Speaking tips blog
Communication matters. What are you saying?
posture
In a group of eleven today. All of them are used to standing and speaking in front of people (I'm guessing there was 200 years of collective training experience in the room). They had no idea I was observing them. At one point we were all standing and individuals were...
I guess..
"I guess it's about time to get started..." Heard that as a meeting opening today, 15 minutes behind the posted start time. Can't speak for anyone but me, but it took me a good 30 minutes to overcome the start. Presenters shouldn't be guessing. Presenters shouldn't be...
directions
Heard a speech today where the presenter directed the audience to close their eyes to focus on a particular action item. In this case, it was an effective touch. I've seen it done well, and seen it done not so well.The key elements to a successful applicaiton like...
No, but
If I had a nickel for every time my mom told me "no but's" when I was a kid, I could scuttle the work gig and go live on my own private island. But little did I know she was providing me with a great sales tool ingrained in my brain (inbrained?).I was asked today to...
Don’t assume
Got an email message today from what was clearly a mobile number account/text message (based on the phone number email address). Text as follows:Mobile. Can you meet today @ 4?One problem. I didn't recognize the number, and thus, who was requesting my time. I had a...
My left, your right…
Frequently hear speakers in front of large groups give directions about exiting, where to sign up for seminars, restrooms, whatever say something like, "you'll find those at the rear of the auditorium on my left, your right." Speaker principle is pretty simple: who...
Steve Jobs
Many folks rave over Steve Jobs' (CEO, Apple) presentations. Garr Reynolds blogged on it, sharing Guy Kawasaki's thoughts. Bert Decker rated him the #1 communicator for 2005.So I went to take a look for myself.His delivery mechanics are far from polished. He uses lots...
Take a look…
Listening to a presentation (with PPT) today where the presenter hit a busy slide and said, "I'll give you a minute to look this over." Which is the correct thing to do (overlooking the fact that the busy slide should have been axed altogether), except that there was...
Feeling blue
Had a student in one of my classes tell me of a distraction they experienced. Unfortunately, it was me who was doing the distracting (and it wasn't my dashingly handsome self -- at least not this time).While entering the classroom much before class, I dropped a pile...
Java programming?
Saw an unusual distractor today. A manager came to a class to give some validation to the training effort. It was intended to be informal, and it was. Conversational, candid, took questions, and impromptu. So far so good. The prop to add to the effect? Coffee.Which...
Oops, forgot that part
Heard a speaker today give a little blurb along the lines of: "oh, here's something else I meant to say a few minutes ago. Sorry about that. I want to add it now." This is exactly what goes through your mind when you glance at those notes and realize you skipped a...
Return call?
Did business with a company almost exactly a year ago. I searched them out via Internet, ordered via same, and had a rush on the item ordered and thus provided my cell phone as the contact number. They've provided the ubiquitous monthly email spam to keep in touch...
