Stop public speaking now!

Okay, I’ll admit it, I wanted a title that would grab some attention. My energy is low. I’m feeling frustrated by the political situation here in Thailand.  Deeply divided sides unwilling to communicate.  One of my favourite Speaking Energy phrases: “Communication can start wars and end wars.” Sadly Thailand appears to be building towards the former. Let’s hope I’m wrong. Very wrong.

What is this political upheaval doing to me personally? My energy is low and I have 2 very big presentations next week that I have to get on a plane and fly to in Phuket.  Is this going to be a problem? Will I be able to deliver a memorable speech? Do I have to be “on” in order to connect to my audience?

This is how I prepare for a presentation or speech when my energy is low. This is how I’ll prepare for Phuket. The first thing I always do when my energy — my mood — is impacted by some negative external forces, is to literally say to myself, “Stop!”  Stop the chatter, stop dragging myself down with the frustration I’m feeling.  I then assess how I can use my current emotional state in order to connect to my audience in a genuine way.  Audiences can instinctively feel when something is wrong.  When the speaker is trying to fake their way through something. Fake your emotions and they see it right away.  By “coming clean” with them immediately (maybe the first sentence), telling them that “this is what is bothering me right now” they immediately connect to the “real you.”   From there you’ll have listeners.

The situation in Thailand may or may not get worse by next week. But what I’ve experienced over the last few days is now part of my emotional experience.  If I choose to bring it up, I will be introducing a “speaker’s tone” that is real to me.  I’ve also got a lot of stories and observations from this week that I could bring up — many of which are related to my favourite subject, “human communications.” 

Stop public speaking now…but start HUMAN SPEAKING NOW! Far more effective.

Humans always (should) acknowledge their genuine side. Audiences always (without exception) applaud the genuine side.

Speaking Energy…pass it on. Find the human connection.

See you in Phuket.

A public speaker’s responsibility: inspire curiosity in your audience

When I read the news of Jaime Escalante’s death today http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8596047.stm, I was (once again) reminded of what every public speaker must be aware of:  inspire curiosity in your audience.

Jaime Escalante was a Bolivian immigrant who completely changed a very tough high school in Los Angeles.  Did he do it with fear and intimidation? Lots of rules and regulations? Anger?

No to all of the above (thankfully).  He did it by inspiring his students — inspiring his “audience.”   He motivated struggling, unmotivated kids to believe in their ability to excel at math and science.   Mr. Escalante’s story didn’t just inspire his students, it inspired a movie about his life.  Everyone loves a great story! Sadly, today the world has lost a gifted teacher.

Whether you are a teacher, a lawyer, a manager, a CEO, a parent…all of us can be like Jaime Escalante.   If you are communicating with an audience — be it one person or one thousand — you have a responsibility.  At my Speaking Energy workshops one of my biggest coaching “tips” to my clients is, “inspiring communications curiosity.”  If I inspire my clients to be more curious about how they approach communications, then I feel my work is making an impact.  

What is curiosity?  It’s a lot of things:  enthusiasm, questions, energy, human connection, motivation, on and on. Curiosity allows us to be different. To do things differently…and to have fun doing it.  Public speaking should always be different.  If you’re curious you will always want to be different. If you’re different, you’re memorable. When you’re memorable the audience is less distracted. Their eyes leave the BlackBerry…listening starts to happen. Suddenly everyone becomes more curious. 

Even the “difficult audiences” want to be inspired.  Mr. Escalante proved that!  The results he generated speak for themselves.  The best “teachers” are always the people who make their students/staff/employees/partners/etc. curious to learn more.

Don’t ignore your responsiblity to inspire curiosity. Especially when it comes to communications.

Speaking Energy…pass it on.

Lessons learned from 3 public speaking workshops in Asia

Jakarta. A city that always shakes up my energy.  I was looking forward to welcoming President Obama to my Speaking Energy workshop last week. Too bad he had to cancel

From the 3 Speaking Energy workshops I completed last week I took away one big lesson for myself:   focus on “closing the gaps.”

1. Gap between curiosity and fear.  2. Gap between 10 and 100%. 3. Gap between speaker and audience.

I touched upon this quite a bit throughout each one-day session (different audiences each day) but speaker fear and speaker expectations of themselves (“I have to be a certain way”) is not so easily overcome.

The 10 to 100% gap is the gap between remembering 10% of a what a speaker said in an average 20 minute presentation versus 100%. We’ll never get to 100%…but most are stuck at 10%. What happened to the other 90?  A speaker does not close the gap when they are speaking to lots of slides, sticking their head in notes and written text, etc.  They also do themselves no favours when they stand (or sit) and say, “Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule, I’m happy to be here.”  Oh yeah? Why are you happy? Tell us…or make it different…otherwise that ‘thanks for coming’ will sound like a memorized line. No one likes memorized speech. Not even you the speaker — yet many still do it.   Thus the gap gets wider. The barrier between speaker and audience even bigger.

Public speaking should never be “me vs. you.”   The audience wants the speaker to connect to them.  The audience wants to have their energy shaken up by experiencing something they didn’t expect.   I have yet to experience an audience who wants the standard presentation. Everyone loves different. Everyone responds well to different.  Close the gaps.  Being different brings you closer to others (perhaps one of the few situations in life that does. We live in a pretty fixed world where status quo is rarely shaken).

What’s different?  Simply saying “I have no slides today…but I do have 2 stories…” can establish your “difference.”

The gap between curiosity and fear.  We were curious as kids but over-time we became fearful as adults. Why?  Bad experience? Improper coaching? Angry boss?  All the above?

If we shrink the curiosity-fear gap, fear quickly becomes “challenge.”   And challenge is what we face all the time.  As a communications professional my job is to inspire all of my clients to become much more curious about public speaking. To take on the challenges of making it a much more rewarding part of their lives. Yes it’s challenging. But anything that’s worthwhile in life always is, right?

More workshops next week here in Jakarta. I’m learning to shrink the gaps by communicating the gaps.  I love that challenge.  And I will continue to take it on.

Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally! On Amazon in a week.  Feedback from readers has already been very encouraging. Thanks to all of you who have reached out by email.

All the best…Bjorn

8 speaking engagements coming up: here is how I prepare

I’ve been on the road a lot lately throughout Asia meeting with different companies and individuals about my communications coaching and my 2 new books.  I love the diversity of all these meetings.  Endless insights gained.

The next few weeks will see me doing several communications workshops around the region. A lot to prepare. I am often asked ‘how I prepare?’ I will attempt to give you the brief story right here. It’s not very complicated.

First of all, I know that no 2 speaking sessions/workshops/seminars/etc. are ever exactly alike.  So the first step in my preparation process is one of excitement.  I know that I will never be bored.  If I’m bored about what I’m going to present or discuss, my audience will definitely be bored as well! Boredom is contagious. This is also true for small meetings.  When I discuss my work, my clients always bring up their “issues” as part of this discussion. Communications is not an exact science. We are allowed to explore new territory with every question and issue that’s raised. 

This brings me to my second point of preparation. Every single one of us is able to do things differently every single day.  I like to apply “different methods” of training and coaching.  Why? Because I have to.  I prepare for the fact that in front of me will be different humans on different days.  And humans always surprise me! Even if my workshops are multi-day sessions where the attendees never change, I still have to be prepared for “different.”  The energy that they bring changes from day-to-day. Sometimes it’s through my teaching, sometimes it’s through a change in mood that they have (lack of sleep the night before?)  Same people, but new day. Again, I know I won’t be bored — guaranteed.

Finally, I go crazy with pen and paper. I start drawing out diagrams, notes, ideas, thoughts…anything that comes to mind. Almost a “mind map” (the popular phrase). This is the basic structure that I work from.  But because my workshops and speeches are so fluid and so dependent on being able to adjust according to audience energy and reaction, I know that the structure will never be followed to the letter.  This might scare some of you who need structure. But my response to that is, if you see your audience is not responding to what you are discussing, why would you want to continue in the same manner? You’ll have to change simply because you’ll need to change in order to connect. 

Putting all of these preparation elements together, I am ready for an inspiring presentation, speech, workshop…

Preparation is unique to everyone. Explore and experiment. Find out what works best for you by being a little bit different every time you try.  Variety is the spice of life, right?

See you soon.

3 types of sales people, billions of types of public speakers

In my meetings last week, a large multinational banking client wanted to discuss the “3 types of sales people” in their office: the diligent-look-at-all-details-before-deciding person; the “make the hard call” very decisive person; and the relationship, build friendships person.

We discussed the strengths and (perceived) shortcomings of each, eventually expanding our discussion to how these traits apply to sales presentations for existing and prospective clients.  What happens in a public speaking setting, my client asked?

Sales communications — live ‘public speaking environments’ — are the places where natural speaking style is most important. I’ve written a lot about this in my blog entries.  Too often sales people are asked to “speak like the company not like the individual.” When this happens, the speaker gets “locked up” and the only thing we see coming through in the presentation is something that I like to call, “speaker confusion.”  The energy drops, the speaker disconnects, the eyes turn to notes or slides…on and on. Audiences react to this in one way: by shutting down.  They stop listening. Now the energy in the room is really low. If not entirely empty!

So back to my client’s point about “3 types of sales people.”   If the company understands “who is like what” then they need to continue to encourage this style — strengthen it, give it more opportunities to develop — so that each sales person (and any other employee for that matter) clearly understands that individual strengths are accepted in the corporation. That heightened scenarios can be created — more opportunities to speak in public, for example — so that me, the individual, can shine through on behalf of the company.

I have never seen 2 public speakers who are exactly alike.  Never. We may have some of the same “selling styles” (as my client observes) but once we are given the chance to speak, to present, to connect to an audience, the natural styles we project are all going to be different.  3 types of sales people, 3 billion types of public speakers!  (Or more). Honour that individual trait and you will definitely get the most out of your employees, managers and yourself.

My book, Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally!  In stores next week. Kindle and Amazon by month end.  And, as always, I look forward to your emails and questions.  Have a great week!

The 90 Second Public Speaker

I get a lot of requests from my global clients on helping them with the “90 second pitch.”  The other day I had a long talk with an analyst at a very large international brokerage house about telling “the 90 second story over a global conference call.”

The 90 Second Public Speaker (which, FYI, is also the title of my next book for release later this year), is a very challenging exercise — made even more difficult thanks to the rather “inhuman nature” of the conference call (and no, the video options don’t help that much either).  This analyst wanted help with getting the point across in just 90 seconds — knowing that people are distracted at every end of the phone line.

This is what I recommended (in no exact order):

– Announce the number of points you have to make right away. No more than 2.

– Use 3 words to describe your points that inspire and energize you. If you don’t get inspired by those words, who will?

–  Use those 3 chosen words at the end (perhaps as a summary or conclusion).

Example:  “From my extensive research last week I want to focus on 2 key topics that are most relevant to our global team.  Diversity, risk and adjustment are the 3 key things to think about. Diversity in the portfolio, risk in the current climate, adjustment to reflect the firm’s global vision…”

People who don’t listen well — or who are very distracted — like when they clearly know the direction you are going. “Only 2 points” is reassuring and concise. 3 key words are both engaging and informative. Those words (my random examples above) require much more discussion…but you have to get them listening first. Also, by stating that you want to focus on certain areas, you are declaring that you have given a lot of thought to where you are going. You may only have 90 seconds now, but you’ll get much more time with your audience later simply because you’ve built the trust over 90 seconds.

– Be bold and be brave in how you verbalize your points. Pause between each word (even for a second — as valuable as those seconds are in a 90 second pitch).

Sales pitches are another example of a very human practice.  If you drone away like a robot you will get inhuman and robot right back (not listening, shutdown, not interested…next!).

The 90 second speaker is someone who makes smart, human 90 second decisions. If you’re inspired by what you have to say, others will (generally) be inspired too. Make it concise and make the best parts count: The Speaking Energy 2 points, 3 words approach.

February 10, 2010, Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally! will be released.

Stay tuned for news about Kindle and Amazon release.

Praise for the book from MIT researcher, Grant McCracken:

“Vivid, human, interesting, well and clearly written…will make each of us a better communicator and the corporation a happier, more efficient place. I recommend it with enthusiasm.” 

      Dr. Grant McCracken, MIT; Author, Chief Culture Officer,  a BusinessWeek best of 2009.

Human Enthusiasm Marketing: the new word-of-mouth

More and more the old saying comes up, “We buy from the person, not the company.”  It’s almost a cliché – only because it’s true.  When a friend of ours says, “You have to go see X or Y…it’s fantastic!”  We react to that. What are we getting excited by more, the X that they recommend we go see/do or the enthusiasm in our friend’s recommendation?  I think it’s the latter. We trust that enthusiastic recommendation, we connect to it…and off we go to have our own experience with it. But when we get there we are working off the ‘energy of the recommendation’. A big step forward in the right direction.  Yes, perhaps we might not ‘like it’ as much, but at least we are inspired enough to go have a look.  The standard phrase is word-of-mouth marketing. I think that this is not a strong enough phrase. It doesn’t articulate what motivated us into action: ‘trust’, ‘enthusiasm’, ‘energy’, ‘human connection’, etc.  Thus, here is a phrase I came up with, one that I think has more impact, more meaning.

 “Human enthusiasm marketing”. 

 Individual enthusiasm builds collective enthusiasm. This then “creates waves”.  I am all about taking this phrase – one seen as a “negative” – and turning it into a positive: “Don’t create waves!”  I say, “Do create waves!”.  As we all know, the ocean is a force of potentially huge energy. Waves can move things forward. Surfers certainly know that. When you communicate enthusiasm and genuinely positive feedback you are creating a wave of energy that others can “catch”.  The carry on effect is large and others are keen to participate. 

It just takes one to start the wave.   Employees want to contribute their “human enthusiasm”.  Doing so gives much more meaning to the job. But they have to find things to get enthusiastic about. Hiring people, bringing them into the organization, is just the first step.  Getting them to “work” should be easy (though, yes, not always).  The “enthusiasm of a paycheque” only goes so far. They want to contribute and they want acknowledgment that their contributions are appreciated.  This is the “wave” that the company can create. It’s a company’s responsibility to make internal communications an important part of the overall company strategy.  Strong internal communications results in strong external communications. In other words, you’ve created enthusiastic employees who will participate in “human enthusiasm marketing.” They’re proud to represent the brand. 

Go ahead, “make waves” that others will be excited to catch. We buy from the person, not the company.

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February 9, 2010. Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally! will be released. The first book in a series of books on “human communications” that I have planned. For more information on the book and related workshops that can be tailored to the communications needs of your company, please email me .

The credible public speaker

I attended a book launch this week and was listed as one of the speakers.  Before the event began, one of the other speakers came to me and said, “I don’t know why I’m speaking, I have no credibility with this audience.”

What is credibility? Is this some magical level we attain when people “know us” or trust us? Can a speaker be written off as not credible before they speak? In my brief conversation with this stressed speaker I focused on one key point: the speaker’s personal history.  They deserved to be there because they brought some unique experiences that any audience would find interesting.  The focus of their speech, I advised, should be on one or two things that the audience might not know about them. Not boastful points or things to “prove their worth”, but a personal story or anecdote that would surprise the audience — make them react.  I concluded by saying that any speaker that day would need to do “something different” in order to engage the audience.  In public speaking, human connection is not about seeking credibility, it’s about connecting your experience and energy to those present in front of you. They are prepared for “different”, they want different.  Nothing is more boring than 4 speakers who all say the same thing.  The one who thought they didn’t have credibility was definitely not going to be the same as the others. 

When the speeches were complete there was no mention of credibility. But there was plenty of talk about what energized the audience. And in each and every case it was those points that stood out as different.  The personal stories, the personal histories, in particular.  The one who really stood out was the speaker who didn’t think they “deserved” to be there.  

If you think that you aren’t deserving of your next speaking opportunity, think again.  This is your chance to really get up there and be different, be inspiring.  Remember, everyone is ready for “different”.  That you can deliver.

The full-body scan of public speaking

I experienced the new reality of airport security yesterday.  I won’t say which airport I was in — but does it matter?  The term “full-body scan” has already topped the Google charts (even in various misspelt incarnations).  It’s a worldwide reality. As I stood and wondered what they might be looking at — besides my vital organs — I thought about what many of my clients have told me about their public speaking fears: “I hate being stared at.”  Which was then cross-pollinated with: “All those eyes, judging me.”

Standing for the judges strikes a vulnerable pose.  What will they say? What will they think of me?  Fortunately there are no x-ray eyes upon you the speaker so you can stand up (or sit) and be yourself.  Hands in the air if you’ve ever heard someone advise a public speaker to, “pretend the audience is naked”?   This, they say, will help reduce nerves.  Not sure about you, but I wouldn’t feel very comfortable speaking to a room full of naked people.  Pretty distracting.  Ask your audience to keep their clothes on and scan the room for listeners.  It only takes one.  Connect to one.  That energy can change the course of your presentation.  No guarantees there will be one (or any), of course.  Finding that (making that one happen) is your responsibility. 

Like security technology making airports a bit more unpredictable (eg. slow),  so too is personal technology making the public speaking experience a bit more unpredictable.  Those Smartphone toting audiences sure are a fickle bunch. Doesn’t take much for them to stare at a tiny screen and not you the speaker.  The Blackberry reality is here to stay.  Do we dread that we have to contend with these “slow downs” or do we become more observant and understanding of the issues and then try to respond accordingly? 

The Smartphone has become the audience crutch.  ”I’ll look at it if the speaker is boring. It’s a perfect distraction,” an executive told me last week, waving his BlackBerry in the air.  Many speakers, it can be argued, are giving their audience no choice but to turn to the BlackBerry. Boredom: our #1 fear.  Smartphones, the cure for boredom.  It’s payback time. So are audiences fickle or human? 

What has been the speaker’s crutch for many years?  Yup, PowerPoint.  We speakers have hidden behind PowerPoint for decades.  We have created the boredom factor time and time again. BlackBerry, etc, is forcing us to step away and be human…Finally! So go ahead, talk to the audience, have a conversation, tell a story – without the barricade known as ppt slides.  It’s the full-body scan of public speaking!

My new book, Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally! is getting the endorsement of some prominent communicators. A great way to start the new decade.  Stay tuned for news of the book’s release in February.

Have a great week ahead.

The ballet of public speaking

I had the privilege of attending the famous holiday ballet, “The Nutcracker” in New York yesterday. A performance worth seeing.  And like many performances that I attend, I found a lot of similarities between this performance — the ballet — and ’human communications’ / public speaking.

This particular “version” of The Nutcracker was choreographed by the late George Blanchine.  Reading the presentation liner notes I found some interesting quotes from Mr. Blanchine:  “Ballet takes our natural impulse to move, to make signs, to make ourselves attractive and graceful as possible and turns it into something entirely different.”

Public speaking is ‘human performance’.  We (most of us anyway) want to be attractive and graceful (and confident and well liked, etc) when we speak to a group — particularly in a work situation. But, like Blanchine’s ballet, we need to understand that the most ‘graceful’ public speakers are those that turn every speaking opportunity into something different.  Their ‘attraction’ is dependent on their ability to give the audience something they did not expect. They turn speaking into a memorable ‘event’ (a conversation rather than a performance). The Nutcracker has several different versions.  I’ve seen it three times and every time I’m surprised.

Blanchine went on to say that ballet takes its roots from “everyday life” and that what it takes from life “it transforms.”

Ballet is entertainment. Public speaking is not entertainment — though of course it can be sometimes.  The best speakers /communicators /managers / leaders are those that can take “everyday life and transform it” just as the ballet does. Not to entertain, but to connect real life situations to the listener/observer.  Human connection.  When we are connecting on a human level we are memorable and yes, okay, possibly even entertaining.

Ballet is an art. I am hesitant to call public speaking an art…but there are similarities.  When you’re the speaker, you’re the artist. Take whatever inspiration you need and communicate that to your audience (stories, anecdotes, observations…) But, like any art, the results (how it’s received) are subjective.  Don’t worry about that. Just make your ‘art’ human.  The audience will appreciate it.

Enjoy the rest of your pre-New Year season. We’re building towards new energy for the new decade.

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Thanks for your emails. I’m happy to respond to all of them that I receive.