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Public Speaking Tips: Weekend Review [2009-11-07]

Andrew Dlugan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:15:30 +0000

On Saturdays, we survey the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere.

This super-sized review features topics including:

new public speaking books;
writing a eulogy;
eye contact vs. eye communication;
speaking with notes;
tools for slide color schemes;
the validity of learning styles (are they a myth?);
moderating a panel; and
being successful as an introvert.

Resources for Speakers – Public Speaking Books

Check out these recently released public speaking and communications books:

Presentation S.O.S.: Persuasion in 9 Easy Steps by Mark Wiskup
Talk Less, Say More: Three Habits to Influence Others and Make Things Happen by Connie Dieken
How To Say It With Your Voice by Jeffrey Jacobi
Toasts: Over 1,500 of the Best Toasts, Sentiments, Blessings, and Graces by Paul Dickson
Great Webinars: How to create interactive learning that is captivating, informative and fun by Cynthia Clay

In Review: Six Minutes

How to Deliver Group Presentations: The Unified Team Approach
Your group needs clarity, control, and commitment, according to guest author Chaunce Stanton.
Toastmasters Speech 6: Vocal Variety
The sixth article in the series touring the foundational Toastmasters manual.
Book Review: The Wealthy Speaker by Jane Atkinson
An insider’s view of what it takes to succeed in the speaking industry.
The Best of Six Minutes: 2007-2009
Highlighting reader favorite articles in the first two years of Six Minutes.
Book Review: Better Beginnings by Carmen Taran
One-of-a-kind book dedicated to developing great speech openers.

Speechwriting

Jonathan Thomas preaches depth rather than breadth in speeches.

A “wide” presentation is one that covers a vast amount of information without going into much detail on any one point. [...] The audience gets a shallow view of many points, resulting in few, if any, being recalled. [...]

Instead, narrow your presentation focus to a few key points. Go a little deeper to explain each of those points in a way that the audience will be able to keep up with, understand, and retain.

Kelly Decker highlights how President Obama uses a powerful analogy.

Put your politics and feelings about health care and the economy aside to learn a great lesson here. Obama brings ideas to life with his words. [...]

He used the concrete analogy of a mop instead of what most politicians and business leaders might have said [...]

But instead, he drew a picture. Simply. Right away, you can see that mess and that mop.

Denise Graveline provides tips for writing a eulogy.

Try to find a theme or ethic that defined the person’s life and build the eulogy around it. [...]

Try to tell some things that no one else knows [...]

[...] focus on telling a personal story that evokes something you want to share about your mother, ideally a story that involves you.

Delivery Techniques

Jim Anderson reveals why speakers are boring, and offers some antidotes.

Let’s be frank here – most speakers that you listen to really aren’t that good. [...]

All too often a speaker will focus exclusively on what they are going to be saying and spend little or no time thinking about how they are going to say it.

If you need an analogy to clear things up, this would be like a chef who worries about what ingredients go into a meal without spending any time thinking about how to actually cook the thing. Sure he’ll be able to make something, but it’s not going to taste very good.

Angela DeFinis contrasts 4 methods for delivering a speech: reading, memorizing, impromptu, and extemporaneous.

Ultimately, the speech delivery method you choose will depend on many factors, such as how formal or informal the presentation is, how well you know your subject, who the audience is, and your own comfort level. When you take the time to analyze these factors and educate yourself about your choices, you can make the best decision about what method to use and give a great speech.

Bert Decker focuses on the difference between eye contact and eye communication.

Eye contact is fleeting. It can be in passing, just a glance or a fraction of a second. [...]

Eye communication is connection – think of eye contact on steroids. It’s the act of two pairs of eyes connecting and the contact leading to communication. Eye communication involves more extended eye contact (at least 3-5 seconds for speakers communicating to a group) that forms a bond between two people.

Rich Hopkins lists 7 tips for speaking with notes.

To effectively use cards, print one point per card – one sentence only that will trigger the segment you’ve practiced 100 times. Triggers get you to the story, and prevent you from reading from the card. At most, have a short Transition sentence and the Trigger on each card, to help you go from one point to the next.

In addition to Triggers and Transitions, quotes that must be read correctly belong on notecards, as well as statistics, research attributions, poems – anything that must be word for word.

Kathy Reiffenstein suggests how to deliver a difficult speech.

How do you deliver these kinds of messages with grace, poise, and confidence?

Be clear and concise

Empathize

Explain but don’t make excuses

Maintain eye contact

Find a silver lining

Visual Aids

Dave Paradi shows how to improve a slide which includes a graph from another source.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Garr Reynolds reviews Kuler, a tool to help you choose slide color schemes.

Although scores of good books on color theory have been written — many even for non-designers — most working professionals just do not have the time to delve deeply into a study of the complexities of using color. The good news is that there are online resources that can help you create harmonious color themes without requiring advance knowledge in color theory. There are a few really good online resources such as ColorSchemer and Colourlovers, but my personal favorite is Kuler.

Chris Atherton says the only rule that matters is the rule of attention.

[This blog post is] ostensibly about the mistakes students make when they give presentations, but really it’s about how the only rules you need to know about giving a good presentation are the ones about human attention.

Speaker Habits

Stephanie Scotti ponders what it takes to own the room.

This is no longer a ballroom, or a boardroom, or a trade show hall… it’s your living room. And the audience, each and every one of them, is a welcomed guest.

Just as you would greet guests arriving at your home, adopt the same attitude in welcoming listeners to your presentation. This simple change of perspective allows you to project confidence and manage the dynamics of the room. Because, after all, you’re the host.

Martin Shovel cautions you against blindly accepting scientific speaking theories. Among other arguments, he points to a video from Professor Daniel Willingham which argues that learning styles (e.g. visual vs. auditory vs. kinesthetic) are a myth.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kathy Reiffenstein provides 10 tips for moderating a panel.

Act as the audience’s advocate

Hold a pre-event briefing

Make short, interesting introductions

Set the stage up front

Manage the timing and balance

Be prepared and be flexible

Don’t answer questions directed at panelists

Be aware of your body language

Develop a strategy for questions

Look at audience, not panelists

Jim Harvey notes that confidence can decrease your effectiveness.

The problem for experienced and skilled presenters is that they often become ‘performers’ and switch off the thing that made them good in the first place, their warmth and honesty as a person.

Lisa Braithwaite distinguishes between our four vocabularies: reading vocabulary, listening vocabulary, writing vocabulary, and speaking vocabulary.

How do we explore our vocabulary and get greater usage from it? When I suggest exploring your vocabulary, I’m not suggesting using bigger or more complicated words, or necessarily learning more words (although that’s not a bad idea). What I am suggesting is saying what you really mean and using vocabulary to be more clear in your communication. Especially if, like me, you find yourself in a rut using the same words over and over, and you know there are better options.

Professionally Speaking

Joanna Martin probes how to choose a speaking niche.

I had one participant wanting to niche in teenagers because he saw his purpose as helping to empower them. There’s one huge problem with trying to sell to teenagers though. Do they have the money to spend on your product or service?

Communication Skills and Personality

Nancy Ancowitz reflects on the challenges of being successful as an introvert.
(Thanks to Denise Graveline for flagging the New York Times article.)

One day, something clicked for me. I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a popular personality assessment, as part of a team-building program at work. To my surprise, I discovered that I was an introvert — and that this wasn’t a handicap or a disorder, but just an aspect of my personality with its own strengths and challenges.

Have a Question?

Contact me anytime,
or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Book Review: The Wealthy Speaker by Jane Atkinson

Andrew Dlugan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:42:03 +0000

If you dream of speaking one hour for $15,000, this book is for you.

If you have absolutely no idea how to get there, this book will show you what is required.

Jane Atkinson’s The Wealthy Speaker: The Proven Formula for Building Your Successful Speaking Business is packed with advice to prepare you to make the jump to $15,000 speaking fees, whether you are six months or six years away.

This article is the latest of a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes.

What will you learn from The Wealthy Speaker?

The Wealthy Speaker is a comprehensive insider’s view of the speaking industry. Jane Atkinson guides you through all aspects of a keynote speaker’s business, including:

Positioning yourself as an expert first, speaker second
Developing your message
Setting and negotiating fees
Development of marketing materials
Creation of your website and demo video
Building your contact database
Working with speaker’s bureaus and event planners
Growing your business and hiring staff
Selling products

The Wealthy Speaker is written with authority, and Atkinson’s extensive expertise in the speaking industry is apparent. This isn’t a book with theoretical ideas that might work. These are lessons learned from her successes and failures in the trenches.

“A good speaker can talk on a variety of topics, but a Wealthy Speaker focuses on one topic, one expertise, one set of speech materials — or even one speech — under the same umbrella.”

-- Jane Atkinson

Numerous case studies highlight successful speakers and industry insiders. These are fairly short (1-2 pages), but highly enlightening.

Throughout the book, you’ll also find worksheets and personal assessments. These exercises are well-designed to help you apply the lessons to your personal situation.

As a final note, you won’t find much information here at all about honing your speaking skills. And that’s a good thing because that’s not what this book is about. I was happy to see this book kept its focus on the business of speaking, not the mechanics.

What I wish was in The Wealthy Speaker

As much as I learned from The Wealthy Speaker, it’s not perfect. You cannot cover everything in 208 pages. So, what’s missing?

First, as Atkinson states early in the book, the book has a bias towards business models based primarily on keynote speaking. So, you won’t find specific information here to carve out a wealthy career as a trainer, seminar leader, or speaking coach. Perhaps we’ll have to wait for the sequel: The Wealthy Trainer?

“There is no better marketing than a great speech.”

-- Jane Atkinson

Second, a few topics could use more treatment.

For example, the section on website management is thin. To be fair, Atkinson defers to “experts” for this topic. The topics which comprise her core expertise (e.g. positioning, marketing, speaker’s bureaus) are handled much better.
The information on contracts also feels skimpy. I expected to find more samples and a richer resource here. Perhaps the rationale here is that wealthy speakers delegate the contract work to staff?

Third, while the table of contents is detailed, there’s no index or appendices (e.g. a list of all the resource websites mentioned throughout the book). This reduces the usefulness of The Wealthy Speaker as a reference tool. Maybe this will be added in the second edition?

The Bottom Line

The Wealthy Speaker is excellent value, and easily worth the purchase price. An investment of $11.53 is a small, small price for gaining so much knowledge.

About the Author – Jane Atkinson

Jane Atkinson has 15 years of experience helping speakers secure more bookings at higher fees. She is a business coach for speakers, specializing in positioning and marketing. You can read more about her on her website: Speaker Launcher.

Jane previously shared her expertise as a guest author on Six Minutes with 6 Key Steps to Dip Your Toe into the Professional Speaking Pool.

Book Review: Better Beginnings by Carmen Taran

Andrew Dlugan — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:27:52 +0000

You know that the start of your presentation is critical to grab attention. [You did read Peter Jeff's recent article with 5 ways to start your speech, right?]

But do you know how to develop a mindset that will enable you to devise effective speech openings?

Carmen Taran’s Better Beginnings: How to capture your audience in 30 seconds is a one-of-a-kind book entirely dedicated to helping you master this critical speaking skill.

This article is the latest of a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes.

What’s the best thing about Better Beginnings?

Most speech opening advice begins by telling you the types of openings you can try. For example, you might open with a personal story, a startling statistic, or a quotation. However, none of these types of openings are inherently focused on your audience. (A story or statistic can be focused on the audience, but it might not be.)

I really like the approach taken in Better Beginnings because it is organized not around types of openings, but according to the emotional or cognitive response you would like to trigger in your audience. Audience-focused!

Better Beginnings guides you to spark the desired response in your audience, with the following chapters:

“A good speaker with bad beginnings is like a fitness trainer who smokes.”

-- Carmen Taran

Anticipation
Specificity
Inquiry
Incongruity
Novelty
Uncertainty
Complexity
Ease of Comprehension
Indulgence
Staging

Each chapter includes numerous examples to illustrate how you can generate the desired response in your audience. This includes not only what to say, but how to say it and stage it. Consider these examples:

Incongruity (conflict between what your audience expects and what is actually said)

Like many of the great blues and jazz artists of our time, I found myself onstage at Carnegie Hall high on drugs.”

Novelty (new ideas competing with existing norms)

Our customers have been used to square tea bags. What if we made them round?

Who should read Better Beginnings?

I think every speaker will benefit from this book, whether you speak with visuals or off the cuff, to investors or children.

It is the most thorough treatment I’ve ever seen for starting your speech.

A Coffee Table Book about Speaking?

“Good intros make listeners hold their heads still and focus, with widened eyes and parted or pouted lips. These body cues should be your measurement for delivering great beginnings.”

-- Carmen Taran

The format of the book is also unique — it’s a coffee table book! On every other page, you will find a full-page photograph to complement the writing and further spark your creativity.

Because of all the images, Better Beginnings is a quick read. Most books that I review take me two weeks to read through. I finished Better Beginnings in just two relaxing evenings before bed.

Visually, this book will stand out from every other one on your bookshelf, your coffee table, or your bedside table.

About the Author – Carmen Taran

Carmen Taran has a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Design, a Master’s degree in Multimedia Design, and a Doctorate in Instructional Technology. She is a co-founder of Rexi Media, a presentation skills consulting firm.

In the brief video below (click here if you don’t see it), she pitches the key strengths of Better Beginnings.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Public Speaking Tips: Weekend Review [2009-10-10]

Andrew Dlugan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:02:24 +0000

On Saturdays, we survey the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere.

This review includes:

new public speaking books;
focusing on a single idea;
limiting the amount of information presented;
using statistics in a speech;
the phony speaker’s smile;
research about bullet slides;
choosing slide colors; and
gender issues in public speaking.

Resources for Speakers – Public Speaking Books

Check out these recently released public speaking and communications books:

Cracking The Boy's Club Code: The Woman's Guide to Being Heard and Valued in the Workplace by Michael Johnson
PowerPoint Presentations That Sell by Adam B. Cooper
Business Communication Today by Courtland L. Bovee
The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience by Carmine Gallo
Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style by Randy Olson

Speechwriting

Chris Witt reminds you the best speeches are built on a single idea.

That idea may be simple or complex, sophisticated or homespun, philosophical or down-to-earth practical. It may have far-ranging implications or a very specific application. It may appeal to a broad audience or to a select few. But it has to have the power to change people’s lives in some way — to change how they think or feel or act.

Kathy Reiffenstein questions how much can your audience absorb?

What affects audience absorption?

sheer volume of information

rate of speech

complexity of information

language choice

organization of material

Jessica Hagy captures the information conundrum visually.
Not too much. Not too little. The best speakers are able to present just the right amount of information to maximize understanding (or, in this case, minimize confusion).

Craig Valentine gives 5 tips to add impact to statistics.

Do not Drop Stats off; Drive them Home

Use Statistics within a Story

The story is the emotion while the statistic is the logic.

Literally point us to the source

Use Statistics for Involvement

Nick R Thomas advises you to avoid buzzwords in your speech.

As public speakers, we want our listeners to reflect on the words we have just used because they find them amusing, moving, profound, persuasive… not because we have used language in a way that sounds peculiar, contrived or irritating to them. If you are using buzzwords, make sure that they are commonly used by that particular audience otherwise they will just distract from your message instead of reinforcing it.

Delivery Techniques

Doug Stevenson warns against the phony speaker’s smile.

One of the most common mistakes speakers make is to plaster a smile on their face and keep it there, regardless of what they’re saying. [...]

The problem of the “speaker’s smile” becomes pronounced and incongruent, especially in the context of storytelling. [...]

I tell it like it is with emotion that is congruent. If I’m talking about the unlimited potential of each individual in my audience, I’m smiling. If I’m talking about self-limiting beliefs, I’m not.

James Feudo claims tongue twisters are an effective rehearsal aid.

Most people have a bit of a hard time when trying to read them fast. It’s a lot of work for both your brain and your mouth – it’s like free weights for speaking articulately. It’s no secret that reading out loud can help improve your articulation but if you want to get results fast, try some tongue twisters.

Visual Aids

Olivia Mitchell presents new evidence that bullet slides don’t work.

Don’t say too much.

Split the (cognitive) load.

Get rid of visual clutter on your slides.

Make your audience work.

Garr Reynolds applies Zen art lessons to selecting slide colors.

The problem with most slide presentations is not that visuals contain too few colors, it’s that they contain too many. A common practice is to use several different vivid hues (colors) in presentation slides when even a single hue in various shades or tints would have been more effective.

[...] pay attention to the luminance or value in a graphic, not just the hues (colors).

Nancy Duarte argues that effective slides can be processed in 3 seconds or less.

One of the tools we used was our Glance Test. [...] slides should be processed in 3 seconds or less. It’s impossible for people to process your slides and your words simultaneously. The test gives you a quantifiable way to test a slide’s viability as a glance medium by calculating a signal-to-noise ratio for individual slides.

Speaker Habits

Stephanie Benoit and Denise Graveline discuss gender issues in public speaking and communication. [Watch Stephanie on video, and read Denise' additional advice.]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Vivek Singh provides a checklist of things to do before you present (a slide-focussed presentation).

Turn off your mobile phone

Shut off the internet connection (unless, of course, you need it)

Check your equipment

Run a spell check

Double-check all hyperlinks

Check multimedia

Rehearse with animation

Critically review the first slide

Back up your files

Check your fonts

Rehearse in slide show mode

And the Winner Is…

SlideShare recently concluded their World’s Best Presentation contest, and the winner was Dan Roam’s American Health Care presentation. [If you are reading this via subscription, you may need to click through to view it below.

Popular Public Speaking Books and Gear

Andrew Dlugan — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:01:32 +0000

When I’m looking for books to read, the only thing more convincing than a single recommendation from a colleague or friend is multiple recommendations for the same book from colleagues and friends.

Earlier, we published book testimonials from individual Six Minutes readers.

In this article, we list the most popular public speaking books and gear being read by the Six Minutes community — people just like you with an avid interest in speaking effectively.

Where Do These Lists Come From?

We get a sneak peak into what Six Minutes readers buy when they click on one of our links to the Amazon store. We do not get specific info on who is buying what — only aggregate information about what is being purchased.

This information gives a good indication of what is popular. We value your opinion of what is worth reading. Indeed, several of the book review choices (including the book review posted last week) were strongly influenced by which books you were buying!

You may be interested to know that when you make a purchase at Amazon after clicking on one of these links, we get a small commission. This helps us to keep Six Minutes free and continue to improve it with the articles you want. Thank you for your support in this way.

Popular PowerPoint and Visual Design Books

These are the most popular books which help you design better visuals, whether you use PowerPoint, Keynote, flip charts, or napkins as your visual tool.

slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte [read our book review]
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds [read our book review]
Clear and to the Point: 8 Psychological Principles for Compelling PowerPoint Presentations by Stephen Kosslyn [read our book review]
The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam
Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson
7-Slide Solution by Paul J. Kelly
Multimedia Learning by Richard E. Mayer [read our book review]

Popular Speechwriting and Storytelling Books

These are the most popular public speaking books which focus on audience analysis, determining your message, and selecting the best words, phrases, anecdotes, evidence, and stories.

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln: 21 Powerful Secrets of History’s Greatest Speakers by James C. Humes [read our book review]
The Story Factor by Annette Simmons [read our book review]
The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write One–How to Deliver It by Richard Dowis
Advanced Presentations by Design: Creating Communication that Drives Action by Andrew Abela [read our book review]
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Writing Great Speeches: Professional Techniques You Can Use by Alan Perlman
The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling by Stephen Denning

Popular Public Speaking Books

These are the most popular public speaking books which have a broad focus and cover many aspects of effective communication.

The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie [read our book review]
You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard by Bert Decker [read our book review]
On Speaking Well by Peggy Noonan
Fire Them Up! by Carmine Gallo [read our book review]
10 Days to More Confident Public Speaking by Lenny Laskowski
Presenting to Win by Jerry Weissman
The Power Presenter by Jerry Weissman

Popular Public Speaking Gear and Gadgets

This diverse collection of gadgets are the most popular speaking tools being purchased by Six Minutes readers.

Which Books Are You Reading?

Please drop a note in the article comments to share your favorite book with other Six Minutes readers.

Book Review: Multimedia Learning by Richard E. Mayer

Andrew Dlugan — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:34:35 +0000

Garr Reynolds, Nancy Duarte, and Cliff Atkinson are the authors of three hugely popular books on presentation design in the last five years.

What else do all three have in common? They all point to Richard E Mayer’s Multimedia Learning as recommended reading for presentation design.

And I agree.

This article is the latest of a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes.

How does Multimedia Learning compare to other books?

Let’s set the context:

Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds (previously reviewed here)
Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte (previously reviewed here)
Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson

All three of these are:

More popular than Mayer’s work. [In fact, these are three of the 9 most popular books on PowerPoint, according to amazon.com.]
More applied in nature.
More directly tied to public speaking.

Yet, all three offer advice which is, in part, based upon research explained by Mayer in Multimedia Design.

So, who should read Multimedia Learning?

Given that Richard Mayer is a professor of psychology, it is not surprising that Multimedia Learning is written in an academic style. I believe it is this style which hinders its mainstream appeal. (And the pedestrian cover design.)

However, the content is fascinating and provides scientific explanations which leads to deep understanding of much of the contemporary approach to slide design.

For this reason, I think the primary audience for Multimedia Learning is:

Professors, teachers, and trainers who create, design, and deliver instructional courses
Professionals who are frequently involved with slide design
Public speaking instructors and coaches

12 Principles You Learn from Multimedia Learning

“Multimedia Learning is fascinating and provides scientific explanations which leads to deep understanding of much of the contemporary approach to slide design.”

Mayer’s work is organized around 12 key principles. Each chapter introduces the principle, describes the methodology used to study it, and summarizes research results.

Coherence Principle
People learn better when extraneous words, pictures, and sounds are excluded rather than included.
Signaling Principle
People learn better when cues that highlight the organization of the essential material are added.
Redundancy Principle
People learn better from graphics and narration than from graphics, narration, and on-screen text.
Spatial Contiguity Principle
People learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented near rather than far from each other on the page or screen.
Temporal Contiguity Principle
People learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively.
Segmenting Principle
People learn better when a multimedia lesson is presented in user-paced segments rather than as a continuous unit.
Pre-training Principle
People learn better from a multimedia lesson when they know the names and characteristics of the main concepts.
Modality Principle
People learn better from graphics and narration than from animation and on-screen text.
Multimedia Principle
People learn better from words and pictures than from words alone.
Personalization Principle
People learn better from multimedia lessons when words are in conversational style rather than formal style.
Voice Principle
People learn better when the narration in multimedia lessons is spoken in a friendly human voice rather than a machine voice.
Image Principle
People do not necessarily learn better from a multimedia lesson when the speaker’s image is added to the screen.

About Richard E. Mayer

Richard E. Mayer is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

From his home page:

His current research involves the related disciplines of cognition, instruction, and technology with a special focus on multimedia learning and computer-supported learning. [...]

He was ranked #1 as the most productive educational psychologist in the world for 1991-2001. [...]

He is the author of more than 390 publications including 23 books, such as Multimedia Learning: Second Edition (2009), Learning and Instruction: Second Edition (2008), E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Second Edition (with R. Clark, 2008), and the Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (editor, 2005).

Get Your Copy or Read Other Reviews

Title: Multimedia Learning
Author: Richard E. Mayer
ISBN: 0521735351
Get a copy from your local bookstore, or from these online sources (also with additional reviews):
- amazon.com
- amazon.ca
- amazon.co.uk
- amazon.de

Public Speaking Tips: Weekend Review [2009-09-05]

Andrew Dlugan — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:02:42 +0000

On Saturdays, we survey the best public speaking tips from throughout the public speaking blogosphere.

This review features tips including:

public speaking books — new releases;
writing with precision;
adding context to statistics;
science behind storytelling;
connecting with your audience;
science behind gestures;
slideware software comparison; and
the importance of seeking feedback.

Resources for Speakers – Public Speaking Books

Check out these recently released public speaking and communications books:

It's Your Time to Shine: How to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking, Develop Authentic Presence and Speak from Your Heart by Sandra Zimmer
Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, and Get Results by David Booth, Deborah Shames, and Peter Desberg
Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone by Mark Goulston
The Training Design Manual: The Complete Practical Guide to Creating Effective and Successful Training Programmes by Tony Bray
Mastering Communication at Work: How to Lead, Manage, and Influence by Ethan Becker and Jon Wortmann

Speechwriting

Michelle Russell offers tips for writing with precision, many of which apply to speechwriting.

Find the spine of your content and stick to it

Cut the first paragraph

Don’t over-spice your words

Watch out for creep-in words

Cut exaggerations

Find a more precise word

Reuse the leftovers

Edward Fidgeon Kavanagh shows why statistics need context.
[Related article: Wrap Your Naked Statistics in a Warm Blanket of Meaning]

Why Statistics Need Context

View more presentations from Edward Fidgeon Kavanagh.

Storytelling

Colleen Ross reports research on children and storytelling.
[Thanks, Linda, for the link to this must-read article.]

I’ve listened to many people speak — at all levels of government, at conferences, in churches, at rallies, at funerals. I’ve laughed. I’ve cried. But often, I’ve sighed. I wish more people knew how to tell good stories. [...]

The researchers say the children with imaginary friends told higher-quality stories than the others; they simply get more practice telling stories both to their friend and to other interested folks. [...]

Ottawa-based communications expert Barry McLoughlin says many of us don’t exercise the storytelling muscle enough, so it atrophies. And somewhere along the line, it becomes more difficult to talk about emotions in public. To be a good storyteller, you need to put yourself on the line.

Delivery Techniques

Nick Morgan addresses (part 1; part 2; part 3) the role of body language in connecting with your audience.

All speakers wish to connect with their audiences. What is the most powerful way to do that? Every communication is two conversations – content and body language. Body language is where connection happens.

Denise Graveline uncovers the science behind gestures.

Some the students were allowed to gesture while telling the story, while others were asked to keep their hands still.

[...] the researchers still saw the experiment as an example of how gestures can help the brain access the right words at the right time.

Visual Aids

Dave Paradi shows [in video] how to redesign a set of slides that show relationships between roles.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mike Pulsifer compares Keynote ‘09, PowerPoint 2008, and OpenOffice 3 Impress in detail.

Rather than giving points to the tools that have the most of whatever garbage they may offer, I’ll focus more on what is important and not count the fluff or garbage. I’m breaking this comparison down to five different categories:

Templates

Interface

Design Tools

Charting

Presenter Tools

I’m also scoring them and will provide each category’s scores (out of 20) throughout the article.

Speaker Habits

Kathy Reiffenstein argues that you should proactively seek feedback.

Just how much do you search out feedback after you’ve made a presentation? Do you quickly collect the [...] feedback forms [...] and stuff them into your briefcase where they’re unlikely to again see the light of day? Do you gratefully accept thanks from the event organizer without probing for more detail about whether you really hit the mark? If this sounds familiar, you are missing a fabulous opportunity to gain insights, correct shortcomings and generally improve your presentation effectiveness.

Nancy Duarte encourages you to seek other perspectives as you develop presentations.

There used to be three significant roles played in the development of a presentation and each role was done by a highly trained specialist. Today, anyone who builds presentation[s] has all three of these roles folded into one eliminating collaboration all together, yet we’re not officially trained in any of these skills. [...]

Next time you have an important presentation that uses charts or data of any kind, at least meet with someone else to get another perspective on whether you’re using the data in the most effective way.

Carmine Gallo lists 15 ways to give a lousy presentation.

Misspell words

Create distracting color combinations

Use inconsistent fonts

Use a really small font size

Insert improperly sized photos that are stretched to fit the slide

Look completely and totally disinterested

Look disheveled

Read every word of each slide

Don’t bother with a backup plan

Don’t practice

Call attention to your mistakes

Open with an offensive or off-color joke

Use wild animations

Use cartoon clip art

Use ancient presentation software

Best Public Speaking Tips and Techniques: Weekend Review [2009-07-11]

Andrew Dlugan — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:41:02 +0000

On Saturdays, we survey the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere.

This review features topics including:

new public speaking books;
opening with humor;
speech frameworks;
storytelling;
vocal habits to eliminate;
speaking to hearing impaired people;
slide design; and
transitioning to professional speaking.

Resources for Speakers – Public Speaking Books

Check out these recently released public speaking and communications books:

How to Make a Great Wedding Speech by Philip Calvert
Telling Ain't Training by Harold Stolovitch
How to Instantly Connect with Anyone: 96 All-New Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes
What's Your Hook?: How to Make Your Message Memorable by Kevin Carroll
TJ Walker's Secret to Foolproof Presentations by TJ Walker

Speechwriting

Ian Griffin explains speechwriting keys to finding the speaker’s voice.

[...] speechwriters need to know three things – the speaker, the audience and the subject. Knowing the speaker means, among other things, being aware of how they speak. How they form their words and their cadence when they are in front of an audience. If a writer can do this then we say they have captured their ‘voice’.

Jason Peck lists several ways to open your speech with humor. [Note the emphasis on keeping it relevant!]

[T]here are a few different ways for you to create a funny introduction [...] You can open with a relevant humorous story. I say relevant as it’s best if relates directly to your theme.

[...] You could open with a humorous quote [...] Again, it’s best if it relates to your message.

You might also consider opening with a humorous image [...]

Opening with a humorous prop that relates to your message either directly, or indirectly could also work.

Meryl Evans outlines a speech framework.

I recently created a presentation on the value of Twitter to businesses, and worked through the sequence of Act I: the Setting, Role, Point A, Point B and Call to Action slides. [...]

Setting: You’re currently losing touch with your market and customers.

Role: You want know how to reconnect with the market and customers.

Point A: Your business will slow down if you don’t connect with the market.

Point B: Reconnect with clients, market, industry and prospects by joining and tracking conversations.

Call to Action: Follow the three parts of the presentation to add Twitter to your business.

Storytelling

Bert Decker lists 10 reasons why stories are powerful:

They are real

They are short

They are interesting

They are human

They give third party credibility

They are easy to tell

They are memorable

They are emotionally connecting

They move people

They are the principle communication tool since Man began talking

Jim Anderson argues that stories are underutilized in business.

Terrence Gargiulo has identified 9 key values to using a story in a business presentation:

They empower the speaker.

They can be used to create a particular environment.

They can be used to bond individuals together.

They can help your audience to engage in active listening.

They can be used to resolve differences between both individuals and groups.

They can encode information.

They can act as tools to help with brainstorming.

They can be used as weapons.

They can be used to start or enhance a healing process.

Denise Graveline points out that personal stories are often best.

A personal story guarantees that your audience is getting original material, heightening their interest, and if you choose the story right and tell it on yourself–with surprises, slip-ups and ironic twists–you’ll have a winning formula for holding attention.

Joey Asher suggests starting stories with a promise to build expectations

The first step in telling a good story is to make a promise. And if you want it to be a great story, it needs to be a big promise.

When you make a big promise, you’re setting an expectation in your listeners’ minds. There is tension: “will she be able to fulfill the promise?”

Delivery Techniques

Sims Wyeth distinguishes several vocal habits to eliminate.

Uptalk

Glottal fry

Mumbling

Speaking too fast

Speaking too slowly

Jim Anderson offers tips for speaking to hearing impaired people.

[...] in the U.S. there are 26 million people who have permanent hearing damage. What are the odds that one or more of them will be in your next audience?

Visual Aids

Brent Dykes reminds you to use colors to emphasize key data points to help your audience.

In most cases, when you’re using charts in PowerPoint slides you’re trying to highlight a specific data point or a subset of data points [...]

The software has no way of knowing which particular data point is the main focus of your graph or chart. It is up to you — the presenter — to ensure that your charts communicate effectively to your audience.

Source: www.powerpointninja.com

Jan Schultink describes a visual concept: the mini-dialogue with text balloons.

Source: stickyslides.blogspot.com

Speaker Habits

Kathy Reiffenstein shares critiques on conferences.

[T]he organizers provided a Speakers’ Room, equipped with screens so presenters could rehearse presentations and even use other speakers as a mock audience. [...]

Plea to speakers using teleprompter: please, please rehearse, with teleprompter, more than 10 minutes before your speech.

In almost every session I attended, presenters ran out of time [...] When developing a speech or presentation, allocate time for audience questions and comments.

Session evauations are one of my hot buttons (more on that in a subsequent post). Feedback is the most valuable thing a speaker can get from the audience. [...] if you’re in the audience, do the speaker the courtesy of providing honest, thoughtful feedback. Don’t say the presentation was good if it wasn’t; if you have thoughts for improvement, offer them.

Politically Speaking

Chris Witt analyzes Sarah Palin’s resignation speech.

There are any number of ways of analyzing a speech. My three favorites (not in order of importance) are 1) delivery, 2) message, and 3) results. [...]

I think Palin’s speech was a medley of her favorite themes [...]

By that standard I can’t judge Palin’s speech a success, because I have no idea what her goal was.

Professionally Speaking

Grant Baldwin provides a brief glimpse (parts one & two; plus 31 tips) into his transition to a full-time professional speaker.

The fact is I have a really sweet gig being able to travel and speak to students. So many people I talk with tell me they’d love to do what I get to do.

But people always want to know how I got into this. So in case you’re wondering, here’s the back story…

Best Public Speaking Tips and Techniques: Weekend Review [2009-06-06]

Andrew Dlugan — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:03:44 +0000

On Saturdays, we survey the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere.

This review features topics including:

new public speaking books;
creating strong speech outlines;
opinions on filler words;
persuasive speech strategies;
explanations of the misinterpretation of Mehrabian’s research [7%=content; 38%=voice; 55% = body language];
step-by-step slide makeovers; and
elevator pitches for professional speakers and speechwriters.

Week in Review: Six Minutes

Why Successful Speech Outlines follow the Rule of Three
The second of a three-part series on the powerful speechwriting technique. Learn how to organize your presentation with a three-part structure that enhances understandability.
Are… um… Filler Words… ah… Okay?
A review of current opinion from several public speaking experts on whether filler words are detrimental or acceptable.

Week in Review: Public Speaking Blogosphere

Resources for Speakers – Public Speaking Books

Check out these recently released public speaking and communications books:

Communication: The Key to Effective Leadership by Judith Ann Pauley
Lend Me Your Ears: All You Need to Know about Making Speeches and Presentations by Max Atkinson
The Voice of Success: A Woman's Guide to a Powerful and Persuasive Voice by Joni Wilson
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data by Stephen Few
Training Workshop Essentials: Designing, Developing, and Delivering Learning Events that Get Results by Robert W. Lucas

Resources for Speakers

Garr Reynolds is releasing an video version of Presentation Zen. I’m trying to convince the training department in my company to get a copy.
However, on his blog, he cautions:

If you have the PZ book already I do not recommend that you get the video too (unless money is no object, in which case feel free to buy a million copies). But if you know someone who does not have the Presentation Zen book – and they are unlikely to slow down long enough to go through such a book – then the video may be very useful.

Speechwriting

Nick Morgan lists 6 persuasive speech approaches.

problem-solution

statement of reasons

comparative advantages

criteria – satisfaction

general to specific

negative method

Delivery Techniques

Olivia Mitchell launched the Stop the Mehrabian Myth campaign.

The stickiest idea in presenting and public speaking is that the meaning of your message is communicated by:

Your words 7%

Your tone of voice 38%

Your body language 55%.

[...]
I’m also concerned about the persistence of the Myth because of the impact on presenters:

The Mehrabian Myth puts unwarranted pressure on people who are nervous about speaking. They’ve been led to believe that their delivery can make or break their presentation. This is just not true. If they prepare well-organized valuable content and deliver it at least adequately they are likely to get their message across.

The Mehrabian Myth leads some “wing-it” presenters to under-prepare their content under the misapprehension that so long as they can deliver with energy and dynamism they’ll get their message across. Again, not so.

Bert Decker contributes a stirring complementary article about Mehrabian’s research and the controversy. [I don't say this often, but I think this is a must-read article for students of public speaking.]

Professor Albert Mehrabian has provided a great service to communicators who learn of, and apply, his work. Let not misinterpretations of that work diminish the importance of Mehrabian.

Max Atkinson refutes what he refers to as “the overstated claims about the… importance of body language” by suggesting counter arguments:

How come it’s much easier to have a conversation with a blind person than with someone who’s completely deaf?

How come we can have perfectly good conversations in the dark?

How come telephones and radio have been such spectacular successes?

How come we have to work so hard to learn foreign languages?

Visual Aids

Mike Pulsifer explains a step-by-step slide makeover of US Coast Guard slides.

[...] the federal government is a fertile breeding ground for poorly designed and down-right ineffective slides. [...] the event organizers’ decision to make the slide decks available to participants a couple weeks ago gave me just what I needed to share with you a slide make-over.

Professionally Speaking

Ian Griffin describes the importance of and the components of an elevator pitch for speechwriters or speakers.

Entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to venture capitalists. Job seekers are encouraged to develop a compelling elevator pitch to land an interview. Speed dating has even introduced the elevator pitch into our romantic lives.

What about speechwriters? Why should we bother to develop an elevator pitch for a proposed speech topic? Why not just get on with it and start writing?

And to close…

For speech inspiration, here’s an index card gem from Jessica Hagy.

This recent drawing caught my eye for two reasons:

“Sex, drugs, and rock & roll” is a memorable phrase — an example of the rule of three which we’ve featured recently on Six Minutes;
Tension between parents and teenagers is an abstract concept, but this analogy grounds it concretely in reality.

What memorable triad can you add to your next speech?

What concrete analogies can you use to help explain abstract concepts?

Jessica’s book Indexed is an inexpensive, but rich source of speech inspiration.

Book Review: You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard (Bert Decker)

Andrew Dlugan — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:07:27 +0000

Bert Decker’s revised edition of You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard was one of many books recommended by Six Minutes readers last year.

Now I know why.

Decker’s public speaking classic is a comprehensive book which deserves to be on your public speaking bookshelf.

This article is the latest of a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes.

There is much to like in Decker’s book. To keep this review shorter than the book itself, I’ll focus on the three parts of the book that stand out the most for me.

1. Emotion and the First Brain

The first half of the book establishes the case that effective communicators (Decker describes these as New Communicators) understand the importance of emotion in the communications process. That is, communication is more than logical arguments. More than facts and figures. More than metaphors and triads.

“It’s the listener’s First Brain that makes the decision whether or not to trust and believe the speaker.”

-- Bert Decker

Decker explains the importance of emotion by reasoning that our brains are composed of two parts:

The New Brain – the intellectual part of the human brain which reasons and processes at a conscious level, and
The First Brain – the nonreasoning, nonrational, subconscious, primitive part of the brain.

The First Brain, he argues, acts as a powerful filter. Before your message can even get to the New Brain, it must first pass by the First Brain. For that to happen, you must connect emotionally.

2. Communication = Leadership ?

“When people have confidence in someone as a communicator, they have confidence in that person, period.”

-- Bert Decker

Decker asserts that communication and leadership are intimately linked. He clearly reasons that to effectively communicate is to be a leader; to be a leader is to effectively communicate.

Decker is not unique here. I, too, hold the belief that communication and leadership are joined at the hip. However, Decker is so persuasive on this point that, as I was reading, I began to wonder whether leadership and communication are actually the same thing. Are they really separate concepts at all?

3. Speechwriting and Delivery Tips Abound!

While the first half of the book is somewhat theoretical, the second half is packed with practical tips for speechwriting and delivery.

Here are just a few of the public speaking issues addressed by Decker in You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard:

Eye contact,
Posture and movement,
Dress and appearance,
Gestures,
Vocal variety,
Word selection,
Pauses,
Fear of speaking,
SHARPs (Stories and examples, Humor, Analogies, References and quotations, Pictures and visual aids), and
A comprehensive speech organization method he names The Decker Grid System.

These tips can be found in other books or blogs, in one form or another. The great value here is descriptions offered by Decker, and the relationships he makes between them and the concepts introduced earlier in the book. For example, Decker offers insights into public speaking fear drawn from the First Brain concepts.

What Could be Improved?

I loved this book, but it’s not perfect.

“The profound role of the First Brain in the communications process has been virtually ignored by communications experts and theorists until now.”

-- Bert Decker

Is emotion ignored in traditional communications training?
Decker claims that the role of the First Brain (that is, the importance of emotion in communication) has been “virtually ignored by communications experts”. While I concede that many traditional public speaking books underestimate the importance of emotion, I think “virtually ignored” is overstating it. For example, one of the oldest books on the topic of public speaking — Aristotle’s On Rhetoric – recognizes emotional appeals as one of the three primary forms of persuasion. Aristotle’s lessons have may have been skewed a bit, but they are not ignored.
Slow start
When I read a book for review, I mark the page whenever there’s a key insight or a golden quote. In the first 75 pages of this book, I only marked two pages. By contrast, I marked 15 in the final 150 pages. Those first 75 pages ran through a large number of politicians, business leaders, and celebrities, and labelled them as either old (bad) or new (good) communicators. The analysis isn’t superficial, but I still would have liked to see deeper analysis here to demonstrate the positive and negative communication traits. It’s difficult to do this, however, in print… perhaps this book needs a companion DVD?

About the Author – Bert Decker

Bert Decker is the CEO of Decker Communications, a communications training company that has worked with hundreds of thousands of executives, managers, and salespeople in the past 30 years.

Bert is the author of several books, including Creating Messages that Motivate and You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard.

And he writes a public speaking blog too.

What Others are Saying about You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard

Nancy Duarte:

This updated version of Bert’s book is fantastic.

Mark Sanborn:

This book is a classic bestseller that has been revised and updated … I recommend it.

Trent Hamm:

You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard is brilliant at helping you to become a better speaker mechanically by breaking down speaking into lots of little, practicable pieces.

If you’re involved with public speaking – or would like to be – You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard is a very worthwhile read.

Chris Spagnuolo:

The book concludes with a section on organizing your content to create a focused message… Bert’s proven Decker Grid System. … It’s a simple method, but one that I find to be extremely powerful in helping deliver targeted messages to the needs and wants of your audience. I’ve been using it for about three months now and I am amazed at the results.

Jeff Bailey:

This is THE book on presentation that you have been looking for: If you learn the contents it will literally improve your life. I don’t say that lightly and I am not exaggerating — I mean it!

Six Minutes » public speaking books

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