Author: Craig Strachan

Using just the right words

One of my mentors, David Brooks, speaks about economy of words, and using just the right words to get your message across. His message came home to me when I won the recent humour-hopabout contest. At one stage, I was speaking about Murphy’s law’s of cell phones. and in an early draft I said something like this:

Murphy’s first law of cell phones states that the probability of your phone battery being flat is directly proportional to the urgency of the call that you need to make.

While the point that I was making was funny, I was being convoluted in the way that I was saying it. As soon as the audience heard words like “probability”, and “directly proportional”, they were going to be reminded of high-school math class, and fall asleep. In the final version, I said something  like this:

Murphy’s first law of cell phones says that your battery is full if when you don’t need to make a call, but it is flat when you need to make an urgent call.

Short, simple and to the point. The audience can relate it it immediately, and have no trouble following it. It was a minor change to the message, getting exactly the same point across, but in a far more effective manner.

When you speak, consider what yout message it, how you are portraying it, and how effective you are getting it across.

By the way, you can watch my speech here.

Winning the humour hop-about contest

Humourous HopAbout Competition 24th November 2008 - Copy
Monday evening was the annual humour-hopabout contest, hosted by Table Bay Toastmasters club in Cape Town. Since I am a Toastmasters district officer, I am usually not allowed to enter contests. However, because this is not an official contest, I was able to enter.

The humour-hopabout contest has been running since 1980 and it always draws fierce competition, a large audience, and lots of laughter. To compete, you need to present a 3-4 minute long humorous speech. I believe that the more you speak, the more you learn (stage time), so I entered the contest.

Well, imagine my surprise when I won the contest with my speech, which examined the lighter side of mobile phones. Clearly, I must be learning something from the Champions Edge. I also re-listened to Darren?s Make em Laugh set the week before the contest, which helped me to focus on and edit my speech.

So, at least for the next year I am the humour champion in Cape Town!

43 Dos and 35 Don’ts of Public Speaing

In some ways, public speaking has changed dramatically over the last 100 years, but in others it as barely changed at all. 

Read about 78 lessons in public speaking from 1916 that are still as relevant today as there were in 1916.

These lists are from the book Talks on Talking by Grenville Kleiser. It was originally published in 1916, and it is amazing how almost 100 years later, the principles hold.

DON’TS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS

  1. Don’t rant.
  2. Don’t prate.
  3. Don’t fidget.
  4. Don’t flatter.
  5. Don’t declaim.
  6. Don’t be glib.
  7. Don’t hesitate.
  8. Don’t be nasal.
  9. Don’t apologize.
  10. Don’t dogmatize.
  11. Don’t be slangy.
  12. Don’t antagonize.
  13. Don’t be awkward.
  14. Don’t be violent.
  15. Don’t be personal.
  16. Don’t be “funny.”
  17. Don’t attitudinize.
  18. Don’t be monotonous.
  19. Don’t speak rapidly.
  20. Don’t sway your body.
  21. Don’t be long-winded.
  22. Don’t “hem” and “haw.”
  23. Don’t praise yourself.
  24. Don’t overgesticulate.
  25. Don’t pace the platform.
  26. Don’t clear your throat.
  27. Don’t “point with pride.”
  28. Don’t tell a long story.
  29. Don’t rise on your toes.
  30. Don’t distort your words.
  31. Don’t stand like a statue.
  32. Don’t address the ceiling.
  33. Don’t speak in a high key.
  34. Don’t emphasize everything.
  35. Don’t drink while speaking.
  36. Don’t fatigue your audience.
  37. Don’t exceed your time limit.
  38. Don’t talk for talking’s sake.
  39. Don’t wander from your subject.
  40. Don’t fumble with your clothes.
  41. Don’t speak through closed teeth.
  42. Don’t put your hands on your hips.
  43. Don’t fail to stop when you have ended.

DOS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS

  1. Be prepared.
  2. Begin slowly.
  3. Be modest.
  4. Speak distinctly.
  5. Address all your hearers.
  6. Be uniformly courteous.
  7. Prune your sentences.
  8. Cultivate mental alertness.
  9. Conceal your method.
  10. Be scrupulously clear.
  11. Feel sure of yourself.
  12. Look your audience in the eyes.
  13. Be direct.
  14. Favor your deep tones.
  15. Speak deliberately.
  16. Get to your facts.
  17. Be earnest.
  18. Observe your pauses.
  19. Suit the action to the word.
  20. Be yourself at your best.
  21. Speak fluently.
  22. Use your abdominal muscles.
  23. Make yourself interesting.
  24. Be conversational.
  25. Conciliate your opponent.
  26. Rouse yourself.
  27. Be logical.
  28. Have your wits about you.
  29. Be considerate.
  30. Open your mouth.
  31. Speak authoritatively.
  32. Cultivate sincerity.
  33. Cultivate brevity.
  34. Cultivate tact.
  35. End swiftly.

47 Phrases to avoid when speaking

This list is from the book Talks on Talking by Grenville Kleiser. It was originally published in 1916. While many of the phrases have fallen into disuse, it is amazing how many are still being used today! What do you think we should add to the list?

  1. I rise with diffidence
  2. Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking
  3. By a happy stroke of fate
  4. It becomes my painful duty
  5. In the last analysis
  6. I am encouraged to go on
  7. I point with pride
  8. On the other hand (with gesture)
  9. I hold
  10. The vox populi
  11. Be that as it may
  12. I shall not detain you
  13. As the hour is growing late
  14. Believe me
  15. We view with alarm
  16. As I was about to tell you
  17. The happiest day of my life
  18. It falls to my lot
  19. I can say no more
  20. In the fluff and bloom
  21. I can only hint
  22. I can say nothing
  23. I cannot find words
  24. The fact is
  25. To my mind
  26. I cannot sufficiently do justice
  27. I fear
  28. All I can say is
  29. I shall not inflict a speech on you
  30. Far be it from me
  31. Rise phoenix-like from his ashes
  32. But alas!
  33. What more can I say?
  34. At this late period of the evening
  35. It is hardly necessary to say
  36. I cannot allow the opportunity to pass
  37. For, mark you
  38. I have already taken up too much time
  39. I might talk to you for hours
  40. Looking back upon my childhood
  41. We can imagine the scene
  42. I haven't the time nor ability
  43. Ah, no, dear friends
  44. One more word and I have done
  45. I will now conclude
  46. I really must stop
  47. I have done.

A lesson in being prepared

Roadworks

Last night, I spoke at a function in Cape Town, and I was almost in big trouble.

Now, I know the venue very well, and I know how long it usually takes to get there. So I left from home, planning to arrive at the meeting at least 45 minutes ahead of schedule, which would give me plenty of time to setup. But three things happened:

  • Firstly, one of the main freeways into town was closed due to roadworks. This resulted in a massive traffic slowdown on the other roads.
  • Secondly, there was another large function on at the venue, so I struggled to find a parking spot.
  • Finally, the meeting was running way ahead of schedule, so while I was expecting to arrive before their coffee a break – during which I would setup – and then speak at 9:15pm, they were already on their break at 8:40pm when I eventually arrived.

That gave me about 10 minutes to setup and test my equipment before speaking. In the end it all worked out fine. I got everything working in good time, and my presentation went very smoothly. But it was too close for my liking. I did not have time to mingle with the delegates beforehand, or to gather my thoughts.

Even though I thought I had plenty of time beforehand, I didnt. So, what did I learn?

Give yourself plenty of time to arrive and setup beforehand (at least 1 ? hours). No matter how well you know the venue/route/meeting arrangements, things can and will go wrong to derail your plans. Arrive early, and be prepared.

A lesson for speakers from Stephen King

I am busy reading Stephen King’s “On Writing”. This book is part autobiography, and part lessons for aspiring writers. Aside from giving an interesting perspective into Stephen King's life, it contains many practical skills in the art of writing.

If you speak to David Brooks, he will tell you that one of the key components of good speech writing is good speech editing, and that is where this book helps. Because, like writers of novels, speech writers need to learn the art of editing.

Here are two examples from Stephen King's school days. When he was about 16, he was employed by John Gould, writing for the sport section of the local paper. He was told by John”

  • “When you write a story, you?re telling yourself the story, when you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.”
  • “Gould said something else that was interesting on the day I turned in my first two pieces: write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.”

Doesn't that sound like what we need to be doing with our speeches; take out what is not the speech, and leave the rest?

ps: you don't need to be a Stephen King fan to appreciate and learn from this book.

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Let’s get our ducks in a row

If you cut to the chase and get your ducks into a row, you will be able to focus on the bottom line. It is obvious that you need to put your nose to the grindstone, pull up your socks and focus on the critical success measures. Then when the dust settles, you will see the light at the end of the tunnel and start sailing with the wind beneath your wings…

…yawn

Do you use clich?'s in your speeches? How often? The above example is rather extreme, but how much value do those extra phrases add to your communications? I see this happening a lot in corporate and business presentations (hence the term boardroom bingo – a simply game in which you complete a space in a bingo card whenever the speaker uses a jargon word).

Sometimes it is a long phrase, such as "get your ducks into a row", and sometimes just one or two words, such as "you know", or "kind of…". These words and phrases detract from the effectiveness of a presentation, adding unnecessary fluff that adds little or no value to your message.

A way to practise is to listen to interviews on talk radio – take note of how often people being interviewed pad their speaking with filler words, wrapping their message in layers of unnecessary bubble-wrap.

This is another reason for recording your presentations, to become aware of the superfluous words that you add to our presentations. I keep finding myself guilty of doing so, you need to be constantly aware of your word usage when speaking.

So, when you speak, please cut to the chase, focus on the message,

and so on and so forth…

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4 Steps to effective listening

Do you know why we were given two ears and one mouth? Because it is twice as hard to listen as it is to speak!

Here is a very simple approach from Steve Shapiro to follow to become a more effective listener.

  • Pay attention to what they are saying
  • Acknowledge what was said
  • Clarify to avoid confusion
  • Respond to what was said

By following these simple steps, you wall avoid the trap of waiting for the other person to finish speaking before speaking, and learn to listen to what other people have to say.

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The A-Z of public speaking

The A-Z of public speaking in 26 phrases…

  • Have a great attitude on and off the stage
  • Body language and gestures enhance your message
  • Make connections with the audience
  • Delivery and content are key
  • Speak with energy and enthusiasm
  • Facts tell, stories sell
  • Get to the point
  • Use Humour to make connections
  • Inspire your audience
  • Use original Jokes
  • Know your audience
  • Record and listen to your speeches
  • What is your message?
  • Notice how your audience is responding to your speech
  • Speak at every opportunity (stage time!)
  • Is PowerPoint enhancing or detracting from your speech?
  • Q cards can be useful ? especially for a long presentation
  • Rehearse your presentation
  • Simple messages are easy to understand
  • Stick to time
  • Does the audience understand your message?
  • Use Visual, auditory and kinesthetic phrases ? address all the senses
  • When in doubt, leave it out
  • Use real-life eXamples
  • You are not the star
  • Zzzzz ? don?t put your audience to sleep

What would you add?

Sticking to the CODE?

qrcode A simple method to improving your speeches

Content ? what is your topic, why this topic, what is your angle on the topic, why is it important to the audience, what stories are you going to tell to illustrate your points?

Organisation ? how are you going to structure your speech, what are your key points, how many key points, what is going to go into the intro and conclusion?

Delivery ? You only get one take when presenting, how are you going to make the most of it?

Evaluation ? to become a better speaker, you need feedback. Ask others what they thought, record yourself and listen to it afterwards. Figure out what really worked in your speech, what didn?t and how you can be even better next time.

(thanks to Martin Louw for the idea)

Note: The image on the right is a QR code – see if you can find the hidden message