Cornered

Fellow speaker,

Sit in every corner of the room of where you are presenting to test how the sound is for the audience. Ensure nothing blocks people from seeing you onstage.

In the corner,

Tim

And in this corner...

Fellow speaker,

Here are three "C"s of a great introduction:

• Content - What are you going to say?
• Context - Why should anyone care about it?
• Credibility - Who are you, anyway?

Answer these three questions in your introduction and your audience will be "champing at the bit" to hear you speak!

Champing,

Tim

Energy change

Fellow speaker,

Match the energy of your audience at the beginning of your speech. If they are excited, you are excited in your opening. If they are bored, you are more "low key" in your opening. As the speech goes on, you then add in the excitement and interest to the speech and "bring up" the energy in your speech and in your audience.

Revving up,

Tim

Reading to the audience

Fellow speaker,

When reading a story to the audience:

• Read a short passage of the story silently to yourself, then look up at the audience and speak to them what you just read
• Speak to the audience not to the book
• Keep the book near you so you can easily move your eyes on and off the page without having to bob your neck up and down

Bookish,

Tim

Reading stories

Fellow speaker,

When reading a story:

• Video your story reading while practicing
• Read it to a friend and get their feedback
• If you lose your place, ask a question of the audience

With a story,

Tim

Story reading

Fellow speaker,

When reading a story from a book:

• Pages are easy to read - if the type is small, enlarge the print size using a photo copies
• Develop a different voice for each character - a simple change of voice for each character will help the audience understand when you are speaking which character (e.g., if a man and woman are supposed to be talking, make the man's voice a little deep and the woman's voice a little higher in pitch)
• Different color highlighters mark each character in the story - this makes it easier to see when you need to switch to a different character style
• Mannerisms for each character - in addition to a different voice, creat a different "look" for each character (e.g., if the character is very excitable, make the character jump around the stage)
• Different voice styles to see which one works best

Talking it out,

Tim

More story presenting tips

Fellow spekers,

Here are some more tips on presenting your story:

• Blank the screen after the point is made - keep people focused on you (not on your slides)
• Make sure the colors and shapes go with the story message - some colors and shapes can send a message that is the opposite of what you want to show in your story (e.g., putting a "Stop sign" shape on positive information")
• Arrive early so you have time to set the stage before telling your story
• Get to the point - make sure your story has a point and that the audience gets that point

Storytime,

Tim

Present your story

Fellow speaker,

Make sure your slides tell a story:

• Limit the amount of information on a slide  - avoid boring people with your story
• Use charts - a picture can tell a story all by itself
• Use readable fonts and font sizes - make sure everyone can read your story
• Not too many transitions - make the story easy to follow
• Use high contrast backgrounds and colors - make the story easy to read

Presenting stories,

Tim

Tell me your story

Fellow speaker,

When creating your story:

• Write out everything you can think of
• Tell where and when the things happened
• Lay out the action in separate scenes
• Build up dramatic tension
• Communicate what all this meant to you

Storied,

Tim

Let's try it another way...

Fellow speaker,

If you are getting bored with your speech, change the way you deliver the speech.  For example, add a new story.  Do something to keep the speech "fresh" and interesting to you.

Freshly,

Tim

More presentation tips

Fellow speaker,

Here are some more presentation tips:

• Explain your data - If you have data on a slide, include a box on the slide which explains the meaning of the data
• Give the bottom line - At the end of the presentation sum up the lessons learned in the presentation
• Practice timing - Do some "run throughs" in order to make sure you stay on time during your presentation
• Prepare for questions - Think of possible questions people might have and then answer them; if you don't know the answer, find out the answer before giving the presentation
• Get excited - A presenter who is excited about their presentation excites the audience into being itnerested in the presenter and their presentation

At the tipping point,

Tim

Presenting...

Fellow speaker,

Before giving your presentation:

• Why are you here? - what's the purpose of your presentation?
• Cover the basics
• Use simple examples
• Use lots of images - a picture tells a thousand words
• Do not read your equations - if you use equations in your presentati0n, tell what the equation is about but do not read out the entire equation (e.g., instead of reading out loud "A squared plus B squared equals C squared." simply say, "Here is the Pythagorean Theorem.")

Presentationally,

Tim

Becoming a popular speaker

Fellow speaker,

Include "people words" (words that are about human beings, such as pronouns, names, or job descriptions):

• Statistics - help your audience visualize the people affected by your numbers (e.g., instead of saying, "Half of America has experienced crime." say, "If you haven't experienced a crime yourself, most likely the person sitting next to you has."
• Body references - human body movements with non-human subjects (e.g., "This is a report you can really sink your teeth into.")
• Talk like people talk - conversational phrases (e.g., instead of saying, "He is very compatible with others." say, "He's someone you'd want to hang out with.")
• Names - people's names (e.g., instead of saying, "...the Human Resources Director." say, "...Mary, our Human Resources Director" and then refer to the person as "Mary" throughout the rest of your speech)

Wordily popular,

Tim

Time the talk

Fellow speaker,

Different times of day demand different talking styles:

• Morning - people are more rested: give more detailed information
• Lunch - people are more tired: break up the talk with stretching and snack breaks; use different formats for getting your message across (e.g., using white board and Power Point); have upbeat background msuic and/or lower room temperature; use more light

Daytiming,

Tim

Making the speech work

Fellow speaker,

Here are a few speaking tips for handling the "big picture" of speaking challenges:

• Set up the rules in advance - before beginning the speech itself, tell people what you need them to do and how you expect them to behave (e.g., "Turn off your cellphones;" "Take calls in the hallway so you don't disturb the group," "We will have a 10 minute break at 11:00," etc.)
• Step aside from attacks - when someone in the audience is rude and or attacking, let them talk, and agree with some of their points. Or if things get too "heated" take a short break to give the person some "cool down" time or to talk with them about the points they brought up
• Step into the audience's world - if someone is not paying attention, look directly at them; if someone is disrupting things, step closer to them and so bring attention to their being disruptive (e.g., don't let a heckler "hide" in the audience but put the "spotlight" on them and their behavior)

Tipping,

Tim

Show time!

Fellow speaker,

To keep on track during your speech:

• Understanding what your audience wants - pay attention to the audience reaction so you have an idea of what is working and what isn't in your speech
• Open to different opinions - your audience may have a different point of view and being open to that allows you to best adjust your speech to your audience's needs

Working with the audience,

Tim

Be prepared!

Fellow speaker,

Keep in mind:

• Know your audience
• Validate your data
• Know the purpose of your speech

Preparing,

Tim

More rudeness

Fellow speaker,

Here are some more rude people and the reasons for their rudeness:

• Turned-off - daydreaming and not paying attention - is not connected to the speech - make sure your speech is relevant to your audience's needs
• Intimidator - tries to confront using aggressive words or actions - desires power: stand up to them and make sure you keep control of the situation
• Expert - "know-it-all" who challenges the speaker and argues with the other responders - wants to be recognized: recognize their point

More about rude people,

Tim

Why people are rude

Fellow speaker,

Some types of rude people you can meet while presenting and why they are rude:

• Heckler - a person who tries to interrupt and disrupt your speech - has an unmet need for personal worth: recognize their points
• Over-zealous - first to raise or answer a question making it difficult for others to participate - has a strong need for approval: give them credit for their points
• Squawker - very negative in what they say and complain about things - have a need for acknowledgement - recognize that they have their own point of view

About the rude ones,

Tim

Speech stories

Fellow speaker,

To make the stories in your speech interesting and useful to your audience:

1. Get their attention - use your story at the beginning to bring them into the speech
2. You have "insider information" for them - you know what you are talking about and have valuable information for them
3. Connect with your audience
4. Something of value to use in their life
5. Call to action

Writing useful stories,

Tim

Marketing your message

Fellow speaker,

To improve your speeches:

• Premise that creates interest and attention - the premise is what you are going to prove to your audience, which gets your audience to understand "Why?" and gets them to wonder "How?"
• Marketing message - request your audience do something
• Persuasive - make the audience want to do what you are ask them

Self-improving,

Tim

Speaking virus

Fellow speaker,

Make your speeches "contagious" which spread out virally over your audience.  Once the audience is "infected" by your ideas, those ideas spread out to others, who are infected in turn, and spread your idea virus to everyone they know.

With the speaking flu,

Tim

The four "R"s

Fellow speaker,

Here are four "R"s for speech ideas:

• Rejuvenation - your health, living longer, becoming "reborn"
• Reward - getting more out of what you do, how to profit in your life, getting you power
• Romance - attracting the other person into your life, famous lovers, romantic places
• Right - fighters for truth and justice, inspirational people, people with highly developed spirituality

Speeches "R" us,

Tim

Why'd you say that?

Fellow speaker,

Make sure your humor and comedy is relevant to your speech:

• Authorize - write the serious message first and then think about what humor you could use
• Analyze - review and understand the point(s) you are trying to make so your humor matches the point
• Analogize - create humor that heps introduce, summarize, or highlight the point(s)

With relevance,

Tim

Laugh time takes time

Fellow speaker,

To develop the humor and comedy in your speech:

• Keep a joke library - index cards or a computer file with all the jokes you think you might be able to use in speeches
• Practice - work on your jokes and humor until it flows easily and naturally
• Know your humor beforehand - have some idea of what humor you are going to use before you use it

Practicing,

Tim

Humor 101

Fellow speaker,

To develop humor and comedy:

• You are the target for your humor - bad things that happen to you are always funny: bad things that happen to the audience are never funny
• Keep it short - make your humor quick and fast-moving
• Make sure you have a joke - try out your humor on others to see what works and what doesn't
• Use it as a way to give the audience a "break" - space out the humor in your speech
• A little goes a long way - use humor as a way to get your message across, make sure your humor relates to your speech point

Funly,

Tim

Good humored

Fellow speaker,

When developing humor and comedy ensure it is:

• Appropriate to your audience - for example, avoid telling "dirty jokes" when speaking to an audience of priests
• On-topic for your audience - know your audience's background, do research on your audience before doing your speech
• Style matches your audience - find out what humor works for your audience

Joking around,

Tim

Get out of there!

Fellow speaker,

When the questioner keeps "hammering at you" with the same question:

• Get the audience on your side - perhaps mention that other people want a chance to ask questions
• Get their name - the questioner may not want to give out their name
• End it - if it's going very bad up there with one person repeatedly asking hostile questions, end it and get out

On the out side,

Tim

What you're really saying is...

Fellow speaker,

If someone asks questions during your presentation to push their own points, ask the person questions of your own before answering their questions:

• Gets the questioner's "personal agenda" out in the open
• Gets your questioner to offer specific things you can respond to
• Gives you more time to think about your answers

Thinking it over,

Tim

Look at that!

Fellow speaker,

When you are verbally attacked onstage, redirect the focus to another area:

• Rephrase the question - if the question is designed in such a way as to make you look unknowledgeable or otherwise to weaken your point (i.e., a "loaded question"), rephrase the question so it is more favorable
• Ask questions back - answer their question with other questions designed to make both the issues and the questioner's motives (i.e., "personal agenda") clearer
• Use the question to make a transition - move from the difficult question into an area that you feel more comfortable answering

Redirecting,

Tim