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Do you want to be a better presenter and speaker?

By packing your presentations, speeches, and communications with more more power, influence, and humor?


Set A Goal. Mine… to write a book.

Weather you wish to be a better presenter, more successful, or even quit smoking… you need to set goals.  Have you heard that before?

Have you considered that setting goals is not enough?  Have ever set goals but just kept them to yourself?  Are you wondering, “What does quitting smoking have to do with any of this?”

If you have, or know anyone who has tried to quit smoking, you probably know that one major technique is to set a date and LET EVERYONE KNOW.  That is the biggest part.  It keeps you on the path.  I keeps you from setting it aside because everyone now knows you are on that path.

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for bed, I was thinking about the people who have influenced me.  I also started thinking about the people who might have influenced them and all the other things I wanted to know about people I admire.

It was a short step from people I admired to all the help I have received from others in my life and how much I really have needed help, assistance, direction, encouragement from others.  That’s when it hit me.  I know what I want to write a book about!

Sure, you may be thinking, “He has been wanting to write a book?”   Yes, since I was in high school.  I have always wanted, as I used to say, “Be published.”  But wanting something, setting a goal, and finding your message or purpose are all different things.

Yesterday, I found my message.  Today, I LET EVERYONE KNOW.  I am now on a committed path.

Today, I set a date to have breakfast with someone who has always encouraged and motivated me.  I also created a to-do list, and a questionnaire.  I sent the questionnaire to over 100 people I know.  This is the start of big research project on the people who influence us.

I’m now sure where this is going to lead.  I not sure what I am going to learn.  But I have set my goal.  I have announced it to the world.  All that is left, is to see it to the end.

If you are interested in sharing and want to participate, leave me a comment.  Leave your email in the “email” box. (not in the message box.  Don’t want you to get more spam)  I will send you the questionnaire and I appreciate your help.

2008 08 02 Michael Presentation Coaching
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Word of the Day July 29, 2008

As a speaker, it is advisable to increase your vocabulary. Is it so you can sound more educated and intelligent than your audience?

Absolutely not!

However, when you are trying to convey an idea, persuade to your side, or touch someone’s heart… it helps to choose the right words and not use too many. The best way to do that is to have an abundance of words to choose from.

Now, let me say this… There are a large number of websites that will give you a word of the day. You will not have to submit yourself to that here, every day. I am not interested in bombarding you with a new word every day.

If you have ever subscribe to a word-a-day site, you may have felt the same way I did. I was excited the first week, tolerant the next three, and annoyed for the rest… until I canceled my subscription.

So instead, you will see from time to time, a word that may be of interest to you. At the least it will be of interest to me and I will tell you why.

So what is today’s word?

impecunious
\im-pih-KYOO-nee-uss\ adjective
: having very little or no money usually habitually : penniless

Want to know what struck me as interesting about this word? It means not having money, but not in a desperate manner such as the word “destitute”. You may also like this, I did. If you click on the link above, you will be taken to Merrian-Webster, where I found the word. They follow up with trivia.

Someone asked, “If you take off the ‘im-’, does it mean the oppostite? Does pecunious mean wealthy?”

Merriam-Webster says “not precisely”, but it can be used to describe someone who has alot of money. More specifically, it means “miserly or ungenerous”.

Do you find words interesting? I do. I believe I do because my parents were born in a spanish-speaking country. I have always been aware of words and their usage in comparison to their literal translations.

For example, spanish speakers can say “I love you” in two ways. “Te quiero” or “Te amo”. Some countries use one, some use the other, and some use both with different usage. Literally, quiero mean “want” and amo means “love”. You can see how interchanging those words can have two distinct meanings.

Do you carefully choose your words for precision?

2008 07 29 Michael Public Speaking
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Today. World Championship of Public Speaking camera crew at Presque Isle

This year, Toastmasters International’s seven round competition -The World Championship of Public Speaking- culminates with the 10 finalists in Calgary. Would it be news if one of those finalists was in Erie? How about with the Tumblewee Entertaninment camera crews trailing him? How about if it was at Presque Isle during all the events and happenings that are occurring there? What if it was today?

Well… Say it is so. Charles J. Wilson from State Park PA is one of those 10 finalists and he will be speaking today at Presque Isle State Park.

How does one notify the media of a last minute discovery of news? If you are media, and this sounds interesting… contact me. 881-8729

2008 07 20 Michael Public Speaking Comments (3) Permalink

Congratulations District 13 Toastmasters

Today I got news. District 13 is now Select Distinguished. If you are not a member of Toastmasters, District 13 has been named #1 in Region VI, and #10 in the world.

You may be wondering, “So what? How do you become #1 and #10? Does it matter?”

Do you believe in helping others? Do you admire organizations that help people? Then yes. It does matter. It is such a BIG “what!”

Toastmasters district have one purpose. To help individuals experience and excel in the Toastmasters educational program. The better you are at that, the higher you rank. We are very proud.

It’s funny that I just received this news. Just the other day, I was speaking to Wilma. Wilma is one of the nicest ladies I know. She always has a smile and is pleasant and cheerful to everyone. My Toastmasters club came up in conversation and she says, “Oh, I could never do that. I am so afraid of public speaking.”

That’s when it struck me. People think that Toastmasters clubs are for people who like public speaking. Is that how you imagine Toastmasters. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Toastmasters clubs are for people who fear public speaking. That is how Toastmasters started in the 1920s.

If you fear public speaking, and wish to overcome it… Think about Toastmasters.

2008 07 19 Michael Public Speaking Comments (0) Permalink

Accurate or powerful? What would you like your presentation to be?

In my last post I wrote this story…

You walk into the room. The presenter is standing toward the front of the room, the first row of seats is empty as usual, and people are scattered around the room. You find an empty seat and sit as the presentation begins.

Very soon into the presentation, the speaker shouts out a question to the audience, “What are your biggest hurdles as you strive to be successful in your career?” He/she looks out into the audience and waits for a hand to go up or someone to shout out an answer… nothing.

The story didn’t start like that. If you had read it, when I first wrote it, it would have been this…

Very soon into the presentation, the speaker shouts out a question to the audience, “What are your biggest hurdles as you strive to be successful in your career?” He/she looks out into the audience and waits for a hand to go up or someone to shout out an answer.

Someone finally and quietly speaks up, “Uncooperative subordinates.” You sit and listen to the soft and painful gap, until the next audience member raises their voice.

Luckily, I have a wonderful editor… my wife. She reads my posts and points out when something doesn’t read right.

When I looked at the first draft, I realized that my writing is influenced by my many years as a technology geek. I often strive to be accurate. Painfully accurate. The last two sentences added nothing to the story. In fact, the answer of, “Uncooperative subordinates.” only served to muddy the waters. Someone in reading or hearing this story might start to wonder, “What is he trying to say? Does he have something against employees?” That answer was just something I made up. It had nothing to do with my point and distracted attention from the point.

After my editor read it, I was able to revisit the question, “What is my point?” and rewrite accordingly. I was able to remove that whole paragraph and insert one word, “nothing.” “Nothing” created a greater contrast and made the point powerful, no participation.

So today’s point… You don’t have to be totally accurate. I still believe that more often the audience will eventually speak up quietly, until they gain momentum. But sometimes you get nothing from them. That is when the lack of audience participation is demonstrated with the most impact. That is the story that should have been told to make the point.

What do you think?

2008 07 16 Michael Marketing
Presentation Coaching
Public Speaking
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Audience Participation in your Presenations

Have you ever been in this situation?

You walk into the room. The presenter is standing toward the front of the room, the first row of seats is empty as usual, and people are scattered around the room. You find an empty seat and sit as the presentation begins.

Very soon into the presentation, the speaker shouts out a question to the audience, “What are your biggest hurdles as you strive to be successful in your career?” He/she looks out into the audience and waits for a hand to go up or someone to shout out an answer… nothing.

If you are the presenter, I have a solution for you! I tried it and it works better than I could have imagined.

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be a presenter at the District 13 Toastmasters Leadership Institute. Two back-to-back one hour presentations, especially designed to train the incoming Vice Presidents of Education.

As I planned for the day, I decided that the biggest benefit (when I was in the audience) was learning from the experience of others in the audience. I wanted to take advantage of those in the audience who were long-time Toastmasters, had been club officers before, and had a wealth of knowledge and experience to help those newer than they.

But how would I stimulate participation? Do you do anything special to encourage audience participation?

I remembered a technique which I had never tried. I instructed them to break into groups of three and write down as many answers to my question as they could in 60 seconds. I would tell them the question, time them and then stop them. I chose, “What do you hope to learn today, or what would you like to learn today to help you be a better VP of Ed?” I yelled, “Start!”. I started the stopwatch and listened as the chattering jumped like a race horse off the starting line. 60 seconds went by and I yelled, “STOP!”

I then had a volunteer come up to the podium and write down answers as I asked them to share their answers.

The theory says that this technique cuts through the hesitation to speak up by eliminating the fear of the large group, and allows them to speak with a small group instead. The simple act of speaking to each other, in a rapid fire brainstorming method (60 seconds) creates a momentum of speaking up and participating. Then when you ask them to share their answers, you tap into that momentum and they are likely to continue speaking up as you shift the direction from the small group to the larger audience.

It worked wonderfully! I had intended to use it several times in the course of the two hours. However, it worked so well the first time. I was able to continue interacting with the entire audience for the rest of the day. I consider it a resounding success.

Give it a try. Be prepared to use it several times. Be ready if you only need it once. Help your audience take part in the presentation.

2008 07 13 Michael Leadership
Presentation Coaching
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I have a new way to serve Toastmasters and public speaking

I am happy to tell you that I am the 2008-2009 Area 7 governor.  Are you wondering, “What does that mean?”

As Area Governor, I am to serve 3 Erie clubs and one in Warren, assisting them to help their members gain speking and leadership skills.

In preparation for this, I purchased and started to read two book by Ralph Smedley, Toastmasters founder.  What you may find interesting is that even in the very beginning, the second Toastmasters club was founded by a professor who taught public speaking courses.  Toastmasters filled a need he saw in his courses.  After completing the course, he believed that his students needed continuing practice in order to keep improving and maintain thier skills. This may explain why so many people have been in Toastmasters for many years.

Like I, you may have spent much time this weekend at picnics.  You may have also spent much of that time just talking to friends and relatives.  For me, much of that time I answered the question, “What is Toastmasters?”  People always think Toastmasters is for people who like public speaking and want to do it more.  After reading the books, as I was taught and it was confirmed, Toastmasters was started for people who feared public speaking.  Guess what… it is still that way!

So two lessons, Toastmasters is for people who don’t want to fear speaking any longer… and for people to don’t but know they need to keep practicing.  You may notice that in a meeting.  There is a lot of beginners and veterans.  The trick is trying to get people to stay over the hump.

If you haven’t yet… give Toastmasters a try.  It may not be what you thought it was.

In the meantime, I’ll spend the coming year trying to inform people of what Toastmasters really is; helping those in my Area clubs to be the best speakers they can; and helping them realize they can push beyond what they think.

Be a better you!

2008 07 10 Michael Public Speaking Comments (1) Permalink