Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Confident Public Speaking

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Have Something to Say

The trouble with many speakers is that they go before an audience with their minds a blank. It is no wonder that nature, abhorring a vacuum, fills them with the nearest thing handy, which generally happens to be, "I wonder if I am doing this right! How does my hair look? I know I shall fail." Their prophetic souls are sure to be right.
It is not enough to be absorbed by your subject—to acquire self-confidence you must have something in which to be confident. If you go before an audience without any preparation, or previous knowledge of your subject, you ought to be self-conscious—you ought to be ashamed to steal the time of your audience.

Prepare yourself. Know what you are going to talk about, and, in general, how you are going to say it. Have the first few sentences worked out completely so that you may not be troubled in the beginning to find words.
Know your subject better than your hearers know it, and you have nothing to fear.

After Preparing for Success, Expect It

Let your bearing be modestly confident, but most of all be modestly confident within. Over-confidence is bad, but to tolerate premonitions of failure is worse, for a bold man may win attention by his very bearing, while a rabbit-hearted coward invites disaster.

Humility is not the personal discount that we must offer in the presence of others—against this old interpretation there has been a most healthy modern reaction. True humility any man who thoroughly knows himself must feel; but it is not a humility that assumes a worm-like meekness; it is rather a strong, vibrant prayer for greater power for service—a prayer that Uriah Heep could never have uttered.

Washington Irving once introduced Charles Dickens at a dinner given in the latter's honor. In the middle of his speech Irving hesitated, became embarrassed, and sat down awkwardly. Turning to a friend beside him he remarked, "There, I told you I would fail, and I did."

If you believe you will fail, there is no hope for you. You will.

Rid yourself of this I-am-a-poor-worm-in-the-dust idea. You are a god, with infinite capabilities. "All things are ready if the mind be so." The eagle looks the cloudless sun in the face.

Assume Mastery Over Your Audience

In public speech, as in electricity, there is a positive and a negative force. Either you or your audience are going to possess the positive factor. If you assume it you can almost invariably make it yours. If you assume the negative you are sure to be negative. Assuming a virtue or a vice vitalizes it. Summon all your power of self-direction, and remember that though your audience is infinitely more important than you, the truth is more important than both of you, because it is eternal. If your mind falters in its leadership the sword will drop from your hands.

Your assumption of being able to instruct or lead or inspire a multitude or even a small group of people may appall you as being colossal impudence—as indeed it may be; but having once essayed to speak, be courageous. BE courageous—it lies within you to be what you will. MAKE yourself be calm and confident.

Reflect that your audience will not hurt you. In facing your audience, pause a moment and look them over—a hundred chances to one they want you to succeed, for what man is so foolish as to spend his time, perhaps his money, in the hope that you will waste his investment by talking dully?

Concluding Hints

Do not make haste to begin—haste shows lack of control.
Do not apologize. It ought not to be necessary; and if it is, it will not help. Go straight ahead.

Take a deep breath, relax, and begin in a quiet conversational tone as though you were speaking to one large friend. You will not find it half as bad as you imagined; really, it is like taking a cold plunge: after you are in, the water is fine. In fact, having spoken a few times you will even anticipate the plunge with exhilaration.

To stand before an audience and make them think your thoughts after you is one of the greatest pleasures you can ever know. Instead of fearing it, you ought to be as anxious as the fox hounds straining at their leashes, or the race horses tugging at their reins.

So cast out fear, for fear is cowardly—when it is not mastered. The bravest know fear, but they do not yield to it. Face your audience pluckily—if your knees quake, MAKE them stop. In your audience lies some victory for you and the cause you represent. Go win it.

The world owes its progress to the men who have dared, and you must dare to speak the effective word that is in your heart to speak—for often it requires courage to utter a single sentence. But remember that men erect no monuments and weave no laurels for those who fear to do what they can.

No one doubts that temperament and nerves and illness and even praiseworthy modesty may, singly or combined, cause the speaker's cheek to blanch before an audience, but neither can any one doubt that coddling will magnify this weakness. The victory lies in a fearless frame of mind. Prof. Walter Dill Scott says: "Success or failure in business is caused more by mental attitude even than by mental capacity." Banish the fear-attitude; acquire the confident attitude. And remember that the only way to acquire it is—to acquire it.

Here's to speaking with confidence
Fran

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Sunday, August 3, 2008

Using Props when Speaking

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'Prop up' your speaking


3 August, 2008
By Andrea Nierenberg
http://www.connectitnews.com/usa/story.cfm?item=2323


Most professional speakers at some time use props to enhance their presentations, which can turn a program into a dramatic and engaging event. "Prop" is a short word for the theatrical term "property." It describes an item used by an actor during a performance. Most speakers' props deal with the senses of sight and sound or, in some cases, help to prompt lively audience interactions. As a speaker, it's your job to find creative ways to keep your audience with you from beginning to end. Props help make that happen.

Proper Propping

Before I share with you some "show stopping" techniques for using props, let's take a look at some basic guidelines:

Bigger than life. Props need to be large enough so that the people farthest from you can enjoy what you are doing with them. Sometimes speakers hold up a newspaper to show an unusual headline. However, it is unreadable for someone sitting more than five or six rows back. In this case, putting the headline on a Power Point slide or an overhead transparency would solve the problem.

Keep it a secret. I am about to give you a rule that can be broken. In most cases, keep your props hidden until you are ready to make them the focus of your presentation. If you have a funny and colorful stuffed animal sitting off to the side, it could draw people's attention, which would distract your audience, especially if it is used at the end of your program.

Slow down. Show props to the audience very slowly. Remember, people need a few seconds to focus on the item, and maybe they have just lifted their heads from writing some notes. So if you quickly hold up something and put it down in a few seconds, many people might miss the point. It's best to hold it up, stretch your arm out far to the right, and then slowly move your arm out far to the left. Then you can be sure everyone can see the item.

Objects to Make a Point

Many kinds of props can be used to make your presentation more memorable. Some speakers will go as far as wearing a gorilla costume or a funny wig. Strange and unusual items can be memorable, yet could be perceived as too silly, so discretion is advised. The following suggestions are effective props that work for me:

Money makes the world go around. As you step up to the microphone, tape a $20 bill on the podium. However, start your presentation without mentioning anything about it. Your audience will wonder what it's for. After speaking for about five to 10 minutes, I ask the audience, "Did anyone notice the $20 bill?" Usually a number of hands go up. Then I ask, "Why didn't you ask about it?" and say, "Whoever wants it, come up and get it." Finally someone does, and I tell the audience, "That person had G.O.Y.A.: Get Off Your Anatomy." This is especially effective for training people to be more assertive when seeking sales opportunities.

Rock and sand. Solid business relationships are built on firm foundations of long-term and trusting relationships. To illustrate this point, put your hand under a rock and lift it up to show how solid it is and how it holds together. Then, put your hand in a bucket of sand and let the sand run through your fingers. Follow up by saying that it took thousands of years for this rock to be formed, and the same is true with solid business relationships. Tell the audience to take time in building something solid, otherwise they'll find their businesses sinking in the sand.

People props. We all need some encouragement to do better in life. One way to help people understand their greater potential is to ask everyone to stand up and raise their hands as high as they can go. Then say, "Now stretch a half inch higher." They always go a little higher on the second try. Finally, I say, "What's my point? You can always reach a little higher to your potential!"

Let's break it up. In some sessions, small break-out group activities are effective ways to help people learn. However, many employees do what I call "stick to the clique." To help people learn how to work with new contacts, I give out different types of candy bars and ask them to break into groups according to the name of the candy bar they received. Then I ask them to create a marketing campaign to re-launch their particular candy bar. As an incentive, I tell them that they cannot eat the candy until each group presents their campaign to everyone else. This is good for almost any business environment because it gets people thinking about the sales and marketing process.

Everyone loves a prize. In some of my seminars, I give out fun premiums when people answer a question or really get involved. I give them prizes such as candy kisses, Life Savers with dollar bill wrappings, or catchy pins with interesting quotes. When people start to look forward to receiving those kinds of gifts, your presentations become more alive. You could also do this in the form of a raffle. Give out a sheet of paper to be filled in with the person's name and a question that he or she hopes to get answered by the end of the session. This technique will help keep your audience's attention. It will also give you some input on what modifications you can immediately make to better meet their needs. I give away great-looking pens or business card cases as prizes. If you have a book or tape series, people would love to win that, too.

Props can also help trigger a story or illustration you want to make without looking at your notes, which is a major benefit. For example, if I was trying to illustrate the importance of making progress, I would bring a pair of sneakers, a bicycle tire, a model of a car, and a model of a Concorde plane. Then, starting with the sneakers, I would say that when people wanted to get from point "A" to point "B," their feet were the only means of transportation, and I would work my way up to the Concorde. Finally, I would close by saying that this applies to all of us. When we make progress, we can expect our lives to dramatically improve as we go along. This is a win/win technique because you will have some interesting props to keep the audience's attention, and your presentation will stay on track. You also won't have to look at your notes too much.

Keep in mind the benefits of using props:

* They take conceptual information and make it tangible.

* People remember visuals more than they remember words.

* They can help a speaker release nervous energy by focusing on them (remember to keep looking at the audience and avoid staring at the props).

* Props, like pictures, are worth a thousand words because they can be used as a short cut to make an important point.

Think of it this way: let's say the content for two speakers' programs were identical. However, one speaker stood behind the podium and spoke for 45 minutes. The other speaker used a megaphone to announce how the session would benefit the audience, had them create a new product using Play Dough, and finished by giving everyone a gift certificate for ice-cream. Which session would you attend?

Here's to using your props well

Fran

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P.S. Get Your Secrets To Success in Public Speaking Click Here!

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