Public Speaking Improvement Tip #27: Watch master Communicators in action.

I'll never forget seeing Zig Ziglar in person. One thing that jumped out at me was his enthusiasm. Whenever I want to update my enthusiasm, I think of Zig. Just watching him helps me improve.

Do you watch the masters of public speaking?

With the age of Youtube, it is now very easy to see master speakers in action. Below are several videos. As you watch them, ask these three questions.

• What is the speaker doing very well?
• What can I learn from the speaker?
• What could the speaker improve on?

You may think this last question is a little odd. Every speaker can improve and watching with a critical eye will help you improve your skills.

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

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There was an obvious distraction as the technician worked to get it fixed. Instead of skipping the slides entirely, I used the next speaking tip.

Presentation Tip #12: Have Several Emergency Stories to Share at a Moments Notice.

I knew that if I kept on my speech road map, I would lose half the audience as they looked at the distraction. immediately, I jumped into a completely unrelated story. The story grabbed the audience's attention back, and kept them involved until the Power point computer came back online. This "off the cuff" story turned a speech pot hole into a launching pad for a better presentation.

Always carry several emergency stories with you to use during a distraction, technical difficulties, or when you have time to kill on stage.  If they relate to your presentation, all the better. Use this presentation tip, you will appear in control of the situation and it may actually enhance your presentation. This builds trust and credibility with the audience.

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

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As you know junior-highers have a short attention span. A distraction or three sentences of boring content can cause the attention to be diverted away from the speaker.

The great thing about kids this age is that we know if we have have attention and if we have lost it. Adults may be polite and still pretend to listen, but kids often let you know through body language when they are no longer paying attention.

To make this situation more challenging, I spoke in an open air building with a roof and open sides. Bugs buzzing, heat simmering, and tired campers all led to a greater challenge to hold attention.

To keep attention with this kind of audience and any audience, I seek to use the 7 speaking tips below.

Tip #1: Tell a Story, Make a Point

Have you noticed the following.  A speaker is droning on and on, but then says, “5 years ago I was walking behind my house…” Attention gets snapped back.

Stories, even poorly told stories, hold attention and quickly grab attention.

In addition to giving a healthy dose of stories, I keep some in reserve. I may need to tap into them when attention wanes.

Keep the stories coming and the attention will stay glued to you.

Tip #2: Tell a Story, Make a Point

I heard one speaker mesmerize the audience with dozens of personal stories. Later, I turned to my brother-in-law and asked, “What was the point?”

Where was the life changing content? Where were the tips or truth that we could hang our hat on and improve our life?

There were none.

Have a main point with every story. You may make the point and then tell the story. Or you may tell the story and then make the point. Just have a point.

A couple examples from this week:

- Story about nearly failing 7′th grade in school.

- Point: Stop blaming, start changing.

- Story about starting my rock business and nearly quitting.’

- Point: Keep on Driving

Tell stories and add points.

Tip #3: Tell a Story, Make a Point

Outlines. Our English teachers railed on the importance of having an outline. Speech coaches do the same.

I push the Speech Tree™ in Become a Better Speaker in One Evening.  It allows people to quickly create speeches.

However, just throwing main points out is like tossing  your coat against the wall and expecting it to stay there. It won’t. It’ll slide right down and the points will zip past the audience with next to zero retention.

If we package the point with a story, that story acts like a hook. The points are retained and remembered.

Tip #4: Tell a Story, Make a Point

Great speakers use this formula.

Jesus used it with his parables. Mark Twaine used it. Bill Gove, the father of Professional Speaking, popularized the the phrase.

My father always told me, “Find out what works and do it.” This formula works. Use it.

Tip #5: Tell a Story, Make a Point

Do these stories have to be complex? Nope.

Patricia Fripp said, “It is better to tell a simple story well, than a complex story poorly.”

Write down a past experience from your life every day for a month. Now you have 30 stories.

Tip #6: Tell a Story, Make a Point

Many speakers bury their head in their notes and rarely come up for air. By telling stories, especially personal ones, you can easily tell them from memory.

On your little note card just list:

Story:
Point:
Link:
Story:
Point:
Link:

You can look like a pro and use minimal notes.

Tip #7: Tell a Story, Make a Point

Stories stick in our minds like a glue trap to cats fur (I know from experience). If the point is properly attached to the story, the point will stick also.

I still remember stories speakers shared from ten years ago. Many of the points are still stuck in my mind.

You can become a speaker who holds attention and has a sticky message. Learn more by reading Made to Stick.

Lets wrap this up.

Many audiences have short attention spans. You can hold attention and communicate effective by using these 7 tips and telling a story  and making a point.

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website

Listening or watching yourself on tape can be painful. That's why many speakers never record themselves. But wait! If the audience had to sit through it, so should we!

Speaking Tip #23: Improve your Speaking Skills fast by recording and listening to every presentation–twice.

What are the benefits of recording and listening/watching yourself?

• What get's evaluated get's improved. Just by listening to ourself we will improve automatically.
• Our errors will jump out at us and we can fix them.
• Minor adjustments  will become clear.

When I started videotaping, I noticed I would often lick my lips and even wrinkled my forehead in an almost glaring way. The video camera gave me the brutal truth.

You can grab a digital recorder for anywhere from $30 to $100. Amazon is a great place to check. Flip phone cameras are between $100-$200. If you are serious about improving your public speaking skills, pick one up.

Why listen twice?

The first time you listen, evaluate yourself. What could your improve? What should you have left out? During the second time, just let it play as you do something else. I have been told that even if you are distracted, your subconscious mind is still picking it up.

Still not convinced about the power of recording your presentation? Try it on your next three presentations. Then compare your first presentation to the third. You'll notice a difference.

Grab your recorder and start taking your public speaking skills to a new level.

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website

Unfortunately, very few individuals use it, but those who do, improve very rapidly and become star presenters.

Here is the key:

Evaluate yourself after every talk.

Studies and experience have shown that if you just observe and evaluate an area of your life, you will automatically improve.

Just a week ago, I gave a 30 minute public speaking presentation. After the presentation, I applied these three steps:

Step #1: I asked three questions

What went well about the presentation?
What could I have done better?
How will I do better next time?

Notice how all three are stated in the positive. We get what we focus on. If we always dwell on the negative, it’s like running a race looking backwards. We want to acknowledge the weak points, but focus on the strengths and how to improve for our next speech.

Here were my answers (To start with I encourage you to just focus on a few suggestions in each category):
 

• I was prepared and had my speech written out.
• The introduction grabbed the audience’s attention.
• I had great vocal variety

• Pause more
• Have a stronger conclusion
• Improve my links between points

• I will pause more through the presentation
• I will practice my conclusion several times and make it strong.
• In my notes I will write a good link out word for word

Step #2: Record your presentation and listen to it.

This step works well with the first one. Just listening to or watching yourself on tape is powerful for personal growth. Darren Lacroix, 2001 world champion of public speaking said, “Listening to yourself is one of the most powerful methods for improvement.”

Is it painful? Yes! They had to listen to it, so should we.

Often we may think we did better than we actually did. Seeing or hearing ourselves corrects our thinking. Sometimes we may think we did worse than we actually did. Recording is very helpful.

There have been times I thought I failed miserably on stage. However, after watching I saw it went pretty well. However, the opposite has also been true!

I recommend listening to your talk twice. Does it take time? Yes! Is it worth it? Definitely!

Step #3: Ask for honest feedback

Do you watch American Idol? Have you noticed how some singers truly think they are great and have been told they are great all their life by friends and family? However, on the show they meet the sharp edge of reality hears the truth from the judges.

If only someone had been honest or they had sought honest feedback, they could have been prevented public embarrassment.

We need honest feedback. Ask your spouse or a respected individual in the audience for their thoughts. You want someone who can be blunt, but encouraging. I’ll often use two questions:

1.    What are a few things I did well?
2.    What can I improve on for next time?

This way they can be both positive and helpful. Sincerely thank them. What they tell you may prevent future public speaking embarrassment.

You can rapidly improve your public speaking skills. Evaluate yourself after every performance and you will steadily improve.

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website