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:
In his popular approachability blog, Scott Ginsberg argues that questions beginning with What are better than questions beginning with Why to avoid defensive responses. While I agree with some points, I believe this argument neglects the more important word: You.
Steve Jobs wrote and delivered the commencement speech “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” to the graduates of Stanford University on June 12, 2005.
The style and content are very different from his Apple product launch presentations, but no less worthy of study.
Noteworthy elements of this wonderful speech include:
A half-dozen haiku for your reading pleasure:
This is the new home for the Six Minutes blog, previously at 6minutes.wordpress.com. All previous posts and comments have been migrated here.
WordPress.com is a fantastic free service for bloggers, but moving to a new host increases the tools at my disposal to deliver interesting content.
Thank you for your continued readership.
Andrew
This article examines Al Gore’s presentation from TED in 2006. My aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of the presentation, not to express scientific or political opinion on the content of the message.
This was a fantastic presentation worthy of study. There is much to be learned from analyzing what Gore did well, and what he could have done better.
Ever wonder what the audience really wishes you would do better when you speak?
Chris Brogan conducted a quick and informal survey asking the question:
Quick: Give me YOUR 3 things you wish speakers would do better, or not do at all!
Eric Feng on the Public Speaking Blog recently posted 250 Things You Wish You Know That Will Guarantee Your Speaking Success. I’m skeptical when I read phrases such as “guarantee your speaking success”, and I’m even more skeptical now that I’ve read through all 250 things.
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