Speaking Of...

Next Saturday I'll have the opportunity to offer a live training session for fellow Toastmasters interested in learning how to increase their clubs' membership. Toastmasters International publishes material relevant to this training, and as a presenter I have the option of presenting that material, in the traditional way--one way. Powerpoint slides, script, my talking head.

This session is part of a half day training for new and returning club officers. Many have attended these sessions before, some will be brand new to the leadership track in the organization. It's my philosophy that volunteers, actually ALL audiences that come to learn come with their own considerable knowledge. I plan to tap into that knowledge, have fun, and get the audience's creative juices flowing by coaching them as a group.

I'll learn as much as I can before my session, about who will be there. Then I'll take their temperature and find out exactly who's in the room , and what they want to know. Then the fun will start. Details in my next post.

Under promise, over deliver. You've heard it before. Wow 'em as a speaker. Off the 'script' I go, into uncharted waters for this training.

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A colleague of mine was recently invited to a dinner party in a private home to celebrate Independence Day, July 4. What made this party stand out from the usual cookout fare was that it was hosted by a Japanese couple, and the menu was sushi. Only in the USA!

Beyond the elaborate and artful food presentation, which the Japanese, among other cultures, are known for, was the dinner time conversation. The host couple, although undoubtedly fluent in their understanding of English, spoke little of it. This made communication challenging.

How do those of us fluent in English communicate with audiences whose first language is not English? That answer intrigued me, so I asked my colleague what she did. Lots of eye contact, body language, and listening. With unfamiliar cuisine, lots of mimicking so that you learn to eat the foods as a native would.

As speakers it seems our mouths overflow with words, but when words fail us, what can we do? Here is an instance where finding out all we can before the speech will help immeasurably. Listening on a deeper level. Here is also where the power of body language can outdo mere words.

My colleague raved about the party, and not only because the food was so spectacular. A bridge was strengthened that night, between cultures and people.

Congratulations Region VII Toastmasters International Speech Contest winners. Left to right--David Flowers (3rd), Katherine Morrison (winner and World Championship contestant, August 2008 contest), and Nana Danso (2nd).                                    

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What kind of a speaker are you? Inspirational, motivational, informational, humorous, corporate, or another kind? 

I am a workshop speaker.  I feel at the top of my speaking game when I lead a small group in a workshop. Watching people learn how to express themselves by practicing their skills is a high like no other for me. Listening to some take their first tentative steps toward becoming better speakers and others improve the skills they already have convinces me that speaking is a skill that improves lives.

Recently I've begun to write my business plan as I expand my business as a workshop leader/speaker. I've had to do some hard thinking about what my 'brand' as a speaker is. Leading workshops is a niche skill whose perceived value can be measured fairly quickly by those who participate. In branding myself as a workshop speaker I've honed in on what I do best, and this is the skill I'll be developing more.

What were your best moments 'On Stage?' How do you connect most effectively with your audience? How would your audience 'brand' you as a speaker?

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The original US flag

To a speaker, the most cherished freedom is the freedom of expression. As we pause to celebrate our independence in the USA on July 4, consider how many of the peoples in the world struggle to speak their minds.

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How do audiences learn best? Having spoken with and trained many people over the course of my career, and listened to their feedback, here's my take on what makes training effective.

First, inundating folk with information is not training. Here's a useful, short definition of training.

"training - activity leading to skilled behavior"

To learn any skill requires lots of practice. You didn't learn anything permanently in just one shot, e.g. driving, hitting a baseball, swimming, a foreign language, and the list goes on. The temptation today, especially in a business setting, is to equate presenting a lot of bullet points and expecting them to be cemented into the brains of trainees.

The brain works differently--and uniquely--in each of us. Without association, the points rarely stick, and retraining might be needed, again and again. Costly errors happen because of this.

Second, adults are not blank slates. They come to you with years, often many years, of life and work experience, and may know your subject, or aspects of it, even better than you do. Your job as a speaker/trainer, is to mine that knowledge and experience to the best advantage of every audience member, remembering that often people learn best from each other, and not you, the speaker.

Third, there is a direct relationship between how long you can go on speaking for learning to take hold. One-way speaking is just that, and sticks a lot less securely than interaction between the trainer and the audience. Lecture is only as spellbinding as the ideas coming from the podium.

Points to consider when you plan your next training session.

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Friend or Foe?

iPhones, Blackberrys, GPS, Instant Message, Texting--are these your new Masters, and are you their Slave? Have you replaced the old fashioned verbal conversation with text, even when the person you communicate is steps away? Is silence, or being 'unplugged,' now unnatural to you? We all seem to have too much to do, and too little time.

Speakers, beware. It is a subtle and seductive relationship. We embrace the technology, thinking it will save us time and make us more efficient. All too quickly, the technology owns us, and stress mounts. Superb speakers are also superb listeners, to the human voice.

Speaking, like life, is a balancing act. The Great Idea, that will make a speech memorable, or maybe even change a life, often comes when we least expect it, when we are otherwise unplugged, or listening to another person speak.

It is a relationship that always requires attention, or as speakers we will lose the human edge that makes our communication most effective.

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Author JK Rowling speaks to the Harvard Graduates, 2008

It's that time of year--graduation ceremonies, and words of wisdom for graduates, spoken by guest speakers, famous and less well known. Some schools have bucked the trend of inviting celebrities to give commencement addresses, in response to alumni and student feedback that says these speakers don't relate well to students.

In many cases that's true--celebrity doesn't necessarily equal good speaker. Actors and other celebrities are often wonderful on camera or onstage, where the words are scripted. But get them in front of a student/alumni/school staff/parent audience, even with a written/prepared speech, and they are often less effective. My 1983 college graduation with the late Arthur Schelsinger as our speaker was a case in point. Few remember anything he said--we were all talking to one another, wondering when he'd finish. Brilliant man, poor commencement speaker.

As my intern colleague learned (see last post), audience connection is key. The 1983 audience I was part of numbered more than 6,000. San Diego State University is not only large, but is also known for its location close to the coast, sunny weather, and its laid back lifestyle. Graduates adorn their caps and gowns with all kinds of wacky trimmings, the more outrageous the better. It was hot that day, and we were in the brilliant sun for a long time. Into this party like atmosphere a serious political/historical speaker of Schlesinger's generation would need to work very hard to connect with us.

Parents and alumni may enjoy profound words of wisdom about the future--students want humor and please, be brief! You have to wonder if the organizers of these events can remember this. I can guarantee that one of our own graduates (one who was ALREADY a good and funny speaker) would have made a far better keynote choice on that important day. If you're ever asked to speak at a graduation remember--know your audience.

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In the past few months I've had the privilege of coaching a dietetic intern I'm working with in my job at an Internet company. She was preparing a series of staff training classes, where she would be working with small groups. I asked her in our first meeting what her speaking experience had been. Keep in mind that she had attended three different colleges before graduating, and was now in her intense internship year before she becomes a professional and gets her first job.

Previous speaking experience = not so much. Importance of expressing yourself when looking for a job and getting hired = priceless. The fact that she is not atypical, based on my non-scientific poll of other college students and recent graduates, is the point of this post. Speaking is a highly prized skill that some colleges actively encourage that you learn while there. Even if a student takes so called speech courses, and their curriculum includes Stage Time, it would still benefit them to do more speaking. This is because communication today has become more complex, yet people yearn for the simple and understandable. You hone your message best, and truly connect with audiences, by speaking more often.

College students tend to speak most before their peers. That is not to say that students today are all the same age, race, gender, etc., they aren't. After graduation though, the types of audiences they have to speak with changes, often radically. The more speaking experience they get, the better able they are to score success as they launch their career path.

My intern-client thanked me profusely after she finished her training. I'm encouraging her to seek out new audiences, and not wait for her boss to assign this, as she moves on to her first job soon.

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Tony Robbins, World Renowned Motivational Speaker, displaying his trademark energy. 

I know, you've seen this guy on the many infomercials he's hosted on TV, at all hours of the day and night. He made one point to me on an old tape of his that has always stuck with me. That is---the quality of your life is related to the quality of the energy your body has.  Low energy, unexciting life, high energy, the sky's the limit. How does a speaker stay at the high energy level that audiences expect? My answer--start with physical fitness.

Lest you think it doesn't make that much difference, think about the speakers you know who are successful and who've influenced you. I'm not talking about cultural icons or politicians--I mean professional or even amateur speakers with great skill. What kind of energy do they have?

How can your body perform at its best if you're not in good physical condition? What type of fuel do you nourish your body with? Nowadays there are so many speakers and other stimuli vying for your attention that the energetic stand out, and in some cases are so far ahead of the competition that it's blinding. This link describes one champion's workout routine:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_8_55/ai_n13467309

Does this mean endless hours of workouts? No, for most of us that isn't practical. It does mean that practicing extreme self care by paying attention to health and fitness can pay big dividends. Healthy and tasty eating, proper rest, relaxation, hydration. If these have fallen off your radar screen, try paying more attention to them and see if your energy and effectiveness as a speaker doesn't improve. Several contestants I introduced at a recent speech contest were a living demonstration that fitness makes a speaker more powerful and even funnier.

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Memorial Day 2008

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