Use QUESTIONS as an effective teaching aid: Can you imagine trying to improve your target shooting if you don't look at the target to see the results of each shot? Questions help you to see how well you are hitting the target. Same would be true of trying to bowl by throwing the ball over a curtain that blocked the view of the pins.
For effective public speaking, remember the "SPEAK" acronym:
S = Simplify your material
P = Prepare & Practice
E = Enthusiasm
A = Anxiety - channel it
K = Knowledge of your subject
The ability to express an idea is well nigh as important as the idea itself.
- Bernard Baruch
The mind is a wonderful thing. It starts working the minute you're born and never stops working until you get up to speak in public.
When making a slide for a presentation, avoid the "Lord's prayer on the head of a pin" syndrome. A whole KJV Bible has been placed on one 2 1/4 inch Microfiche. Interesting, but not very useful. Are the slides in your presentation too busy?
Understand it? Why this is so simple a 4 year old child could understand it. Quick, someone run out and get me a 4 year old child.
- Groucho Marx
If I went back to college again, I'd concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important that the ability to communicate effectively.
- President Gerald R. Ford
A speaker who is attempting to move people to thought or action must concern himself with Pathos (i.e., their emotion.)
- Aristotle
The power of the VISUAL: Consider the safety instructions sheet found on every airplane. This serves as a excellent example of the power of the visual over the written. Why? Overcomes language barriers, catches your attention, more info in shorter amount of time, get a "gestalt" viewpoint, easier to remember. Use VISUALS to capture the attention and retention of YOUR audiences.
Keep it SIMPLE Number of Words Gettysburg Address Bag of Lay's Potato Chips IRS Form 1040EZ Average USA-Today cover story
Never speak more clearly than you think.
- Jeremy Bernstein
INTIMIDATION: A survivor of the Jamestown flood finally died and arrived in heaven. He asks Peter if he can give a speech regarding his experiences and how he managed to survive. Just before he gives his speech, Peter says "Oh, by the way, just one small thing you might be interested in knowing - Noah is in the audience."
ORATORY: The art of making deep noises from the chest sound like important messages from the brain.
JUST FOR SPEAKERS: (Try using these statements when appropriate!)
NERVOUSNESS: Nothing wrong with having butterflies; but you want to have them fly in formation. Harnest your nervousness, make it work FOR you instead of AGAINST you. If you don't have any nervousness, you're not going to do a good job.
SEMINAR OPENER: The following quiz can be used as an ice-breaker at the beginning of a seminar. We are going to take a brief quiz designed to assess the type of audience we have here today. This quiz is based upon your individual preference for one of four symbols. The four symbols are: (Draw CIRCLE, TRIANGLE, "Z" and SQUARE) These symbols represent basic differences in personality traits. Which one appeals to you the most? (Think about it for a minute) How many thought the SQUARE best represented them? (write number down, then inform group it represents INTELLIGENCE) Then proceed with: "Z" - CREATIVITY, TRIANGLE- LEADERSHIP, CIRCLE - SEX & BOOZE. Follow with some apropos comments regarding the group!
Public Speaking IMPACT is based 55% on VISUAL (how you look when you say it), 38% on VOCAL (how you say it) and 7% on VERBAL (what you say). To illustrate the impact of the VISUAL, pick a few pictures from a recent issue of a magazine, describe them (ad for hotel, car etc.) one at a time, then show picture to audience. If a picture does that, what would a REAL LIVE DEMONSTRATION do? (an actual tour of a hotel, sit in a new car, etc.)
Tips on SPONTANEOUS SPEAKING:
Don't get unnerved.
Take a few deep breaths.
Compose self/thoughts.
Discuss only 2-3 key points (don't give an A-Z).
Stick to one subject.
Close firmly.
Don't ramble on.
8 GREATEST SPEECH BLUNDERS:
1. Dullness itself: Relying on only one or two illustrations to make your points. (Use salient statistics ... timely quotes ... appropriate examples ... personal stories to help visualize and remember)
2. NOT repeating your message enough. (Repetition is crucial to retention. Half an hour after a presentation, the average listener has already forgotten 40 percent of what was said. By the end of the week, 90 percent is usually forgotten. The more you repeat and illustration your message, the more retention you'll get.)
3. NOT answering the audience's most major question, "What's in it for me?"
4. Burying your point. (Use signal phrases such as "What's important here," or "This can't be overemphasized" to focus people's attention on the most important parts of your speech.)
5. Forgetting to practice (and time) your speech out loud.
6. Forgetting to check visual aids for readability.
7. Answering hypothetical questions after the speech. (Turn the question back to reality by saying "Based on these facts and the existing situation, this is how I would handle the situation" or ask others in the audience for how they would handle.)
8. Getting distracted before you speak. (Always take 5 minutes or more to collect your thoughts, focus on your message and breathe before stepping up to the lectern.)
Roger's Rules for SUCCESS (Book by H.C. Rogers):
The process of successful communication breaks down into 3 parts:
1. Know yourself
2. Know your objective and the major points of your message
3. Know your audience and speak to the individual (even in large groups)
Consider: Timing, Listening & Sensitivity
Woodrow Wilson was once asked how long it would take him to prepare for a 10 minute speech. He replied "Two weeks". He was then asked how long it would take for a 1 hour speech. "One week", he replied. 2 hour speech? "I'm ready right now," he replied. (It's easy to fill in time with "fat". It's much more difficult and takes more advance preparation to succinctly trim the fat and deliver the "lean".)
What is the amateur speaker's number one mistake? Looking away from the audience to read from slides or visual aids. Use a script or cue cards instead, or look at the original on the overhead projector while facing the audience.
THINK before you SPEAK.
It isn't HOW MUCH you say, but WHAT you say, HOW you say it and WHEN you say it.
When in DOUBT, say NOTHING.
Audience Involvement Techniques:
STYLE: Drama, Eye Communication, Movement, Use of Visuals
INTERACTION: Questioning, Demonstrations, Gimmicks
CONTENT: Interest, Humor
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