Nick Morgan, Public Words

Aristotle Was Wrong

We want to persuade people to do something new.  It’s one of those fundamental – and fundamentally important – human acts.  And, it’s a tall order.

But it is the essence of speech making: to move people to action. Anything else is wasted effort, because people simply don’t remember much of what they hear. It’s not a good format for imparting information. It is a good format for persuading people to believe in or act on something.

And just to drive a stake through the heart of one evil demon: Contrary to popular belief, Power Point slides don’t increase retention rates much, if at all. Indeed, most Power Point presentations are in fact speech outlines put together for the speaker’s benefit, not the audience’s. The result is a distraction that actually drives comprehension down, as the audience tries to match the words on the screen with what is coming out of the speaker’s mouth. You’re giving the audience twice as much to do and two places to look. Bad idea.
 
Aristotle got it wrong. He said there were three kinds of speeches: informative, persuasive, and “decorative”—speeches of praise and ceremony. But there really is only one kind: the persuasive. When the Secretary of State gives a briefing to the press on, say, the war in Afghanistan, is that an informative speech? Not really. What’s actually going on is that the Secretary of State is persuading the press that she’s in control, in command of the situation, and that the war is going well. To be sure, some facts, some bits of information, are conveyed from speaker to audience. But the primary purpose is a different kind of show. And the extent to which the Secretary is aware of her real purpose, and can focus on that, is the extent to which she will be successful. If she thinks that her purpose is exchanging information, then she’s inevitably playing a game of “gotcha” with the press. She gives out information, and the press tries to prove her wrong.
   
If instead she’s being a persuasive leader, then she doesn’t have to know all the details. She can turn the briefing over to someone else for areas of expertise she doesn’t possess. All she has to do is act like the person in charge.
   
An important shift takes place as soon as you realize that you’re seeking to persuade, not inform. In all cases. The focus has to shift to the audience, because “persuade” is a verb that calls for an object: persuade whom? Information can be given out but not received.  Persuasion requires a party of the second part.

This insight works just as well for presentations to five or fifty people at internal organizational meetings as it does for public officials. As soon as you set yourself up as someone who has all the answers, you invite people to raise objections. If instead you seek to enlist your audience to work with you to achieve a goal, one that involves action on the audience’s part, then you invite people to help you make your ideas work. It’s a subtle shift, but an enormously powerful one. 

Public Speaking and the Audience: We've Got a Problem

Most public speaking—especially business speeches and presentations—has never entirely caught up with its audience’s changed expectations. Our ordinary speaking styles have become more conversational, but public speakers haven’t learned to deliver the physical closeness that mirrors the closeness and casualness we see all the time on television.
   
Moreover, the candid personal disclosure that we have grown to expect when we are seemingly so close to a televised speaker (they're in our family rooms and bedrooms) hasn’t become part of public presentations for the most part—especially, again, in business presentations. After all, no self-respecting CEO is about to pattern his or her presentations after the intimacy of Oprah.
   
So we’re left with some clumsy disparities in public oratory. There is the disjunction between the trappings of traditional public speaking—the podium, the large auditorium, the stage, the lighting—and a style of discourse that is now more conversational than declamatory. Even more significant, a yawning gap exists between an audience’s ingrained expectations, shaped by half a century of watching television, and the behavior of most business, educational, and governmental speakers. Even in the relatively intimate setting of a small conference room, the typical speaker is kinesthetically disconnected, though he or she isn’t physically distant from the audience. Instead of occasionally moving toward the audience to establish a personal connection, speakers usually move back and forth between the podium or projector and the screen in a weirdly hypnotic, solipsistic form of what could be called presentational dance – the Power Point triangle of Death. They might as well be talking to themselves. The audience sits watching in suspended animation through this faux-kinesthetic routine until the question-and-answer session at the end, when attendees are offered a brief chance to move and perhaps to speak.
   
Also, while the speaker’s tone may be more conversational these days, the audience’s intuitive expectation of a personal message delivered at close range usually goes unfulfilled. With the lights turned low so that slides can be seen, with little kinesthetic stimulation from the speaker, and with little opportunity for the audience to respond in turn, the crowd will gradually tune out. The overall, if unintended, effect is to disconnect the speaker from the message, the message from the audience, and the audience from action—the main reason for the oratorical effort in the first place.
   
In a word, it’s boring. And it’s boring because medium, style, and message no longer connect. We expect intimacy, like what we see on television, and instead we get poorly structured, unemotional corporate-speak. 
   
Indeed, given the skewed evolution of public speaking content and delivery against the backdrop of the enforced intimacy of modern media, the wonder is that speeches are ever interesting at all. The few speeches that do manage to ignite an audience’s passion are exceptions to a dismal rule of mediocrity.
   
How can we change this sorry dynamic? By learning to develop content that is appropriate to the aural genre of the presentation, by rehearsing it to find the kinesthetic moments—the opportunities for connection with the audience—and by learning how to deliver it in a conversational style that is compelling for audiences today. By developing, in short, the audience-centered rhetoric needed for the twenty-first century.

The first time

The first time you give a speech is exciting, unnerving, and inevitably filled with an awkward moment or two.  In the speaker’s mind, disaster lurks around every turn of your pages of notes, or every click of your slides.  Of course, the audience doesn’t know what it hasn’t seen before, so it won’t be anything like as aware of your gaffes as you are.  The trick is not to show your fear, as the surgeon said to the nurse, lest you unnerve the patient. 

I was in California this week giving a speech for the first time, and all my own words from Give Your Speech, Change the World, and Trust Me kept coming back to me.  It was highly annoying.  I had no excuses.  I had to structure the speech properly, I had to rehearse, I had to focus on the audience – or I wouldn’t even be taking my own advice. 

As it happened, inevitably some things did go wrong.  The group was larger than I expected, so the interactive moments I’d planned were more difficult to pull off than I thought they would be.  Chiefly, when I brought a couple of volunteers to the stage to demonstrate some ideas about body language, it took too long to give the volunteers their instructions, and the audience got a bit restive. 

Note to self:  Audience participation is high risk-high reward.  Structure it carefully!

And then I succumbed to my biggest weakness – I love taking questions and having a spirited give-and-take with the audience.  I lost track of the time and didn’t cover as much of my planned outline as I’d intended.  I was able to finish on time, thanks to the big countdown clock thoughtfully provided by the conference organizer, but I eliminated the last couple of points I was going to cover and jumped to the end.  Another time, I’d manage the questions better and cover more. 

Note to self:  you don’t have to answer every single question – your own agenda is important too.

The biggest difference between the new speech and others that I’ve given a number of times, however, is that I didn’t know how the audience was going to react.  With a familiar speech, you know where the audience is at all times and you can adjust on the fly accordingly if necessary.  With a new speech, you don’t know, and so it’s all one big adjustment on the fly.  As a result, it’s much more hit-or-miss than familiar speeches.  And as much as rehearsal helps, you still don’t have much of a sense of how an actual audience will react until you’re in front of one.

Note to self:  know your speech cold, and preferably rehearse it in front of a (friendly) actual audience, even if you have to hire one. 

How was your first time?  Do you have any stories of memorably good or bad first time speeches?

The Nature of Trust in the Virtual World

Just finished speaking at the CIO 100 conference, smoothly run by Maryfran Johnson and her team of pros, and I was struck by a question I received near the end of the talk.  The audience and I had been discussing how to keep communication strong even among the young technorati, who are used to having their heads down in laptops, Blackberries, iPhones, and so on.  My answer to that was to use the power of personal space.  When you come within 4 feet (to a foot and a half) of someone, you have his undivided attention – that’s evolution.  And thanks to mirror neurons, the whole audience will feel close to the speaker at the same time.  I've blogged in more depth about this brain research, and written about it in Trust Me. 

The next question focused in on those young technical wizards being used to long distance virtual relationships.  Was something basic changing about the way we form relationships, what were the nature of those relationships, and was the younger set able to invest in these connections the same way that everyone else invests in “real” face-to-face relationships? 

My answer addressed on the nature of trust in the virtual world.  And it seems to me that the short answer is that as trust is different, so these relationships are different, and it’s precisely because of the ways in which we are hard-wired to form connections with people.  Trust in the virtual world is much more fragile, though perhaps easier to establish initially.  But the big difference comes when something threatens the trust. 

In face-to-face relationships where there is trust, one party may do something to screw up, causing friction, anger, and even a bit of mistrust to creep in.  But if the connection is strong enough, the issue will get thrashed out, the perpetrator will apologize, and trust will be restored.  Indeed, once restored, the trust may be stronger than ever.

How different it is in the virtual world!  Once trust is threatened, it’s instantly broken, and it’s virtually impossible to re-establish it.  People simply move on.  Since trust was more fragile in the first place, it shatters with very little provocation. 

I would say that the bigger worry about communications amongst the young technorati is that if most of their relationships are virtual, the fragility of those relationships may make them less able to get through the bumps and shocks that every (face-to-face) relationship naturally endures.  If you take the pattern of commitment from the virtual world, your understanding of the meaning of relationship will be attenuated and weak. 

What do you think about communications and trust in the virtual world?

View more photos of this event.

Music and Public Speaking – Nora York, Aerosmith, and the J. Geils Band

What can successful musical performers tell us about public speaking?  Having just sat in an uncomfortable seat somewhere around first base in Fenway Park to hear the J. Geils Band and Aerosmith, I’m thinking hard about the lessons that these performers can teach us.  I’ve come up with five so far, and I encourage you to post your own. 

If you haven’t seen either of these two monster rock and roll bands perform, then go to TED.com and check out Nora York, a chanteuse that dwells about as far away from Aerosmith on the musical spectrum as you can get – and yet teaches us some of the same lessons:  http://bit.ly/azWvWQ. 

1.  You’ve got to be willing to put it all out there.   The first thing that unites Steven Tyler, front man for Aerosmith; Peter Wolf, front man of the J. Geils Band; and Nora York, is that they are giving us all they have.  They’re not holding back.  They’re interesting because of that – they’re emotional, they’re occasionally over the top, and they never play it safe.  Too many speakers try to play it safe, and as a result, of course, ironically, they set themselves up for failure.  Ultimately, we want to connect with another human being at a rock concert, or at a speech, and if you’re not ready to connect, you should get off the stage. 

2.  You need to have a unique voice.   No one would ever mistake Steven for Peter for Nora – each is different, with strengths and weaknesses.  Steven Tyler is a huge talent, with a huge ego to match.  Peter Wolf works the crowd harder than the other two.  Nora York engages mind as well as heart in ways that leave the other two gentlemen in the dust.  The point is that they do best by being themselves, 110% of the time, with 150% effort.  Speakers need to do the same.

3.  Every performance needs to have an arc.   So you need to put it all out there, and be unique.  But not all at once, and not from start to finish.  Every speech, every performance, every interaction with the audience, needs to have an arc.  You can start out high octane, like Peter Wolf, and only take it down 20 minutes into the show.  Or you can build more gradually like Steven Tyler.   Or you can recite a poem that links you to ancient traditions and themes, like Nora York.  What you do is part of your voice, and your story.  But performance is an art form with generic demands, not a data dump.  We want first to engage, then build a connection, then go somewhere we’ve never been before, then come home.  Every performance needs to have an arc.

4.  You have to make it all about the audience.   Peter Wolf, of these three performers, works the crowd the hardest.  He was in the left field bleachers before the end of his part of the show.  But Tyler and York work the audience too, just in their own way and with their own story in mind.  Great performers know that an audience is what makes a show possible and they never forget that a communication hasn’t happened unless the audience has got it.  That’s why they call it giving a speech. 

5.  Little human touches are essential – and interaction is huge.  Each of these performers has a band behind them, and part of the way we judge and decide to connect or not with a performer has to do with how they interact with the others that perform with them.  When Nora York was done with her song, she turned to include the other musicians in the applause – a nice, generous move.  Steven Tyler and Peter Wolf both interact constantly with their band mates, even while they’re putting the audience first.  If you’re up in front of an audience solo, then how you react with the person that introduces you, and how you interact with the audience, become even more important.  If you’re part of a team presenting, then it’s a great opportunity to model good behavior and look like the kind of person we’d want to get to know.  (I’ve blogged on how to present as a team before.)  

OK, what else can we learn from rock and roll?  Let’s hear your insights.

Jacek Utko and the Future of Newspapers

Sometimes a talk is inspiring, not because of the power of the delivery, but because of the power of the idea.  Jacek Utko is a Polish newspaper designer, and he gives a brief TED talk telling his story in a quiet, almost deliberately uncharismatic way.  His eye contact with the audience is spotty, he wanders the stage, and he makes tight, self-protective gestures that don’t include the audience. 

But he’s figured out how to save the newspaper.  And in a 6-minute talk, he shares his inspiration – Cirque de Soleil – his vision – newspapers that are incredibly eye-catching – and his determination.  He managed to achieve as much as 100 percent increases in newspaper circulation with his brilliant designs, with not much money, no staff, and no attention at all from the design world.

Until he started winning awards.  One of his newspapers was awarded the “Best Designed Newspaper in the World,” by a major design competition, and Jacek has now designed newspapers all over Eastern Europe.  And all of them are thriving. 

In 6 minutes, Utko robs you of all your excuses and leaves you with the challenge never to do merely good work.  It’s an inspirational message that should be heard by a much wider circle than designers alone. 

Summer Reading #16 – Unleashing the Warrior with Rich Machowicz

A reader of this blog, Rich Litvin (check him out at: http://thatconfidenceguy.com) sent me a link to a fascinating YouTube performance – part of a speech by Richard Machowicz, former Navy SEAL, Bukido trainer, and author of Unleash The Warrior Within. 

If you can get past the macho SEAL stuff, the book has a very good set of tips and techniques for taking control of situations, conquering your fear, and realizing your goals.  I took lots of notes.  Machowicz tends to overdo the acronyms and lists, but it all boils down to some very useful insights into how to succeed, especially in tough situations.  And there are some great Navy SEAL stories to illustrate his points. 

Two lists in particular seem helpful.  First, the 3 steps in thinking about achieving something (like killing a terrorist or reaching your life goal): 

One, figure out the target. 

Two, the target determines the weapons you need. 

Three, the weapons determine the movement (aka tactics to achieve your goal). 

 

Then, there’s Machowicz’ acronym for analyzing how important something is to you:  CARVER, or criticality, accessibility, recognizability, vulnerability, effect on overall mission, and return on effort.  If you rank your various goals on a 1 -5 scale using these criteria, you’ll quickly find out which one you should attack next. 

How good a speaker is Machowicz?  Check out the YouTube video:  http://bit.ly/dp675B.  (WARNING – SALTY LANGUAGE.)  It’s not the whole speech, but enough so that you get the idea.  What’s fascinating is that even though Machowicz has done SEAL stuff like parachuting into ice cold water under the cover of darkness in order to take out terrorists, he’s just like the rest of us when it comes to public speaking:  he’s nervous. 

That alone makes the video worth watching.  It should help everyone to know that we’re all in this together when it comes to performance anxiety.  Even former Navy SEALS.

Machowicz is a strong, charismatic speaker with some rough edges that prevent him from being at the very top.  He uses verbal ticks that give away his nervousness, like saying “OK?” at the end of a phrase, undercutting the strength of the phrase itself.  He’s also got a bad case of happy feet – he’s wandering around too much, which weakens the effect of the strong things he’s saying. 

He needs to learn Rule Number One of Public Speaking Triage:  when you get to the place where you’re going to speak, no matter how much time you have, your first job (after shaking your host’s hand and thanking that individual) is to check out the lay of the land and mentally choreograph where you’re going to move.  For simplicity’s sake, pick a home base, a place where you’ll start and finish, and then mentally mark where you can comfortably move to toward the audience in order to engage it at various points during your presentation.  If you don’t do that, you’ll end up rootless and wandering, like Machowicz. 

Nonetheless, on the plus side, Machowicz has a great presence and authority that his nervous behavior doesn’t completely undermine.  I enjoyed the speech to a bunch of rather weary-looking NFL trainees.  The book is worthwhile; thanks to Rich for the tip. 

A Speakers’ Bureau That Gets It When Many Don’t

The world of speakers’ bureaus in 2010 – after the economic crash – is a perilous one.  A number of forces are combining to make life more difficult for them, and some of the trends appear to be long-term changes.  Some bureaus have had lay-offs, and some have disappeared altogether.  One firm is thriving, however, and it’s instructive to see the reasons.  Speakers’ Spotlight of Toronto is doing quite well, thank you – indeed, it’s growing – and the firm founded by husband and wife team Martin and Farah Perelmuter looks well-positioned for the future.    I recently spoke with them to find out why. 

What’s going on? 

First of all, the conference business took a hit.   Thanks to the recession, conferences were canceled, postponed, and downsized.  That hit the speaking business hard, and so of course speakers’ bureaus suffered too. 

Second, meeting planners got tough.  The conference business has bounced back – part of the way – but meeting planners have a new attitude toward fees as a result of tightened times and budgets.  They are much more interested in bargaining a speaker down, and that means the percentages taken in by speakers’ bureaus go down too.   And once the planners realize that speakers will bargain, they’ll expect to always be able to bargain. 

Third, meeting planners got canny.   Thanks to the Internet, meeting planners can find speakers directly and easily, and a number of the planners are doing just that – going straight to speakers, cutting out the middleman bureau.  That’s a trend that’s likely to be permanent, too.  Once planners get the hang of dealing directly with speakers, they’re not likely to stop. 

Fourth, the conference business shortened its cycle time.   This is perhaps the most startling change, and it has been coming for a while, but was accelerated by the downturn.  The lead time for conferences used to be 6 months to a year.  Now, we often hear of conferences that are planning 2 months out.   In the last couple of weeks, I’ve even heard of conferences being pulled together for September.  September 2010.  A few years ago, that would have been September next year! 

Shortened lead times puts pressure on the speakers’ bureaus to respond more quickly and to get out of the way.  The result is that the bureaus have to become far more nimble. 

Given all these stormy seas, how is Speakers’ Spotlight navigating them so well? 

It’s focused on a reasonable number of speakers.   Many bureaus have responded to the tough times by greatly expanding their pool of speakers.  Like the retailer who sells t-shirts at a loss and responds by saying, “I’ll make it up in volume.”  But having too many speakers on your list means that you can’t really represent any of them well, because you can’t know them and their strengths and weaknesses in any detail.  And that is the primary reason for speakers’ bureaus in the first place.  Speakers’ Spotlight has focused on a reasonable number of speakers, and as a result, they know them well. 

Speakers’ Spotlight has never failed to pay a speaker.   Unfortunately, because of the tough economic client, some bureaus have slowed their payments to speakers, and some have stopped them altogether.  That’s breaking the basic trust of the middleman, and Speakers’ Spotlight has never done it. 

Speakers’ Spotlight knows its marketplace very well.   Speakers’ Spotlight is based in Toronto, and most of its business is in Canada, though it does book worldwide.  But in a rapidly changing economic climate, it is very important to know at least one marketplace very well. 

Speakers’ Spotlight is focused on the future.   A chat with Martin and Farah will quickly convince you that they’re always looking ahead to where the market is going, not where it has been.  Speakers’ Spotlight is very thoughtful about the future of conferences and conference planning, and the firm has some interesting ideas about where it’s all headed.  Stay tuned! 

What does all this mean to you if you're a bureau, a meeting planner, or a speaker?  Bureaus, now is the time for some serious strategic planning.  Assume that these trends will be permanent -- how are you going to make money and add value in the new environment?

Meeting planners, your life -- at least in one respect -- will just keep getting better.  Planning will have to be faster, but the opportunities to book top-notch speakers at good prices is here to stay.  

And speakers, you're going to have to figure out ways to form deeper relationships with meeting planners, and a smaller number of bureaus.  More on these trends in later blogs. 

Four Steps to a More Charismatic You

For my blog today, I'm pointing to a new video in which I very quickly lay out the 4 steps you can take to become a more charismatic communicator. These are the 4 steps I explain in more detail in Trust Me:  Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma.  Enjoy!

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Summer Reading #15: The Buying Brain - Secrets for Public Speakers

Ever since I heard Dr. A. K. Pradeep, neuromarketing researcher extraordinaire, speak at SXSW this past March, I have been eagerly awaiting his book, The Buying Brain:  Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind.  It’s out now, and I’m not disappointed.  Pradeep applies the new brain science to buying, advertising, and marketing, and the results are extraordinary.  And yes, there are some fascinating implications for public speaking. 

Pradeep’s fundamental insight is that our brains are overwhelmingly unconscious.  We process 11 million bits of information a second – that’s the good news.  The bad news, perhaps, is that only 40 bits per second are conscious.  The rest – 99.99 percent of our mental activity – is unconscious. 

And, of course, as readers of this blog know, most of that mental activity is taken up with keeping us alive, keeping us safe, finding food, attracting mates – just the basics of species continuation. 

Public speakers, like marketers, can either ignore that knowledge and continue to (1) data dump, to (2) present complicated word slides, and to (3) damp down their emotions – and alienate and bore their audiences silly.  Or, they can use the insights of modern brain science to make more compelling speeches:

1.  Keep your presentations simple, very simple. 

2.  Make your presentations about basic issues that matter to our unconscious brains. 

3.  Make your presentations emotional. 

Then we’ll remember what you say.  And we’ll love you, the speaker, for it.

There's lots more to it, of course, but I'm making it simple for you.  Anyone interested in effective public speaking should grab a copy of this book, devour it, and get to work revamping their presentations and their approach to public speaking.  Your audiences will reward you a thousand-fold.  Actually, something like 10 million-fold. 

Summer Reading #14: Finding Your Voice

If you’re a reader of this blog, you’ll know that the care and feeding of a speaker’s voice is essential for long-term career health.  Your voice is your single most important asset by a number of measures, so it’s important to treat it well.  Obviously, you shouldn't smoke or drink alcohol, especially before speaking.  Obviously, you need to learn how to breath properly, with support, and using the diaphragm.  And obviously, you need to re-position your voice if it's nasal and audiences don't find it attractive.     

Good books on the voice are hard to find, and thus it is with real pleasure that I came across this gem in a theatre bookstore in Toronto: Finding Your Voice, by Barbara Houseman.  Barbara has trained many English actors, including greats like Kenneth Branagh, who provides the forward. 

If you’re looking to increase your vocal presence and strengthen the power of your speaking voice, this book is a great place to start.  All the physical exercises you need are explained clearly here, and Houseman gets the importance of the mind-body connection for the voice.  She explains how to release the voice, both physically and mentally, in addition to talking about the long-term care of the voice – and the body that produces it. 

Here’s a quick tip from Houseman’s book on how to ground and center yourself before you start to speak.  Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, and your knees slightly bent.

(Move) your hands away from your body at hip level, as if reaching out underneath (a) beach ball, then bring your arms up round the front of the ball to shoulder level and, then, bring your hands in towards your body and take them down to your hips.  Repeat this backward circle about ten times and then stop and see how that feels.

Apparently, this motion is based on a Tai Chi move, and Houseman recommends it highly for grounding and focusing your energy before speaking. 

The book is filled with exercises and tips for the speaking voice – how to bring it out, how to realize its maximum effectiveness, and how to ensure that it stays strong.  Public speakers should put the wisdom contained in this book in practice today. 

Summer Reading #13: Boring to Bravo

Kristin Arnold is a professional facilitator, the author of a new book, Boring to Bravo:  Proven Presentation Techniques to Engage, Involve, and Inspire your Audience to Action, and the current President of the National Speakers Association (NSA).  I’ve taken a few shots at the NSA over the years, so I was particularly appreciative of Kristin’s willingness to chat with me about speaking, the NSA, and what’s in her new book. 

Reading Boring to Bravo, I found myself agreeing with something on just about every page.  The book is packed with tips for making speeches more interactive and memorable.  I recommend it highly if you want to improve your speaking game.  Kristin and I talk about very similar ways to approach an audience in our books and blogs. 

Nick:  I’m going to ask you all the questions that people usually ask me.  So, what inspired you to write Boring to Bravo? 

Kristin:  I’ve been a professional meeting facilitator for 2 decades, and I’ve often been a fly on the wall, hearing other speakers.  I was never happy with people just doing their shtick.  What worked for me was an approach that got the audience involved.  I started noting what worked and what didn’t, and this book is the result. 

Nick:  What’s changed in the years you’ve been in the business? 

Kristin:   I think the current generation wants a more engaging, conversational approach.  People today expect to be talked with, not at – and they expect interaction.  Of course, every speaker has to balance the need to be conversational on the one hand with the need to hold forth on your subject of expertise on the other.  After all, you’ve been brought in to speak because of your expertise.  It’s always a balance, and it depends on the audience and on your style. 

Nick:  For the professional speakers reading this blog, how do you create and build your business?

Kristin:   I do all the things that professionals have to do; I have the web site, the marketing materials, the DVD.  But most of my business comes from word of mouth.  It’s someone in the audience saying to a friend, “you really should get that speaker I just heard.”

Nick:  We always say that an audience is hundreds – or thousands – of potential references, so you’d better pay attention to them.  Tell me about the NSA.  Why should I join it if I’m a professional speaker?

Kristin:  Belonging to the NSA means you can shorten your learning curve.  It’s all about community and education – as well as helping speakers deal with the entrepreneurial side of the business. 

Nick:  What is your year as President going to be about? 

Kristin:  We’ve done some strategic planning, and I’m looking forward to implementing that.  How is the NSA best situated to be supportive to its members as the professional society for speakers?  That’s what we’re focused on. 

Nick:  What are your top 3 to-dos and don’t-dos for successful speaking?

Kristin:  Don’t make it about you instead of the audience.  Don’t abuse Power Point.  And don’t hide behind the lectern.  Do engage the audience early.  Do use inclusive language with the audience.  And do be deliberate – know your objective.  Then relax and enjoy yourself!

Nick:  Kristin, thank you very much. 

If you're a professional speaker, who is your customer?

I often blog that the way to a successful speech is via the audience -- in other words, start with understanding your audience, and make the speech about its issues.  Solve the audience's problems and they'll reward you with fierce loyalty.  But over the long term, a professional speaker has to take care of at least one other 'audience' just as carefully:  the meeting planners that hire her. 

Your customers are indeed the meeting planners, and you'd better treat them well.  Too many professional speakers play the diva and alienate the folks who hire them.  I once was planning a conference for a client, and booked a speaker -- nameless -- whose talk was all about, let's say, getting along with other people.  And yet the speaker behaved badly from start to finish, making unreasonable demands of the meeting planners and complaining about everything.  The irony of the mis-match was not lost on any of us.  

Accordingly, the list below is something of an honor roll -- it is a list of public speakers nominated by meeting planners as favorites -- delivering good speaking value and also nice to work with.  With many thanks to Simon Bailey and Nancy Friedman who located the source for me:  Meetings and Conventions Magazine, July 2010 issue. 

These professional speakers deserve to be celebrated for not behaving badly.  The meeting planner works long hours, puts up with lots of abuse from his or her colleagues, and only gets noticed when something goes wrong.  The last thing they need is poor treatment from the speaker.  

I've removed a few political names from the list, since they're inherently controversial and will certainly alienate roughly half of your audience. 

Congratulations to those who made the honor roll:

Planners' Favorite Speakers

Simon Bailey (achieving individual and organizational brilliance; simontbailey.com)

Tony Bennett (business speaker, individual and organizational effectiveness; tonybennett.org)

Ken Blanchard (customer loyalty, employee engagement, leadership, organizational change; kenblanchard.com)

Walter Bond ("The Accountability Leader"; walterbondseminars.com)

Nancy Goodman Brinker (founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure; premierespeakers.com/nancy_brinker)

Marcus Buckingham (executive coaching, strengths-driven performance, leadership; tmbc.com)

James Burke (science/technology historian, TV personality; k-web.org)

Charles Carroll (chef, culinary leadership/teamwork, career development; chefcharlescarroll.com)

Dr. Lowell Catlett (futurist, economist at New Mexico State University; lowellcatlett.com))

Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire (retired Canadian senator/military official, human rights activist; romeodallaire.com)

Mike Ditka (former coach of NFL's Chicago Bears; mikeditka.com

)

Dr. Sophia Dziegielewski (social work, human behavior, health care; siripro.net/SophiaBio.htm)

Ryan Estis (sales strategies, leadership skills; ryanestis.com)

Durwood Fincher ("Mr. Doubletalk," humorous take on corporate culture, customized for client; doubletalk.com)

Nancy Friedman ("The Telephone Doctor," motivational business topics; telephonedoctor.com/keynotes.php)

Patricia Fripp (executive speech coach, presentation-skills trainer; fripp.com)

Dr. Benny J. Gallaway (marine ecologist; gulfbase.org/person/view.php?uid=bgallaway)

Tim Gard (humor as a business skill, professional enthusiasm; timgard.com)

Christopher Gardner (rose from being homeless to best-selling author/entrepreneur; chrisgardnermedia.com)

Barbara Glanz (improving employee morale, retention, productivity; barbaraglanz.com)

Dr. Al Gobar (real-estate economist; gobar.com)

Doris Kearns Goodwin (presidential historian, political news analyst; doriskearnsgoodwin.com)

T. Scott Gross (performance management consultant; tscottgross.com)

Erin Gruwell (educator, inspirational speaker, author of The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them; freedomwritersfoundation.org)

Jeremy Gutsche (creativity, leadership and innovation strategy; jeremygutsche.com)

Keith Harrell (motivational speaker, "attitude coach"; keithharrell.com)

Lou Heckler (motivational, management training, customer service; louheckler.com)

Regina Herzlinger ("The Godmother of Customer-Driven Health Care," Harvard Business School; reginaherzlinger.org)

Art Holst (former NFL official, speaks on business topics, motivation, change, football; artholst.com)

Lou Holtz (retired football coach, sportscaster, author; washingtonspeakers.com)

Brian Jones (laws of dating, building better relationships; gettingtheloveyoudreamabout.com)

Dewitt Jones (professional photographer, speaks on creativity, passion and vision; dewittjones.com)

Leland Kaiser, Ph.D. (health-care futurist; kaiser.net)

John Kasich (candidate for governor of Ohio; kasichforohio.com)

Don Keady (CEO of Australian Institute of Sales, Marketing & Management; aismm.com.au)

Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender (business success, branding, customer service, generational differences; kizerandbender.com)

Keith Krach (business entrepreneur, technology pioneer; keithkrach.com)

Mike Krzyzewski ("Coach K," Duke head coach, motivational/sports themes; coachk.com)

Paul Laudicina (A.T. Kearney chairman, global business policy isssues; atkearney.com/index.php/About-us/leaders.html))

Allison Levine (team captain for the first American Women's Everest Expedition; daredevilstrategies.com)
 

George Lucas (sales consulting, training and recruitment; lucasselect.com)

Clay B. Marsh, M.D. (pulmonary disease expert, Ohio State University; internalmedicine.osu.edu/603.cfm)

Josh McDowell (Christian faith, humanitarian efforts; josh.org)

Dr. Johnny Miller (motivational/inspirational topics; drjohnnymiller.com)

Mike Mullane (U.S. astronaut, author; mikemullane.com)

Dr. Kjell Nordstrom (business speaker and author on corporate strategy, leadership and globalization; internationalspeakers.com/speaker/546/kjell_nordstrom)

James Oberstar (Minnesota congressman, transportation policy expert; oberstar.house.gov)

Dawn Penfold (meetings industry career specialist; meetingjobs.com/index2.php?aff_id=&page=aboutUs)

Bertrand Piccard (balloonist, topics on pioneering spirit, overcoming stress, finding inspiration; bertrandpiccard.com/eng/index.php)

Charlie Plumb (former Navy fighter pilot/POW; charlieplumb.com)

Aron Ralston (rock climber who amputated his own arm; aronralston.blogspot.com)

Mike Rayburn ("World's Funniest Guitar Virtuoso," blends music and comedy; mikerayburn.com)

Susan RoAne (motivational business topics, how to work a room, connecting with people; susanroane.com)

Patricia Russell-McCloud, J.D. (work/life balance, education, diversity, leadership; prussellmccloud.com)

Mark Sanborn (leadership development; marksanborn.com)

Tim Sanders ("The People-Centric Business Expert," CSR/sustainability, leadership; timsanders.com)

Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation; barclayagency.com/schlosser.html)

Dave Schwensen (communication/presentation skills, personal creativity, humor; davepresents.com)

Bradley Seitz (CEO of Topaz International, business travel topics; etopaz.com/team.html)

Randy Siegal (fostering dynamic leadership; buildyourleaders.com)

Sam Silverstein (creating a culture of accountability in business; samsilverstein.com)

Jack Sims (marketing, business growth, brand awareness; goldstars.com/speakers/sims_jack.html)

Stan Slap (corporate strategist, business speaker; www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers.aspx?name=Stan+Slap)

Michael Tchong (future trends, insipiration; ubercool.com)

Phillip Van Hooser (leadership development strategist; vanhooser.com)

Erik Wahl (artist, presents on untapped potential, leadership, empowerment; theartofvision.com)

Mikki Williams (work/life balance, change, communication skills, creativity; mikkiwilliams.com)

Larry Winget ("The Pitbull of Personal Development"; www.larrywinget.com)

Bill Whitley (attracting and engaging clients, achieving top sales performance; billwhitley.com)

Peter Yesawich (chairman and CEO, YPartnership advertising/marketing/PR agency; ypartnership.com)

Gayle Zinda (cancer awareness, motivational messages; gaylezinda.com)

 

Summer Reading #12: Why is that so funny?

Humor is disarming and it is its own reason for being.  That means that if you can make the audience laugh as a public speaker you’re a success on that score alone.  Occasionally, an audience will complain that a speaker wasn’t serious enough, or that there wasn’t enough meat on the bones of a speech, but those complaints are rare.  We live in tough economic times and most business meetings are boring.  Make me laugh and I’ll thank you.

Accordingly, all public speakers need to read one of the classics on humor in the theatre, Why is That So Funny, by John Wright.   Wright begins by analyzing four kinds of laughter: 

•    the recognized laugh,
•    the visceral laugh,
•    the bizarre laugh, and
•    the surprise laugh. 

The recognized laugh is, simply enough, laughter of recognition.  When someone mimics a high status member of the audience, for example, we laugh if the mimicry is close enough that we pick it up right away. 

The visceral laugh is the laugh of slapstick, of extremes, of physical humor.  When a speaker interacts with an audience member and there’s a pay off in a funny physical effect – like hypnotists making their victims do inappropriate things – you get a visceral laugh.

The bizarre laugh is the Monty Python school of humor – non sequitors, random comments, the yoking of 2 unrelated things together – and it’s the easiest kind of humor to create in speeches and presentations.  Use it with care, though; not everyone gets it and it may leave some audience members puzzled and irritated.

Finally the surprise laugh is the laugh of a child at something unexpected.  When someone jumps out from behind a curtain, people laugh to express the incongruity of the action.  This sort of humor is simple and keeps everyone ‘present’ in the moment.  It’s a good way to wake an audience up that has gone to sleep. 

Wright’s book is full of games to play and insights into humor of all kinds.  The games themselves are excellent ways of upping your public speaking game; like Improv, they will help you develop quick reflexes and confidence to act in the moment with an audience. 

A very simple example:  Wright describes the “Yes Game.”  This game involves talking to yourself as you’re walking across the stage, saying, “Yes, I am comfortable and happy doing this action.”  Wright points out that when you engage in that kind of self-talk, your body language follows along, and you become physically more comfortable and happy in the space.  That’s a great trick for nervous public speakers to try, and worth the price of the book in itself. 

Why Is That So Funny deserves to be read by all public speakers who want to improve their delivery, stage presence, and maybe even be funnier. 

Summer Reading #11: Negotiation and Public Speaking

What is a book about negotiation doing in a blog about public speaking?  Simple, really.  Every time you get up in front of an audience, it’s a negotiation.  I’m reminded of the first time I sold a car, to a Greek-American used car lot owner.  The car was ancient, and I didn’t expect to get much for it.  But I managed to negotiate my way to about half of what I should have received for it, thanks to my inexperience and his slick expertise.  After the humiliation was done, I asked him, ruefully, where he had learned his negotiation skills.  And he replied, “Nick, life is a negotiation.”  And grinned.  I felt like Alan Bates in Zorba the Greek. 

For those of you who fear your audiences or experience performance anxiety of any degree, thinking about your audience as someone to be negotiated with rather than a great beast to be feared, will help.  An audience wants a certain experience – a successful experience.  You hope to provide it.  A certain amount of negotiation is in order.  I always check, in the moment, for example, with my audience to determine if the plan for the hour or hours that we have together is OK with that audience.  I make it a real question. 

Asking that question near the top of the speech, for real, is a great way to find out if any audience member has a question or issue that she wants to talk about – and that she is afraid you’re not going to cover.  You might table the topic for later, or address it in the moment, but you win points for flexibility and connection. 

Successes and failures in public speaking turn on small moments like that.  If your negotiation with the audience is real, then it will respond with enthusiasm.  If it is fake or pro forma, the audience will rebel.  But thinking about the audience as a group of humans to be negotiated with will help make them real to you, as people, and therefore less frightening. 

If you’re only going to read one book on negotiation, Negotiation Genius is a good one.  It updates the Fisher classic, Getting to Yes, and provides step-by-step negotiations and stories about negotiations that bring the ideas to life. 

When I first read Getting to Yes, I was so inspired that I talked my way into the local post office -- after it was closed for the day.  Having that confident negotiation mindset will help your public speaking, too. 

The central insight of Negotiation Genius is that you will be more successful in negotiations if you spend a good deal of time beforehand understanding the needs of the opposite party.  And this insight holds true for public speaking.  In fact, it’s probably the single most important insight for successful public speaking.  Your first job as a public speaker is to understand your audience – better than it does.  Everything you do, big and small, with your audience, should flow from that. 

If you understand your audience, you will know when to negotiate and when not to.  Just as a teacher might negotiate the terms of a final exam, but not the fact of one, so too a public speaker should be prepared to negotiate some things with an audience, but not the basic issues of topic and authority.  It’s your job to take the audience on a decision-making journey about the topic at hand, helping them to understand better – and to act on – the subject under discussion.  Everything else, like life, is a negotiation.  Public speakers need to be expert negotiators.