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Based
on the volume of emails this column received from last month's
collection of bad advice on public speaking, we thought we share
with you a few more. For
those who might have missed the first group, a quick review:
Ever
since Dale Carnegie discovered about a century ago that good
public speaking was a process that could be learned rather than
inherited, there's been little shortage of people out there with
"good advice" to pass on.
Some of these people even take money for it!
Anyway, here's a sample of the wisdom we garnered for
free, and it's worth every penny!
If
you’ve got the time, check out this advice from http://www.speakfreak.com:
“Start your preparation at least a week in advance. Take
three or four days for your preliminary work, one day for
organizing the points and ideas, then a day or two for ironing
out the rough spots.”
Problem:
We’re thinking that some presenters don’t always have
an entire workweek to spend preparing a 40-minute presentation.
We suspect many don’t even have an entire day!
Ever have a boss ask you to put together and then give a
presentation, like, tomorrow?
Advice such as this simply compounds the fear of public
speaking, because now you also get to worry that you didn’t
prepare enough.
Public
Speaking Skills Solution: A properly designed, properly
structured presentation can be well delivered by anyone with
very little prep-time at all – if you know the keys to both
designing and delivering visual information.
Constructive preparation involves knowing your subject
matter, not rehearsing scripts over and over again.
In fact, too much practicing, especially when it involves
trying to nail down specific word tracks, can make for a simply
awful delivery. With
all that's going on in your mind and body when facing a large
group of people, the last thing in the world you need to worry
about is whether your memorized phrases and sentences are going
to come back to you at just the right time.
The
key to presenting well is having more knowledge in your gut than
the time to spill it. A
rule of thumb might be to include in your talk only those
bullets points on which you could speak for 5 minutes or more.
In the actual presentation, of course, you'll probably
not devote more than a minute or so to each.
Then
break down your subject matter knowledge into bite size morsels
(the bullet points) that you can choose to either just touch on
or go into greater depth, depending on the time available.
When you've expounded on one point as extensively as you
feel very confident with, you simply go back to screen and pick
up the next point.
We
enjoy debunking the preparation myth in class by having our
participants hand us one of their [even highly technical]
presentations, which we then redesign and deliver almost
flawlessly first time out! Once
you learn how to do this, you’ll never sweat over being
“prepared” again.
If
you’re in a big hurry, check out this advice from http://www.onlineeducation.com:
"Our tailor-made
multimedia training programs are the most cost-effective way to
upgrade the performance of your staff."
Problem:
Yeah, that's right - we learned both parachuting and skiing through
on-line courses. Makes a lot more sense than actually getting
all that wind in your hair. We understand that you can get a
commercial pilot’s license on-line these days, too. Sure hope
our next pilot has gone this route – wouldn’t want him
practicing on real airplanes now, would we?
Public
Speaking Skills Solution: There’s no question that the Web is
a great place to learn facts and gather ideas; developing performance
skills is quite another story.
We
recommend that people looking to improve their public speaking
skills research and read as much as possible prior to taking a
class or seminar – but books and videos are valuable as
preparation, not as a substitute, for interactive training.
In
our classes, we break down presentation delivery into a number
of individual action sets; participants then practice performing
these actions as many times as necessary until they actually
possess the skill. Even
people who have presented for years – people who think of
themselves as good speakers – need to perform and practice
these skills many times before they become second nature.
Only then do we let them fly.
Finally,
to ensure your next presentation goes
flawlessly, make sure you take the advice of Jim Endicott, www.distinction-services.com,
who instructs students to incorporate a pattern of endless
motion at the front of the room with a routine he calls "Look,
Walk, and Talk".
Problem:
With the possible exception of Elvis Presley, most people can't
add to the quality of their presentation with movement of the
lower body. If your
motions aren't directly related to your message, they become one
more way to distract and draw attention away
from the points you're trying to make.
Public
Speaking Skills Solution: The reason
many presenters wander around when speaking is because their
adrenaline-filled, over energized bloodstreams know that by
moving the body's largest muscle groups, the glutes and the
quads, they can burn the greatest number of (excess) calories
per unit time. It's
the full-motion equivalent of a nervous twitch.
Twitching and pitching don't well mix.
Instead,
learn to divert your extra energy into meaningful upper body
gestures that paint a picture of the words or ideas emanating
from your mouth. You'll
not only burn the calories, you'll increase your audience's
attention by engaging more of their senses directly on your
message. To reap the
best results, plant your feet!
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