“A good speaker with bad beginnings is like a fitness trainer who smokes.”

-- Carmen Taran

From the Six Minutes review of Better Beginnings: Most speech opening advice begins by telling you the types of openings you can try. For example, you might open with a personal story, a startling statistic, or a quotation. However, none of these types of openings are inherently focused on your audience. (A story or statistic can be focused on the audience, but it might not be.)

I really like the approach taken in Better Beginnings because it is organized not around types of openings, but according to the emotional or cognitive response you would like to trigger in your audience. Audience-focused!

Here are 120 things you can do starting today to help you think faster, improve memory, comprehend information better and unleash your brain’s full potential.

1. Solve puzzles and brainteasers.
2. Cultivate ambidexterity. Use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth, comb your hair or use the mouse. Write with both hands simultaneously. Switch hands for knife and fork.
3. Embrace ambiguity. Learn to enjoy things like paradoxes and optical illusions.
4. Learn mind mapping.
5. Block one or more senses. Eat blindfolded, wear earplugs, shower with your eyes closed.
6. Develop comparative tasting. Learn to properly taste wine, chocolate, litemind.com

Follow the link to see even more reader responses.

10 Tips to Take Your Public Speaking to the Next Level

October 26, 2009

by John Watkis

Are you looking for ways to take your pubic speaking skills to the next level? Here are 10 tips to help you get there.

1.) Research your audience

You can give the exact same speech to two different groups, but you shouldn’t expect the same results. Research your audience so you can address their specific needs, concerns and objections .

2.) Speak the language of your audience

When you know your audience and can speak their “lingo”, you gain immediate respect from them. They will know  you took the time to understand them before speaking to them.

3.) Analyze every event

Do you know what time of day you’ll be speaking? Who will be speaking on the program before you? After you? Is this a one-day program? Or is this a multi-day conference? The answers to those questions will help you to be better prepared when you give your speech.

4.) Know your subject inside out

If you don’t know what your audience thinks and feels about your subject, then you only know your subject “inside”. Knowing your subject “inside out” means understanding the subject from both points of view.

5.) Work on your voice

Like it or not, your voice is a crucial part of your speeches. If people are distracted, bored or irritated by your voice, your message will be lost on them.

6.) Master timing

Sometimes “how you say it” is as important as “what you say”. Knowing when to slow down, speed up and pause have an effect on the way your message is received.

7.) Rehearse on video

Video will tell you what your friends and colleagues may be too nice to say. It can be a painful process (it is for me), but you’ll gain valuable feedback that can’t be put into words.

8.) Write and rewrite your speeches

The most memorable and successful speeches in history are speeches that were written and rewritten … period. This doesn’t mean you have to read your speech, but you’re better off writing it.

9.) Listen to speeches whenever you can

You can learn something from every speech you listen to. You may learn what to do … or you may learn what not to do. In either case, there’s always something you learn by listening to others speak.

10.) Organize your content in an easy-to-follow sequence

A well-organized, easy-to-follow speech makes it easier for the audience to stay with you every step of the way. The less  they have to think about where you were in the speech or where you’re going next, the more they’ll be able to enjoy the journey.

new thinking for nonprofit communicators

At the recent annual conference of the Communications Network in Philanthropy, I had the chance to meet with hundreds of nonprofit communicators and hear about the reach, research and results they see with their communications vehicles. Now the Network has put available presentations and handouts from the conference online, so you can benefit from what we learned. One of the most popular so far is The Best Online Tools You Never Heard Of, with dozens of sites for pitching events, telling your story, fundraising, office support and more. Check out all the material for a view of how foundations and other nonprofits are navigating communications today.

Labels: for communications directors, nonprofit communications, social media