Audio
Course CD
Client:
Drive2Learn, Inc., North Carolina, USA
Brief:
Produce an audio course that people can learn from and enjoy while
driving to and from work
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Track 1:
INTRODUCTION
So it's finally happened - the one and only thing that many, many
Americans fear more than death itself (and that's true: check any
survey or opinion poll you want and you'll find it there in black
and white) …
… You -
yes, you - … have to get up there and talk to a room full of
people.
Mmm - nightmare!
Not so -
We're going to
use an imaginary situation as to help you write and deliver a speech
they'll remember for years to come, for all the right reasons …
so, ladies and gentlemen … Meet Fred.
Fred Estermeyer
works for TransGlobal Widgets, and has done all his life. He's hidden
away in a little office, way at the back up on the fourteenth floor
- and if you ask anybody else what he does, they'll just say he's
in … erm … "middle management".
Whatever that
means.
In fact, Fred's
counting down those final few weeks to the retirement day he's been
working towards, for the past forty years.
But - there's
recently been talks of a takeover, a company restructuring, new senior
management, new junior management and wholesale redundancies. Now,
all of a sudden, Fred has to give a speech. The weekend after next.
At the sort of corporate function he's never - ever - been invited
to before. The title's laid out for him, in black and white: "Middle
Management in the New Millennium."
And Fred has
never given a speech before in his whole life.
So why do they
want Fred to do it?
He doesn't know,
we don't know - but during this program, we're all going to find out.
But first - and
most important - let's go to the next track and get that fear factor
right out of the way.
TRACK 2:
THE FEAR FACTOR
Why are we scared
of public speaking? Two reasons.
One, we've never
done it before, and the fear of the unknown is very real - and very
powerful. So what's the best way of dealing with the unknown? …
Easy - get to know it, of course!
Two, we're terrified
of looking stupid in front of so many people. Truth is, most of them
wouldn't even notice - honest.
Let me give you
an example: the very first time I had to stand up and speak to a room
full of people, it was my very first day at a new job. That was bad
enough already, but then again I was lucky - I didn't have time to
be nervous beforehand.
It was just,
hey - you - you're doing this morning's presentation. Now. Here's
the notes. Go do it.
So there I am,
in front of fifty complete strangers I had to persuade to sign up
for a course - with notes I had no time to read yet, about a subject
I knew nothing about - and then, was I nervous?
Naah - of course
not.
I … was
… terrified.
As I started
reading the notes out word-for-word, I could hear myself stammering,
mis-reading, leaving big, long gaps between the point I'd just finished
making, and the one that followed …
… and the
more mistakes I made, the worse I felt. And the worse I felt, the
more I kept on making those mistakes. It had to stop.
And it did.
I walked out
of the room, but couldn't find anyone to tell I was quitting. So I
just stood there, breathing as deep as I could to get over that ordeal
back there. The rush of oxygen calmed me down.
And then, for
some unknown reason, I glanced through the rest of those notes, took
them in, point by point, and then walked back into that room again.
(Well, there actually was a good reason for doing that - I really,
really needed the money.)
Two interesting
things happened:
First, I apologized
for the quality of the presentation up to that time, and everyone
- but everyone - looked puzzled, and quite a few wanted to know why
I was sorry. They thought it was fine.
So I'm going
to emphasize this: even though you think - and feel like - you're
screwing things up big time, most of your audience won't … even
… notice. Trust me on that.
The other interesting
thing was this: I used the rest of those notes just as reminders,
instead of a script. I put them into my own words, and loosened up
because there was nothing to go wrong, now.
It ended up being
fun, just like talking to a roomful of friends. Anyway, to cut a long
story short, my new boss was expecting a 75% take-up rate at the end
of the presentation, everyone - but everyone - I spoke to that morning
signed up.
So if there's
only two things you take away from this program, let them be:
One - even if
you think you're making the worst job the world of the speech you're
making, chances are that most people won't even notice, and two -
be … your … self.
Still nervous?
No problem. At the end of this program, you won't be. Because we're
going
to take you step-by-step through the processes of preparing and giving
that speech so thoroughly that there won't be any fear of the unknown
left.
On the next track,
we're going to tell you what you have to find out as soon as you've
agreed to stand up there and speak to an audience.
TRACK
3: THE EVENT
What Fred's got
to do now - still before starting to write - is establish the tone
of the event: is it going to be a corporate party … or is it
something more businesslike?
Fred gets in
touch with the person responsible for arranging the evening, to see
what he can find out about it. She's up on the twenty-second floor
of the headquarters building, in a small, quiet office. All Fred can
hear as he's waiting to enter is a scritchscritchscritch and the slamming
of a desk drawer.
Her name is Miss
Fox. She says it's being held in the grand ballroom of a Hilton a
couple of hours away.
Hilton, huh?
Very impressive.
Fred takes a
guess at the dress code - business formal? Yep, that's right.
Anybody else
been asked to give a talk that night? Well, she says, looking down
the list, there's the new CEO, a new senior manager, a couple of new
junior managers …
"And me",
adds Fred. Right again. And he's scheduled to appear just after the
two new junior managers - and right before a break in the proceedings
at nine-thirty … After which comes more speeches. And more. And
more.
A quick glance
at the guest list shows there's a lot of foreign names there. And
Fred hasn't heard of any of them.
As the song goes
- this ain't no party. This …is a really important occasion.
Forewarned is
forearmed.
Fred's already
suffering from the fear of the unknown, as far as getting up there
to speak is concerned. And as he looks back over his long career with
TransGlobal Widgets, he realizes that he's never, ever been to a Hilton
before. He's more of the "Holiday Inn" kind of fellow, and
the word "Hilton" now sends a little shiver down his spine.
It's time Fred
took a look. Two hours getting there, half an hour looking round,
two hours back - hey, he's got time enough to check the place out
and be back in the office before going-home time.
Let's join him
on the next track and see what he needs to find out about … the
venue.
TRACK 4:
THE VENUE
Fred's car isn't
the most dependable one in the world. He knows it's a two-hour drive
there, and another two hours back, and since his car's long overdue
for a service, before getting into it an driving away, he checks out
other ways of getting to the Hilton.
For example,
there's a regular commuter flight he could take; there's a pretty
good rail service - when it runs - and if all else fails, there's
always the good old Greyhound to fall back on. He checks all three
timetables, adds in an hour to get to the Hilton itself, and finds
out he's got enough backup if his car won't start.
It's a straightforward
route starting from TransGlobal Widgets: out into the city, then into
the suburbs, a half-hour of driving through nowhere, back into some
more suburbs, into the city again, straight to the Hilton carpark
and from there, into the lobby.
It's just as
he'd imagined it - too grand for him, and very, very hushed. He sits
down on one of the plush sofas there, and absorbs the atmosphere for
a time. All the while, he's grateful that he's had the chance to come
here beforehand … because otherwise the culture shock would have
been much too much for him come the night of his speech.
When he's plucked
up enough courage to go to the front desk and ask about the TransGlobal
Widgets evening in the Grand Ballroom, he finds out a few interesting
things:
One … is
that there's over two thousand guests that night.
Two … is
that his name isn't even on the seating plan, so he's not going to
get any dinner, and he's got to wait in the wings before giving his
speech.
Three …
He's got to come into the hotel round the back.
Four … he's
got to have a security pass before he gets through the back entrance,
and Miss Fox has to arrange it.
Five … there's
no way he can afford to spend the night in a room there after his
speech, but gosh, there's a Holiday Inn just a few blocks away.
And, six …
yes, Fred can go into the Grand Ballroom and look around, if he's
prepared to wait a few minutes for the floor manager.
The Grand Ballroom
itself is bigger then the lobby. As soon as Fred is ushered past the
heavy curtain and through one section of a twenty-foot-wide folding
paneled door, he stops, blinks twice and tries to take the whole scene
in.
A sea of white
linen disappears into the distance, until it reaches the bare wooden
dancefloor that must be a hundred feet across, and right at the far
end, Fred can just make out a tiny stage - if he peers hard enough.
And that's where
he's going to speak from.
The floor manager's
not surprised at Fred looking a little lost in the ballroom - he's
seen it all before, and knows just what to tell him, because he's
pretty sure that Fred wouldn't even know what to ask.
He explains the
seating arrangements: senior management are going to be right in front
by the dancefloor, in tables of ten. Junior management will be behind
them, in tables of twenty … and one hundred workers lucky enough
to be invited will be seated on those long benches, right at the back
of the room.
To continue,
speakers such as yourself, sir, will be standing at that podium down
there, where a single spotlight will shine on sir as sir speaks, to
enable the audience to concentrate on every single word sir is saying.
Yes, amplification
will be provided, yes, there will be an adjustable microphone, yes,
we have most other equipment needed for a speaking engagement, including
overhead projectors … and they will be operated by a specially-trained
member of the staff, by previous arrangement only.
Should sir wish to bring any exhibits and equipment of sir's own,
sir, a trolley is available, and likewise some storage space until
sir needs to set up.
There is, of
course, a small lounge where refreshments and light meals are available
before sir takes the stage …
What's that,
sir? No, we don't usually permit speakers to go anywhere near the
podium until the function itself, but if sir would like to wait a
few minutes for the assistant floor manager, I'm sure he would be
absolutely delighted to accommodate sir.
The assistant
floor manager eventually beckons him down past the benches, past the
big tables, past the small tables onto the dancefloor, up the steps
and onto what turns out to be a very large podium. There's plenty
of room up there for blackboards and other props, as well as enough
powerpoints at the back to power a small city.
Right - we've
covered two of the three most important things to consider before
even starting to think about the speech. Let's move on to the last
- and most significant - aspect of public speaking …
… the audience.
See you on the
next track.
TRACK
5: THE AUDIENCE
It's a long drive
back to the headquarters of TransGlobal Widgets. It gives Fred time
to think, and think, he's got to do.
He's got to find
out as much about the people he's going to talk to that night as he
possibly can …
He's got to establish
the real reason he's been asked to speak to them …
… And he's
got to make sure that whatever he's going to say, they're going to
understand every single word.
The following
day, Fred knocks on Miss Fox's door again. Can he take another look
at the guest list, and maybe find out a bit more about who's on it?
Miss Fox hands over a heavy bound document - it's all in there, she
says, and as the door closes behind him, he hears a desk drawer opening
and that scritchscritchscritch again.
The guest list
is impressive. CEO's usually found in national head offices from Azerbaijan
to Zanzibar … senior management from across the continent, strategic
planning consultants from across the country, junior management across
the state and one hundred lucky workers, randomly selected, from the
local factory.
Senior management,
outside consultants, junior management and the workforce.
But …
No middle management
… just Fred.
He stops the
car, gets out and walks away with that idea for a while.
Once back in
the driving seat, he thinks again, this time a tad more analytically.
He's got to talk to:
Rich people
Not-quite-so-rich people
People who aren't rich at all
He's got to talk
to:
Educated people
Not quite-so-educated people (but still smarter than him)
People who've dropped out of high school
He's got to talk
to:
People who speak English fluently, with excellent vocabularies
People who speak English fluently, but with more limited vocabularies
People who don't have English as a mother tongue
He's got to talk
to:
People who work with their minds for a salary
People who work with their minds for a fee
People who work with their hands for a living
As he starts
driving back in through the suburbs again, Fred comes to a conclusion:
he's got to make whatever point it is in the simplest language possible
for the factory hands and the foreign guests …
… he's got
to decide whether he's going to entertain his audience, inform them
… or to convince them to take a specific course of action …
… and he's
got to decide, once he's got their fullest attention - just what it
is he's going to say. And with a title like "Middle Management
in the New Millennium", he could say just about anything. Which
might not be a bad thing.
So now, let's
move on to the next track, and see how Fred prepares to write his
speech.
TRACK 6: PREPARING TO WRITE
It's quiet back
at home. Fred's wife is out, his dinner is in the oven, and the kids
… well, who knows where the kids are. He's got other things to
think about. He's popped a cool one, put his feet up and as the thoughts
come to him, he scribbles them into a notebook he's going to use only
for his speech ideas.
He's going to
keep it with him, day and night, because as soon as another idea appears,
he's going to write it down straight away, whether he thinks it's
useful or not … and then forget about it for a while.
He's looking
forward to this, because the more ideas he gets, the better. They
might not make much sense at the time, but who knows where they're
going to lead?
The following
night, Fred's back on his sofa again, feet up and scribbling. He's
got a lot of notes now, and a rough idea of the way his speech is
going to go.
He's either going
to inform his audience, persuade them to take another point of view
… or get them to take some kind of action. Or even, maybe all
three.
Whatever Fred's
going to do, we're going to find out how he does it on the next three
tracks.
You coming with
me?
TRACK
7: INFORMING YOUR AUDIENCE
Let's take a
little break now, and think about what Fred's up against. Like I said
just now, Fred can either inform his audience, persuade them to take
a different point of view, or get them to take some kind of action.
So let's look
at each of these in turn, starting with informing an audience.
Simplicity is
the key here: If Fred wants his audience to remember what he's said,
he's got to make it as easy for them as he can.
How? He's got
to arrange his ideas in a logical sequence …
… number
those ideas as he speaks …
… Strengthen
those ideas - either with handouts, exhibits, overhead projectors,
blackboards, whiteboards and any other visual methods he can use to
reinforce his words …
… He's got
to keep the language as simple as possible, and not just because some
of the guests there won't have English as a mother tongue …
… And he's
got to really be on the ball come time for the Question-and-Answer
session.
In short, tell
it straight, tell it simple, and tell it in words and pictures …
… like they
used to say on that old cop show, "just the facts, ma'am, just
the facts".
That's informing
an audience.
But if Fred wants
to persuade the guests to adopt a different point of view, or even
to get them to go and do something they wouldn't otherwise have done,
he's got to work harder at his speech - a lot harder.
Let's go to the
next track and see what it takes to persuade a group of people to
change their thinking.
TRACK
8: PERSUADING YOUR AUDIENCE
Now if Fred wants
to persuade all two thousand people there that night to adopt a different
point of view, first off, he's got to let them know - in no uncertain
terms - that he himself believes - passionately, fervently and enthusiastically
in that point of view.
He's got to let
them know, too, that he's got respect for his audience, only wants
the best for them, and that this new viewpoint can only benefit them
in many, many ways.
And he's got
to get them to think "yes" at the start of his speech, so
it's easier for them to think "YES!" at the end of it.
And how's he
going to do that?
By asking questions.
Questions that can't possibly have any answer except "yes".
Three of those
at the beginning will prime Fred's audience and put them in the frame
of mind to answer "YES!" to his final question. (We'll be
looking at why three is the best number a little later on.)
For a rundown
on telling an audience to go do something, let's move on to the next
track.
TRACK
9: INSTRUCTING YOUR AUDIENCE
If Fred's going
to get all those two thousand people to go do something, he's got
to take four steps.
First, he's got
to put across the main idea by describing an example as vividly as
he can. He can't use a chalkboard like he would if he was putting
plain facts across. He's got to paint pictures in his audience's mind,
so he's got to use details, details, details … and more details:
He needs to describe
the setting of his example, using who, what, where, when, why, what
the weather was like, descriptions of the people involved - and anything
that his audience can imagine -
…so by the
time Fred's finished putting across that main idea, everyone there
can see it clearly in their mind's eye.
Next, he's going
to have to tell his audience what action he wants them to take about
that example, and why they need to do it. He's only going to use one
reason, but it's got to be a powerful one - one that will benefit
everybody there that night, and he's got to tell them how it'll benefit
them. And that benefit has to relate directly to the example Fred
used to start his speech.
And finally,
Fred's got to tell his audience exactly how to take that action. He's
got to tell them as clearly and simply as he can, and he's got to
make sure everybody's clear about what he wants them to do.
So now, Fred's
got three options: he can either give his audience information, persuade
them to change their point of view, or tell them they need to go out
an do something.
Which option
is Fred going to take? We'll have to wait and see, but for now, let's
go to the next track and find out how he's going to get all those
ideas he's come up with and turn them into a speech everyone's going
to remember.
TRACK 10:
GETTING YOUR IDEAS DOWN ON PAPER
Fred's idea notebook
is pretty well full. There's no possible way he's going to use all
those ideas - in fact, he's probably going to lose 90 to 95 percent
of them … but he's also going to end up keeping the very best
5 to 10 percent and use those.
But … how
does he know which ideas to ditch, and which ideas to keep?
Right now, this
is where the process of speechwriting really starts. And the first
single sentence Fred absolutely must write down - so he can keep all
his ideas on track - is this:
I am giving this
speech because … What I want to say is this … and what I
want the audience to go away remembering is …
And as soon as
Fred fills in those blanks, he's got himself a mini mission statement.
He can look through the ideas he's noted down, keep them if they match
up with those blanks he's filled in, or keep the ones that don't,
to one side - just in case they come in useful later on.
A speech - like
a good story - has a beginning, a middle and an end. And a good speech,
like a good story, has a short beginning that drags the audience right
in … a middle that keeps them listening … and a short -
but ultimately satisfying - ending that works.
The beginning
should take up ten percent of Fred's speaking time. The end should
take up another ten percent. Or, in practical terms, one minute each.
The body of Fred's speech should take up the other eight minutes,
and that - you might be surprised to learn - is where Fred's going
to start first.
He's going to
make a maximum of three main points in the body of his speech. He's
going to make three sub-points to reinforce each main point (you see
how often the number three keeps turning up here? Don't worry, we'll
get to why it does soon enough) …
… so in
total, he's got to find nine ideas to support three main points.
And then, once
those ideas and points are in order, Fred can write a snappy opening
and an effective closing around them.
So let's move
on to the next track and see how Fred does with the body of his speech.
TRACK
11: HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR SPEECH
Remember Fred
had to write a single sentence - I am giving this speech because …
What I want to say is this … and what I want the audience to
go away remembering is … ?
It's time for
him to fill in those blanks.
"Middle
Management in the New Millennium", eh? Well, from the clues that
Fred's picked up …
… it looks
like there ain't gonna be any middle management in the new millennium.
Not at TransGlobal Widgets, anyway.
Which means,
Fred's out of a job, his retirement benefits go out the window and
life become a nightmare, just when he doesn't need it to.
So Fred's mission
statement sentence runs as follows:
I am giving this
speech because … my job is on the line and I want to keep it
… and …
What I want to
say is this … middle management is absolutely essential to the
running of the company
… and …
What I want them
to go away remembering is this … if you get rid of middle management,
the company goes down the tubes - taking you with it.
So Fred has to
do three things here:
Prove to his
audience that middle management does a good job
Persuade them
to change their view that middle management is redundant these days
… and …
Instruct them
to go back to their office afterwards and treat their middle managers
with more respect.
Tall order? Maybe.
Let's see how Fred deals with it on the following tracks.
TRACK
12: GETTING A GOOD RESPONSE TO THE OPENING OF YOUR SPEECH
First off, if
he's going to get any credibility, Fred has to create a common ground
- he's got to make those two thousand guests feel like he's one of
them. It could be their common background, the fact that everybody
- including and especially Fred - works for TransGlobal Widgets.
He's also got
to watch what he's saying: If he uses the words "You" or
"They" or "Them", he's never going to sound to
the audience like he's one of "Us". So he's going to use
"We", or "Us".
And when people
are interested in "Us", they're more willing to listen.
So Fred's got
to be "One of us" right from the start. And he's got to
pull all of "Us" into his speech at the same time.
What's the best
way of doing that? He's got to open his speech with a bang. Or start
it by making everybody laugh. Or ask a question and let the audience
answer it in their own minds. He could use a quotation and follow
through with that. Or he could begin with a drama-packed example.
But one thing
Fred has to remember is that however he opens his speech, it's got
to have some relevance to the way he closes it.
And how should
Fred close his speech? Let's find out on the next track.
TRACK 13:
GETTING A GOOD RESPONSE TO THE CLOSING OF YOUR SPEECH
Like I said on
the previous track, however Fred closes his speech has to relate to
the opening somehow - you could consider it "closing the circle",
as it were.
His closing also
has to summarize the whole of his speech in as few words as possible.
It's got to make
Fred's audience feel good about everything he's said beforehand -
and - if Fred's trying to get them to go and do something, it's got
to be the final call to action.
It's the one
part of his speech that's going to stay with the guests longest, so
Fred's got to make it as memorable as he can, and if that wasn't enough
…
… It's also
got to be the shortest part of his talk.
Another tall
order? You bet.
But now, you
should be seeing that with the right preparation - especially that
mission statement sentence Fred write earlier - things fall into place
much easier.
Let's move on
to the next track and find out how much easier.
TRACK 14:
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Like I said before,
Fred's got to make a maximum of three main points in the body of his
speech. He's going to make three sub-points to reinforce each main
point …
… so in
total, he's got to find nine ideas to support three main points.
And, according
to his mission statement sentence, those main points are:
Fred is giving
this speech because his job is on the line and he wants to keep it
… and …
What he wants
to say is that middle management is absolutely essential to the running
of the company
… and …
What he wants
them to go away remembering is that if the big boys there that night
get rid of middle management, the company goes down the tubes - taking
everybody with it, and the higher they are up the corporate ladder,
the harder they'll fall.
So from all the
notes he's written, Fred has to:
Find one point
to prove to his audience that middle management does a good job …
… another
to persuade them to change their view that middle management is redundant
these days …
… and …
… one final
point that tell them to go back to their offices afterwards and treat
their middle managers with more respect.
And he's got
to back up each of those points with three sub-points each. (Yeah,
yeah, we'll get to why three is such an ideal number shortly, OK?)
Checking through
his notes, Fred pulls out the best example of middle management doing
a good job, and finds three sub points to back up that example.
Then he finds
the best example of middle management not being a redundant concept
these days, and three sub-points to back it up.
And now he finds
the best way of telling everybody there to go back to work and treat
middle management with more respect with three final sub-points:
So now he's got
the basic framework together - the skeleton of his speech, if you
will, Fred can now flesh it out with the right words, make those words
more powerful and give his whole speech some real muscle.
Just how he's
going to do that is on the next track. See you there.
TRACK 15:
MAKING YOUR WORDS MORE POWERFUL
On this track,
we're going to look at a few tricks of the speechwriter's trade, including
- as I've promised before - why three is a magic number.
So first, let's
start with Repetition:
Repeating a word
in the middle of a sentence, like "We will never, never, never
surrender" hammers home the word "Never". You'll never,
never, never see anyone saying that and waving a white flag.
Repeating a phrase
at the beginning of sentences that follow each other stirs up emotions.
Try this, for example: "He said he would never surrender. He
said he didn't have a white flag … and he said that he'd never
wave that white flag." Just from the tone of those three sentences,
you know for a fact that whoever he was did what he said he wouldn't
do. And that the speaker's not happy with that.
Now, let's look
at Alliteration:
By slowing down
your speech and repeating words that start with the same sound, or
even syllable - there's a handy example for you - you draw attention
to those words … and the thought behind them.
How about …
Quotations? They're going to add weight to anything you say, as long
as they're in agreement with the point you're making. And the more
well-known the person you're quoting, the more authority you're going
to give the that point.
But then again,
if you're not certain everyone in the audience has heard of the person
you're quoting, it's safer to establish his credentials first, as
in "I'm going to read you an extract from a book called "Never
Surrender" by General Robert T Motors. For those of you who've
never heard of him, General Motors had an illustrious military career,
starting … blablabla …" … so everyone now knows
that the good general really knew what he was talking about.
Then there's
… Dialogue: The two armies faced each other across the battlefield.
General Hamed El Ektrik called on General Robert T Motors to surrender.
General Motors said he would never surrender. General El Ektrik then
said …. (yawn) Now, how can we liven that one up? Let's try:
The two armies
faced each other across the battlefield. "Surrender!" shouted
General El Ektrik. "Never!" replied General Motors, "We
will never, never, never surrender!"
A bit more dramatic,
eh?
But then again,
how's this? Let's add some details to that last sentence, and see
how well we can paint pictures in your listeners' minds.
"11:27am,
Sunday July 16th. The two huge armies face each other across the battlefield
in silence. All you can hear is the sighing of a gentle desert breeze.
All you can feel is the dry heat from the cloudless sky above, and
the bright white sand below … and the pre-battle dryness at the
back of your throat."
Any better?
And then, of
course, there's always … humor.
11:27am, Sunday July 16th. The two huge armies face each other across
the battlefield in silence. All you can hear is the sighing of a gentle
desert breeze. All you can feel is the dry heat from the cloudless
sky above, and the bright white sand below … and the pre-battle
dryness at the back of your throat.
"Surrender!"
shouts General El Ektrik. "Never!" replies General Motors,
"We will never, never, never surrender!"
Across the white
sand, soon to be soaked by blood shed by the brave, drifts another
voice:
"Hammi!
Robbie! You guys want some lemonade? It's in the kitchen for you!"
The two five-year-old
generals leap out of the sandpit, sending their toy soldiers flying,
and run to the kitchen - all thoughts of the Great Battle forgotten
in favor of a nice, cold drink.
OK, so that wasn't
hysterically funny, but it does give you some idea of how humor works
with repetition: the first time you say something, it sets up a pattern.
The second time the audience hears it, it reinforces that pattern.
Now, the third
time they start to hear it, there's two options:
The first is
if you're going to say exactly the same thing for a third and final
time, the pattern reinforces itself, adding momentum, energy and emotion
to those words, to hammer them home in the listener's mind - and that's
the Rule of Three, by the way - …
But then again,
if you start the third repetition and then add something that comes
right out of left field, like Mommy's voice drifting across the battlefield,
it completely interrupts the pattern you've already set up …
… and surprises
your audience so much that they've got to laugh to deal with that
surprise.
Now, if you are
gong to try and inject a little humor into your speech, for heaven's
sake be careful. Don't - for example - ever, ever ever tell the audience
first. Why? If you start of with "Well, here's something really
funny I heard the other day … " there goes the surprise
element, for a start.
And there's always
the chance that some people could find your concept of … erm
… "funny" kind of distasteful. It's a very personal
thing, humor, so use it with care.
TRACK 16:
REVISING YOUR SPEECH
You've seen it
on TV. You may even have heard it on radio. What? The wrong way to
give a speech: your favorite Member of Congress stands up, pulls out
his glasses and a folded sheet of paper, and reads it - word for word.
Ho hum. That's not a speech - that's just reading words. He doesn't
bring his personality into what he's saying, he can't make eye contact
with anyone, and besides, even if he could, they'd all be looking
at the sheet of paper he's holding anyway.
But that doesn't
mean you shouldn't write your speech out in full. You should. You
need to get the timing right, you need to put your manuscript away
for a couple of days and forget about it (if you've got the time)
and then, when you get back to it, you'll be reading it from the audience's
point of view.
Let's get back
to Fred, now. It's been a couple of days since he created the skeleton
of his speech, with a little bit of flesh and muscle on it.
The points he
wants to make are, once again:
One: Middle management
does a good job
Two: Middle management
is not a redundant concept these days
… and …
Three: When everybody
goes back to work, they should treat their middle managers with respect.
Mmm … Fred's
glad he's left it alone for a while. It's not that he's unhappy with
what he's originally written, but the past couple of days when he
wasn't thinking about his speech has given his subconscious time to
mull things over and now, when he looks at what he's written, he can
see how to do it better.
Now with a title like "Middle Management in the New Millennium"
he's still got the chance to say what he wants to say, but what happens
if he changes his point order? How much more powerful does this sound?
Try this:
One: We don't
have to throw something that's tried and tested out of the window
just because it's a new millennium.
Two: Tried and
tested? Yes - middle management is made up of people with years of
experience, who can talk to both senior and junior management - and
here are three benefits of that
Three: So if
you want to throw something out just because the year you write on
a check has changed a bit more than normal, you're making a big mistake,
and we know what happens to companies that make big mistakes.
Better?
And then, of
course, Fred has to hunt through his original notes to find three
different examples to back up each of those points. Not a problem
there - he's still got them to hand.
And, two hours
later at the word processor, Fred's written a speech with … I
was going to say balls, but, you might find that offensive, so I won't.
He's done the
word count. Remember, Fred's got ten minutes to make his speech. And
at an average of 120 words a minute, that's twelve hundred words he
can use to put his point across. And with one minute for a killer
opening to grab his audience's … minds hard, and another minute
right at the end to give their … minds one final, effective twist,
he's got a thousand words - and eight minutes to give them a good,
long hard squeeze.
But Fred 's discovered
he needs less than those thousand words for the body of his speech.
Does he try and find another hundred words? Does he, heck. Short and
sharp is the order of the day. And that's much more memorable that
someone who goes over his speaking time, leaving the organizers looking
at their watches and everyone else there staring into their drinks.
And now, Fred's
going to take the whole of that short, sharp speech, and transfer
it from his wordprocessor to six-inch by four-inch cards. Small enough
to fit in his pocket. Small enough to stay out of sight of the audience
when he's up there in front of them …
… but big
enough for him to read what on them.
And what's on
them?
On each card,
there's one single main heading. In big writing. It's one of the points
Fred's going to make. Underneath are the three sub-points and examples
Fred needs to back it up.
Fred isn't going
to read out loud from them. No way. He's going to use them as reminders
of what to say, so he can say it - and I'm going to emphasize this
- in … his … own … words. He's not going to be reading
from a script. He's going to be speaking from his heart.
Fred numbers
those cards, so they'll be in order on the big night. And, just in
case he loses one set, he makes up an identical set - as they say
in Ireland - to be sure, to be sure.
And now, using
those cards, he starts to rehearse his speech. Let's see how he does
that on the next track.
TRACK
17: REHEARSING YOUR SPEECH (AND DELIVERY TECHNIQUES)
It's Monday night.
Five days to go before Fred's big speech. His wife is out again, his
dinner's still in the oven, and, as for the kids once more, who knows?
Fred's not worried about any of that. In fact, Fred's not worried
at all - he's happy there's nobody at home, because he's standing
in front of a cassette recorder, checking his note cards, and rehearsing,
rehearsing, rehearsing.
He's playing
with his speech. Trying out different intonations, putting emphasis
on different parts, using his voice like he's never used it before
…
… and then
listening to himself.
It doesn't sound
like his voice on tape. It never does when you're listening to yourself.
And it doesn't sound like Fred speaking normally. And it sure doesn't
sound like he's reading from a script.
Why not?
Fred's using
techniques that public speakers use all the time.
First off, he's
using … the pause. It focuses everybody's attention on what comes
next. Lemme read that back again: first off, he's using … the
pause. See how you find yourself waiting during that pause?
[Silence for
a couple of seconds]
Pausing also
gives an audience time to take in what you've just said, as well.
See what I mean?
And, while we're
still on the subject, what makes you sound better to your listeners?
Lots of "umms", loads of "errs" and many, many
"y'knows" … or just a couple of seconds of silence
before you start speaking again?
Because Fred's
checked out the layout at the Hilton, he knows there's going to be
a microphone to speak into there. So he knows he's going to move it
away from his face and speak over it - across the top, not into it.
What he also
knows is that if you're going to start raising your voice to make
a point, it's going to distort, so if he needs to speak louder, he's
going to have to pull away from it.
And if he's going
to emphasize a point by lowering his voice, he's going to slow down
his speaking speed and get close to the mike to compensate.
He's talking
as he would to just one other person - a friendly sort of conversation,
one from the heart …
… and that's
just the kind of tone he's going to use on Saturday night.
Let's fast-forward
to Saturday afternoon on the next track. See you there ...
TRACK
18: THE BIG DAY: ARRIVING AT THE VENUE
It's five-thirty
now. Fred's speech is timetabled for nine-twenty. He's just finished
filling up his gas tank, and checking his tires, air and water. The
car's ready, but he's packed timetables for alternative means of transport
like planes, trains and buses, just in case.
His best suit
came back from the cleaners yesterday, and is packed flat in the boot,
with his shirt, tie, belt and a pair of his best shoes.
His cellphone's
charged up to the max. He's got water for the trip and a light snack
for the break he's going to take halfway through, because he's not
going to arrive tired and frazzled. He's got two copies of his note
cards on the passenger seat, next to him, together with the security
pass he needs.
His booking for
tonight at the Holiday Inn is confirmed.
There's nothing
else for Fred to worry about, so now all he has to do is get to the
Hilton. And now is the right time to start off.
Let's cut to
eight o'clock, as Fred pulls calmly up to the parking lot behind the
hotel, as close as he can to the back entrance. A guy in a blue suit
runs round from the front of the building and bangs his briefcase
on the corner. It flies open, spewing pages and pages of what looks
like typewritten script.
Blue suit guy
glances at his watch before running frantically round collecting those
pages - all except for one, that floats leisurely upwards, away across
the parking lot and over the headlights on the busy road beyond.
Fred stretches
contentedly, and wiggles his toes in his comfortable driving shoes.
Blue suit guy
slams his briefcase shut three times before he can lock it, and runs
towards the back entrance, where he's stopped by a security guard.
Fred picks up the two sets of note cards, pockets them and opens up
the boot. He can hear shouting in the distance.
Something about
a pass?
As Fred nods
a casual greeting to the security guard and holds out his pass, Blue
Suit Guy is yelling frantically into his cellphone. He doesn't seem
to care that whoever it is is in the middle of dinner. As Fred gets
waved through, the words "a speech in two minutes" echoes
down the corridor behind him.
Now he's at the
venue, the first thing Fred should do is let Miss Fox know he's arrived
for two reasons. One, it means there's one less thing for her to worry
about, and two, she can tell him about any unexpected change of plans.
But instead of
being pleased to see him, Miss Fox just puts a beautifully-manicured
hand over her cellphone and nods him towards the waiting lounge before
resuming what appears to be a somewhat heated conversation.
'S'funny, when
this whole speech business started, Fred thought that he'd be quaking
in his best shoes right now. But he's not. He's had a relaxed drive,
a break halfway through - when he looked over his note cards once
more, even though he knows them off by heart - but Fred's not bothered.
He's got well over an hour to change into his suit, wait in the wings
and then - once those butterflies in his stomach settle down - go
out there and sock it to 'em.
He's not even
worried about those butterflies. He knows that even professional speakers
get them just before standing up to speak. In fact, they're more worried
if they don't get them.
He's followed
the "6P" rule to the letter - Proper Preparation Prevents
Pretty Poor Performance.
Fred has prepared
properly.
Now all he has
to do is give that speech. Let's follow him to the next track to see
how he does.
TRACK
19: JUST BEFORE YOU SPEAK
It's eight o'clock.
Twenty minutes to go. A round of applause comes from the Grand Ballroom.
In the offstage lounge, Fred looks up from his newspaper to see Miss
Fox standing in front of him, looking a little agitated.
"Beautiful
nails, there, Miss Fox," says Fred.
"Thank you
- I've been working on them for the past two weeks. Fred, we have
a problem. We're going to have to move you up one on the speaker list,
so that means you're next. In fact, I need you on right now. If that's
an issue, I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice."
Fred calmly folds
up his paper, stands up, straightens his tie and - stopping only to
pick up a glass of water - heads for the stage. He's not particularly
thirsty, he just needs that water in case his throat dries up while
he's speaking. It's also a great cover in case he loses his way through
those note cards he's taking with him - he can pretend to take a drink
with one hand, find his way again with the other … and nobody
there is going to be any the wiser.
On his way to
the stage, he's breathing deeply. Doing that for more than thirty
seconds increases the oxygen in his blood, and calms him down.
He's confident,
but not overconfident. He's prepared for pretty well any eventuality
…
… except
the introduction, that runs sort of like this:
Ladies and gentlemen,
we have a change in the program. Due to circumstances beyond our control,
we're going to have to bring forward our, erm, "comedy act"
by a few minutes, so let's have a big hand for "Middle Management
in the New Millennium" … Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Fred …
Estermeyer!
During this introduction,
Fred looks out at the audience and forces the brightest smile he possibly
can. And it's a genuine smile. Two thousand people is a lot of people
looking at you. Fred counters by looking back out at them all, making
eye contact when he can …
and that lessens the feeling of standing out there all exposed.
He walks slowly
- and as confidently as he can - to the lectern, where he pulls out
his note cards. He knows exactly what he's going to say and, after
an introduction like that, he knows that he's guessed right, because
the clues were all there, right from the start.
There was:
The current
restructuring going on at TransGlobal Widgets
The guest list
The time he's
been allocated to speak
Where he is
in the running order
The fact that
he's not even been invited to the dinner itself
The fact that
any expenses are coming out of his own pocket …
Fred waits for
the laughter to die down, takes a sip from his water, and begins,
standing as tall as he's ever stood in his life.
And when he finishes
his speech to applause and walks towards the edge of the stage, where
he can see Blue Suit Guy still shuffling frantically through his typewritten
speech script, Fred is walking even taller.
TRACK
20: IN CLOSING
Now, what I'm
going to ask you to do is go to the web page that accompanies this
program.
There, you're
going to find a transcript of the speech Fred gave, complete with
notes referring back to what we've just been through together.
You're also going
to find subjects we haven't had time to go into here in detail …
and much, much more to help you write and deliver the kind of speech
that everyone's going to remember for years to come …
… for all
the right reasons.
This is [Narrator's
name], thanking you for listening to "Public Speaking",
and I hope to be talking to you soon on another Drive2Learn program.
Remember: Drive
Smart …Drive to learn.
END