Public Speaking: What to Do After Identifying a Story?

When you come across a story in a book, or when you have a personal incident
you think will make a good story, ask yourself the following questions:

Is it clean?
Can I use it in a professional presentation to make a point?
What point does it illustrate?
What other points does it illustrate?
How many categories should I file it in so I can find it when I need it (see
Sources and Organization Chapter 15)?
What should I say to lead into the story?
What should I say following the story?
Where should I put it in my presentation?
Is it better than something I am already using?

Just thinking about the answers to the above questions will make your
storytelling better. Many presenters just slap any old story into their
presentation, any old place, because they like the story. That is not the way to
do it.

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Public Speaking - Size Of Audience

The size of your audience has a direct effect on the types of humor which are
most appropriate, the expected audience response and the timing of the
presentation.

Members of very small business groups tend to be too self-conscious to
laugh much. Use short one-liners. Be brief and informal with your humor;
don't use any long stories or jokes.

In small groups laughter will come more quickly. It's now OK to stretch to
jokes and short stories. Your presentation will take less time to deliver than to
a large group.

A presentation to very large crowds in enormous rooms or venues such as
stadiums will take longer to deliver because laughter comes in waves. The
portion of the audience right in front of you will laugh first. Then most of the
rest of the crowd will laugh. The third wave will come when those slower to
get the joke finally do, and when those who laugh because everyone else is
laughing kick in. You must allow time for this phenomenon to occur. In large
crowds you must play to the back of the room. These people are hardest to
reach.

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Presentation Skills: Climate

CLIMATE
Uncomfortable people will not listen to you. The unwritten rule is that meeting rooms are always too hot or too cold so you'll have to do your best. When setting air conditioning levels, the room should be cooler than you think it should be. The body heat of the audience will bring the room to the comfort level. Make sure it does, and be ready to make adjustments as you go.

If you can't get the right temperature, make sure you acknowledge the audience's
discomfort and encourage them to make the best of it. Your care for them will automatically make things a little better.

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Public Speaking Skills: Simile

Simile is a comparison of two things which, however different in other respects,
have some strong point or points in common. The words like and as will
normally be used when making the comparison.

You might say, Getting this contract signed is as impossible as trying to
smuggle daybreak past a rooster. Contracts and roosters don't have much in
common (which is funny), but in this case the presenter is telling you what they
do have in common. Getting the contract signed and smuggling daybreak past
a rooster are both impossible. You could shorten the last simile by changing as
impossible as to like. Getting this contract signed is like trying to smuggle
daybreak past a rooster. In this case, the audience must make the interpretation
that both are impossible. It's good to make the audience think sometimes
because it forces them to be involved.

A recurring theme with me is that humor surrounds you wherever you go. I
got a great simile out of a child's joke book I acquired (if something is valuable
you acquire it) for 10 cents at a flea market. I now use this line in presentations
all over the country. I do a seminar called Business Lite: Low Cost/No Cost
Ways to Improve Productivity. In that seminar I talk about how employees feel
at work. I say, Sometimes you go to work and you feel like a turtle with
claustrophobia you've got to be there, but you feel closed in.

I like to mix and match many types of humor in one concise chunk. Here's
a simile that I just love.

"If you put his brain on a matchstick, it would be like rolling a BB
down a four-lane highway."

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Public Speaking: Audience

You can't catch many fish by using food you like for the bait. You must give
them what they like. You must absolutely, positively know your audience.

You should know what the members of the audience have in common
(interests, enemies, competitors, etc.). You should know what the hot topic of
conversation is, but be sure they are joking about it themselves. It may be too
hot. You should know the restaurants where they eat, the name of their
newsletter, how much money they make, the name and record of the local
sports teams, etc., etc., etc. The more you know about the audience, the better
job you will do. Your goal should be to make that audience know that the
presentation they are witnessing was created specifically for them.

If you don't present to the same audience all the time, you must have a
method for getting this information. Most NO ZZZZZs presenters use some
form of pre-program questionnaire which is sent out well in advance of their
program. I got the basis for mine from Dottie Walters at Walters International
Speakers Bureau. I made some slight changes to suit my presentation style and
I keep adding and deleting questions to tweak it to perfection.

Your conversations with the program coordinator will give you some of the
information you need. You should fill in as many of the blanks as you can
before you send out the questionnaire to save the program coordinator some
work. This also proves you were paying attention to what he or she said.

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Public Speaking: Overhead Projectors

Summary of overhead projector advantages:

* Overhead projectors easy to operate.

* Transparencies easy to create.

* Overhead projectors readily available and easily portable.

* Room lighting can stay bright.

* Transparencies allow note space on each frame.

* The presenter can easily add or skip material.

* Shorter meetings.

* Less wasted discussion.

* Faster group decisions.

* More meetings successfully arriving at decisions.

* Perception of the presenter as more professional, more interesting, and better
prepared.

* Greater understanding of subject by participants.

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Public Speaking - Using Humor Does The Following For You:

HELPS YOU CONNECT WITH THE AUDIENCE. What audience is
going to listen to you if they don't feel you are one of them?

MAKES YOU MORE LIKEABLE. The more an audience likes you, the
more they will be likely to agree with your ideas.

AROUSES INTEREST. Many of you speak to audiences that don't even
want to be there. Humor can help you gain their interest.

KEEPS ATTENTION. Grabbing interest at the beginning of a presentation
is not enough to carry you to the end. You must keep the attention of the
audience all the way. Unfortunately our audience's attention spans are
becoming shorter and shorter. They are becoming more of the MTV generation
where the average time a shot is on the screen is just a few seconds. According
to Ron Hoff in his presentation skills book, I Can See You Naked "If
corporate managers ever saw their own meetings on TV, they would pick up
their remote controls and zap themselves into oblivion in the flick of an
eyelash." We are competing with movies that have 100 million dollars in
special effects. We must be prepared to deliver a fast-paced program that
surprises members of the audience. At times we need to knock them in the
head to make sure they are present. Humor and other presentation devices
placed appropriately will help you do this.

HELPS EMPHASIZE POINTS AND IDEAS. Anyone who has ever taken
a simple speaking course knows that you must hit your audience on the head
with your point over and over before they get it. Humor is one of the hammers
you can use.

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Public Speaking: I Like Humor. Where Can I Find It?

I say again. Humor surrounds you if you just open your eyes to it. Your own
personal life situations are always the best. Next in line would be updated and
personalized humor taken from other sources.

You can find instantly usable humor (instant as soon as you practice and
twist it around a little bit) on television, in the newspaper, in books, on the
Internet, in Reader's Digest, in joke services, and from other speakers (always,
always give credit). You could even have your own speech/joke writers as long
as you can find one that understands you and your industry.

When using any of these sources, be ready with a pencil and paper or tape
recorder to grab the stuff you like. You will look through much more material
than you could ever use. The old saying is that you have to sift through a lot of
dirt to get to the gold.

I have more than 400 volumes in my humor library now and it's growing all
the time. Here are just a few humor references I always check when working on
a new presentation:

• Witty Words by Eileen Mason


• Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, Edited by Evan
  Esar


• 
  Humorous Stories About the Human Condition by
  Eric W. Johnson


• 
  The Public Speakers Handbook of Humor by Helen
  & Larry Eisenberg


• 
  2715 One Line Quotations for Speakers, Writers and
  Raconteurs by Edward Murphy
  

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Public Speaking: A Few Tips From Around The World

* In general, Asians do NOT tend to show excitement. This is rapidly
changing. In Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, humor has recently been
introduced in business seminars and was well-received by standing room
only crowds. Humor is well accepted in Thailand. Thais really want to have
fun when they learn. Take lots of small gifts when you travel to Asia to
give out and be prepared to receive some too. Research the perfect gift, the
appropriate wrapping, the timing of the presentation, the value of the gift,
presentation etiquette, and any taboos that might be involved.

* Do not expect standing ovations in Australia. It doesn't seem to be part of
their culture.

* Many logistical parameters can be different in foreign countries and you
should be prepared. Many countries have different standard paper sizes and
use two hole punches instead of three. Any video you plan to use must be
converted to the appropriate standard for that country (see appendix). You
may need an electrical converter to operate equipment you bring with you.

* Outside U.S. borders don't refer to yourself as an American. We must
remember that we are not the only ones. There are North Americans,
Central Americans, and South Americans.

* In Japan you should never use self-effacing humor that is normally well
received in North American culture. Actually, the Japanese don't like
humor in seminars at all. They do appreciate a high degree of humility, so
feel free to apologize profusely for your lack of linguistic capability and
anything else you can think of to show you are not arrogant.

* Unlike the Japanese, Australians love humor. Plan to use it liberally. But,
as always, do your research.

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Public Speaking: Bombproofing

Are you afraid of bombing when you get up in front of a group? You don't have
to be. With proper material selection, a few prepared comments in case of
unexpected problems, and attention to time, worries about bombing can be
virtually eliminated. Also remember one key point that Mike McKinley, past
president of the National Speakers Association, told me: "The audience doesn't
know your script. If you make a minor mistake, so what. Just keep on talking."

When you want to get a message across using humor, there is one overriding
principle that will give you the greatest chance of success along with the least
chance of failure. If you make all your attempts at humor relevant to your
presentation, you get an automatic excuse from your mother if your humor is not
all that funny. If your humor is received as funny, so much the better; but if it
isn't, at least you made your point. Audiences will be much more tolerant if the
humor ties into the subject at hand.

At social functions, relevance is not as critical as it is in serious business
settings. If you stray off the main topic just for fun, it's no big deal. However,
if you are still a little apprehensive about your humor skills in a presentation, the
theory of relevance will always keep you safe.

Even if your delivery is not great at this point, the proper selection of
material will carry you a long way. You must consider the nature of the
audience, your personality and style, and the nature of the subject.

If you keep the above principle of relevance in mind, you should never have
to suffer the embarrassment of your humor bombing out.

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Presentation Skills: May I Help You?

Many audience members would love to get a piece of the limelight by helping
the presenter. Take advantage of this fact by giving out jobs. You could have an
audience member writing on the flipchart for you. You could have another one
handling cue cards or timing the presentation.

This is also a good method to handle audience members who you fear might be boisterous enough to be disruptive. If you give them something to do, you will have better control over
them and you will be able to give them the attention that they want.

Try to make sure potentially troublesome audience members are seated close
to you so you have some measure of control. If they are seated in the back, any
noise they make will cause the rest of the audience to look away from you.

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Public Speaking: The Length of the Program

The most important consideration in determining how long a technical seminar
or workshop should be is the time required to cover the subject in sufficient
detail. Some subjects require two or three days to tackle the complexities of a
topic, while that amount of time would be superfluous in others. The burdens
placed on the presenter(s) should also be considered. In a single-day program,
chances are that one individual can handle the entire presentation. If it is longer,
either more presenters will be necessary or more participant activity must be
scheduled to ease the strain on the presenter.

In the world of speaking, there are speakers and there are trainers, and the
two differ greatly in their content, styles, and goals. Trainers are far more
concerned with the accuracy and relevance of the material content than a speaker
will ever be and yet, they must be as entertaining and motivating as any other.
Technical trainers can seldom count on standing ovations, peals of laughter,
or thunderous applause. What you can count on is being followed to the
restroom and being asked questions, people standing around waiting to tell you
of their experiences on the same topic, and serious questions about the topic you
just presented.

Evaluations of trainers by attendees are usually sparse as well. Most trainers
have discovered that the attendees have their own agenda when they arrive and
their acceptance and satisfaction is totally dependent upon whether or not you
live up to those preconceived expectations, whether they are a part of the
program or not.

Evaluations will most often be extremely critical of facilities and temperature
and will reflect learners' representations of what they think the trainer should be,
irrespective of the material content.

Nevertheless, technical training can be one of the most rewarding of all
presentations because you may have the opportunity to observe the participants
taking "hard skills" with them that they can apply immediately to make their
lives and businesses a fuller and richer medium for their personal growth and
happiness.

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