Pretty amazing improvement, isn’t it?

Here are the words which accompany Lessons of the Hoop:

Practice makes… improvement. Try, then try again, and again. Try it slowly, even if it barely counts. Watch for hesitation or you’ll miss your chance. Just keep going. Document, even if you never plan to share. Repeat it over, and over. Stretch your limits. Try different sizes, even if it’s ridiculous. Seize the moment. Celebrate success. Get tangled up. Stop and breathe. Stay creative. Challenge yourself. Remove distractions. Laugh. Accept the uncomfortable. We only learn if we … drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop. And most importantly, try not to judge yourself. Practice makes… improvement. Be strong. Find balance. Take risks. Play hard. Smile, and… love the process.

How Does This Apply to Public Speaking?

Many of the lessons learned by Sandra are the same ones that public speakers must learn.

Let’s consider how these four apply to speaking:

1. Practice makes improvement.
2. Document, even if you never plan to share.
3. Accept the uncomfortable.
4. Stretch your limits.
5. Love the process.

From the Six Minutes blog, another cross-disciplinary speaking lesson. Click through for the whole lesson.

D. H. Lawrence (1885 - 1930) English Author, Poet and Playwright

 

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” – D. H. Lawrence

Did I write earlier today about Thomas Hoving speaking with energy and passion? Here's the theme reflected again, this time by @ZimmerJohn at Twitter.

New Year's means we have, at last, reached the end of cocktail party season. That means the end, too, of long conversations with almost-strangers. Some people may breathe a sigh of relief at that, but not Daniel Menaker. Guest host Ari Shapiro plies his skills with Menaker, author of A Good Talk, about the art and science of conversation.

Listening to Daniel Menaker talk about talking on Weekend Edition. His New Book, A Good Talk, is mostly geared to conversation, but it seems to me there's more than little application to more formal situations. I mean, how many times have you heard a speaker mention the talk he or she is about to give? Audio should be available at the NPR site in about three hours.

Q. What about presentations?

A. I use a little saying, which is, “Be brief, be bright and be gone.” It’s also not uncommon for me to say, “Why don’t we put the PowerPoint aside for a minute and why don’t you just talk to me?”

Q. What’s the maximum number of PowerPoint slides you want to see?

A. Six. But I actually prefer no PowerPoint. To be honest, I’d rather just talk. A really great meeting, to me, is someone who is just talking to me and might give me a piece of paper or two to support something, but that’s it.

From an interview with Qwest COO Teresa Taylor in today's Corner Office column in the New York Times. I'm used to "stand up. speak up, shut up." Here's a refreshing variation and some advice on using slides, too.