Speak to Lead

Lindsey Graham Charts His Course Against Rand Paul; Loses on Points & Style

No visual is better than a stupid visual, unless you want to help your boss look dumb.

Quick background in the event you weren't clued to C-Spam today. 

1. Rand Paul ended a 13-hour filibuster to draw attention to potential use of drones to kill American citizens on U.S. territory.

2. Lindsey Graham took to the Senate floor to lambast Rand Paul.

My issue is with the chart Senator Graham used.

The tone is snarky. Beneath the dignity of a senior member of the Senate, especially when attacking a member of his own party.

The juxtaposition of September 11 death totals with drone deaths (in US) misses the point. Rand is talking about potential future deaths. Perhaps Rand was too subtle for Graham.

The easel holding the chart. Against a backdrop of leather chair and polished wood, the easel looks out of place. Okay, it looks tracky. Certainly the American House of Lords could do better. 

Maybe this is what happens when legislators come to town and stay too long.

 

 

 

Tips for Marco Rubio to Prevent Dry Mouth

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) went out of his way to connect with the average American during his Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union Address.

Perhaps farther out of his way than he intended.

His son-of-immigrants success story is something many Americans can associate with even if they have not personally experienced it.

But his nervousness and resultant dry mouth are situations many speakers have experienced.

Unfortunately, it would appear no one has ever shown him how to avoid the dry mouth.

So, Senator, and any of the rest of you reading this, here are a few tips to avoid dry mouth for your next high stress public speech.

1. Avoid caffeine and dairy products.
2. Avoid antihistamines.
3. Hydrate before the speech. 
4. Suck on a citrus flavored lozenge or, my preference, chew a small peeled piece of a tart apple.
5. Retain a coach who will see that water (in a glass) can be reached easily and naturally.

 

 

Public Speaking: Audience research lesson from Speaker Hall of Fame Herb True CPAE

Early in my speaking career, I had the privilege of appearing on the same program as Herb True, a member of the National Speakers Association's Hall of Fame.

Since most of you reading this post may never have heard of Herb, let me introduce you.

After years on the faculty of Notre Dame, Herb went full time speaking to corporate and association audiences. Herb billed himself as the "EduTainer," blending education with entertainment. 

For some audiences he wore costumes to make his points. When most speakers presented without A/V, Herb was using 35mm slides...lots of them. Not word slides, but exciting, interesting pictures and graphics. On a visit to South Bend, I stopped to see Herb and saw his slide collection--literally thousands of slides, all catalogued. 

Funny, informative, motivating, relevant, Herb was one of the busiest speakers in the country.

Now back to the program with Herb. Both of us were scheduled to speak to an association annual convention on a Thursday. Herb had the opening keynote; I was doing a breakout session.

The convention began Wednesday evening with an opening reception, a simulated Philadelphia block party (yes, we were meeting in Philly). While I was enjoying the Mummers and Philly cheese steaks, I noticed Herb was sitting on the floor, reporter's notepad in hand, talking with an attendee. I moved closer to hear what he was saying.

"Were you at last year's convention? What was the best idea you took home? What are you hoping to learn this year? Anything happen to you this past year that was especially good or bad? Anything that would be typical of what other members are going through? Whom do you admire most in your industry? Why? What have you learned in the past year?"

Then he would hop up, grab another attendee, sit him or her down, and go through the questioning process again.

While the rest of us were partying, Herb was mining the audience for examples, names, issues, concerns, and industry humor.

By the next morning, he had refined much of what he had mined, and gave it back to the audience as gold nuggets of industry understanding and insight. And quickly, he was one of them. 

I saw Herb the next day after we both had presented. I mentioned how I had observed his interviews and complimented him on how much of the information he had incorporated into his talk.

"Yes, it's a great source of what's really on people's minds, a great way to customize. But the main reason I do it is I love to learn! If we don't learn something new every day, we can't improve."

Then right before we parted, he looked at me and asked intensely, "Lou, what did you learn today?."

After every speech, workshop, client meeting, or at the end of a day at home, Herb's question comes back to me. "What did you learn today?"

Persuasive techniques: Can you fake charisma? And why would you want to?

Charisma is a critical element of a persuasive presenter. But is it an innate characteristic, or can it be faked?

Executive coach and author of The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help - or Hurt -
How You Lead, Carol Kinsey Goman, PH.D., has the answer. 

Here it is, reprinted with her permission from her newsletter:

How to Fake Charisma 

Charisma has been described as personal magnetism or charm. To me, charisma is all about an individual’s infectious positive attitude and personal energy, as projected through his or her body language.

People are the most charismatic when they are genuinely enthused, confident and upbeat about themselves and their topic. And as a leadership coach, I help clients develop their own unique brand of charisma.

I also help them fake it.

Trying to display confidence when you’re actually feeling uncertain, or to be seen as upbeat and positive when (for any reason) you are feeling the opposite, is a tricky thing. From "The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help - or Hurt - How You Lead," here are two valid options:

Speech coaching: 'The King's Speech' nominated for 12 Academy Awards

It's not every day, year decade that the work of a speech coach is the main focus of a movie.

That The King's Speech leads in the number of Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, is a result not only of a superb script, brilliant acting, and talented directing, but also of a compelling story. (Doesn't hurt that the story involves the wartime King of England either.) 

(For an account of the real story behind the movie, read story by CNN's Nick Glass, Forgotten archive reveals true story behind 'King's Speech.' )

If you haven't seen it yet, catch it before it leaves the theaters. 

Here are a couple of the movie's lessons for SpeaktoLead readers:

• The king's goal was to eliminate the stuttering. In the process of doing so, he also discovered he needed to learn pacing and pausing, cadence, inflection, enunciation, and emphasis to deliver a speech with impact.
  
  You may not have a speech impediment, but we all need to learn and practice delivery skills if we want to be heard and remembered positively.
• George VI had his coach rehearse him for every major address.
  
  You may not need a professional with you for every presentation. But when was the last time you had a professional review a video of one of your presentations? In fact, when did you take time to view yourself? 
  
  Even if you present well, it is easy to get get sloppy, or have a previous bad habit reappear.  

 A challenge for you. If you have not "seen yourself as others see you" within the past six months, have someone record your next presentation, then do a self evaluation. Or contact me if you'd like a professional evaluation.

 

Resonate: present visual stories that transform audiences is a "Must Read"

Transforming audiences. That's been my profession for over 30 years. I transform audiences by transforming the speakers who present to them.

In that time I have tried to stay current on books relating to public speaking and presenting. In the earlier years, before the proliferation of self publishing (when publishing houses served as a print spam filter), the task was close to manageable. Now that's no longer the case. Nonetheless, I make the attempt.

Here's what I find. Much of the writing about public speaking and speech writing is, to be polite, mediocre. Fortunately, there are still some fine works being written. Books that refine our understanding and broaden our view.

Then, every once in a while, a book comes along that transforms the dialogue. That demands we no longer tolerate mindless, emotionless, purposeless presentations disguised as state-of-the-art communication technology. 

Resonate is one of those rare books.

Nancy Duarte (who also wrote the highly popular Slide:ology) delves into the processes of creating audience transforming experiences with an enthusiasm, depth, and insight rarely seen.

Resonate is a joy to read. For every communication professional, this is a must read. Neglect doing so at the risk of being put out to pasture.

Acronyms, memory devices, and terrorist attacks

Acronyms have long been used by speakers, authors and trainers to help audiences more easily remember such things as lists, processes, concepts, and the names of federal bureaucracies.

From one of the latter comes an especially interesting, memorable, and might I add, ironic acronym. 

Here from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) is the B-NICE acronym to help you remember the 5 types of terrorist attack:

• Biological
• Nuclear
• Incendiary
• Chemical
• Explosive

And remember, b-nice to those terrorists.

 

Public Speaking: Churchill & FDR Staffs on Speechwriting

Yesterday was, as I was reminded by Max Atkinson, the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. 

He has included on his blog two anecdotes, one from Winston Churchill's staff, one from Franklin D. Roosevelt's staff, related to the preparation of speeches. Also included is a video of Churchill's famous, "Never...was so much owed by so many to so few," speech.

Here is the link to Max's blog:  http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9mmjai/maxatkinson.blogspot.com/2010/08/70th-anniversary-of-battle-of-britain.html/r:t

Smile to Connect & Succeed

One of the best "tools" for connecting with people is a genuine smile.

Note, however, the word "genuine." In a 30-year study, researchers began by going through 141 photos in a Mills College (Oakland, California) yearbook, and marking those with more genuine smiles. Study participants were then contacted at ages 27, 43, and 52 and asked about their marriage and life satisfaction.

Those with genuine smiles were more likely to get and stay married, and to experience a greater sense of personal well-being. (A Genuine Smiles Goes a Long Way, Vijai P. Sharma, Ph.D.)

Other studies suggest smiles may be one of the causes of success. Researchers who analyzed 225 studies involving 275,000 people have concluded that if there is a causation, it goes from smile to success. Genuine smilers tend to be fun, easy to work with, highly motivated, and willing to take on tough problems. A 2005 study published by the American Psychological Association suggests that this is what leads to their success.

So how can you obtain a meaningful smile? Here are 5 tips:

1. Cultivate your sense of humor. Funny things are happening all around us. We just need to know what to look for. I highly recommend you get...and use!...Jeanne Robertson's book, Don't Let the Funny Stuff Get Away.
2. Avoid smile killers. It's hard to smile when you're whining, for instance. (And conversely, it's hard to whine when you're smiling!)
3. Begin the day by deciding to be happy. Count your blessings. Look for the good in others. Be willing to laugh at yourself.
4. Practice. Some of us forget to smile. When you catch yourself frowning, lighten up.
5. Surround yourself with smilers. According to recent research, people who don't smile have a negative impact on both their friends and strangers. Grumpy persons can decrease your chances of happiness by nearly 10%; smiles can increase your happiness by the same amount.

So for positive connection and greater success, SMILE.

Public Speaking: Mnemonic Devices-Barfing Your Way to Success

Mnemonic devices for public speaking have been used for thousands of years.

The initial application was to help speakers remember what they were going to say as they delivered the speech. (For an overview and history of mnemonic devices used by the ancients--remember, the great Greek orators didn't have teleprompters--CLICK HERE.) 

Some mnemonic devices, however, are also useful to help the listener retain and recall your message.

The acronym is one of those. 

Many Americans learned the names of the Great Lakes with the acronym H-O-M-E-S (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior). K-I-S-S (Keep It Simple Stupid) and A-I-D-A (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) are well-known acronyms applying to persuasive speaking.

Which brings us to barfing your way to success.

Recently I heard William H. Nixon, Chairman and CEO of Policy Impact Communications, speak to a management group about his formula for business success, organized as