Speak for Success!

Death of a Conscience: Rep. Weiner's "Naughty Tweets" Press Conference

2011-06-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

The words said, “I am deeply sorry.” But the media and millions of online and television viewers heard: “My feet are to the fire. Let me say what I have to say and get out of here as quickly as I can.”

Rep. Anthony Weiner’s “Naughty Tweets” press conference yesterday was the latest installment in Washington’s sexual follies. This performance was long on media-inspired mea culpas, however, but short on sincerity. We knew that by the voice of the speaker, or rather, we never heard his voice at all.

The Pack Was Left Hungry

The leading actor in yesterday’s drama was late in arriving, and the reporters could only roam the room restlessly, murmuring. When the sacrificial lamb approached the stage, they followed hungrily, in a pack. But what they found was lean fare, and unsatisfying.

In all speeches and presentations, visuals and vocals dominate. What audiences see and hear reveals practically everything they need to know about who you are as a speaker and how you feel about yourself and your topic. Yesterday, Mr. Weiner gave all of us virtually nothing to see. He read from notes, hardly glancing up at his listeners, without any facial expression. There was no visual component to give his presentation life.

Words, Words, Words

In Hamlet, Polonius asks: “What do you read, my lord?” Hamlet, feigning madness, answers: “Words, words, words.”

Like the troubled prince, Rep. Weiner gave us nothing else. Reading emotionlessly from a manuscript, he left his audience without anyone actually talking to them.

The expressions were standard-issue: merely correct phrases, hollowly spoken: “inappropriate conversations,” “explicit nature,” “sadly,” “I haven’t told the truth.” And even more noticeably empty of emotion: “I’m deeply sorry,” “I apologize,” “deeply ashamed,” and “my terrible judgment and actions.”

The more we read on stage, the less we say. And relating more strongly to a manuscript than an audience will never bring us sympathy. When we lead with our voice rather than our script, however, allowing our feelings to emerge as we speak slowly and meaningfully--when we speak from the heart--an audience will respond with genuine feeling and, sometimes, with affection.

189 Words Sounds like a Lie

Would you race through a written statement if you had something heartfelt to say to loved ones you had let down? Apart from Mr. Weiner’s expressionless delivery, his pace let us hear his lack of sincerity.

To place his performance in context, I compared his speaking rate (i.e., words per minute) with four other prominent Democratic speakers: Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and Barney Frank. I included Mr. Frank specifically because he is a conspicuously rapid speaker.

The average American speaks at 120 to 180 words per minute. Here are the speech rates for the politicians I compared to Rep. Weiner:

• Harry Truman (“Lobster Speech”): 145 words per minute
• John F. Kennedy (April 21, 1961 press conference): 116 words per minute
• Barack Obama (December 7, 2010 press conference): 149 words per minute
• Barney Frank (January 9, 2009 press conference): 193 words per minute

And Rep. Weiner’s speech rate at his Naughty Tweets press conference? -- 189 words per minute. I also compared this rate with an earlier speech of Mr. Weiner’s on the House floor (“Weiner rips Republican Party”), and found a speech rate of 169 words per minute.

Speech rate alone does not determine truthfulness or sincerity. But racing through a confessional speech at a clip that exceeds the national norm is odd, to say the least. Without pauses to indicate reflection, or to allow your deep emotional commitment to sink in; with only the shallow cadences of someone reading a script, an apology will sound perfunctory and hollow. Such was the case with Rep. Weiner, who allowed words on a page to smother his conscience.

To Overcome Speaking Fear, Throw Away Your Mask

2011-03-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

Let’s face it—for audiences, the message and the messenger are usually the same thing. You are the message your audience receives as much as anything you say. So you’d better be aware of the impression you’re broadcasting!

First, understand that you're a natural performer. As sociologist Erving Goffman reminded us in his 1972 book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, each of us plays many roles in our daily lives.

We shape ourselves, that is, to meet the needs of the audience we’re with at the moment. The “you” shopping in the supermarket, for instance, is a different person from the “you” on a first date, or the one explaining to your boss the reasons you deserve a raise.

This knowledge, that we play different roles even in a typical day, should be a liberating thought. By acknowledging that a speech situation is simply one of the many “performances” we give every day of our lives, we can embrace each such opportunity instead of fearing it.

In other words: there really is nothing unusual or momentous about speaking in public. We’re always giving some kind of performance or other in our lives. Public speaking just gives us the opportunity to do it all with a bit more pizzazz!

Reveal Your True Self

One of the fascinating things about speaking in public is that it reveals so much about who we are as human beings. Even as a former actor, I would have to work ferociously hard to hide my true nature when I talk to people about something that really matters to me.

And if I did, all of my focus and concentration would be directed inward instead of where it needs to be: on keeping my audience actively engaged with my critical message.

The problem with being this comfortable with self-exposure occurs when we perceive a speaking situation as something “different” and intimidating. That’s when we become nervous and afraid; and in response, we slip on our presentation masks or don our invisible protective armor.

In other words—we temporarily become someone we really aren’t. And audiences sense it immediately.

We need to throw away the mask, to let our true self come through for our sake and our listeners’. We need, in other words, to remain vulnerable.

You may think that’s too hard a task to accomplish in front of other professionals and perhaps complete strangers. But the opposite is true. Being honest with an audience makes everything easier on both sides.

Hiding from who you really are is much harder work for you and your listeners.

Faith in Our Own Voice: The Lesson of "The King's Speech"

2011-02-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

In the marvelous new film “The King’s Speech,” speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) describes how he began practicing his profession. In post-World War I Australia, some soldiers suffering psychological injuries could no longer speak. Desperate, their friends and loved ones sought out anyone who could help. They found themselves enlisting the aid of a second-rate amateur actor (Mr. Logue), who understood the soldiers’ dilemma.

Explaining all of this prior to his coronation to King George VI of England, a stammerer and Logue’s patient, the speech specialist says:

“I had to give them faith in their own voice. I had to let them know friends were listening.”

To those of us who lack confidence in our public speaking skills, Lionel Logue’s reassurance still has meaning: Friends are listening. We call them audiences.

Yet his first remark is even more powerful: All of us—whether we make sales presentations, give pep talks to football players at half-time, or deliver the State of the Union Address—need to have faith in our own voice. It is this that gives us the legitimacy to deliver our speeches. This is the source of our strength and the badge of our uniqueness. And it is the reason every one of us has the sheer inborn talent to persuade and inspire listeners.

Your Voice is Exceptional

During the two hours of “The King’s Speech,” we watch Bertie, the future George VI, struggling to find his voice. Surely, we might think, a member of the British royal family and the second in line to the throne would possess a voice of majesty, one that would move a nation in its pronouncements.

But it’s more complicated than that. And simpler.

Bertie has that voice, but it’s long been lost to him—numbed into silence by humiliation and abuse at the hands of his father, George V. To find it again is a frightening journey in which Bertie must confront his feelings of inadequacy with perseverance and bravery, which is what the plot of “The King’s Speech” is all about.

At the same time, he is marvelously fortunate, because what he seeks is simply his own true voice. He needn’t search the world for that voice, for it is always at hand. Best of all: it is exactly the right voice. All of England and the Commonwealth is waiting to hear it, and all Bertie has to do is set it free.

Like Bertie, like the shell-shocked Australian soldiers, all of us have the same challenge and the same advantage. We need the faith to find and set our own voice free; but we can gain comfort from the knowledge that it is the right voice. No one—not the King of England himself!—can speak in our voice and give audiences what they came to hear.

Churchill and the Power of Simplicity

What “The King’s Speech” demonstrates so well, is the struggle that ensues when we lose our voice and must try to get it back. It is usually a long journey. In our childhoods, we performed with abandon, eager to play kings and queens without the slightest self-consciousness or fear. What 6-year-old would be “afraid” to play Sir Lancelot or Cleopatra?

But things get complicated as we grow older, sometimes through no fault of our own, sometimes with our help. And so it is with our voice. Speaking with our authentic voice is as easy as acting. If we believe something with all our heart, we act as if it is true, and our actions demonstrate the truth of that thing.

Actors, then, simplify affairs—and so must we when we speak. One of the interesting plot elements in “The King’s Speech” is the presence of Winston Churchill, soon to be Prime Minister as England faces imminent war with Germany. Churchill above all speakers understood the force of simplicity. The plain, powerful language in his speeches demonstrates this. But so does his approach in speaking.

Churchill never complicated things when he spoke. Listen on CD to his first radio address as Prime Minister in May of 1940. As the air battle against Germany raged, Churchill didn’t allow his rhetoric to soar into the rarified air of a free people resisting implacable totalitarianism. He spoke of dogfights, bombs being dropped on oil refineries, and stubborn resistance to an effort to dominate the world. His delivery, too, is slow, simple, commonplace. There is no need to reach for the sun when you are already basking in its light, and only have to remind everyone to see it.

Simple language expressing extraordinary ideas: that was Churchill’s formula. And that was his voice, unadorned and eloquent in its simplicity.

Churchill didn’t need to sound like someone different from himself to gain the admiration of listeners. Neither did Bertie, as he finally understood. And neither do you or I, in our speeches and presentations.

Putting Your Public Speaking Fear Into Perspective

2011-01-17T06:31:00.000-08:00

Fear of public speaking can be personally and professionally devastating. Not only does it diminish your speaking pleasure. It can delay your professional advancement, disturb your peace of mind, and even disrupt your sleep.

If speaking anxiety has been a nagging worry of yours for years, why not spend a few minutes now trying to find some resolution? What follows are some thoughts on how you can put your public speaking fear into perspective—as indeed, you must do if you are to conquer public speaking phobia.

Understand, please, that everyone has a slightly different experience when it comes to fear of public speaking. Some of us get nervous beforehand and fixate on the upcoming speaking situation. We might have trouble concentrating on tasks as the day gets closer. But others don't experience such anticipatory anxiety; instead, their symptoms appear when they're delivering their speech, when self-consciousness and feelings of exposure can become severe.

Physical Symptoms and Mental Games

Physical symptoms, on the other hand, are quite common among fearful speakers. Sweaty palms, a shaky voice, a heart that seems to be trying to break out of the chest, dry mouth, and a distancing effect where we seem separated from our audience (or even believe that we can't see them), are all symptoms of public speaking fear that manifest themselves physically.

Of course, we also play mental games with ourselves. An interior dialogue, in which we push all of our own hot buttons, often takes place. Once that happens, our most important task—focusing on our message and our listeners—becomes virtually impossible to carry out.

"They don't like me."

"They can see that I'm nervous."

"I know I'm going to go blank and forget everything I'm supposed to say." And:

"Oh, God, I hate this. I just want to get this over with!"

Do any of these sentiments strike home?

Worst of all, we may practice avoidance behavior, staying away from public speaking altogether. So what if it makes us change our major in college, limits our career choices, and keeps us from getting promoted? Anything is better than going through that nightmare again! Isn't it?

The good news is that nervousness connected to public speaking is okay, and even beneficial. Without those butterflies in the stomach, we run the danger of becoming too placid and mellow—without any of the edge or energy that make a presentation engaging for audiences. It's only when the balance tips too far in the direction of excessive activation that nervousness becomes a debilitating fear. At that point, fear makes us irrational.

Don't Give Fear an Opportunity

In public speaking, irrationality can lead us to conclusions that are simply not grounded in reality, so that we practice a kind of magical thinking. Just because we feel anxious and nervous, for instance, doesn't mean that our audience is responding the way we think they are. The chances are good that they're not even noticing our nervousness!

Being nervous doesn't ensure a bad performance, either, as we also sometimes "magically" think. Even in a worst-case situation, where 3 or 4 people out of a hundred may be negatively biased against us, should that change our behavior? We should talk instead to the other 96 or 97 percent of audience members who are interested!

We may love to beat up on ourselves, but our audiences really are not looking for an opportunity to join the fight. They usually are genuinely interested in what we have to say.

This kind of negative self-talk is your fear speaking, and fear is a liar. Fear is out to undermine your strength, however it can. Don't give it the opportunity.

Is Your Voice Helping or Hurting You as a Presenter?

2010-12-23T11:38:00.000-08:00

It’s pretty obvious that what you say in a presentation matters more than the way you say it. Right?

If you believe that, try reading the following short passages aloud. Speak them first in a flat monotone, then with expression, as if this is the most important thing you’ll say all year:

• “You may have heard that this company is washed up . . . finished. But I’m here to tell you: Acme Industries is going to win back our share of the industry. And as our sales force, you’re the only people who can make that happen!”

• “The United States is absolutely committed to preventing genocide—in this region or anywhere in the world.”

• “I love you.”

Notice any differences in the meaning or strength of your message as you spoke neutrally or with emotion?

Now try reading aloud the short sentence below. Emphasize the first word, using punch and pitch inflection. Now read the sentence aloud again, this time emphasizing the second word. Continue doing that until you’ve read the sentence aloud six times:

“I didn’t give them those documents.”

You’ve just conveyed six different messages by vocally highlighting one word each time, haven’t you?

Both of these exercises—using emotional coloration and emphasizing words and phrases within a sentence—demonstrate a critically important point in public speaking: Your voice is one of your most powerful tools for persuading and influencing listeners.

In fact, no other presentation tool is capable of such infinite variety. And hardly anything in the way of content can match your voice for achieving subtle shades of meaning and intention.

Finding Your Honest Voice

So how can you achieve vocal expressiveness that will make your presentations more interesting, engaging, and influential?

Believe it or not, attaining a dynamic vocal presence is all about not doing something: trying to sound professional or working on becoming “an excellent public speaker.”

You’re already an effective speaker! Just listen to yourself in everyday situations, when you’re actively engaged with what you’re talking about: the exciting movie you just saw, or the fascinating new person in your life.

In other words, when we’re not self-conscious about high-stakes speaking situations, we look and sound completely like ourselves. Our voices take on the coloration and natural qualities that reflect both who we are and our commitment to what we’re talking about. And such a person is always interesting to listen to. It’s only when we become self-conscious that we try to sound different: professional, expert, business-like, and so on.

And this strategy never works. Audience members aren’t interested in hearing a polished speaker so much as they want to listen to someone who’s genuinely interesting. And that means you: the person, in fact, who is ideally suited to give this presentation.

Have a Talk Instead of Giving a Speech

How do you combine that honest voice of yours with presentation effectiveness? It’s as simple as can be: you only need to remember to be conversational. Talk to your listeners instead of trying to give a speech, and you’ll come across as an honest and trustworthy presenter who’s worth hearing.

Spend some time, then, in learning how effectively you use your voice. Train your ear to listen to how you say things, not merely the information you’re imparting. Record yourself talking with friends (when you’re activated and not self-conscious, remember?), and listen to the results. Ask colleagues what they think of your vocal delivery. Once you have more knowledge from “outside your own head,” start working on improving your problem areas.

If you use evaluation instruments following your presentations, include questions dealing specifically with speech and voice issues. And if you really want to reach the next level, find yourself a first-class speech coach, preferably someone with a background in acting.

You’ll be discovering what your listeners already know about whether you’re an effective vocal communicator. It’s “must have” information for anyone who speaks in public.

How to Talk Your Way Out of Public Speaking Fear

2010-11-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

There is no such thing as public speaking.

That simple claim may seem like a castle in the air to anyone with public speaking anxiety. And yet it’s absolutely true.

We learn to fear this thing we call “public speaking.” Our fear doesn’t emerge out of nothingness, and it doesn’t take shape without our help. Speaking in public becomes anxiety-provoking only because we make it so. But the things we hope to achieve in a speech or presentation are the very same goals we aim for in interpersonal communication:

• We want to be heard.
• We want to connect with people.
• We’d like to help people if we can.
• We need to convey important information.
• We want to express our emotions.
• We’d like to bring about positive outcomes in people’s lives.
• We’re trying to solve a problem.
• We’re offering guidance or leadership.
• We have a vision we want to share with others.
• Our product or service meets a need, and we want to tell people about it.
• We wish to honor a person or an organization.
• It’s a special occasion, and we want to say something about it.
• We’d like to share something interesting or funny with our audience.

In all of these situations, we’re trying to move people: to positively change the way they think, feel, or behave.

And so we talk to them to make that happen.

We talk—and that little word says it all. We don’t orate, declaim, rant, or recite. We have a conversation with someone who is listening, which is the most natural and effective way for one human being to communicate with a person or a group.

We share important information and emotion by talking about those things.

When we do this with family, friends, colleagues, and chums, we speak easily and naturally. Our voice, body language, personality, and sense of humor emerge effortlessly. It’s just us, sharing something we hope our listeners will find interesting.

But a change takes place when we give a presentation, doesn’t it? That’s when nervousness and self-consciousness really kick in. Suddenly, those individuals we talk to without any problem become part of a huge creature with dozens or even hundreds of eyes, hands, and feet.

Now we’re no longer in easy conversation with people. Instead, we’re hoping simply to survive!

What we’ve done, of course, is create an inner reality that’s much worse than the actual reality. We sense danger when there really isn’t any. Is it any wonder that we race through our speech or meeting remarks, fearful and uncomfortable, demonstrating at every moment HOW UNPLEASANT IT IS TO SPEAK IN FRONT OF OTHERS?

You Not Only Hold the Key to Success, You’ve Used it Hundreds of Times

Here’s the good news—the great news—about not only surviving but thriving in situations like this: You already know how to be a confident and dynamic public speaker. In fact, you’ve been using the exact skills, in just the right way, your whole life.

You just haven’t realized it.

So here’s the secret that’s not such a secret about reducing stage fright: “Public speaking” is nothing more than a conversation you’re having with more than one person. If you happen to be standing up while giving your speech or presentation, then it’s simply a conversation on your feet.

In other words, you’re perfectly positioned to talk your way through your fear of public speaking. In fact, that’s the only way to do it!

To be good at speaking in public—to be fully confident and to enjoy it—you just have to speak as you would in a one-on-one conversation.

There’s never a need for you to become “better” than you would be while chatting with your friends. In fact, it’s the attempt to do so which makes you feel like you don’t look or sound like yourself.

No wonder, because you don’t!

Talking—just talking—to people is what will make you come across at your absolute best. There really is nothing fancier or more scientific you need to know about confident public speaking.

When you speak like yourself rather than that excellent speaker you’d like to be, you maximize the talents you already have in abundance.

So congratulations on being an interesting person who has something to say. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

How to Be a Powerful Speaker

2010-09-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

Making yourself a powerful speaker is a lot easier than you think. And power--in terms of the dynamism of your platform skills--matters greatly in the world of business speeches and presentations.

You may be the world’s foremost authority on your subject. Yet you will always be measured as much on your performance as your knowledge or expertise. Political consultant Roger Ailes understood the juncture of self and message well when he titled his 1988 public speaking book You Are the Message.

In plain terms, your audiences will equate your message with you. And that’s a good thing. Otherwise, you could take the no-sweat approach and send out a blast e-mail of your speech, and no one would have to show up--including you. So from today on, think in terms of the “speaking version” of you--a performance persona that’s the essence of you talking about your subject area. That’s the person your audiences will find interesting.

In other words, it’s not enough just to be who you are when you present. You have to construct a performance version of yourself. That requires marrying your honesty and truthfulness about your message, to some simple but powerful presentation skills.

Here are three areas of speech performance to keep in mind in this regard:

1. Competence. Advertise your competence in everything you say and do. When you trust yourself and what you are saying, your audience will trust you. That’s the first step that allows them to invest you with presence and authority.

Every audience, that is, wants to feel that they’re in good hands. Make it easy for listeners to relax and trust that you are such a speaker. All it takes is for you to trust yourself. Believe that you’re a natural performer, because you are--just think of how many times in a day you trust yourself to communicate with others without premeditation.

Notice that I have used the word “trust” five times in the two short paragraphs above. This is not a subtle hint.

2. Rapport. Find a way to identify with your audience’s values and experiences, and externalize the connection by what you say. Most listeners resist speakers whose background or known views are noticeably different from their own. Wherever you can, show that you and your listeners share common ground. Remember that our experiences, motivations and feelings unite all of us around the world far more than they divide us. Create an atmosphere in your presentations that fosters persuasion and believability.

And remember to be interesting! You can judge this yourself in your practice sessions. If you’re looking forward to just getting this painful experience over with, without sharing your real feelings with listeners, your audience will want it to be over as quickly as possible too.

3. Delivery. Every audience arrives with preconceptions about a speaker. They may have nothing to do with you personally, but may be tied to the topic, organization, or viewpoint you represent.

You need to show that you are able to “deliver” on the implied promise that your presentation has created, i.e., that it will be worth spending time and effort to listen to. That’s what delivery means in this respect. When you give your speech dynamically and with conviction, you’ll be “delivering” the goods!

Credibility resides in speakers who appear confident and committed. And of course, there’s simply no substitute for enthusiasm. Embody your arguments with an energetic delivery, and you’ll go a long way toward changing the thinking and behavior of your audience.

Great Speaking? -- It's About Performance Over Content

2010-08-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

Are you married to your content instead of your true love, your audience? Too many public speakers are guilty of this crime of passion. To be in love with your information instead of your listeners is to ruin the marriage of content and influence that makes any presentation a success.

Like many hopeless lovers, speakers can be too easily dazzled by the obvious and the pretty: the selling points and bullet points that they’ve tenderly selected for their presentation. “But this is a labor of love,” we can hear them saying. – “This proposal is exactly the way I want it to come out!”

But audiences don’t want perfect information delivery. They want a meaningful relationship with the speaker, and ideally, a positive outcome from the encounter. Regurgitating information in the face of this need is simply an embarrassment. We need to move listeners when we speak. Yes, our content is part of that equation. But there’s infinitely more needed in terms of rapport and emotional connections than can be supplied by our PowerPoint slides.

Think of it this way (and this distinction is critically important if you speak in public): A speech or presentation is a shared experience, a small example of community, in which you and your listeners make an interesting journey together.

You need to prepare for that journey by thinking about how to project such a relationship. When you spend all your time sharpening your information recital, you’re leaving that relationship up to chance. Doesn’t this sound like a recipe for disaster? After a certain point, in other words, you must forget about gathering and shaping content, and begin to rehearse your performance.

Here’s a simple formula to keep in mind: Rather than spend 100% of your time amassing content and 0% time (or close to that) practicing, make the ratio something like this:

40% creating content, 60% practicing

This sounds radical to you, doesn’t it? But remember this: You are already extremely strong on your content. It’s the reason you were hired for this position; that you spend every business day working on these issues; that you’ve been selected to make this presentation, in fact. Whether you’re aware of it, you already have content coming out of your ears!

What you don’t have if you’re a typical speaker is a maximum level of comfort on your feet, and a knack for conversing with audiences as if that’s the most natural thing in the world. You’re up there to give an oral performance, for goodness sake, not to recite facts and figures like a recorded voice on a GPS!

Strengthen the area where you’re probably weakest. Your strengths won’t disappear in the process.

Spend quality practice time—and a quantity of it as well—learning to be comfortable with audiences. Stand and move in space. Try out gestures. Solidify your eye contact. Use stories and illustrations to give your concepts a human dimension. Sometimes those stories will come to you on the spur of the moment. Use them! Develop your ear to the point where the casual conversational you (the interesting-sounding one) sounds no different from your presentation persona.

The more comfortable you are talking to people, the more you’ll feel like yourself saying the things you’re passionate about. In no time at all, you’ll find yourself loving your audience instead of your content.

Guess how your audience will respond.

How to Motivate as a Speaker in Tough Times

2010-07-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

Recently, I coached a Marketing Director for a beverage company who said his job was “to convey facts and figures.”

After hearing that, I needed a stiff drink.

Actually, his viewpoint wasn’t surprising. And he quickly understood when I suggested that his real purpose was something quite different. His job as a speaker, I told him, was meeting the needs of his listeners and achieving lasting influence.

In tough economic times like the present, the distinction between conveying information and activating audiences is more important than ever. Merely informing audiences becomes a serious error when they are depending upon your leadership to help them in times of trouble.

Many people approach public speaking with this belief that their primary task is to deliver information. That is never the case. Information, like all speech content, is only one tool a speaker uses to achieve his or her purpose. Let’s look a little more closely at how this natural tension of purpose vs. information plays out, and why your task is naturally much more of the former, and much less of the latter.

It’s Your Emotional Impact That Lasts

Audiences will remember their emotional response to you long after the information you deliver has faded from memory. The retention skills of audiences are notoriously shaky, and within, say, a week, your listeners will remember as little as 10% of the “critical” data you presented to them.

Yet if you touched them emotionally, they may remember you for a lifetime. Consider these examples:

• Who was your favorite teacher in elementary school? Why do you remember her fondly today? Was it because of her visionary grasp of geography?
• Who among the many speakers you’ve heard in your life do you consider extraordinary? What were the main points or facts in the speech that you found so impressive?
• On April 19, 1951, Gen. Douglas MacArthur delivered his farewell address to a joint session of Congress. MacArthur said that “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” And no wonder this speech became one of the most famous in American history, given the General’s expert lesson on the medical needs of elderly combat veterans.

You see what I mean, don’t you?

Think carefully, then, of the purpose you’re trying to achieve in your presentation—and always in terms of your audience’s demographics, experience, and needs. Then use any and every means at your disposal to achieve that purpose. Don’t just educate—move your audience. Don’t inform listeners—inspire them. To do so means creating an emotional connection. Even CFOs must put financial information into context for the C-suite, to help these executives process the information in terms of company goals and initiatives.

Delivery Skills Foster Success

Studies have shown repeatedly that nonverbal communication equals or exceeds verbal content in achieving audience influence. In tough times especially, the skill of advocacy is critical in motivating listeners and leading them to action.

One reason PowerPoint presentations so often fail, for instance, is that the presenter depends solely upon a slide deck to convey information. But that is first and foremost the speaker’s task, although PowerPoint may be one tool he or she uses to do so. Above that, a speaker’s job is to move an audience through force of will and to lift listeners on a wave of emotional drama.

To motivate your listeners, then, use all of these nonverbal tools:

- Stance
- Movement
- Gestures
- Eye contact
- Facial expression
- Proximity to your listeners
- Open hand and arm movements
- Welcoming gestures (for questioners and skeptics)
- Vocal energy and variety
- Pauses and silence
- Smiles
- Emotion that audiences can hear in your voice

In general, spend less time gathering material and more time practicing on your feet. Employ a video camera or a mirror. Use different gestures each time you practice, however, so your physical expression won’t become stale and over-rehearsed.

You Are the Message, So Make the Message Strong

As we’ve seen above, public speaking is never about merely conveying information. Instead, it is an exercise in leadership. Speakers either lead or they bore. One of the marvelous facts about speaking in public is that no matter the pedigree of your listeners—you are the leader in the room during the time of your presentation.

No leader succeeds merely by possessing the best information. True leaders use that information to motivate and activate employees and followers.

A danger exists, in fact, that because we accumulate information, and spend so much time massaging that information as we prepare for our speech, we believe the information is all-important. Equally harmful is forgetting that the audience will be hearing our content for the first time. So we rattle off our data—secure in the knowledge that, once adequately informed, an audience will use that information exactly as we’d like them to.

It never happens that way. We must tell our listeners how they should use our information—we must, that is, lead them to do so.

There is only one tool that allows you as speaker to accomplish this task: It is you—physically, emotionally, and in the ways you demonstrate leadership when you speak.

In tough times or good times, you are the message. It’s a formula for succeeding as a speaker that goes far beyond “conveying facts and figures.”

Give your audiences the emotional connection and leadership they crave, and you’ll be delivering a powerful message indeed.

General McChrystal's Lesson in Dealing with Print Journalists

2010-06-28T06:48:00.001-07:00

When the news broke that Gen. Stanley McChrystal was being fired by President Obama, I was conducting training at the U.S. State Department on how to deal with the media. My yearly Media Training course is for senior-level diplomats at our embassies and consulates abroad. The two-day course covers aspects of appearing effectively in the media, as well as handling oneself in the face of reporters’ ploys and tactics.

On Day Two, I discuss the differences between television, radio, and print journalism. I also point out the unique perils of speaking to newspaper and magazine reporters. It was at precisely this point in the workshop that the McChrystal news broke.

What a teaching opportunity!

Adding to the relevance of the breaking story was the fact that two of the workshop participants were posted to the Middle East-Southwest Asia region. These are diplomats for whom events in Afghanistan have a direct and immediate impact.

So what is the lesson I teach regarding handling oneself with a print reporter? There are three critical concerns:

Print Media Have Time to Burn (You)

Print reporters usually have more time to spend with sources than T.V. and radio journalists. Broadcast deadlines are relentless and fixed: If the news breaks today, then the story must be fully in place for the six o’clock news, the on-the-hour radio broadcast, the signature political show on cable, or the Sunday morning talk shows. The 24-hour news cycle is voracious. It demands tasty tidbits and the freshest ingredients for its entrees, and it will not hesitate to suction all such fodder into its maw.

Newspapers and magazines create banquets with slower-cooked, richer dishes. Print journalists often have the time to conduct research on their subject or interviewee. They may be part of a “spotlight” or investigative team that works months on a story. Since they don’t face La Broadcast Dame sans Merci, print reporters can often afford time to educate themselves on a story--and subsequently may question their sources more knowledgeably and precisely.

Print Reporters Can Hang (You)

Here, perhaps, lies the greatest danger for sources, as Gen. McChrystal and his subordinates learned to their sorrow. Because their stories are often more in-depth than those on television, radio, or online, print journalists have fewer restrictions on the amount of time they can spend with sources. They can hang. The Rolling Stone reporter who wrote the McChrystal article, for instance, spent parts of an entire month with the general and his staff.

When reporters and their sources hang out together, they don’t spend all of their time in hard-backed chairs in an office, or folding stools in a military tent. There will be lunches and dinners; time spent chatting in local watering holes, remarks made while waiting for taxis or drivers to arrive.

The Game (You) Is Played Differently

We naturally trust people more if we spend a lot of time with them. But print journalists have the added advantage of disguise! Television and radio personalities constantly remind us who they are visually: They bring with them camera operators, sound technicians, boom microphones, recording equipment and sound booths, and most obvious of all, broadcast trucks.

The print reporter carries a humble notebook, or nothing at all. No “on” or “off” switch reminds us when the recording stops. It is when the sit-down interview ends, in fact, that the source is at greatest peril. Unless one requests a ground rule of “off the record” at this or any other time, and it is accepted by the reporter, you must assume that the interview is still going on.

It is often when the reporter and source have strolled out of the interview room and are chatting of other things, that the unguarded remark that should never have been uttered is expressed.

Jimmy Carter may have lusted in his heart for other women and left the rest of us blissfully unaware of the fact, but he volunteered the information to a Playboy reporter after their interview was “over” and the reporter was leaving the Carters’ home.

As famed media adviser Roger Ailes reminds us, “Recognize that any time you are in the presence of a newsperson, the conversation is fair game for the record.”

Wouldn’t you agree, Gen. McChrystal?

BP's Tony Hayward and Surviving Congressional Testimony

2010-06-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

In the media training I conduct for executives and political figures, I emphasize a goal of not merely surviving a media encounter, but thriving. In the media as in sports, the individual or team that focuses solely on defense usually will not win. Media appearances offer unique opportunities to reach huge numbers of stakeholders. They should be embraced with enthusiasm, rather than with the notion that escaping with one’s skin is a victory.

Yet some media encounters are barely survivable. When ambush is the order of the day, or where bias is institutionally entrenched, showing sheer guts and stamina can equal success.

Yesterday’s appearance by BP CEO Tony Hayward before Congress demonstrated this clearly. Even before any questioning had begun, the committee members’ opening statements branded Mr. Hayward with a prominent “P,” and led him straight to the stocks like a colonial sinner in an electronic town square.

No one would deny that BP is massively responsible for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the deaths of 11 workers, and untold environmental damage. Nor could anyone reasonably conclude that a Congressional hearing of this type is about investigating anything. A witness who tries to counter the naked political maneuvering in such a hearing is doomed.

Congress doesn’t ask questions in such an encounter—it renders judgments. How then can a witness survive sitting opposite such a tribunal of judges with righteous voices thundering?

In testimony of this type, the ability to absorb punishment without revealing callousness or weakness is the key survival skill. Where authority and competence cannot win the day, steadfastness and accountability must be in full view.

Here are three critical tools for media appearances where the odds are stacked heavily against you:

Nonverbal Messages: When a crisis hits, nonverbal behavior that says “steady as she goes” is a powerful reminder of your personal or organizational competence. Posture which indicates engagement, an unwavering focus on one’s questioners, a willingness to remain in the crosshairs without flinching, and especially strong eye contact, are key nonverbal messages that set of tone of accepted responsibility. Has corporate or institutional malfeasance led you to the witness box? All the more reason to send out an opposite message with every visual tool at your disposal.

Low-Key Vocal Approach: In the long hours of his Congressional grilling, Mr. Hayward demonstrated this skill continuously. A general rule of media encounters is that the more vociferous your opponent is, the calmer you should become. Listeners hear reasonableness in steady pleasant tones, not in emotional storms. If your vocal inflection is muted and you speak plainly, your opponents will brand you as aloof in the face of disaster. Let them. Remain focused and deliberate as you add the third tool of survival:

Bridge and Stay on Message: “Bridging” means moving from the quicksand specially mixed for you by your questioner, to the solid ground of your prepared responses. Decide on the three critical points you want to hammer home in your interview or testimony. Then take every opportunity to get those messages out. Answer topics, not questions. Remember your strategy for this particular media encounter, and stay on that path despite the harshness of your opponents’ attacks.

By employing this approach, you will be using tools—three in this case—that are designed as practical applications of your media strategy. Above all, they will help you with the all-important goal of difficult media situations: staying in control and using the encounter to accomplish your aims.

In “survival media events” like the one discussed here, that strategy will only be achievable in the long run. But you must start the process now.

The World's Most Amazing Public Speaking Technique

2010-06-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

For people the world over, speaking in public is a terrifying proposition. Yet what is more exciting than a powerful speech on an important topic? Speeches and presentations have changed history, inspired millions, created instant superstars, and rallied entire nations to action. On a more everyday level, they contribute to professional advancement and help organizations accomplish their mission.

With such a momentous pedigree, you’d think that speaking in public would be an ultra-sophisticated task, approachable only by the best and brightest among us. Yet public speaking is relatively easy, and with practice and experience, immensely satisfying. Stage fright is a significant hurdle, of course—but even gaining confidence as a speaker is easier than we might imagine.

There’s a simple procedure, in fact, that can assure us of greater confidence while contributing hugely to our speaking success. This procedure is so mundane and obvious, however, that we usually ignore it completely. So here’s the scintillating secret to undaunted and dynamic public speaking:

Breathe.

“Well, I’m already doing that,” I can hear you thinking—“and I’m still nervous!” And it’s true that what we call breathing for life doesn’t help us much in public performances. Vegetative breathing is a more or less autonomic response and doesn’t require effort. But breathing for speech is different. We need more oxygen, for one thing, to project sound outward and to lengthen our exhalation (since speech is simply controlled outward breath).

Equally important, we must unlearn the lazy habit of breathing shallowly. For speech, we need to breathe diaphragmatically or “belly breathe.” The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that flattens out when the lungs above it expand, and by that flattening, push out our abdominal muscles. That’s why our belly moves outward when we breathe in.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a bellows-like action that allows the lungs to expand fully and to effortlessly produce a full reservoir of air. That’s the level of oxygen we need to produce strong and resonant speech. But there are some other very positive effects to be gained from using this humble but amazing tool of vocal production.

Here are six benefits of using your diaphragm to breathe fully. Together, they go far beyond the simple production of sound. These attributes belong more to the realm of credibility, authority, and believability as a speaker. And those are characteristics that can take you a long way toward public speaking success.

Six Benefits of Diaphragmatic Breathing

1. Slows your heart rate and calms you physically.
2. Provides oxygen to the brain.
3. Aids your stance and appearance: formidable instead of “caved in.”
4. Gives a resonant floor to your voice which produces the sound of authority.
5. Supports sound to the end of the sentence, where the important words come.
6. You appear confident and in control (rather than gasping or out of breath).

In order of the benefits above, then, good diaphragmatic breathing will: Reduce your nervousness, keep you sharp and mentally present, help you appear prepared and professional, make your arguments credible and persuasive, “punch” the important words and phrases that drive your narrative, and give you the appearance of a practiced speaker who is completely in control.

“And the heart must pause to breathe,” wrote Lord Byron.

Indeed!

"Monster in the Gulf" -- Is BP Obama's Katrina?

2010-05-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

More than five weeks have passed since the offshore rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, claiming the lives of eleven men. As oil continues to billow beneath the surface from BP’s damaged well, political blood has been spreading in the water as well.

Consider the rhetoric that spilled onto the airways today:

“The President has hired everything in Washington. Someone has convinced them that BP is their partner. They’re not their partner. We need some action here.” (James Carville)

“Why does it take the President 37 days, 38 days? . . . He’ll be there on Day 39.” (John King/CNN)

“We were dealt an untruth by the Corps of Engineers, another group that’s paid with our tax dollars. How much more are we going to put up with?” (Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser)

“We’ve started taking matters into our own hands.” (Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal)

Negative comments, all. We might expect as much from the Republican politicians represented above. But from a Democratic consultant, and the host of a CNN news show? Just how big a disaster is this disaster shaping up to be for President Obama?

The environmental damage is not only gargantuan, but without discernible limit. The “Monster in the Gulf” bloats daily, like a sea-going version of Blob. The BP/Deepwater Horizon blowout has grown to 19 million gallons, perhaps as high as 39 million gallons. BP has now surpassed 1989’s Exxon Valdez as the coastline oil disaster of preeminence.

Inescapably, the current occupant of the White House is taking the heat. President Obama will travel to Louisiana this Friday—the “39th day,” as John King reminded us on his show—and today the President framed his administration’s response this way at a press conference:

“The American people should know that from the moment this disaster began, the federal government has been in charge of the response effort.”

Those words certainly have a “the buck stops here” sound to them. Yet the American people can’t help but notice that this is the President’s first news conference in 308 days.

President Obama—like President Bush before him during the Katrina disaster—would do well to remember the words of Theodore Roosevelt, an earlier Chief Executive who once said: “I have a perfect horror of words that are not backed up by deeds.”

"And I Owe It All to Television": Making Your Case in 30 Seconds or Less

2010-05-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

Want to make the acquaintance of the world’s greatest communicator? Allow me to introduce you.

Ladies and gentlemen . . . meet television.

Dazzler of billions, appropriately nicknamed The Glass Teat (or Boob Tube), Baby-Sitter, Goggle Box, and The Eye, television is the master persuader of our age. And whether you agree with the late Ernie Kovacs that “television is a medium because it is neither rare nor well done,” the small screen has much to teach us when it comes to quick and efficient communication.

Television has been spectacularly successful in reducing people’s attention span, for instance—and then has plugged itself snugly into that smaller space. Equally important, T.V. has taught us that critical information succeeds when it is delivered vividly, with a visual kick.

As speakers who must convince listeners in short order—say, in the 30 seconds it takes for audiences to form judgments about us or to deliver an elevator speech—we can benefit from television’s techniques. We too can learn how to broadcast a message concisely yet powerfully and even include a visual component. Here are five ways to do so:

1. Decide on your objective. Let’s start with the persuasive tool par excellence of television: the commercial. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, commercials seduce and persuade like nobody’s business (except the advertiser’s). With extreme conciseness, sponsors show us how to home in on one’s objective and achieve it with maximum efficiency. Advertisers do this because they want to sell, right? Well, so do you! Whether it’s a product, service, idea, or vision, a crystal clear objective to make that “sale” will lead you to the influence you desire. In conceiving your message, give purpose precedence over sheer information.

2. Use an effective hook. Think of a commercial you enjoy (come on, I know you have one). The first time you saw it, weren’t you intrigued at the beginning of the spot? Didn’t the quirky, or startling, or funny, or outrageous nature of the ad pull you right in? Whatever your essential message is when you speak, it won’t resonate unless people are with you when you get to it. If you hook their interest at the start, they’ll be with you at the end. If you don’t, they won’t.

3. State the problem and its solution. Here’s a T.V. commercial of the type you’ve seen many times. It’s a series of visual images: (1) Four-year-old boy chasing the family’s new puppy, laughing and tumbling all over the front lawn. (2) Mom looking at his pants draped over her arm and frowning at the ground-in grass stains. (3) Shot of detergent box. (4) Mom smiling at the same pair of pants, now sparkling clean as she holds them at arm’s length. We get it all: a problem and its solution, presented as succinctly as possible. Television does this seamlessly with visuals. As a speaker, you need to use visuals too, though your brush consists of words. And so you must . . .

4. Paint word pictures. Studies have shown that visual stimuli can be the strongest elements of persuasive nonverbal communication. That means we must not only show visuals when we present our ideas, but speak in visuals as well. Paint a picture with words, and the image will captivate your listeners. Hamlet’s father’s ghost may have said this to the prince: “I could tell you how my own brother murdered me, but it would shock and horrify you too much.” Instead, Shakespeare had the character color his palette this way: “I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, make thy two eyes start from their spheres [and] each particular hair to stand on end like quills upon the porcupine.” Which of those two short speeches packs a wallop?

5. Use stories that illustrate your point. When time is short or the opportunity is fleeting, state your point first then back it up with evidence. Of forms of evidence, stories are among the most powerful that exist. In casting your evidence in the form of a story, you’re saying, “Look, I know that was just data. Let me show you what I mean . . . .” Your illustration that follows, with people involved and a successful outcome will make your information come alive. Tell a story, and you’ll have your listener hooked—which is how you engaged him or her in the first place. Why let them off the hook now?

How to Speak from Notes or a Manuscript

2010-05-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

Good speakers need to relate to their listeners even while reading from notes or a manuscript. Sound like a difficult task? It isn't really.

Why then do so many people read their speeches badly? It can’t be because speakers find it helpful to pretend no one is actually listening to them (though they sometimes seem to be in their own little world in that way). And they can’t possibly be aiming to have a closer relationship with a stack of speaking notes than with their audience (though that sometimes seems to be the case).

If the whole idea behind a presentation is to influence one’s listeners, and it is, a speaker had better find a way to establish rapport with that audience! After all, is anyone willing to be persuaded by someone who basically denies their existence?

What follows are six practical tips for speaking effectively while using a manuscript or notes. These suggestions will help you remain engaging and influential as a speaker while maintaining a conversational dynamic with your listeners.

1. Write to speak. Compose your talk for the ears of your listeners, not their eyes, as would be the case if they were reading your speech. Aim for the rhythms of conversation rather than the more formal style of memos and reports (or the barely-composed slang of e-mail messages). That means choosing simple words and short sentences. Use a tape recorder to listen to yourself to improve in this area.

2. Make it easy for you to read. Give yourself pages that can you see readily from the lectern. Use a large typeface, wide margins, and avoid the bottom of the page (otherwise your audience will see the top of your head too often).

3. Grab key phrases and run with them. You don’t want to spend more time with your text than with your listeners. So look down and “grab” key phrases or sentences. Then look up at your listeners and say them. Practice the technique to acquire a rhythm, for this is an essential skill for speakers. An important general rule: if you’re not LOOKING at your audience, nothing should be coming out of your mouth.

4. Use the pause that refreshes. That’s an old ad slogan, but it applies to public speakers, who must learn to use pauses! Pauses help shape a speech. They show that you’re confident enough to introduce an idea, then let it sink in. Pauses are refreshing for listeners. The adrenalin you're producing will be prodding you to speed up, but you must take your time. A speech without pauses seems to go on forever, regardless of its actual length.

5. Look at your listeners. This is the forest that some speakers don’t see because the trees that their manuscript is made up of get in the way. You should look up from your speech with every sentence you say. Audience members need eye contact to believe you’re talking to them; and none of us is persuaded by someone who won’t look us in the eye.

6. Hit your peaks. Remember that a speech or presentation needs shape in terms of both ideas and vocal delivery. A speech lacking a climax, for instance, is as formless and anonymous as an amoeba; and presentations without vocal variety are sheer torture for listeners. The tendency of our voice to “flatten out” increases when we read from notes or a manuscript rather than conversing with listeners. Remind yourself always that you are talking to people, not sheets of paper. People demand much more from you than squiggles on a page. Provided you breathe life into those words, your listeners will return the favor handsomely.

Are You Singing Your Speech or Just Mouthing the Words?

2010-02-08T06:58:00.000-08:00

Did you ever consider that delivering an outstanding presentation is like performing a great song? Not only is the “music” delightful to listen to, but your voice soars on a combination of dynamic technique and an inspirational message. The way you use your vocal tools carriers astonishing weight with regard to credibility, authority, and that all-important attribute, believability.

Why does your voice alone make such a difference? Well, for one thing, we all respond in basic, even primitive ways to the qualities of a person’s voice. If a voice is pleasant and authoritative, for instance, it may inspire confidence in the listener. But if it comes across as unpleasant, weak, or too quiet, the speaker will have difficulty persuading the audience toward a sale or any other positive response.

Vocal dynamics is one of the most powerful tools a presenter can use to win over an audience. Tone quality, pitch, inflection, emphasis, variety in pace, pauses, and all the emotional nuances our voices can project offer a nearly limitless palette to paint our “word pictures” and convince others. When we do that, we make our story, whatever it may be, come vibrantly alive for our listeners.

The potential of your voice

An effective way to reach toward your full vocal potential is simply to remember that the voice is inherently physical. That may sound obvious, but it’s easy to become so focused on our presentation’s content that we forget this essential fact.

Our voices are intimately connected to breathing, energy and relaxation. Any relaxation exercises—yoga, meditation, or simply lying down to rest—will help free your voice from the tension that comes from a busy life. Distractions in life naturally take their toll on how we express ourselves. Although it’s not always noticeable, the tension in your daily life reflects not only in your body but in your voice. Your voice functions most fluidly and powerfully when you relieve these daily tensions.

Getting to flow

To be convincing, you must combine the use of your voice with what you are saying. Beautiful words that don’t sound meaningful will not convince people. The converse is true as well: Meaningful words presented without eloquence can also come across as insincere. Content’s power and effectiveness hinges on your ability to combine the quality of your voice and your nonverbal communication. When you look and sound good and offer the audience a message worth listening to, all the components will be in place.

If you truly believe in your message, the way you move and your voice quality will make that message come through loud and clear. You will not have to try to be persuasive—you will be persuasive. At that point, the presentation will have a natural flow and persuasion will take place among audience members.

Delivering honesty

When you’re aware of the potential of vocal power, you can learn how to use the subtleties in your voice to influence your audience. The suppleness of our vocal instruments is a factor presenters too often neglect. The voice is the perfect tool to build trust, to instill confidence in a product or service, or to create excitement among potential clients or investors.

The key to this power is practice. When you’ve practiced enough to smoothly use your vocal tools in your presentations, remember a last point: Your listeners must trust and respect you, which means you must have an honest conversation with your audience. Be yourself—speak and move like yourself. Such authenticity looks and sounds like honesty to an audience.

Also, make sure to keep good eye contact with the audience members at all times. Look your listeners in the eyes and use your voice to persuade them of your cause. Remember to pay attention to your nonverbal cues and the subtleties of your voice. Convince your listeners by respecting their intelligence and listening to their opinions. Do these things and you’ll have standing room only for your next “performance.”

(This article originally appeared in Dr. Gary Genard’s book How to Give a Speech, which is available at http://www.publicspeakinginternational.com/how-to-give-a-speech.html.)

The Currency of Speech is Emotion

2009-10-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, my wife and I were shopping for a new car. I remember clearly my response to the salesman who showed us the model we were interested in. It wasn't, "Gee, that is a fine car!"(for I already knew that before I visited the lot). What I said was, "He's a really nice guy" . . . just before I asked my wife, "Did you bring the checkbook?"

And Mrs. Merchant, the 4th grade teacher that I remember so fondly? I can say with certainty that I've never mused to myself, "Gosh, I loved the way she folded culture into that unit on South American geography. And her grasp of pre-algebra? Outstanding!"

No, my memories prompt me to think: "That woman changed my life--because she believed in me and showed me what I was capable of."

In both these situations, my emotional response was what mattered.

It's the same with the audiences for your speeches and presentations.

Human beings make important decisions because those choices feel right for them. They will justify their decisions with data and logic. But it's EMOTION that turns people on, and drives the choices in their lives.

Persuasion begins with trust, not with information. Every time you talk to a customer, prospect, colleague, or stakeholder, an unvoiced understanding takes place: you (the speaker) are seeking to influence your listeners. You're trying to change them in some way--positively and ethically, we hope. Change isn't easy for anyone. It only occurs when the person to be changed trusts that you are worth listening to and believing in.

As speaker, you are modeling the way: "Hear me and see me," you are saying. "You can see I am trustworthy, and therefore what I have to say is valuable."

By speaking in the realm of emotion, you open the door for positive influence. It isn't influence that computes right--for our brains are not machines that subsist on logic--it is change that feels right.

Author and playwright George Ade, Mark Twain's contemporary, said it this way:

"In uplifting, get underneath."

He didn't mean crawl down into the bogs of raw data, or dig into foundations long since excavated. He meant get into the things that matter. As a speaker or presenter, that means reaching across the real space of your speaking venue to touch people's hearts.

You do it with the story you tell, and the way you tell it, of course. Inexperienced speakers buckle the load of information they have to convey onto their backs, and then dump it into the laps of their listeners. To an audience, that feels heavy and unwieldy, and it's not something they want to take home with them.

Instead, your story--the one you're telling to change people's lives--must begin and end with people, and the things that move people deep inside. It's only to support that narrative that you bring in your information--your content. This is so whether you're presenting return on investment, your nonprofit's mission, or the marketing tools your company specializes in. All the information you convey is important; but you must convey it in terms of the satisfaction and benefits to be gained. The more you can link those benefits to an emotional response in your listeners, the stronger your content will appear.

How does this knowledge impact the practical necessity of developing a successful message? It's a reminder that we have to get the order right: Know your audience and what matters to them. Then tell them your story in human terms, relying on emotion, and using your content to help you make your case.

You'll feel good about that way of proceeding. And by the time you're finished, your listeners will not only be moved, they'll be persuaded.

For Transparency and Trust, Make It Face-to-Face

2009-09-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hard-boiled police detectives love using web-cams for interrogating suspects, don't they?

Customs officials ask suspicious travelers to dial into conference calls.

And you probably asked your spouse to marry you via an e-mail message--flagged, of course, with a red exclamation point.

Why do these three scenarios sound ridiculous? In high-stakes communication situations, we depend upon the cues (and clues) provided by a face-to-face encounter.

No other dialogue offers such a rich environment for getting to the truth regarding people's motives and trustworthiness.

It's a lesson worth bearing in mind, when recession-battered budgets sing the siren song of virtual meetings rather than the real kind.

Webinars, product demos, video conferences, and social media offer tremendous opportunities for personal and business growth, at a fraction of the cost of corporate travel. But in make-or-break situations where maximum trust and credibility are called for, there is simply no substitute for the personal touch.

The Wall Street Journal made this argument recently, in a special advertising section on global business travel. Clearly, author Joe Mullich in "The New Face of Face-to-Face Meetings" (WSJ, September 22) and the section itself were encouraging corporate travel rather than the virtual kind. Yet it's difficult to argue with the viewpoint that companies need to appreciate the effects of certain kinds of cost-cutting. This sentence in particular, from a spokesperson of Oxford Economics USA, is hard to ignore: "The research informs us that when a company reduces its travel budget, it loses both revenue and profits, giving competitors a real advantage."

A psychologist who analyzed research in this area found that "group processes and outcomes that require coordination, consensus, timing and persuasion of others" benefit from in-person communication. And a survey of business publication subscribers reveals that meetings are particularly effective in negotiating contracts, senior job interviews, and listening to customers. "Anything with new customers, closing sales, and improving the top line is still done face-to-face," according to Fay Beauchine, president of the National Business Travel Association Foundation.

Given today's tightened budgets, more emphasis is being placed on measuring the impact of meetings, conferences, and trade shows. That makes perfect sense. Going completely digital to the detriment of human contact, trust-building, and long-term relationships, however, doesn't.

When Your Presentation Encounters Hostility

2009-09-11T06:50:00.000-07:00

If an audience appears to be hostile or agitated, you need to act fast, says Dr. Gary Genard, president of Public Speaking International, who offers training on presentation and speaking skills worldwide.

"First, you should have seen this coming," he says. "Don't be like a deer in the headlights. Prepare yourself by knowing the political climate, how much to share, who will be in the room, and how they like to receive information. Know your audience's need and expectations, otherwise you'll be flying blind."

If you understand your industry, your clients, their cultural biases, and their needs, you should be able to deal with anger, resistance, or hostility with confidence, he says. Genard provides these seven tips for overcoming resistance:

1. Understand the type of resistance you're facing. "The more information we have at our fingertips to counter the resistance, the more accurate we'll be in the action we take. Is the resistance institutional? Fact-driven or cultural? Is it a flaw in your logic or an ego-trip for the questioner? In other words, you should be alert to what's coming your way and respond honestly. Look below the surface; look for subtext – the real action beyond the scene. Does the audience need an emotion validated? If they do, show them you understand."

2. Listen for emotions. "Even in an emotional storm, there may be subtle differences as to what you are hearing and what you can respond to," says Genard. "Emotions, not your message, may be making your audience hostile toward you. You may represent a point of view or a company to them; therefore, you provide a convenient target for the audience to attempt to redress a recent problem or vent after decades of resentment and anger. You don't have to change your message; instead, deal with the audience's emotional response."

3. Recast erroneous assumptions. "The more serious the assumption, the faster it must be countered," says Genard, saying that you may even interrupt (politely, of course) the erroneous statement. Why? Because the more time that goes by before the error is countered or corrected, it starts to set like cement."

4. Welcome unclear or fuzzy arguments. "If an argument is unclear or fuzzy enough, it's a gift to you," says Genard. "You can go anywhere you want with it. It's your golden opportunity to express your critical messages all over again in a different way."

5. Go low-key and conversational. "The more someone rants and raves at you, the quieter you should become," says Genard. Why? Because everyone else in the room will quickly realize that the person ranting is out of line. They will see the contrast immediately between the raving person and the considerate, soft-spoken, and reasonable person (you).

6. Be aware of your tone. "Watch how are you saying what you are saying," says Genard. "The best arguments in the world will fail if they sound defensive or angry. Audiences will remember a presentation’s tone far longer than they will recall the facts and statistics."

7. Disagree neutrally. "There will be many opportunities for you to demonstrate your rapier wit and responses when you are faced with skepticism and hostility. Resist every one of them, for the reasons given above," says Genard.

In summary, Genard says to think in terms of shaping the issue. "In other words, frame your message in ways that work to your advantage," he says.

More information on these tips can also be found in Genard's book, How to Give a Speech: Easy-to-Learn Skills For More Successful and Profitable Presentations, Speeches, Meetings, Sales, and More! (Cedar and Maitland Press, 2007). You can find the book at amazon.com or at PublicSpeakingInternational.com.

Salespeople and Others: Recognize a Nibble When You Feel One!

2009-03-27T06:05:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, an executive delivered testimony before the House Financial Services Subcommittee, and rose from the witness table with a dozen daggers deeply embedded in his chest, neck, and back. Well, not literally.

But I wonder if it felt that way for Edward Liddy, the caretaker head of American International Group or AIG. As you'll recall, Mr. Liddy testified about the $165 million in retention bonuses paid to employees of AIG's troubled Financial Products unit. By the time he was finished, there didn't seem to be a pair of dry hands among the panel members. As Macbeth may have put it (as he did in Shakespeare's play that bears his name), "All great Neptune's ocean won't wash this blood clean from my hand."

I would guess that you or I wouldn't be willing to face Mr. Liddy's ordeal for one dollar a year--the salary he has agreed to accept for his work. But what about instances in our own presentations and speeches when we face skepticism or hostility from our audiences? Resistance that's expected, the kind Mr. Liddy faced, at least advertises itself beforehand. But how do we deal with challenges to our position or ideas that we can't anticipate, the kind that only rear their heads during our presentation?

The most important thing to remember about "push-backs" like this, is that we shouldn't fear them. Resistance is a natural element of a thinking and attentive audience. Listeners who question, challenge, and play the devil to your advocate, are people who are engaged in what you are staying. Salespeople recognize such questioning and skepticism as nibbles at the bait. Why would this person take the time and trouble to engage in such a dialogue with you if they weren't interested? The audience member who resists you completely will stop listening, and probably leave to boot.

We should therefore continue to reach out to audiences, whatever the resistance, and not shift to defensiveness. Once our responses become defensive, we've lost control of the situation and shifted into a "siege mentality." From that point on, we're only dodging flaming arrows coming over the battlements--not advocating effectively for our product, service, or message.

So stay positive when you speak on behalf of your company, your organization, or your ideas. Audiences respect a speaker who stands up for his or her beliefs, even, and sometimes more strongly, in the face of determined resistance.

In my next post, I'll discuss 7 specific tips for overcoming audience resistance. Now, that is, that you're ready to welcome some rough-and-tumble as a speaker.

Use Emotion to Persuade Your Listeners

2009-03-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

This week, the Guardian newspaper in the U.K. published an amazing piece about a recent discovery in human brain activity. The findings contain information that anyone who gives speeches and presentations had better pay attention to.

Scientists have recorded "the gentle flicker of activity that lights up the brain" when we form our first impressions of someone. Volunteers underwent brain scans while forming opinions of people, and activity was recorded in two specific regions: the amygdala and posterior cingulate cortex. The scientific labels aren't important. But the findings are highly significant with regard to public speaking. They remind us that audiences make judgments about us within the first 30 seconds of our presentations. And those judgments attach not only to us, but to our message and the people and organization we represent as well.

"Okay," I hear you saying, "so ancient brain circuits in our listeners light up when we give a speech. So what?" It may sound like news from the Cro-Magnon equivalent of Twitter, yet it has enormous implications for how we persuade our listeners.

We all know that human beings make critical decisions at a gut level, then justify those decisions with logic. "Gut level" equals emotions. That means that unless we're speaking to audiences in emotional as well as intellectual terms, our persuasiveness will have a great gaping hole in the middle.

To understand why, let's take another look at the human brain. The earliest part of the brain to evolve was the brain stem, where basic functions like breathing and heart rate reside. Next came the limbic system--the seat of our emotions. Last to develop in evolutionary terms was the prefrontal cortex, the region in our brains where complex logical thinking occurs. Think about that (and feel its power): our emotional brain came first--followed by our thinking brain.

The emotional brain and the thinking brain not only share beliefs, judgments, and feelings, then--there are actually anatomical links between the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. So the thought that "business is business," and we shouldn't get all emotional about it, is exactly the wrong kind of thinking if persuasion is your ultimate goal.

To put all of this most simply: audiences use their emotions to receive what we say, to judge whether it's true, and critically, to decide about how to respond to it. The conclusion is inescapable: We had better give emotions a front seat when we're driving our essential messages home.

Do so, and your listeners will judge you all the more positively--not only for the honest self you're showing them, but for the emotional and entirely human approach you're sharing with them.

The Simple Art of Learning to Breathe Properly

2008-10-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

When I was living and acting professionally in New York, I took a course on meditation at the Himalayan Institute. Casually one day, the teacher expressed an opinion that has stayed in my mind ever since.

"We don't have an epidemic of heart disease in this country," he said. "We have an epidemic of breathing disease."

You could call that a "breathtaking" statement in itself. It certainly resonated with someone for whom--as a stage actor--breathing and breath control were central to the performance of my art.

What the teacher was saying, was that typically one's heart isn't given enough oxygen because of poor breathing habits. A heart continually deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen, of course, will fare poorly over time. Interestingly, the same careless breathing habits will negatively affect our performance as public speakers.

Breathing for speech is different from breathing for life. The latter is sometimes known as "vegetative breathing," meaning that it is passive and not aimed consciously at a goal. In speech, however, breath not only is the energizing force which powers our vocal folds, but it must be controlled to achieve desired effects. Chief among these is the need to sustain the sound, since the most important words in English usually come at the end of a phrase or sentence.

This means that, as speakers, we use controlled exhalation that is much longer than the "quick in and quick out" inhalation and exhalation of breathing for life. Naturally, then, in order to control our exhalation, we have to breathe deeply enough to form a reservoir of air that we can draw upon.

Speakers therefore should breathe more deeply than in everyday vegetative breathing. This is often a particular challenge in public speaking, when self-consciousness and adrenaline are enticing us to breathe shallowly and rapidly.

Getting a full reservoir of air that allows us to sustain our vocalization is only one benefit to slower, deeper, relaxed breathing for speech. A full rush of air that fills our lungs actually slows our heart down, calming and centering us. Try this exercise yourself: Get a baseline pulse rate at your wrist, then take a huge intake of air, pause for a few seconds, then "whoosh" it all out in a big exhalation. You should feel a distinct slowing on your pulse rate in the first few seconds afterwards.

Another reason to breathe fully and deeply is that it oxygenates our brain. And the brain needs this precious fuel if our gray matter is to function at its top efficiency. In the speech environment where thinking on one's feet is paramount, this is no small benefit either.

So, try some relaxation exercises--lying down or sitting, it really doesn't matter--that teach you to breathe slowly and more deeply. You'll feel good, be more centered and ready to speak, look good by avoiding a "caved in" appearance, and be able to support and sustain your crucial points as you talk.

One other suggestion: As you do your relaxed breathing exercise, try to get your inhalation and exhalation to be continuous, i.e., with no starting or stopping point where one begins and the other ends. Think of a figure "8" on its side, which is actually the symbol for infinity--there is no break anywhere. Unobstructed breathing like that, I believe, helps loosen the mental blockages that are so often part of our trepidation about speaking in public.

All in all, not a bad package of benefits from the simple art of learning to breathe properly, is it?

An Exercise for Improving Eye Contact

2008-10-17T07:19:00.001-07:00

We've all heard that eye contact is essential for successful public speaking. Sometimes, however, looking audience members in the eye isn't easy, especially when nervousness and self-consciousness hijack our thinking.

Recently, I coached a client who had a severe case of eye-avoidedness. It was the first issue he brought up. And of course, I saw it in action immediately. Even though we sat in armchairs no more than 4 feet apart, I'd estimate that he avoided looking at me about 80% of the time.

He knew this was a problem both in presentations and interpersonal communication, but he had no idea how to overcome his shyness. And that, in fact, turned out to be an important clue for me. He mentioned that he was an introvert. One speaking trait introverts sometimes have, is a desire to "go away" in their own mind and fashion a carefully structured and gift-wrapped statement or response. In the rough-and-tumble of conversations and Q & A, however, we seldom have the luxury of doing this.

Before we tried an exercise I had in mind, I gave him the two reasons why I believe strong eye contact is critical to successful speaking situations:

1. You will never exert influence on people you don't look in the eye! When was the last time you were persuaded by someone who wouldn't look at you while he or she was talking?

2. People are easier to get a response from than the back wall. I often hear from my trainees, "But if I look anyone right in the eye, I'll forget what I'm saying!" At this point I usually respond: "Which do you think is going to give you something back, the ceiling or the person you're talking to?"

Our listeners should give us energy--not suck it out of us like an audience of vampires! Speaking to "the window of the soul" as you say something important to people, and observing their response, should be a delightful activity, not a painful one. People want you to look at them when you talk; and if you do, they'll trust you more.

As it turned out, the exercise we practiced next turned out to be even more helpful for this client than I anticipated. Here it is:

I had prepared around 20 impromptu speech topics, which I folded and placed in an envelope. My client had to reach in, choose a slip and read it, then look up at me and start talking about it. Understand: I gave him no time to prepare. (No nicely wrapped speech package possible here!)

The topics were intentionally ones that he would have no expertise in, and in fact, each topic had no right or wrong answer. They included, for instance, "What do you like about the United Nations, and why?" "What do you think was the most interesting ancient civilization?" and so on.

For a minute or two each time, my client spoke on each of the four items he'd selected. And I'd say that 90% of his responses were delivered looking directly at me, with rock-solid eye contact!

You see, he couldn't "go away" and marshall his thoughts and relevant data on the subject, for there wasn't any from his professional experience. The exercise was simple and clear: it was teaching him to look at his listeners even if he wasn't sure what he was about to say. He had to attempt to reach his listener with what he was saying, not fashion "the perfect answer."

The exercise, of course, is a confidence builder, and I've used it many times solely for that purpose. But it was nice to know that it works well as a tool for strengthening eye contact, too.

Your Dance with Your Listeners

2008-10-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

"May I have the pleasure of this dance?"

What an appropriate metaphor for our speeches and presentations! For aren't we inviting our listeners to "dance," to take a whirl (or a waltz or a two-step) as we partner with them concerning our topic and message?

We lead, and our listeners follow. If we do it right, they'll be with us every step of the way. If we're clumsy or we ignore our partners, of course, they won't enjoy the experience. Their toes may not ache, but they'll be sorry they accepted our invitation.

Too often, we feel like we're dancing all by ourselves in the spotlight. One of our tasks as a speaker, after all, is to engage our listeners at all times, not letting them drift away from the steps we're teaching them. A speech or presentation isn't a solo tap routine. It's always a duet, and we need to notice and feel the response of our listeners--exactly like a good dance partner. For us as speakers, that means paying attention to and adapting to our audience's nonverbal communication.

And when audience members speak up with questions and comments, that's our chance to follow their lead. If we're paying attention and we care about whether our routine succeeds, we'll respond appropriately--it's as simple and natural as that.

A major challenge for all of us is to know that our audience is being actively influenced when we speak. Too often, we sense we're up there alone, and it can feel as though we're walking down a dimly-lit one-way street. Thinking of our presentations as a dance with our listeners is a good way to get past that feeling. We may even be able to transform that one-way street into a garden path, with us and our audience-partner waltzing down it in the sunlight.

Are You Running Wild as a Speaker? . . . You Should Be!

2008-10-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

Reading today's political postings (it is October, after all, in a presidential election year), I came across an article that's a real gem for speakers. It's by Mark Joseph, and it's titled, "A Bible Lesson for Sarah Palin: King David and the Coat of Mail."

Most of the article discusses how, in the author's opinion, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is being over-handled. Tonight the sole televised debate of the VP candidates will occur, so the piece is certainly timely.

The conceit or developed idea of the piece is a comparison of Ms. Palin with King David in the Bible. We are reminded of David's youth and inexperience as a warrior at the time he volunteered to fight the Philistine giant Goliath. A worried King Saul loads the future king with the heavy protective gear favored by the Israelites for battle. Like the armor worn by medieval knights centuries later, however, the "coat of mail" is too heavy and cumbersome to allow effective movement.

David therefore rejects the gear, and places his faith in a few stones gathered by the river. No Star Wars technology for this future leader! The low-tech stones, when fitted to a well-handled slingshot, provide all the throw-weight the Israeli side needs. For the 8-ft. Goliath, the result is indeed a weapon of mass destruction.

The hero of this story knew who he was. Equally important, he understood what he had to bring to this high-stakes situation, and what he could not bring. A product of the natural environment around him, he knew what his skills were, and he recognized the tools that would allow him to bring those skills to this challenge.

As the article reminds us, he understood where his success came from. As speakers, we would all do well to learn this lesson. Too often, we try to become something we're not as a speaker, or to mimic someone we're not--to try to "be better than we are." David could have labored to instantly become a better conventional warrior--and he'd have been doomed to failure.

What we bring to our speeches and presentations is something only we can bring. We need to trust, therefore, that we have what it takes to succeed in this speaking situation. If we don't have it, all the fervent wishes to be "better" than ourselves won't help us!

As advocates of ourselves, our ideas, and our vision, we need to run wild and free.

Are You Cool, or Hot Stuff?

2008-09-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Let's face it: You're hot stuff as a speaker, even if you do say so yourself.

You have everything your audience needs, don't you? You're knowledgeable on your topic. You're dedicated. You have great experience. And you're totally committed to getting this message across to your listeners.

Unfortunately, however, audiences aren't mind readers! Your listeners can't crawl into your mind and see what you're thinking and feeling (thank goodness, you might say!). They won't be moved by you and your vision unless you demonstrate what you're talking about.

That means using the nonverbal tools of movement, gesture, and especially, voice.

As a communications consultant said recently: you have to show them, not tell them.

Too many professionals neglect the tools of vocal dynamics--pitch inflection, voice quality, tempo, rhythm, pause . . . the components that create the music of our language. Instead, we have to allow audiences to hear what we're thinking and feeling through our voice.

It's really all about emotion. And that thought is really a helpful shortcut to vocal success: Let your emotions "show" in your voice. When you do, your presentation will come alive for your audience. Listeners will get what you're saying, you'll establish rapport with them, and they'll be on your wavelength.

It's cool to be cool. But not when we're speaking to influence others.

Who's the King of Spin?

2008-09-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Would you trust a candidate for president who's a master at spinning the truth?

Perhaps you prefer a presidential candidate who has the potential to depress you every time he opens his mouth.

These are among the conclusions being reported in the current issue of the magazine New Scientist. They are part of a story entitled "Software Spots the Spin in Political Speeches," which became available today online.

According to the article, a mathematics and computer science researcher in Canada has developed an algorithm that spots what Mark Twain called "stretchers" in conversation or speeches. Word selection, frequency of usage, and use of action verbs supposedly reveal when a speech is high on spin. The researcher analyzed speeches by John McCain, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. Guess who wins the King of Spin Award?

Obama. And by a huge margin.

The Democratic candidate's spin total was 6.7 on a scale where 0 equals an average level of spin. Hillary Clinton scored a 0.15. At the bottom of the spin scale was John McCain, whose score was an ultra-straight talking - 7.58.

All of this is about as believable as a claim that pigs actually wear lipstick.

Politicians wouldn't be politicians if they didn't spin facts and their positions on issues. It's the nature of the game, and garnering votes always mean walking a high wire while balancing truth and credibility. A simplistic survey of syntax may say something about a candidate and speechwriter's style. But only in the most unsophisticated campaign would it be a reliable indicator of truth or falsehood.

The same article goes on to dissect John McCain by way of a psychological profile and "auditory analysis software" used by a psychologist in Switzerland. This researcher finds that McCain looks and sounds like a person who is clinically depressed. Apparently, lack of pitch inflection and inappropriate smiling are the giveaways with this candidate.

Yet lack of pitch variety is the number one issue I work on with clients for whom vocal improvement is necessary. Unless a person has a background as an actor, there is virtually no opportunity for that person to have had training in using the vocal instrument well. And it is perfectly possible--even common--for that professional to make great strides in improved pitch inflection in a very short period of time with proper exposure to good vocal techniques.

As to whether smiling is a sure-fire indicator of poor mental health, well, that thought makes me too depressed to even write about it.

As Usual, Yogi Berra Said It Best!

2008-09-17T08:19:00.001-07:00

"You can't think and hit at the same time," the great philosopher Yogi Berra once advised.

Actually, the Yogi-ism was better than that. He said: "Think? How the hell are you gonna think and hit at the same time?"

That's terrific advice for public speaking as well. Our practice time is valuable, but the techniques we work on can't be the focus of our actual presentation. By then, we either have them under our belt or we don't.

When we speak, our focus must be on three things: 1) the needs of our listeners, 2) our essential message, and 3) whether the audience is engaged and receiving that message loud and clear. Too much analysis, on any issues outside that laser-like focus, will only weaken the dynamism of our presentation.

I've been mulling over questions like this lately, as I've been reading Gerd Gigerenzer's book Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious. The author, a psychologist, points out that expert motor skills (like golf swings) are carried out unconsciously. Thinking too much about how the skills are applied actually inhibits performance.

We forget, after all, that as speakers, we are embodied. We're not talking heads--we use our bodies, and move in our bodies, as we speak. Vocal production itself is, of course, a physical act. And even a "talking head" is part of a body!

So, trust yourself when you speak. Believe that the strengths you've tried to build in your preparation and practice will "be there" when you give your speech or presentation. The present moment is rich with both challenges and opportunities for speakers. Live within them, and the experience will be enriched for both you and your audience.

Remember: The future ain't what it used to be.* It's the present that counts.

* Yeah . . . he said that, too.

Who's Speaking in This Election, Anyway?

2008-09-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Have you been following John McCain and Barack Obama's speeches lately? Of course you have!

As the seemingly endless 2008 presidential campaign hurtles toward its conclusion, we are rightly focused on the effectiveness of the candidates' campaign appearances. And though it may be a tough assignment, let's try to get beyond partisan viewpoints and take a look at the contrasting style of each man. At least, let's get a snapshot.

(Full disclosure: One of the hats I wear is as a speech coach to political candidates. I've coached Democrats and Republicans at the state and national levels--in fact, just about in equal measure for each side. Fortunately, both major parties realize that good communication skills are not party-specific, and they don't exclude speech coaches on that basis!)

What's the buzz on Obama vs. McCain regarding their speaking styles?

Mr. Teleprompter vs. The Old Fart? Razzle-Dazzle vs. Tried-and-True? Rock-Star-in-a-Stadium vs. Straight-Flying-and-Talking-Pilot? And for goodness sake, which of these candidates sounds like he really represents change?

Perhaps the most interesting moments we've seen so far in the campaign have to do with UNSCRIPTED remarks by the candidates. (Speaking of which, we might be in for some fireworks when the untested Sarah Palin meets Joe Biden, whose public remarks must often puzzle even himself!) The campaigns are quite expert at displaying the candidates they've carefully groomed behind the scenes. But when "57 states" meets a politician who can't remember how many houses he owns, well, things get a lot more fun for all of us!

I for one am looking forward to the debates, when Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama must untie their lifelines tethering them to their campaigns, and wade out into unchartered waters. We may truly see, at last, how the charismatic Obama handles himself without a teleprompter--not just in incidental appearances, but in the pressure cooker--and whether McCain can marry experience, eloquence, and emotional control. . . . Hey, wait a minute: isn't that last one bigamy?

Stay tuned!