Category Archives: Speaking Skills

Helping People Remember Your Speech

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We want our audience members to remember the point of each speech. To make it easier for the listener to retain information, we must speak our key ideas in different ways so that listeners will take our ideas with them.

Preview your ideas. In the introduction, tell the audience what your two or three major ideas will be. Not only will this begin the process for the audience to remember ideas, but also it will get their attention since you are giving them specific directions on what you want them to consider.

Internal summary is another way to remind the audience of your ideas. In the middle of your speech, you summarize. “Now that we have talked about the importance of the preview, let us move on to the use of internal summary” would be an example. In addition, the internal summary allows you smooth movement from one point to another and will keep you from using the verbalized pause as a transition.

A change of pace is to give an idea special attention. Suggestions are, “Be sure to put a star by this point,” or, “You may forget other things I say, but remember this point.” Only do this once or twice in your speech, but in this way you can give key thoughts billboard position.

Don’t forget the value of supporting a point with an example. You are tying the point to a story which reinforces the idea for the listener. People tend to remember what you say after you begin with, “Let me give you an example of that point.”

Finally, include a question and answer period at the end of your presentation. In answering questions, you reinforce key ideas or you are able to give more illustrative material to instill a thought in the minds of the listeners. You might answer a question with, “As I mentioned earlier…” and then say the point with a different piece of support.

Oscar Wilde said, “Memory is the diary we all carry with us.” Use these techniques to encourage each listener to enlarge his or her “memory diary.”

Speaking From the Overflow

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A question I’m often asked about preparing a speech is, “How do I know when I am ready to speak?” One way of determining your readiness is when you realize that you have more information than you can ever cover in the time allotted. A powerful presentation is one that comes from the overflow.

If you say to yourself, “I hope I have enough material to take up the time I have to speak,” then you are not ready to speak. Granted, it is a challenge to find an abundance of information—especially if you have not delivered many speeches.

However, when you have to eliminate rather than stretch your material to cover the time, you are likely to have left only the most powerful examples, statistics, and testimony to prove your points, strengthening your content. Here are suggestions to make that happen.

First, incorporate a variety of sources in researching your subject. The more different sources you have, the more possibilities for materials to use in the presentation. For example, if you have an article from a trade journal, a quotation from a newspaper clipping, an interview with an authority, and a personal narrative on the topic, you probably have more material on a single point than you can use; you will have to choose only one or two pieces of evidence. This scenario usually ensures a rich and powerful piece of evidence for that part of the presentation.

Two, avoid “cramming” for a presentation. Start early in preparing the presentation. Much of the inspiration for a speech comes from merely mulling it over. Just thinking about the presentation while driving to and from work will give you a range of ideas that escape you when you are pressed for time and wait until a few hours before the speech to prepare. Audiences can sense when you have lived with a topic for a while—it shows in the depth of your thinking.

Third, talk to other people about your topic in the days and weeks before you present. Try out one of your ideas as dinner conversation with a small group of associates or family members. Just going over the idea aloud will often give you information from your own thinking or feedback from the people with whom you share your ideas. This gives you a time to practice informally, and with each practice time you can add significant details.

Finally, make all of your reading and listening experiences a time of preparation. If you always have your mind open to materials connected to the areas you speak about, you will be more likely to pick up new and creative material for your next speech. For example, a recent article on the anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge reminded me of earlier material I had saved about the bridge that I had used in a speech several years ago. I began thinking how I might tie in the 75th anniversary of the opening of the bridge with an upcoming presentation.

Audiences know when you are speaking from the overflow. It shows in your confidence and in the depth of your material. Freshwater springs are often surrounded by plant and animal life because springs provide an environment for growth. A presentation which springs from the overflow of the speaker’s preparation provides the same environment of growth for listeners and is not soon forgotten.

The Last Word

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Human rights activist Malcom X was assassinated while delivering a speech at Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom in 1965. As he was speaking, a commotion occurred in the crowd of 400. Moments before he was shot dead his last words were, “Brothers! Brothers, please! This is a house of peace.”

Rarely are the last words of a speech the last words of that speaker. But these words have lasted through the years. The last words of your speech are important because people remember best what you say last. Here are three ways to conclude your presentation with powerful last words.

Consider a quotation that relates to a major concept in your presentation. For example, if you are stressing a “how-to” notion, you might end with Cicero’s statement, “The skill to do comes by the doing.”

If you are finishing a speech on goals, you might conclude with Thoreau’s line, “If one advances in the direction of his dreams, one will meet with success unexpected in common hours.”

Second, you might end with a personal testimonial. Assuming you are an expert on your topic, a personal reinforcement at the end will make your message linger longer. A time management speaker might end, “One principle I’ve learned over the years is that to get the most out of your day, begin with completing the biggest challenge first.”

Or I might finish a presentation on speaking with, “The only way to keep improving is to speak. The more you speak, the more effective you will become as a speaker.”

Finally, you can tie your ending back to the introduction. If your topic is planning for retirement and you opened with a statistic on how few people save enough money for retirement, you could end with the tie-in, “Don’t be one of the people who never saves, but instead be one who makes retirement the great event you dream it to be by following the steps outlined today. “

If your topic is nutrition and you began by stressing how much extra energy a person gets by eating breakfast, then your ending might be, “Follow all these tips for good nutrition, but above all, get a head start on your day—energize yourself with a nutritious breakfast.”

A well-delivered exit line needs no phrase of introduction. It’s easy to say, “I’d like to close with…” or “In conclusion…” but those words are not the words you want your audience to take home. Close with finality. Conclude forcefully. Strategic and practiced last words will help your audience members remember your speech the way you want them to.

If you are having trouble with the ending of a speech you are preparing, email me at [email protected] and I’ll be glad to give you some ideas.

Advantages of Being Nervous

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Yesterday I heard two different speakers say as they began speaking, “I’m nervous.”

It is okay to be nervous when you speak!

The key is controlling the nervousness.

Standing in front of an audience of 100 people or doing a Skype interview with a prospective employer can be intimidating, and there is nothing wrong with feeling a little uncertain. The key is that you don’t want to be so anxious that you pass out or your mind goes completely blank.

Earl Nightingale said what many of us feel when delivering a speech. “You may feel like you are in the terminal stages of some type of tropical fever.”

Much of our anxiety is mental. When we know we are about to speak, self-doubt can enter our thought process and create these messages in our thinking:

“I did not prepare enough.”

“This audience does not want to listen to this material.”

“My ideas are too trite for this group.”

Chase away those negative thoughts. Substitute these words:

“I have prepared well for this group.”

“What I have to say will really be helpful to this group.”

“This audience is going to learn from this speech as well as having fun while listening.”

Your self-doubt will be less when you are speaking on a topic you enjoy talking about. With a topic you feel strongly about, confidence will grow and you can’t wait to face the audience. When you are speaking on a topic you like, your enthusiasm will be “caught” by your audience and they will encourage you by their nonverbal to have a positive attitude. As I often say in my seminars, the last four letters in “enthusiasm” can stand for “I am sold myself.” When you are sold yourself, you can sell others on your ideas.

One last way to help you when you feel too anxious is to listen to my webinar on stage fright at http://vimeo.com/41492020 .

Be more concerned when you feel absolutely no nervousness. This is often seen by the audience as boredom or indifference from you the speaker.

When you are nervous before or at the beginning of your presentation, welcome the feeling and use these suggestions to keep it under control.

 

How Much? How Many?

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In my presentation seminars, we discuss the dangers of using statistics in a presentation. A main reason is that you can adapt data to make it mean whatever you want it to mean.

There are times, however, when statistics can be used effectively. Those times are when we answer these two questions, “How much?” and “How many?” When you answer those questions, qualify your answers with these three characteristics: few, fresh, and forceful.

Use few statistics. Take for example the problem with garbage. Edward Humes in a recent Wall Street Journal article wrote that Americans toss out over seven pounds of trash per person each day. A single statistic was sufficient to cover “how many.”

Make the statistics fresh. Recency is important. Check the internet regularly to find the latest statistics on your topic. Because we all lug cans of garbage to the curb each week, garbage is continually fresh—well, the garbage isn’t, but the idea of it is—on our minds.

In the Cincinnati area where I live, a huge controversy has arisen over the need to build a new bridge across the Ohio River. The Brent Spence Bridge presently in use is old and was never made to handle the amount of traffic that now flows over it.

An guest column by Julie Janson in The Cincinnati Enquirer stated that a billion dollars’ worth of goods crosses the bridge every day, and each month that construction is delayed the cost of the new bridge increases eight million dollars. Few and fresh are both inherent in these two statistics. These two statistics are sufficient to answer “How much?”

You can make all the above data forceful by your delivery manner. Pause before you speak the statistic and then punch out the number. Perhaps take a step toward the audience as you deliver a particularly powerful statistic.

Don’t make statistics a major part of your next presentation. Instead, carefully place one or two statistics in your speech. Make sure the number you mention is relevant. Add some drama by pausing and punching out the data. Then you will have answered the two most important questions audience members want answered: “How many?” and “How much?”

When you use statistics in this manner, you will be less likely to come to the conclusion of Mrs. Robert Taft: “I always find that statistics are hard to follow and impossible to digest. The only one I can remember is that if all the people who go to sleep in church were laid end to end they would be a lot more comfortable.”

Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP, presents keynotes and seminars to corporations and associations whose people want to speak and listen effectively. See additional articles and resources at www.sboyd.com. To book Steve, call 800-727-6520 or reply to this email.

Things of Value

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In a presentation, we may have a hard time determining what ideas are important and which ones are not. We certainly have clues by the amount of attention audience members give us and noticing that they are writing down an idea we have just delivered.

However, there is one special presentation where the speaker knows exactly what the audience values, and that is the auction! I grew up in an auctioneer family and have done my share of charity auctions. The content of your presentation is the articles to be sold and you can estimate how much each item is worth, but you never know for sure until you start the bidding.

For example, years ago at a charity auction I sold an eight-inch piece of metal from the car Dale Earnhardt drove in the 2000 Daytona 500 race, a year before he crashed and died in the Daytona 500. A true fan paid $600 for that piece of metal!

There are certain things a good auctioneer will do to insure a high bid on an article put on the auction block to be sold. These same rules can help the speaker insure maximum value of his or her ideas, such as to learn about the item(s) to be sold. My uncle used to go to catalogues and farm implement stores to learn the value of farm equipment he would sell at his next auction. He called antique dealers to inquire about certain pieces to determine where he would start the bidding on an antique plate or an English armoire. The good auctioneer shows enthusiasm about special items to help the audience develop an emotional connection to the item to be sold.

Uncle Mark might say before selling a car at an estate auction, “This car was driven for 10 years by Mrs. Smith. As many of you know, she was a careful driver, always kept this Chevy Impala in her garage, and made sure service was up to date. This is not your typical ten-year-old car you might see on a used car lot. With that in mind, what am I bid?”

My uncle was highly respected in the community and people loved coming to his auctions. They were entertaining and upbeat besides being well-organized and efficiently conducted. He gave back to the community in many ways, such as volunteering his time to sell prize-winning cattle at the annual 4-H Fair.

With a valuable clock or antique bowl, he might spend extra time in seeking to raise the bid. He knew when to stress the value of an artifact and also knew when to move on quickly in selling a nondescript desk or chair.

Find the best auctioneer in your community and attend one of his or her auctions. The experience will improve your speaking skills. The speaker needs some of the same skills as the auctioneer:

  • interacting with the audience
  • knowing the concerns of the audience
  • showing excitement for the topic
  • pacing—knowing when to speed up or slow down
  • having fun.

Connect with your local auctioneer and you too can increase the value of your next presentation.

You can also invite me to sell your group on the value of communication skills with my “High Bid” after-dinner or keynote speech. You can make money for your favorite charity during the speech when I sell a lovely hand-painted hummingbird welcome sign for your home which I donate. Click here to see a short video of me as auctioneer at a charity auction.

Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP, is Professor Emeritus of Speech Communication, College of Informatics, Northern Kentucky University, near Cincinnati. He presents keynotes and seminars to corporations and associations whose people want to speak and listen effectively. See additional articles and resources at www.sboyd.com. To book Steve, call 800-727-6520 or reply to this email.

Let’s March!

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There are many ways to persuade someone to take action. You may recall the old story about a party on an elegant cruise yacht when a lady fell overboard. Immediately an 80-year-old man jumped in the water and rescued her. Party goers pulled them both out of the water. The captain was grateful as well as astonished that the old man performed such an act of bravery.

That night a banquet was given in honor of the elderly hero. He was called forward to receive an award and was asked to say a few words. He said, “First of all, I’d like to know who pushed me!” That is probably not the best technique to move people to action. We all have to persuade at times. Here are less drastic ways to motivate people to take action.

Be organized. Audience members listen better and will stay with your line of reasoning when they can easily follow the structure of your speech. An effective method is to state your main idea and then follow with three or four main points. Develop each point with relevant evidence and then finish with a move-to-action ending.

Show how what you are advocating works elsewhere. We use this technique in casual conversation such as “We went to see the Hunger Games and it was even better than the book. You have to go to the movie, too.” In a speech you might say “This program has really helped the D J Widget Company and I know will do the same for your company.”

Use testimony from experts the audience respects. This requires knowing the expertise of the audience members and whom they respect as sources for evidence. One of the reasons presidents from both parties will quote Abraham Lincoln is that he has credibility with everyone. If you are speaking to a group of basketball coaches or players, quoting Tom Izzo or John Calipari will enhance the point you are making.

Finally, don’t rely only on logic. There must also be feeling and emotion in the content of the presentation. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to include stories. Stories provide the emotional power to drive the logical aspects home to the audience. If you are persuading the audience to give to United Way, find a story of someone who has been helped by United Way and share it. Make people understand why to give but also feel that that their gifts make a difference.

You can deliver an effective presentation and people may leave impressed with your ability and yet not be persuaded. It was said of Cicero that when people heard him, they turned to one another and said, “Great speech.” But when Demosthenes spoke, people turned to one another and said, “Let’s march.” If you follow these principles you are more likely to get people to march!

Spontaneity Personified: The Ad Lib

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What to say when the lights go out, or when the microphone starts popping, or when the dishes go crashing in the kitchen next door are all situations we do not prepare for when getting ready to speak. We do not prepare for getting tongue-tied, either, during a presentation, yet when something goes awry, having the right word can save the moment and increase credibility for a speaker. That is the ad lib.

The ad lib is important in many communication situations, but never more important than in public speaking situations. The right word can keep the momentum of the presentation going, and the wrong word or no words can destroy the connection between speaker and audience.

Although the ad lib literally means “at one’s pleasure,” and implies speaking without forethought, the best way to have words that appear to be ad libs is to prepare ahead of time. Consider all the possible things that might go wrong during a presentation and compose a comment that you might use when that unexpected situation occurs. The audience will love it.

Here are some examples that you might use for your next speaking emergency. If you have a tendency to get tongue-tied, say, “I just got my teeth fixed and now my tongue won’t work.”

When my projector kept vibrating because the hotel’s heating system was shaking the floor and my slides were impossible to focus clearly, I said, “This the first time my equipment is more nervous than I am.”

Be careful in your choice of remarks that you aren’t too caustic. Once when someone came in late, the speaker said, “Could I get you something—a snack, a pencil, a watch?”

When the microphone starts making weird sounds, you might say, “Obviously someone in the control room has heard me before.”

Terry Paul uses this one for any distracting situation: “This life is a test. It is only a test. If it had been a real life, I would have been given instructions on where to go and what to do.”

Here are some tips on how to use the ad lib, whatever you choose to say.

  • Pause before you say anything. This gives you time to think and to set the tone for whatever you say.
  • Use facial expressions that show you are in fun.
  • If you say something that is truly spontaneous and it works, write the comment down afterward so you can remember to use it again.

One of the most memorable ad lib lines ever occurred in the movie When Harry Met Sally. Billy Crystal ad libbed it in rehearsal, and it was quickly written into the script. At the conclusion of the famous faked orgasm by Meg Ryan, the nearby customer at the restaurant says to the server, “I’ll have what she is having.”

Find It in an Obituary!

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Great sources for new material in your next presentation can come from unusual places-such as obituaries!

I’ve always sought to find in nonfiction books original or creative stories or information that I might adapt to a particular speech, but my wife introduced me to the obituary as an additional source. She shared with me an unusual obituary she found in our local newspaper. The account was short, regarding the life of an 89-year-old lady from Covington, Kentucky. The statement that took my breath away was this: “Survived by many, remembered by few.” 

One can’t help but speculate on how this sad commentary came to be included in the obit. Perhaps the woman had requested the line before she died. Or maybe one of the few who did remember wanted to remind those who knew her that they had pretty much ignored her in life. Whatever the source, this piece of nonfiction could be applied to several components of human relations, including the importance of giving attention to our senior relatives and friends.

Audience members are attracted to material they have not heard before, and this is tough considering the ease of finding information on the Internet. To keep your material fresh, seek out unusual sources for material besides the usual sources such as biographies. Think of what intrigues you and might interest others.

Strolling through a cemetery has given me ideas for illustrations, including epitaphs on tombstones or drawings, such as a page from a hymnal, carved into the stone. Recently we found Bud Light Cans on each side of a gravestone.  One can only speculate on the significance of those.

Guides on tours of significant landmarks provide captivating lectures to share. As we passed through a small town in Alaska, the guide informed us that law enforcement agents used to check out the town occasionally because the place was so removed from civilization. When satellite television reception arrived there, several arrests were made in response to “America’s Most Wanted.”

Pick up a brochure when you visit a landmark. I learned much about Kentucky Bourbon from brochures while touring the Bourbon Trail in central Kentucky. When chatting with older people, ask what their childhood was like.

Seek information about a topic when you meet an expert on a given subject.  I learned much about coffee beans in talking to a key executive in charge of purchasing coffee for a large manufacturing company. Keep a pen and paper close by when you are watching a movie. Dialogue from the movie sometimes has great quotations you can use in a speech. For example, in the 1992 movie, A League of Their Own, Tom Hanks, as manager of the team says, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it weren’t hard, everyone would do it. It’s the hard that makes it great.”  I’ve used this quote for years.    

Another classic quotation I still use was from a homeless man I met in the Bowery of New York City. I told him where I was from and that we were sightseeing.  His response: “Ten years ago I came to see the sights, and now I am one of the sights.” 

Don’t limit your sources for thought-provoking information for your next presentation. You may find a memorable line in a simple conversation—or in an obituary.

 

Embrace Serendipity in Your Next Speech

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Last week the Cincinnati Enquirer featured a story about a little girl who was sitting in her third grade class playing with about an inch-wide gold, heart-shaped locket. She took off the necklace and in the process fumbled the locket and the locket went down her throat. This made it very difficult to breathe and her chest hurt. Her mother rushed to school and then on to the hospital with her.

En route to the hospital, the family car hit a massive pothole. The jarring caused the locket to discharge from the girl's esophagus, forcing it to travel all the way down her throat and saving her life.

Usually you want to avoid potholes, but here the pothole was a life saver. This young lady was the recipient of serendipity! Good things happen by accident. If you look for good things to happen in a speech, you will be more alert to contextual factors that improve your presentation. Seek to make serendipity work for you.

One of the benefits of getting to the meeting place early and meeting some members of the audience is that you might learn something unexpected that could help you in your presentation. As I talked to people before one presentation, I found that several had had me in class at the local university. So I mentioned that early on to boost my credibility with those who did not know me and connect with those who did.

Be grateful for serendipity when there is no explanation. For example, once I was making the point early in my presentation that I hoped by the end of the speech each would have an "aha" so that they would leave thinking "Aha! I can use that tomorrow on the job."  When I said "aha" the audience broke out in applause. The initials of their national organization were "AHA."  They thought my play on words was great and at the time I had no idea what I had said that made them applaud. I just enjoyed the positive feedback and their immediate connection with me.

Don’t be oblivious to serendipity, but embrace it and use it to your advantage.