Category: Speaking

10 Myths of Public Speaking

1) I can wing my presentation. No you can’t – the audience will know if you are prepared or not.

2) Creating a few slides is a substitute for preparation. The slides are there to enhance a presentation, not substitute for it. Creating the slides are only part of the presentation. In fact, most presentations may even be better without any slides at all.

3) It’s all about what I know, not what I can give the audience. It is all about the audience – what is in it for them? If you create an audience focused, as opposed to a speaker focused presentation, it will be far more effective.

4) Who cares about timing? Well, a lot of people actually – especially the audience and meeting planner. If you are constantly over time, you will annoy a lot of people, reduce the effectiveness of your message, and reduce your chance of future bookings.

5) It doesn’t take long to prepare a speech. Some speakers may be able to prepare quickly, but you cannot prepare your entire presentation the evening before, or even worse – on the way to the presentation. And if you really have to, please don’t tell anybody – it does not look professional. I have heard speakers say "When I was preparing my speech on the way to the venue this evening…"

6) I can write out my entire speech, and just read it back. If you are reading your speech word for word, it will sound read, you will be unable to focus on your audience, and you will loose lose your audience.

7) I don’t need a microphone. For an audience larger than 50, you need a microphone – no matter how booming your voice.

8) Structure isn’t important. Lack of structure = lack of preparation.

9) I’d rather die than give a speech. Go ahead then. Can anybody find where this "statistic" comes from? Would you really rather die than give a speech?

10) I can make jokes at the expense of the audience. Only if you want to alienate your audience.

… and a bonus

11) You have to be born a good speaker. So, do you have to be born with a microphone in your mouth? Sure, many people are born great speakers, but many more become great speakers through persistence, preparation and practice. Ask any Toastmaster!

When you are the Emcee at a Wedding

I mentored a new client recently on being an emcee at a wedding – so the responsibilities of the emcee have been been on my mind. Enjoy!

The role of the emcee is simply to ensure that the event runs smoothly. This really is a two-fold role ? running the show on the day, and being prepared for any eventuality. The more prepared you are, the easier it will be to handle the curve-balls.

This checklist is really a guide of what may be required of you. At many weddings, there is a separate wedding arranger that will take care of a lot of these things, but you may be required to handle many unexpected situations.

Because your role is very prominent, you are the person that most people are going to approach with any questions or problems (even if it is officially not your problem), so it is best to be prepared. Remember to delegate and get assistance where possible or necessary.

Before the Event

  • Get a copy of the agenda and check the timings
    • Who is speaking?
    • How long are the speakers speaking for?
    • When are they speaking?
    • What time is dinner, dancing, etc
    • Get contact numbers for all involved (just in case)
      • Bride/groom
      • Venue
      • Photographer
      • DJ
      • Best man
      • Bridesmaid etc
  • Find out the dress code
  • What are the ?taboo? topics?
  • Is there a special eating order (eg: table 1 first etc)?/li>

At the Event

  • Arrive early
  • Check out the venue
    • Toilets
    • Smoking area
    • Where are you speaking from?
    • Table for the gifts etc
  • Ask the best man to phone you a few minutes before they arrive, so you can get people where you want them for when the bridal party arrives
  • Confirm timings for the meals with the venue
  • Find out where the controls are for the sound
    • Is there a DJ?
    • Where do you switch the background sound off?
    • How do the microphones work?
    • Is there a dedicated audio-visual person to assist (hotels etc may have)?

Stagetime

  • Welcome the guests
    • Briefly go through the programme ?we are going to have starters, then the groom will speak??
    • Mention logistics
      • where to smoke
      • where the toilets are
      • please switch your phones off during the speeches etc
  • Mention Eating order
  • Speeches
    • You just need to bridge the speeches, you are not the star of the show
    • Be brief
    • Watch timing of speakers ? adjust the programme if necessary
  • Let the venue know if food needs to be earlier/later
  • Humour ? keep it appropriate
  • You are not the star of the show, but you are critical to the success of the show
  • Remember that you are working ? watch alcohol
  • Have fun and enjoy yourself!

    Are you an expert communicator?

    Expert_2I have always believed that to get ahead in life, you need to be an effective communicator, regardless of what your field of work is. You need to be able to communicate to:

    • your peers
    • your boss
    • your clients
    • your prospective clients
    • your service-providers
    • your subordinates
    • your partner
    • your children
    • your parents
    • your …

    There is an interesting article by Dustin Wax on Lifehack, "How to be an expert", in which he speaks to this.

    Dustin says that

    "expertise without the ability to communicate is practically pointless",

    and you need to 

    "learn to use whatever technologies you need to present your expertise in the best possible way",

    and

    "an expert should be able to explain to you exactly what they?re doing and why".

    It all boils down to the ability to communicate. No matter how knowledgeable you are, your knowledge is worthless if you cannot communicate. Here are a few ways to improve your communication:

    • Practise
    • Get coaching
    • Watch and listen to great communicators
    • Join Toastmasters
    • Get to the point
    • Listen to others

    Good luck

    (image source)

    The 13 P’s of creating a speech – a speech outline from Ken Annandale

    When Ken spoke a few day ago, he gave us a very effective speech outline – the 12 P’s of creating a speech. I think that it is pretty self-explanatory – enjoy!

    1. Preparation
      1. Point description (ask yourself)
      2. Purpose Objective (Why am I doing this presentation?)
      3. People -Audience (Who is going to listen to me?)
    2. Introduction
      1. Promise Attention grabber (How do I get their attention?)
      2. Present Position (Historical situation What was the situation like before?)
      3. Perfect Position (Ideal situation What could it be like in future?)
      4. Proposal Recommendation (What is being offered as a solution?)
    3. Body
      1. Pertinent Points (features / facts – How does / will the solution work?)
      2. Persuasive Points (benefits / emotive – What?s in it for them / us / you / me?)
      3. Points to Ponder (Aspects that may concern them)
      4. Problems (Allow them to ask questions)
    4. Close
      1. Pr?cis (wrap up – repeat everything you said in brief)
      2. Plan for Action (Ask them to react to your suggestion)

    Here is the mindmap file.

    For more information on Ken, his website is http://www.show.co.za

    Kens_speech_outline

    Going pro – speaking tips from Ken Annandale

    Ken_annandaleLast night, I attended a presentation by Ken Annandale, one of my favourite speakers. Ken spoke about the business of being a professional speaker, and I am going to share some of my learnings over the next couple of posts.

    Today, I will mention some great tips from Ken on how to be a better speaker.

    • Read profusely ? books, magazines, newspapers.
    • Watch other speakers
      • Live
      • On DVD (recent and old speeches ? see how the styles have changed over the years)
      • Dissect the speeches
      • Listen to the message
      • Watch the delivery
      • Analyze the structure
    • Try to meet and learn from other speakers
    • Address different personalities in your speeches (eg extrovert/introvert, or choleric, melancholic, sanguine and phlegmatic)
    • Address different learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic)
    • Appearance ? whether you like it or not, you will be judged and stereotyped by your appearance. Make a conscious decision about what you are going to wear, and what your stage image is. Remember, you are not just giving a speech, you are putting on a show. Package yourself accordingly.
    • Have quality business cards. No home-made cards please. They are simply not professional enough.

    In my next post, I will discuss a great speech outline that Ken suggested using.

    References:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Temperaments
    http://www.businessballs.com/vaklearningstylestest.htm
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles

    3D can distort the truth – using graphs in PowerPoint

    Here is a simple exercise for you:

    Have a look at this slide, and decide which slice of the pie is the largest. You will probably agree that it is either the red or the orange slice (Apple or RIM). OK, now decide what percentage of the pie Apple and RIM hold.

    Slide1

    Of the people that I have shown this slide to, most have guessed that either

    1. Apple is larger or
    2. RIM is larger, but not by much

    Everybody was surprised to see that RIM (39%) is almost double the size of Apple (20%) – everybody was fooled by the distortion created by the 3D effect on the graph.

    Have a look at this slide. Now, it is quite clear that RIM is much bigger. So, when using 3D in your presentations, please have a careful look at the slides and check that you are not distorting the truth.

    Slide2

    Note: the above data is not real data – it was just used to illustrate my point.

    Who is the star of the show anyway? How to introduce a speaker

    The other day I head a speaker being introduced, and the MC made a complete mess of it. The worst part of the whole introduction is that the speaker was welcomed to the lectern, and then the MC continued with a clearly unprepared introduction. This left the poor speaker standing in the middle of the stage, completely unsure of whether to walk up to the mic, or to walk back off the stage and wait for the MC to finish!

    This has happened to me, and I don’t want it to happen to you. Here are a few tips for introducing a speaker

    1. Check if they have their own written introduction ? most experienced speakers will.
    2. If the do have a written introduction, use it and stick to it.
    3. Keep the introduction short and to the point ? no more than a minute or two.
    4. Be clear when you are calling the speaker to the stage, welcome them (a simple handshake will do), handover, and get off the stage.
    5. Don?t steal any thunder from the speaker. If you have heard them before, don?t mention too much about their topic, or the great joke they told – you don?t want to steal their thunder.
    6. If the speaker has a difficult to pronounce name, ask them how to pronounce their name, and be sure to get it right. Write it out phonetically if necessary.
    7. Remember, the audience is there to hear the speaker, not you.

    What else should the MC do?

    A picture speaks 1000 words – using graphs in PowerPoint

    Sometimes we need to present complex data in our PowerPoint presentations. There are two ways to do this.

    1. Confuse your audience with the data
    2. Simplify the data into an easy to understand format

    One of the easiest ways to turn data into a simplified format is to convert tables of raw data into clear graphs.

    Have a look at the below table which contains one month of exchange rate figures.

    Exchangeratetable

    What does the table tell you? Unless you are very used to looking at that sort of data, not much. Can you see the trends? How about the peaks and troughs?

    Now, have a look at this picture.

    Exchangerategraph

    Now what do you see? Does it look a bit more simple? Is it less overwhelming? Does it give you a better idea of what the data is really doing? Remember that it is exactly the same data, just presented differently.

    Converting any table of data into a graph is a very effective manner to simplify it, and to make it more accessible to your audience. Here are four tips for creating a graph:

    1. Make the data and lines clear and easy to read
    2. Minimize use of 3D – it can clutter the graph
    3. Only show data that is relevant – don’t display loads of data lines
    4. Clearly hi light points of interest (eg the max and min values above)

    Of course, the usual rules still apply – make sure that your slides are clear and easy to read. Let’s look at this last slide.

    Exchangeratebad

    Spot the problems:

    1. The axis labels are too small to read
    2. The 3D does not add to the graph
    3. The graph line is difficult to read
    4. The graph is bunched up in the top of the screen – the bottom is wasted real-estate

    Please – don’t ever create a graph like that!

    Remember – make your slides as clear and simple as possible!

    Speaker’s Checklist – 20 items to pack

    CableIf you are speaking on a regular basis, you get used to packing and unpacking everything that you need for your presentations. However, it is very easy to leave something small behind that you really need!

    I have my own checklist of stuff that I always take with me. I use some of them at almost every presentation, and some items (such as spare extension cables) are for “just in case”.

    So, here are some things that you may consider adding to your checklist.

    1. Laptop
    2. Wireless (presenter) mouse
    3. Power cables
    4. Extension cables
    5. Multi-plugs
    6. Adapters & cables (USB, network, audio etc)
    7. Masking tape
    8. Presentation on CD, laptop & memory stick
    9. Backup copy of presentation in separate bag
    10. Venue should supply – but check with them!
      • Projector
      • Screen
      • Microphone / AV gear
      • White-board
      • Flip-chart
    11. White-board / flip-chart pens
    12. Conference packs / handouts
    13. Back of room sales items (books, CD’s etc)
    14. Spare batteries
    15. Printout of presentation (just in case)
    16. Business cards
    17. Nametag
    18. Printed introduction (for the MC to use to introduce you)
    19. Change of clothing – in case somebody spills coffee all over you just before you speak
    20. Directions to venue!

    What do you pack that is not on my list?

    A small thing can have a huge impact – 20 logistical tips

    ComputerA few years ago, I witnessed a really small thing having a huge impact on a presentation – in this case a negative impact.

    Half way through the presentation I was attending, the presenters laptop died! It was not plugged into the wall, and the battery had gone flat. It took him over 15 minutes to find the power cable, get an extension cable, get AC power running and reboot his machine.

    Of course, this ruined his presentation. This would not have happened if he had done a little more preparation (personally my recommendation is that if this does happen, just abandon the laptop and continue without it, or get somebody else to resolve the problem while you carry on with your presentation).

    Would you like that to happen to you – well I hope not! Remember, that the best speeches can be ruined because the speaker forgot some seemingly minor details. So, here are 20 things to help you to give a smooth presentation.

    1. Arrive early
    2. if you can, do a dry run the night before at the venue
    3. Check out the stage and seating – change if necessary
    4. Smaller is bigger – rather speak in a small room that is full than a large room that looks empty
    5. Find out what time of day you are speaking
    6. Find out when in the programme you are speaking?
    7. Find out who is speaking before/after you
    8. What are their topics?
    9. Send your slides to the meeting organizer ahead of time – check that he/she gets them
    10. Send your audio/video (AV) requirements to the meeting organizer beforehand
    11. Create a checklist of what you need to bring, and use it
    12. Get to know the audio-visual guy – he will assist you with any technical issues – such as where the plugs are
    13. Ensure that you know how the microphone works
    14. Ensure that there is a NEW battery in the microphone
    15. Test all equipment beforehand
    16. Switch off screen-savers and power-saving options on your laptop
    17. Don’t run a laptop off the battery – use the AC power
    18. Give yourself plenty of time to setup – you don’t want to be setting up when the audience starts to arrive
    19. Have a bottle of still water handy (pref. at room temperature) – it is great to moisten your throat
    20. Have a backup plan for when things go wrong, and sooner or later they will!

    What tips should I add to the list?