It turns out that your public speaking phobias and fears are unwarranted.
Web comic xkcd has charted the number of deaths from numerous activities, but no public speaking deaths have been reported.
As I write this, Google searches demonstrate that public speaking is a non-life threatening activity. All of these return zero results:
The first article of the Speech Analysis Series explained how to study and critique a speech.
In this second article, we examine how to improve your own speaking skills by teaching others in the form of speech evaluations.
You should regularly provide evaluations for other speakers — not only because it is a nice thing to do, but because the process of evaluating another speaker helps you improve your own speaking skills dramatically.
Of the many fine articles published last week, here are a few that stood out for me.
Studying other speakers is a critical skill, one of the 25 essential skills for a public speaker. The ability to analyze a speech will accelerate the growth of any speaker.
The Speech Analysis Series is a series of articles examining different aspects of presentation analysis. You will learn how to study a speech and how to deliver an effective speech evaluation. Later articles will examine Toastmasters evaluation contests and speech evaluation forms and resources.
Presentation Zen book reviews, to be more accurate. Lots of them.
In the spirit of Rotten Tomatoes – a site I always check before buying or renting a movie – this article gathers book reviews from public speaking experts and fellow bloggers.
A summary of their opinion is simple: buy this book and the slides in your next presentation will benefit.
Hans Rosling presented a fantastic talk at TED. The delivery was inspiring, the mood was electric, and it was all about statistics. Yes, statistics – a topic most often associated with dry and boring presentations.
Hans Rosling uses six simple techniques for presenting data which transform a run-of-the-mill presentation into a must-see presentation.
The public speaking blogosphere: a large and varied space with fuzzy edges spanning many disciplines. There are public speaking blogs which focus on speech delivery, visual presentation design, speechwriting, humor, personal development, and interpersonal communication. Now, you can subscribe to all of them in seconds. (Find out how at the end of this post.)
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if simply making a New Year’s resolution guaranteed success?
Lose weight. Pay off debt. Quit smoking.
Easy, right? No, not really.
Most resolutions fail because they are wishes, not goals. Often, the best way to achieve a long-term goal is to focus on the supporting habits. For example:
| Resolution | Supporting Habits |
|---|---|
| Lose weight | improve nutrition, drink water, exercise regularly, get consistent sleep |
| Pay off debt | use cash instead of credit, supplement your income, “pay yourself first” |
| Quit smoking | use “the patch”, chew gum, reduce stress, find a buddy |
By focusing on the supporting habits (and keeping the end goal in mind, of course), we put ourselves in an excellent position to succeed. The same strategy applies to all other New Year’s resolutions, including another popular one: becoming a better public speaker.
Earlier this month, I was the master of ceremonies for a corporate holiday party. Rather than randomly selecting tables to take their turn at the buffet, I asked for twelve volunteers (maximum one per table). Each of them sang one of the Twelve Days (a version customized for the company), and thus earned their table an early visit to the buffet. It worked out even better than I had hoped.
Inspired by the success of that activity, I offer you the Twelve Days of Public Speaking Christmas.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, the presentation gave to me:
J.A. Gamache demonstrates how to complement strong writing with powerful body language in a speech titled “Being a Mr. G.” that took first place in the 2007 Region VI Toastmasters speech contest.
This video critique analyzes many noteworthy elements of the presentation, including:
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