• Discover the reason for the invitation.
• What’s in it for you?
• Prepare thoroughly.
\\ atch or listen to the program. Read the newspaper. Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse.
Remain cool, calm and confident —you are the expert.
As I write the last few pages of this book it reminds me of how you might feel the day after a particularly important speech. For weeks, maybe even months, it has been on your mind. Sometimes in the forefront as you grappled with the right choice of words; sometimes in the background as you watched a television program and realized that you could use an amusing line from a comedy show. Then suddenly it’s over. It took months to prepare and only moments to deliver. It might seem like a runner who prepares for a hundred-yard sprint at the Olympic Games. In fact, speaking is not like that at all. There is no winner in the speaking game. You may win or lose a contract, but not entirely on your presentation skills. Rarely is speaking a one-time event. Developing your ability to speak effectively is a continuous process.
Now that you’ve read this book, you will see its basic difficulty: that you can’t learn to speak just by reading. Trying to do so would be like trying to learn to ride a bike from a book. I’ve written about the techniques but that is only a tiny fraction of effective speaking. Now you are able to identify all the parts of the bike, you understand the principles of balance and where you should put your hands and your feet. You know how to indicate where you’re going. Now is the moment to hop on and have a ride.
Reading this book or any other won’t make you a good speaker, but practicing will. Unfortunately, unlike bike riding, you can’t use a quiet back street to learn the basics of speaking. You need an audience to judge its effectiveness. They will be there to see all your attempts to keep your balance and to witness the occasional crash. But crashes are part of the learning process. If you’ve ever watched a baby learning to walk you’ll know that initial failures are inevitable. The trick is not to be discouraged. Imagine a baby saying to itself as it fell back on its bottom for the umpteenth time, “I’ll never get the hang of this.
I’m just making a fool of myself, I’ll have to give up.” You must keep at it.
It \ou teel shy, search out non-work-related occasions to speak, i.e., to the local chapter of your alumni association, at the \MCA, or to the tenants’ association. If you are totally inexperienced, set yourselt the goal of asking a question at your next meeting. I have known speakers who attend public meetings with the sole objective of asking a question. They sit close to the front so that they can’t be ignored. As soon as question time is announced, up shoot their hands to “speak in public.” If you decide to practice like this you will probably find you experience the same symptoms of nervousness as you do when you are giving a talk. Your heart will beat faster and you’ll have a dn _ mouth and sweaty palms. Acknowledge all your feelings, don’t try to tight them. Be aware of your physical state, but don’t allow it to control you. In a meeting at work when you have no specific role, ensure that you speak up within the first ten minutes. The longer you leave it the more difficult it will be to contribute. Simply offer agreement, i.e., “Yes diat’s true, we’ve noticed that too,” or ask for more information, i.e., “Could you give me an example of how diat happened?” Speaking up early will establish your presence and make it easier for you to speak again.
As you become more proficient, consider volunteering to chair a meeting or to give a vote of thanks at your social club. Each occasion will be a challenge and an opportunity to become familiar with your anxiety. Turn it into positive energy to stimulate original thoughts and entertaining ideas.
If you are an experienced speaker you probably know already how you could become more effective. Maybe there is only one reason why this doesn’t happen. Lack of time. You know that you should pay more attention to your preparation. You realize you should rehearse. You understand the value of good visual aids but you don’t have the time. No one can change that but you. The presentations and talks that you give may not be crucial to you and your company but if you want to improve as a speaker you’ll need to make the time for it. Taking on courses or reading books won’t change you from being a mediocre speaker into an exceptional one. Only you can do that.
230 HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE SPEAKER
Effective speakers find time to prepare and practice, but the most vital part of a good speaker is much more difficult to acquire. It’s in their hearts and shines out for everyone to appreciate. It’s the magical quality of enjoyment. In other chapters I have stressed enthusiasm, sincerity and vitality. These are all based on the speaker’s ability to enjoy communicating with his or her audience. Enjoyment is contagious. The audience will enjoy your talk if you enjoy giving it.
Thank you for being a good listener. I suspect you haven’t agreed with everything I’ve said but I hope that some of my suggestions will help you to capture the butterflies and train them to fly in formation.
Abbreviated words, 181 Abbreviations, avoiding, 45—46 ABCD method of opening speech, 31-35
Accent, 80-81 in humor, 176 Action, asking for, 36 Alcohol, and television appearances, 216-17 Anecdotes, 43 to capture attention, 32—33 telling an, 37 Angle, of story, 207 Anticipation, 41—12 Arm gestures, 67-68 Articulation, 89—91 Attention, capturing, 31 — 33 Audience
capturing attention of, 31-33 concentration span of, 120—21 dress rehearsal for, 105 — 6 establishing common identity with, 120
establishing contact with, 189-90
expectations of, 12-13, 40 giving benefits to, 34 helping, in listening, 42 — 43 identifying wants/needs, 13 — 15 interaction with, 117 methods of controlling, 117—18 preventing boredom of, 122—23 previewing talk for, 40 researching your, 10 — 17, 119— 20 , 201-2
showing credentials to, 34—35 sitting versus standing with, 118 size of
and choice of visual, 138 and use of flip charts, 140 summarizing for, 40—41 telling where you’re going, 35 understanding your, 111 —23 Audience-involving techniques, 27 Audiovisual productions, and use of written script, 184
Bar charts, 154-55 sliding, 155
Barriers, avoiding, 69 — 71 Benefits, giving, in opening of speech, 34 Billboarding, 167 Birkett, Lord, 1 Blackboards, 168 Body language, 4, 48, 58 eye contact, 48, 61—65, 113 facial expression, 65 hands, 65 — 68, 79 importance of, 60—61 in listening, 193 making an entrance, 60 making good first impression, 58-60
in making presentation, 199-200 perils of bad, 61 in persuading audience, 199-200
position and posture, 69—71 in practice, 93 — 94, 97 — 98 during question time, 133 smiling, 58—59 in speaking to small groups, 113-14
and television appearances, 215-16 Body of speech
developing key ideas, 25 — 26 identifying gray areas, 26—28 sample, 28—38 selecting structure, 23—25 Brainstorming sessions, using flip chart in, 141
Breathing, and speaking well, 81 — 82
Breathlessness, problem of, 79 Business talks, types of, 99 Butterflies, catching your, 72
Centered, learning to be, 108 — 9 Chairing of meeting, 201
controlling the meeting, 203 — 5 designing a structure, 202 final summary, 205 interim summaries, 204 introduction, 203 opening statements, 202—3 redirected questions, 203 relay question, 203 researching your audience, 201-2
reverse question, 204 setting an objective, 201 Chronological structure, 24 Clarity, 83—84, 89-91 Cliches, 46
Clients/customer meeting, 99 Clothes, for television appearance, 216
Color adhesive him, 166 Colored pens and pencils, 167 Color transparency him, 166 Color, in visual aids, 153, 154,
155, 166-67
Comprehension, building, into your talk, 115
Concentration span, of audience, 120-21
Conferences, checklist for large, 101-2
Conferences in hotels/conference centers, 99 Conhdence
familiarity and, 106 Conhdence cards, 26, 51, 52 — 56 advantages of using, 54—55 closing sentence on, 53—54 contents of, 53 handling omissions, 55 — 66 numbering of, 54 opening sentence on, 53 — 54 pitfalls to avoid with, 56 reasons for using cards, 53 use of, as safety net, 52 writing, 52 — 53 Coping
better ways of, 77 with physical symptoms, 79 Credentials, showing to audience, 34-35
Current affairs, to capture attention, 33
Delivery methods and systems, 48 impromptu speaking, 57 memorizing of speech, 49 reading of speech, 48—49 speaking extemporaneously, 49-56
Dialect, in humor, 176
Direction, showing, to audience,
35
Discussions, 224—25
Dress rehearsal, 93, 97—98 for large audience, 105-6 for medium-sized group, 105 for small groups, 102-4 for team presentations to clients, 104-5
Dry r mouth, problem of, 79
Emotions, appealing to, in presentation, 197—98 Emphasis
use of pause for, 85—86 using, 88
English, writing spoken, 179-81 Enthusiasm, 30, 48, 49, 50, 210, 213
Entrance, making, 60 Equipment, availability of, and choice of visual, 138 Examples, use of personal, 42—43 Expectations, of audience, 40 Extemporaneous speech, 49—56 confidence cards, 52—56 ideas map, 50 — 51 script, 51 — 52 visual aids, 56
Eye contact, 48, 61—65, 113
Facial exercises, 109 Facial expression, 4, 65 Familiarity', and confidence, 106 Fear(s)
color of, 73 identifying, 75
FEB technique, of appealing to listener, 44-46 Feedback, profiling from, 95 Feelings, revealing to audience, 43 Feet, finding your, 70—71 Final summary, 205 Flip charts, 139—41, 168 hints on using, 141—42 Flowcharts, 155
Gardner, Herbert, 171 Gestures, 4 Goddard, Lord, 57 Graphs, 155
Graveyard Slot, 120, 122 — 23 Gray patches, identifying, 26-28
Elands, 65 — 68
problem of trembling, 79 High note, ending on, 36 Historical background, to capture attention, 33
Hubbard, Frank McKinney, 80 Humor
accent in, 176 definition of, 172—74 dialect in, 176
importance of timing in, 177 reasons for including, 171—72 in visual aids, 153 Humor file, building a, 174—76 1 Iumorous line, method of delivering, 176-77
Ideas, developing key, 25—26 Ideas map, 17—21, 25, 50-51 use of, as safety' net, 50—51 Illustrations, using relevant, 43 — 44 Impression, making good first, 58-60
Impromptu speaking, 57 Inflection, 87—88 Interest prompts, use of, 121—22 Interim summaries, 204 Interruptions
coping with, 115 — 17, 120 problem of, 194-95 Interviews in office, 225 radio, 206, 213-14 telephone, 225 television, 206, 214—18 Introduction to meeting, 203 for television appearance, 218
Jackson, Jesse, 81 Jargon, avoiding, 45 — 46 Jessel, George, 99 Jones, Jenkin Lloyd, 23
Kennedy, John Fitzgerald, 81 Key ideas, noting of, in script, 51-52
Key statements, making, 221 — 22 Kissinger, Henry, 81
Large groups
establishing common identity with, 120
preparing for interruptions, 120 and prevention of boredom,
122-23
researching, 119 — 20 speaking to, 119 — 23 Leading questions, answering, 131 Lecterns, pitfalls of, 69 Lighting, and choice of visuals, 139
Line charts, 155 Listener(s) appealing to, 44—46 identifying needs of, 194 Listening
advantages of reading versus, 39-40
body language in, 193 difficulty in, 2—3, 5 helping audience in, 42-43 importance of, 1 overcoming difficulties of poor, 4-5, 6
process of, 1 — 2
Listening skills, development of, and persuasion, 193 — 94 Loaded questions, answering, 131
Macmillan, Harold, 179 Make-up session, for television appearance, 217 Media, 206—27 and angle of story, 207 approaching, 310-13 coping with approach from, 207-10
handling questions, 219-25 press conferences, 226 radio, 206, 213-14 television appearances, 206, 214-19
Medium-sized groups, 117-18 checklist for, 100-1
dress rehearsal for, 105 interaction with, 117 sitting versus standing, 118 Meeting(s) chairing of, 201—5 persuasion at, 200—1 Mehrabian, Albert, 4 Memorizing
of opening and closing sentences, 53—54 of speech, 49
Microphones, for television appearance, 218 Mind, freeing the, 18 — 21
Negative thoughts, 74—75 Nerves
learning to control, 75-77
learning to cope with, 72-79 Nervousness, causes of, 73 — 74 “Nightline,” 219 “No,” saying, to press, 208 No win questions, answering, 132 Numbers, use of, in speech, 45
Objective, setting an, 7-10 Off the record comments, 224 Off the record questions, answering, 131-32 O’Malley, Pat, 48 Omissions, handling of, 55-56 Opening statements, 202-3 Opening words, 30-31 Open questions, 192, 219 Organization charts, 155 Originality, in visual aids, 159 Overhead projectors, 142, 169 hints on using, 145-47 understanding the equipment, 144-45
use of, as a scribbling pad, 142, 144
Overlays, 167
Panel, questions to, 125 Panic, converting, into positive power, 78 Pauses, 85 — 86 silent, 86
use of, for emphasis, 85 — 86 Penn, William, 39 Personal barriers and relationships discover}' of, in speaking to small groups, 112-13 Persuasion, 191-92 appealing to emotions in, 197-98
asking for commitment, 198 body language in, 199—200 deliver}- method for, 199 — 200 establishing why audience should listen to you, 196-97 identifying needs of listeners, 194’
involving techniques for, 200 making it easy for audience to agree, 198 at meetings, 200—1 need for preparation in, 192—93 open questions, 192 and problem of interruptions, 194-95
uncovering audience knowledge or views, 195 — 96 and understanding listeners’ viewpoint, 194 Physical objects, 170 Physical symptoms, coping with, 79 Plain-paper copier, use of, in making visual aids, 165 Planned improvisation, 49—56 Position and posture, 69—71 Positive power, 74—75 converting panic into, 78 Posture, 4, 108 Practice. See also Rehearsal as best defense against failure, 78
and body language, 93 — 94, 97-98
check your timing, 96—97 as distinguished from rehearsal, 93-97
quidelines for feedback, 95-97 importance of, 88-89 method of, 93 — 94 need for, 92-93 in reading written script, 188-89
use of prompt cards in, 97 use of tape recorder in, 94 use of video in, 94 Preparation
ideas map, 17—21 as key to media relations, 211 researching your audience, 10-17
selection of ideas, 21 — 22 setting an objective, 7 — 10 for speech, 7-22 Presentation, including humor in, 171-78
Press. See Media Press conferences, 226 Press coverage, 206 Press interviews, 206 Previewing, 40
Problem/solution structure, 23 — 24 Production company, hints on using, 159 — 60 Prompt cards, use of, 97 Prose, piquant, 46
Questions, 124—25 answering difficult, 131—33 asking, 31, 36—37 asking, to capture attention, 31 body language during, 133 determining proper time for, 124-26
dos and don’ts in answering, 128-30
encouraging, 126
hostile, 222-23 leading, 131
loaded, 132 no-win, 132 off-the-record, 131—32 open, 12, 219 to a panel, 125 redirected, 203 rehearsing, 126-28 relay, 203 reverse, 204
rhetorical, 41, 87, 121-22 statement, 220—25 use of, to involve audience, 31, 121-22
waiting for right, 222 yes or no, 132 Quotation
to capture attention, 32 using a, 37
Radio interviews, 206, 213 — 14 Ramblers, stopping, 132—33 Reading
advantages of, versus listening, 39-40
of script, 183—90 of speech, 48—49 Reagan, Ronald, 48 Recapping, 40-41 Redirected questions, 203 Regional meetings in hotels, 99 Rehearsal method of, 94-95 practice as distinguished from, 93-97
of questions and answers, 126 — 28
Relaxation
exercises for, 109—10 getting into habit of, 107-8 importance of, 107 learning to be centered, 108-9 Relay question, 203 Reverse question, 204 Rhetorical questions, 41, 87, 121 — 22
Room, size and layout of, and choice of visual, 138—39 Roosevelt, Franklin D., 124 Round-the-table meeting, 99
Script, 51—52 reading of, 183—90 typing a, 181 — 82 use of, as safety net, 51—52 Script dependence, 48 Script reading
and establishing audience contact, 189—90 Selective listening, 5 Selling techniques, improving, 191-205
Sentence structure, 180-81 Setting arrangements, and choice of visuals, 139 Shakespeare, William, 92 Shock openings, to capture attention, 33
Sincerity', 30, 48, 50, 210, 213 Site visitation, 99 — 106 checklist for, 100-2 dress rehearsal, 102 Sitting, 118 disadvantages of, 69 Size, need to visualize, 45 Skimming, 39-40 Small groups, 111 — 17 checklist for, 100 coping with interruptions from, 115-17
discovering personal barriers and relationships, 112—13 dress rehearsal for, 102—4 interpreting body language of, 113-14
techniques for involving audience of, 113 — 15 Smiling, 58—59 Spatial structure, 24—25 Speaking