Here’s an interesting series of comments and informative views that were posted recently to the National Speakers Association (NSA) Facebook Page when a speaker asked “Do you think stories are overrated in presentations and audiences are starting to see through them as manipulation tactics…?” The responses clearly show why professional speakers use stories in their speeches. The comments are filled with useful tips and tricks on the most effective ways to use stories in a speech. The names of the contributors have been removed.

1. I would say a story is to help connect with the audience…to help them relate to the message…but it would depend on the message and how the story is presented.
2. It’s like the whole salt metaphor. Any element of a speech if used too much can ultimately spoil a dish, but when used right it actually brings out the best favors of the other elements. I know that’s an overused metaphor, but I think we sometimes focus too much on one element of speaking. Stories… PowerPoint… Hand gestures…. Humor… Music… Etc rather than thinking about how all the ingredients play together and for what purpose.
3. Stories are the cornerstone to creating a memorable message long after the presentation is over. Presentation is key – if your audience can “feel” your story, you have succeeded.
4. I think that a speaker who does not use stories will more than likely lose the interest of their audience. Stories done properly are powerful tools. Just look at how much of the Bible is based on stories being told and it is still selling well.
5. Two things are key: Relevance: Is the story relevant to the present time, historically. Make modifications to make it relevant. Relationship: What is the speaker’s relationship to the story. If there is no meaningful reason to choose to tell a certain story, don’t tell it.
6. To me the key is authenticity! If it is yours, and it is true and it makes a point integral to the learning experience of the audience then stories can be powerful! Tell someone else’s story as if it is your own … you are asking for trouble!
7. Stories are the fingerprint to your platform. I can think of no other single element that differentiates you from others. For me, the ability to connect and be authentic is directly attributable to my ability to be conversational through sharing my story. Without stories, I think we run the risk of being viewed as a talking head – full of facts, figures and other researched data. Stories personalize the message. I have always been of the mind that the audience wants conversation. Stories are what most conversations are all about. I don’t believe they are overrated at all. I suppose if they were, TED talks would not be so popular. I do, however, believe the audience can tell the difference between a well-delivered story by a trained professional – versus a poorly delivered story trying to be disguised as something relevant.
8. One it the founders of NSA often told me it is easier to change audiences than to change speeches. He was one of the best platform speakers I have ever known and he had but one speech. It was all original material and he did it so well the people would come to hear him time and again just because of his manner and the info given. My suggestion is that when you create something, just do two things. First put the time into being as professional as possible and then don’t get tired of your material because you have heard it before. Remember, we are there not to please ourselves, although if we do it right we will, but rather to add value to the lives of those we touch. Second, remember that to a new audience the information you are sharing is the first time they have heard it from you and no matter the number times you have given it, don’t let them down by failing to deliver it with the excitement you gave the first audience that heard it.
9. The audience connects more with stories than with facts and figures. Tying the two together to create an actionable takeaway makes the tales worthwhile.
10. People love stories… if you’re a good story teller. If you’re not a good story teller, then it seems like you went off on a tangent and just talking about yourself. When speakers are also great story tellers it enhances the speech. However, there is a type of story that is overdone and that is the “personal struggle to triumph” story. Seems like every speaker wants to start off with this “I was in a horrible situation and got out of it and need to speak now to tell you all about it” approach. Most of these situations aren’t relevant to the audience, and might even seem that bad (i.e. “I was living in a studio apartment…” Yeah, we all did at one point … but I’m here to learn XYZ). Whenever I tell a story or make an analogy I try to tie it in as closly as possible to the point I’m making so people stay with me and it makes sense.

photo credit: digitalrob70 via photopin cc

Nice to see that one of my favorite authorities on public speaking has a new bi-monthly column in the Financial Times.

Sam Leith, the author of the critically acclaimed You Talkin’ to Me? launched his Public Speaking column in today’s FT by discussing the importance establishing the trustworthiness of a presenter. This is known as ‘ethos’.

His comments on the “he said/she said” testimony by the editor of The Guardian (pictured) in front of British MPs last week illustrates how trust and respect is uppermost in an audience’s mind when there is an “absence of a decisive open appeal to the facts”. Since the topic was the leaking of classified information by international fugitive Edward Snowden and the freedom of the press to publish this, it pits the word of editor on one side and that of the spymasters on the other:

The territory under contention is trust: should we trust a respectable newspaper against a rogue security establishment, or a respectable security establishment against a rogue newspaper?

Trust me

The art of persuasion involves being seen as trustworthy by an audience. Lose that, and they won’t buy a used car, or your argument, from you.

It’s interesting to consider how the concept of trustworthiness functions in different times and places. In the 1960’s young people were encouraged to “never trust anyone over 30”, until they themselves reached that age. The poor and disenfranchised often distrust the words of the rich and powerful. Different races and ethnic groups distrust others. A man’s word is his bond, until it isn’t. Popular figures one year command standing ovations when they speak, only to be scapegoated off the stage and out of sight the next. Modern corporations, and the North Korean political establishment, are petri dishes for this eternal game of hero worship transforming into a blame game.

I’m looking forward to more insight into the nuances of rhetoric from Mr. Leith in future columns.

The Northern California Chapter of the National Speakers Association has been running an Academy for emerging speakers since 2005. The Speakers Academy (originally called Pro-Track) has graduated over 300 speakers from the year-long training program. Since 2007 I have interviewed over 45 graduates and posted their information and the accompanying podcasts to this blog.

I recently contacted some of the graduates to ask them how their careers as professional speakers have progressed since they took the training.

Gary Karp

Gary graduated from the Academy in 2007. My original interview with him listed his already impressive credentials as an internationally recognized author, keynote speaker, trainer, and facilitator.

In the last year alone he has spoken at many premier venues including Microsoft, Starbucks, the Mayo Clinic, Boeing, the Scottsdale Human Relations Commission, Genentech, County of San Diego, the University of New Mexico and the University of Minnesota.

Gary says that he values those moments during a talk “when I can see and feel the emotional connection, when I know I’m not only communicating but touching something authentic in someone. I see it in their engaged focus, in the gentle nodding of someone’s head, in their laughter. Those are the moments that make this worthwhile, the moments I work for.”

Gary acknowledges the profound impact the Academy had on his career as a professional speaker:

I got down to business following my Pro-Track experience. I’d been speaking, and I had work, but I had not adopted the business mindset I needed to get my business to the next level. I learned a great deal that was practical, about things that needed to be done. But the real beauty of the experience was a deeper, core attitude about my speaking as a true profession that required an elevated level of focus and business thinking. Being primarily a creative person, I’ll always have to work harder at those, but the priorities are now indelibly part of my awareness, and I could not be more appreciative of how Pro-Track met that need — nor of the dear friends I made in the process.

Frauke Schorr, PhD

Frauke joined the NSA Speakers Academy in 2010 when she was building her corporate training and executive development company, the Centered Leadership Institute. Her company provides High Performance Coaching, Workshops, Seminars and Leadership Retreats customized to client needs.

As someone who has interviewed leading business people in Silicon Valley and throughout the world and uncovered patterns of thinking common to successful entrepreneurs, she appreciates the boost that the Academy gave her:

The Speakers Academy is run by accomplished NSA speakers who generously volunteer their expertise and time to those attending the program. I found immense value in the practical insights and resources around building a credible speaking practice such as defining your brand, effectively booking speaking engagements, and defining the audience you are meant to speak to.

With a supportive community of like-minded peers, I found myself highly encouraged to increase my speaking engagements from the get go. By the end of the year, I had spoken in well over 50 venues with audiences ranging from 10-100+ participants. I was impressed by the generous support offered by seasoned NSA speakers throughout the year. Many good things have developed from my participation in the Speakers Academy. I have joined NSA Northern California Chapter and serve on the Board as a way to contribute to this great community. I have booked speaking engagements as a result of being listed on the NSA website.

Wendy Hanson

I met Wendy when she enrolled in the 2011 Academy class and since then we’ve got to know each other as fellow NSA/NC Board members. She was already a member of the National Speakers Association when she enrolled in the Academy training program and since then has continued to grow her speaking business.

She’s recently spoken at the AIPSO Leadership Series, Johnston RI; Leading Women, Warwick, RI; HRMRI-Human Resources Professional in RI and MA where she led a discussion on International differences with college students and HR Professionals; and the East Bay Women’s Network, Alameda, CA. She also co-leads a wine tasting and leadership discussion for a world-wide consulting company at their high end marketing events.

Wendy also produces the highly-regarded weekly radio show It’s All in the BRA: BUSINESS-REVENUE-ASSETS where she is joined by fabulous guests to talk about business, leadership and innovation from a woman’s perspective. The show airs live online every Monday at 1 p.m. PST on Contact Talk Radio International. The show is also available through select satellite stations and online streaming via iTunes Radio, LIVE365.com, Ping.FM, TuneIn.com, Upsnap Mobile and Xiaa Mobile.

Wendy states that:

I really appreciated the knowledge and generosity of all the instructors at Pro-Track. The course was instrumental in helping me build a strong network of colleagues I stay connected to. It was a great business decision to learn so much about the business of speaking, even though I was already a member of NSA. I can’t imagine any other program providing as much information, support, coaching and camaraderie. I highly recommend it!

Aaron McDaniel

I first met with Aaron last year he was enrolled in the Academy. At the time, I noted that he had published his first book — The Young Professional’s Guide to the Working World — and ran a company focused on empowering young professionals to succeed in their careers. My own daughter read his book shortly after graduating and used the suggestions in it to help launch her own career.

Since graduating from the Academy he has gone on to become a member of the National Speakers Association. He’s spoken to companies like UnitedHealth Group, at universities such as UC Berkeley and to young leaders at organizations like the United Way. He released his second book, The Young Professional’s Guide to Managing: Building, Guiding and Motivating Your Team to Achieve Awesome Results and continues to focus on helping millennials build the foundation for successful careers.

Aaron says that:

Pro-Track played a key role in launching my speaking career. I value how Pro-Track not only improved my speaking skills but more importantly taught me how to run a successful speaking business.

Kurt Shaver

Kurt is the owner of The Sales Foundry, a training organization which brings Social Selling Skills to America’s top sales teams. Since graduating Pro-Track in 2011 he’s spoken to a wide variety of sales associations about social media and, especially, LinkedIn. His most memorable moment on stage was speaking to an audience of 300 at a national sales meeting on a huge stage with a split screen video on both sides.

Kurt acknowledges the impact Pro-Track had on his career:

Pro-Track really helped me focus on a niche. I came in as a general sales speaker/trainer and left zero-ed in on speaking about LinkedIn selling techniques to reach decision makers. It helped me get selected as one of only six official LinkedIn Sales Training partners in North America. I also met some new best friends in Pro-Track. I still associate with them professionally and socially years later.

Now enrolling for 2014

If you have an interest in the business of professional speaking, there is still time to enroll in the 2014 program. I took the training myself and well remember my first class back in January 2006. It was an eye-opening experience. Check it out.

There was a thorough overview of ways to overcome a fear of public speaking in Tuesday’s FT.

They advise that practice makes all the difference. I agree. I like to point out that people who only play tennis twice a year are probably not very good at it. Hitting the ball, or hitting the podium, every week makes all the difference. That’s why Toastmaster’s International is a great sandbox for all speakers to practice in. There’s bound to be a club near you.

The fear of public speaking is so pervasive that the bar for acceptability is really quite low. Most business speeches are dull, “In fact, many of what are thought of as awful speeches are decent speakers saying the wrong thing.” The article points out that public speaking breaks into two categories: what you say, and how you say it. They claim, quite rightly in this speechwriters’ opinion, that the former is considerably more important.

A dozen solid tips on developing and delivering a speech include:

• Know the audience and anticipate their questions in the content you deliver
• Write for the spoken word not the written
• Use personal stories
• People only take away three things from a speech (the rule of three)
• Prepare more material than you need to be ready for follow-up questions. (I’d point out that most speakers don’t have a problem finding material, it’s editing it down that causes many people headaches.)
• Don’t read a script — the article points to the harm Amazon founder Jeff Bezos did to his delivery when he read from notes in this Princeton commencement address
• Avoid a TelePrompTer
• Avoid filler words (a few week’s with a ToasterMaster “Ah Counter” will cure most verbal ticks)
• Signpost your speech to the audience – clearly stating where your theme is going
• Vary your pitch and emphasis (which Toastmasters calls “Vocal Variety”)
• Limit PowerPoint
• Deliver a strong finish.

Among the most effective ways of dealing with stage fright that I’ve come across as the techniques of voice control outlined by Kate Peters in her book Can You Hear Me Now?

It’s also worth working with a coach who has theater or improv experience to learn simple yet effective ways to use your body as tool to overcome the symptoms of stage fright.

I’m honored to have my blog listed among the 101 Public Speaking websites published by the Guide to Online Communication Master Programs.

This is a comprehensive, annotated list of websites and blogs dealing with

• Public & Professional Speaking
• Presentation Blogs & Tools
• Speechwriting
• General Communication & Debate

These include many of the sites I refer to on a regular basis as well as ones I was not aware of. This is a resource well worth bookmarking.

Nancy Duarte was the guest speaker at Monday’s meeting of the Silicon Valley Speechwriters Roundtable. Duarte is the well-known author of slide:ology and Resonate and the founder and CEO of Duarte, Inc.

Nancy acknowledged the important role writing her books has had on the growth of her business. A few years ago, while searching for presentation blogs, she came across Garr Reynolds Presentation Zen blog. Garr encouraged her to write a book that covered “everything he left on the table” with his own draft of Presentation Zen. The result was slide:ology. She is grateful that Garr encouraged her to write her first book, since it was instrumental in helping refocus her agency on presentation-specific work.

Garr and Nancy are still good friends and she hosted him at a recent lunchtime talk about presentations at the Silicon Valley headquarters of her company.

Nancy’s second book, Resonate, was in many ways the prequel to her first. She acknowledges that writing slide:ology made the phone ring for slides, while Resonate made the phone ring for content. She sees a trend with some of her clients where she is being asked to help develop creative content and conversations that don’t need slides. She sometimes arms clients with graphics they can draw on a whiteboard while presenting.

How to work with clients

The concepts in Resonate are one model among many her company uses. When they engage with clients they first host an interactive discovery workshop. They probe for the “one big idea” that the client wishes to communicate. This can be a painful process for some clients, who might not have given their big idea any thought and might, in fact, discover they lack the focus they need to have before they present. The next step for the Duarte team is to break down and rebuild the clients’ idea, wrap it in a story and concepts and then re-propose back to the client what they think they should say. At this stage they use slide maps which match the stages of the presentation to the best supporting images, data or pictures. Once this is approved, the presentation is story-boarded.

Nancy’s advice for speechwriters who have “difficult” clients–who are not be fully invested in the need to prepare for a presentation–is to pick a high stakes presentation to request complete client involvement. Avoid getting caught up in small skirmishes. The higher the stakes, the more involvement an executive should see they need to have. That is the time to pitch the ideas on why it needs to be done right. Speechwriters need to understand most clients are not masters of the spoken word. We are the experts in storytelling who live and breathe this world. It’s advisable to give clients time to acclimate to our ways of thinking.

Sparklines

A Sparkline is an analysis tool Nancy introduced in Resonate that represents a presentation. She jokes that, no, Martin Luther King did not use a Sparkline to plan his “I Have a Dream” speech since she was only two-years old at the time! Indeed, a Sparkline is not something to use in preparing a speech, but in analyzing why a successful speech works.

“If you were to align on the left everything that is what is, and align on the right everything what could be, and you’ve crafted it and you know it’s right, it ends up following the form on its own. It’s a pattern that is persuasive.”

TED Talk

she gives some compelling examples OF Sparklines in her TED talk that has been seen over a million people:

Such eloquence does not come easily. Nancy mentioned that she put over 30 hours rehearsal time into her 18-minute TED talk. The TED format forces people to be concise and has, she believes, changed the presentation industry. It’s the new gold standard and audiences now know what a good presentation looks like. Audiences have low tolerance for lack of presentation and TED has played a part in that.

Among the women speakers Nancy admires are:

• Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight TED talk
• Brene Brown on The power of vulnerability
• Sheryl Sandberg as a powerful emerging speaker
• Evita Peron as the only woman in history to speak to an audience of two million.

What’s Next?

Nancy revealed she has a new book coming in October. She also plans to release a free multimedia version of Resonate. Her team are also developing tools that allow audiences will tap into a second screen for detailed information on a presentation.

If you are interested in attending future virtual meetings of the Silicon Valley Speechwriters Roundtable, open to anyone, regardless of location, please sign up on our Meetup page and you’ll be notified.

Back on June 27 I spent a delightful and instructive day helping judge emerging speakers at Sahar Kordahi’s Bright Side of Life Voices of Leadership day.

Over 30 speakers competed in a showcase where they gave three-minute speeches that were evaluated in terms of presentation skills, message content, personal appearance and stage presence. The five winning presenters were Dawn Christensen, Carolyn CJ Jones, Jim Niswonger, Sandra Patino, and Ryann Pryor-Foster. They will give a 15-minute presentation at the follow-up event being held in Pleasanton, California on August 16.

The speakers were trained by Pam Whitman and Sahar Kordahi. In addition to individual coaching the winning speakers will receive

• “Look the Talk” image consulting with fashion expert Olga Kamova
• A speech writing coaching session with me
• “Stand in your Leadership Role” coaching session with Sahar Kordahi
• “Lead and Speak with Balance” with speech performance and movement specialist Pam Whitman
• Support from the collaborative “Voices of Leadership” team
• Referrals to other speaking opportunities

This was a well-produced, motivational and educational event perfect for emerging speakers to develop skills that will take them from “free to fee” in the exciting world of professional speaking.

I highly recommend registering for the August 16th Be the Voice of Leadership event and join in the program that Sahar and Pam have produced.

Interview

I caught up with Sahar & Pam after the event and asked them to share the background to the Voices of Leadership. To hear what they told me, click on the podcast icon below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:34 — 1.3MB)

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Anyone interested in the world of professional speaking should check out two relevant resources from the National Speakers Association (NSA).

Note: This is the NSA that speaks, not the NSA that listens!

SPEAKER Magazine

Published 10 times a year this house magazine of the NSA is sent to all members. However, anyone can read the content in an online archive of SPEAKER Magazine at no charge. You can browse every edition back to January 2007.

Check out the January 2013 edition with the NSA Northern California Chapter founder Patricia Fripp on the cover. Fripp writes about the “game changers” in a speaker’s career, including those in her own life which took her from her home in England (where she grew up with younger brother, renowned guitarist Robert Fripp) to San Francisco to the world stage.

Voices of Experience

NSA members receive a Voices of Experience audio CD with each magazine. These interview-style hour-long CD’s are where the world of professional speaking comes alive. Voices of Experience is an audio magazine in which top achievers share their experiences to bring members vital, up-to-date information on every facet of the speaking profession. Discussion topics include secrets about platform skills, growing a businesses, and life on the road.

Until recently, you had to be a dues paying member to hear this content. However, archives of VOE are now available on the Voices of Experience Podcast Network site as downloadable or streaming audio. Archives go back to January 2009.

I’d recommend downloading the MP3’s and loading them onto your iPod for a priceless audio education in all aspects of professional speaking, coaching, consulting, training and entrepreneurship.

Here’s a presentation that is both beautifully designed and contains excellent information on the use of gestures and body language when presenting.

Roger Kethcart is a reality TV junkie with an amateur interest in the art of public speaking. He almost made his trade the dissemination of information by becoming a public school teacher, but the lure of writing about TV all day long was too much for him to resist. You can find his writing at Cable.tv and follow him on Twitter @RKCart

Presentation Tips from TV’s Shark Tank & Dragons Den

It’s not easy getting up in front of people to give a presentation or speech. It’s even more unnerving when the success or failure of your cherished business idea is in the hands of the audience listening.

Such is the case for entrepreneurs on the television shows Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den. They are given the opportunity to present their business ideas to a panel of investors, with the hopes of landing financial backing and achieving their dreams of grandeur. Some are successful. Some are not.

While the idea is the most important factor to getting a deal, it’s also about how that idea is presented. Here are some tips from Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den that anyone giving a presentation or speech—whether for investment or not—should consider when “selling” their ideas to an audience.

Confidence is Key

When giving a presentation or speech, confidence is one of the most difficult things to control. Even hardened, self-confident presentation vets can get a case of the butterflies when faced with a crowd. Pressure to perform, anticipation, high stakes, and other factors can draw from your confidence reserves.

The best thing to do is fake it till you make it. That means stand tall, speak slowly and authoritatively, and look people in the eye. These are all things you can control with your body from the onset. The good news is, once you start to get on a roll, confidence will take care of itself, replenishing as you speak and make your points.

Confidence also comes into play when dealing with objections. Do your homework, stick to your words, and speak with conviction, and you shouldn’t have any problem dealing with questions that would otherwise make you look uninformed and less credible.

A good example of confidence going from low to high is in this pitch from Dragons Den. You can tell the young guys start out a little shaky and nervous, but as they get into the meat and potatoes of their business, they become more confident. What’s more, despite objections regarding the longevity of their concept, they remain confident in their idea. The investors take notice.

Be confident in what you have to say or get eaten by the sharks.

Dress to Build Credibility

Looks, as they say, are everything. This can’t be more telling than when the spotlight is on you for a presentation. That’s because as soon as your audience can see you they begin assessing your credibility.

That’s not to say you have to dress up in a lab coat if you’re presenting on a newly discovered amoeba. But you should dress in a way that will make your audience comfortable and gain their trust. Often this means dressing professionally.

Jeff Stroope’s pitch from Shark Tank is a good example of how to dress appropriately to build credibility. Jeff is a fireman, who saw the need for a new type of firefighter hose-to-hydrant attachment to save time. When he came to the sharks with his idea, he was decked out in firefighter gear. This instantly established him as a credible source to discuss his product. Had he dressed in a suit, his physical presentation would not have had the same affect.

Use A Visual Aid

Sometimes what you do can have more of an impact than what you could ever say. That’s where visual aids come in. Visual aids range from the common, like PowerPoint and video, to the not so common, like riding onto the stage on a motorcycle.

What’s most important is that visual aids should be relevant to the topic of presentation. Their purpose is to help the audience better understand and receive what you’re saying, not replace it.

Shane Pannell made a great demonstration for his new and improved broom invention on Shark Tank. His broom became his visual aid, enabling him to quickly and effectively show how much better his is than the standard broom. Because of his demonstration, he was able to secure a deal with the sharks.

Shark Tank, Dragons Den, and other shows that focus on presentation skills, such as The Apprentice, all provide good case studies into what it takes to pull off a successful presentation. Check them out and follow these tips, and start improving on your own presentations today.