges made a very good suggestion to the contestants tonight and that is, "Enjoy yourself when you're up there performing. We'll feel that enjoyment and share in it too."-- (or words to the effect).


And that is a good thing for public speakers to strive for too. And the key to that  is good preparation, an excitement for what you are talking about  and a desire to help others with your ideas.


Does as it does with singers that enjoyment in being a part of your presentation will spread throughout your audience.


(See "Watch Those Commas"  Below)

Watch Those Commas!

When writing the final draft of your presentation (and of course when you are actually speaking) watch those pesky little commas.


The use of commas can make a big differences in the interpretation of your material.  Consider, for instance this sentence:


"A woman without her man is nothing." 


You had better make sure who is sitting in your audience when you come out with that one -- of if you make it even worse by dropping in a couple of commas to come up with:


"A woman, without her man, is nothing." or:


"A woman: without her, man is nothing."


So remember that judicious (and grammatical) use of commas can make a big difference in how well your presentation goes over.


For more information on this topic of commas and other punctuation  get a copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves  by Lynne Truss.

Enrich Your Voice and Boost Your Energy

Got a few minutes when nobody else is around -- such as when you're walking down the street or stuck in a traffic jam?


Use this time to enrich the sound of voice   by keeping your mouth lightly closed and -- hum.  It could be anything -- a song you know or just make up a melodious hum of your own.  This will help you to develop a nice resonant tone to your voice.


And according to Dr. Oz in his latest show if your combine such a hum with a light knock on your thyroid which is situated in the top of the bony area just below your Adam's Apple you can also boost your energy. (You might want to check with your medical or naturopathic physician before trying this second technique, but for most people it does work and has no unpleasant side effects.


(Dr. Helmet Oz can be reached at www.doctoroz.com or on television.)


A Word to Know


Having a good vocabulary is critical to everyone, but especially to a writer or speaker so here is one to start our little treasury:


Boon:  A timely or welcome benefit, something bestowed on  somebody such as the  Order of Canada or in England a knighthood.


"His receiving the Order of Canada was a boon to his prestige in the community which tended to doubt his sincerity."

Create Effective Gestures By Getting Lost in Your Material.

Any speech trainer will remind you often of the need for effective gestures, including facial expression and other body language, to add visual and emotional emphasis and clarity  to your presentation. Or just to help people understand how something looks or works.

But what is the best way to develop this skill? Watch how veteran presenters in live situations or on television  combine ideas and feelings   -- how they help their audience to appreciate the significance of something through facial expressions or emphatic gestures or how something looks or works with descriptive gestures


You'll see many many good examples of this on television or in the movies of course. Nancy Grace of HLN, is one who comes to mind.  Her facial expressions are a mirror of her inner feelings about the the different criminal investigations and court cases she covers. 


And those inner feelings are where your most natural and effective facial expressions and gestures come from. Study your material. Know it well. Think about what the information means to you. How it affects you.  Feel it, visualize it. Then your voice, your hands, and your face will  help your audience to appreciate and understand it the same way that you do.


In other words, get lost in your material just like a good actor  does and you do when you are trying to explain something that has really touched you to a friend or friends. 

A Great Source of Ideas on Virtual Presentations

With ever increasing cost of transportation and staging corporate events you might want to make -- at least some -- of your presentations virtual.


For more information on this click on: www.smmconnect.com


They have a free Webinar coming on May 3, 2012.  The key speaker will be Carmen Taran,  the co-founder of Rexi Media, an agency that helps business people to develop their virtual presentation skills.


This looks like a company that might have a lot to offer. To check them out click on: ww.reximedia.com

Truth or Consequences :: Texas Monthly

Truth or Consequences :: Texas Monthly

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