The Successful Speaker
May 2009
Contents This Month
·
“How Long is
This Break?”
·
Humor Me with
Humor
·
Having a Ball
with Ballmer
·
Quotations
·
Update Your
Email Address
·
Refer Madness
“How Long is This Break?”
If you are delivering a long presentation or a workshop, your audience
will love you if you take breaks of 10 minutes about every hour. However,
you’ll hate yourself if you lose control of those breaks. Consequently the
audience may become unhappy with you because then your presentation ends late!
A few months ago I saw a facilitator put a countdown timer on the screen during
a break that told the audience exactly when the workshop would re-start. How
cool was that?! Then everyone knew exactly when they had to be back in their
seats.
Earlier this week, one of my workshop attendees sent me a blog post
that included a number of helpful presentation tips including a downloadable
countdown timer. Even better, it’s free! http://www.ncrtec.org/timer/
If you do use a timer, there are a couple of things you must do:
·
You now have to be in the room on time! Think how embarrassing if the
timer runs out and you’re nowhere to be seen.
·
Abide by the timer. If you start well after the timer finishes, the
audience won’t believe you the next time you tell them when you will start
after the next break.
Humor
Me with Humor
Last month, I wrote about why you should
avoid jokes as an Attention Grabber for your presentations. Yet, I do recommend
humor! During workshops, I’m often asked, “How can I be funnier?” Here are some
tips.
In Roger Ailes’ book, You are the
Message, he writes about knowing your HQ (Humor Quotient). [I’ve included
some additional information in brackets after the bullet points]
·
Who is your
favorite comedian? [What does s/he do
that makes you laugh?]
·
What do you
think is funny? [Physical humor, cerebral humor, puns, etc]
·
When did you
last laugh out loud?
·
Do you remember
ever laughing uncontrollably? [Remember what that was like? If you ever have
laughed uncontrollably, I bet you can’t remember that without smiling.]
·
When did you
last make someone laugh? [What did you do that caused laughter?]
Toastmasters International’s The Entertaining Speaker manual
identifies some characteristics of humor:
·
Exaggeration (“We
were crowded so tight that when one person breathed in, everybody else had to
exhale.”)
·
Understatement
(The father, upon seeing his smashed car, asks the son who had borrowed it,
whether anything unusual happened while he was out driving.)
·
Twisted
definitions (A ‘Freudian Slip’ is when you say one thing, but you mean a
mother.)
·
Puns (He has a
will of his own – and she’s trying to have it made out to her).
·
Parody (He likes
to have his cake and eat yours too.)
·
Misunderstandings
(The policeman tells the driver she can’t turn around in the middle of the
block, to which she replies, “Oh, I think I can.”)
Start keeping a humor
file. Include in it:
·
Cartoons you
find funny (can be made into visual aids – make sure you enlarge the cartoon
enough so it can be easily read).
·
Internet
humor/emails. Probably the most popular use of email (outside of work-related
communications) is humor. Print these and keep them in a file. I have a
three-ring binder with some of these in it. Once in a while I share them with
workshop participants by simply reading them. If you do this, make sure you
allocate a couple of minutes for it and work on your delivery!
·
Personal
stories. They don’t have to be your own; collect them from other speakers and
books you read.
Having
a Ball with Ballmer
A
CEO speaking with passion? It can happen! I saw Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
speak last week at the 9th Annual State of Technology Luncheon
hosted by the Dallas Regional Chamber. You may have seen some of his
exaggerated antics on YouTube when he speaks to Microsoft employees, but he
isn’t always that feverish. In fact, he maintained professionalism while still
being excited.
He
spent half of his time reading from a scripted presentation and half answering
moderated questions. During his speech, his eye contact was fleeting and
sporadic, but his voice was always full of animation. If I were only listening
to him, he would have still held my attention regardless of who he was. He also
gestured enough to add specific impact to many of his points.
When
he went off script and answered questions, he emerged from behind the podium.
His gestures were larger, his eye contact was more engaging, and his voice
ranged even more.
If
Steve were to ask me for suggestions, I’d have some. But I don’t think I’ll
have operators standing by waiting for his call! What this all boiled down to
was that he exuded professional passion. Despite what some people may think,
professionalism and passion are not mutually exclusive!
Quotations
"Circumstances are beyond the control of man, but his conduct is in
his power.” – Benjamin Disraeli (British Prime Minister)
“No one can make
you feel inferior without your permission.” – Eleanor Roosevelt (American First
Lady)
Update
Your Email Address
Don’t miss an issue of The Successful Speaker. If your email address is going to change, let me know about it.
Refer Madness
If you had a good
experience in my workshop/seminar, share it with someone you know. If you
provide me with a lead that generates new business for me, I’ll pay you (or
your favorite charity) $250 (less if it is less than a full-fee engagement).
If you belong to a
professional organization that needs a speaker or If you know any business or
non-profit organization (including your own), that could benefit from my
workshops, presentations, coaching, or needs a facilitator:
1. Tell your contact about me.
2. Tell me about your contact. Call me at 972-378-0937 or write me at dgunby@mindimensions.com
3. Look for your check (if I get your contact’s business)
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