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By Arlen Busenitz, on March 25th, 2010%
Five days ago I watched as Tom took first place in the Toastmasters International Speech Contest. He practiced a technique that only a few out of one hundred speakers use.
Speech Delivery Tip #25: Act out your Presentation
During his Speech Tom used several phrases:
"Men took off their suite coats and threw them down."
"Audience rushed out."
"The Speaker pointed at the audience"
Good action sentences. However, Tom acted out every single one. He woound up and pretend to spike a suite coat. He rushed to one side of the stage to give us a visual of the audience rushing out. When he talked about the speaker pointing at the audience, he pointed at us also.
The result? His speech came alive, the audience's attention was held throughout the speech, and it was very memorable.
How can you act out your next presentation? Look through your speech and see what you . . . → Read More: Tip #25: Make Your Presentation Come Alive
By Arlen Busenitz, on March 15th, 2010%
Last week I heard a great tip from Daren Lacroix, the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking
Delivery Tip #15: Deliver your opening line to a person on the back row. You'll instantly bring the back row into your speech. This will also bring in the rest of the audience as our eye contact flies over their heads towards the back row. Then we jump into our Figure 8 eye contact pattern or whichever patter you want to use. Combine this public speaking tip with the Hook & Reel Intro and you'll have a powerful opening.
By Arlen Busenitz, on March 14th, 2010%
On a Tuesday evening, I plugged my camcorder into the TV, and carefully screened my latest speech. One fact jumped out at me. My eye contact was too congested. If the audience had been a slice of bread and my eye contact the peanut butter, there would have been gaps the size of the Nevada Dessert. Do you connect with all members of the audience?
Public Speaking Tip #14: Spread your eye contact to every section of the audience.
As mentioned elsewhere, it is good to have eye contact for 5-8 seconds with each person. You don't have to look at each person, just hit every section of the audience. When you look at one person, the people around feel like you are speaking right to them. Hit all corners, the front, the back, the middle. If you struggle in this area, try doing a figure eight with your eyes. Start in the back . . . → Read More: Tip #14: How to have Good Eye Contact
By Arlen Busenitz, on March 10th, 2010%
In high school I was chosen to be a narrator for the spring concert. Confidently I stood on stage and delivered to several hundred people. My speech was clear, easy to listen to, but lacked vocal variety. The music director told me I was emphasizing every single word. It is like having a sentence with every word in caps.
This made me easy to understand but can quickly bore the audience.
What’s the answer?
Presentation Tip #10: Only Emphasize 2-3 Words in a Sentence.
Look at the following sentence:
To be successful you need to have goals and a plan to reach them.
If you were delivering it, you might say:
To be successful you need to have goals and a plan to reach them.
In High-school I delivered this line like this:
To be successful you need to have goals and a plan to reach them.
Every . . . → Read More: Tip #10: How to have Vocal Variety
By Arlen Busenitz, on March 9th, 2010%
Yesterday, you learned the power of speaking to one person. Another powerful delivery tip is to use the word “you”
Compare these two questions:
“How many have been to New York City?”
“Have you visited New York City?”
The second question is much more personal and the audience member will feel like you are speaking to them. After asking this, you would pause to let people mentally answer yes or no.
Presentation Tip #9: Use the word “You” frequently and reword general questions and statements.
Skim through your presentation and insert the word you when appropriate. When you get to a general statement or question, ask, “How would I word this if I was visiting with someone in the hallway.” Craig Valentine calls this the hall way test.
We would never say to someone in the hallway, “Who here has vacationed in Mexico?”
Instead we would say, “Have you vacationed in Mexico?”
Notice the . . . → Read More: Tip #9 Does the Audience Feel like You are Speaking to them? – Part 2
By Arlen Busenitz, on March 8th, 2010%
We know we have made a connection when people say “You were talking right to me!”
How can we achieve this connection? This next speaking tip will help.
Speaking Tip #8: Speak to One Person
Good public speaking is all about having 5 to 8 second conversations with each person. Look at the individual and deliver a thought or couple sentences. Do this and you will make an incredible connection with the audience. Read more on speaking to one person
By Arlen Busenitz, on March 6th, 2010%
Winston Churchill was a powerful speaker. He inspired millions and changed the outcome of history. He also mastered the power of the pause. The majority of speakers do not use this effectively.
Soon after I started recording my presentations, I realized I was under utilizing this important speaking tip.
Speaking Tip #6: Pause before and after an important point or word.
Pausing causes the audience to reflect. Pausing breaks up the monotony of the presentation. Pausing creates anticipation for the next phrase.
Consider these examples.
The secret to reaching your goals is…persistence …
When it come to holding attention, that speaker is a 10…out of 100 …
As Winston Churchill Said, … “Never, never, never give up.” …
During rehearsal I will often mentally count ” 1, 2, 3, 4″ when I should pause. This exercise will help make pausing a natural part of your public speaking skills toolbox. You will join . . . → Read More: Tip #6: 95% of Speakers Make this Mistake
By Arlen Busenitz, on January 5th, 2010%
I was suffering from public speaking embarrassment. For 20 minutes I had walked around the room greeting people. I smiled, made small talk, and burned off some nervous energy.
Seven minutes before Showtime, I was slammed with an embarrassing realization.
My zipper was wide open. Have you been there? My mind raced back to the ten plus people I had talked to. How many had noticed? Why had no one said anything? Friends don’t let friends walk around with unknown wardrobe malfunctions!
If I had gone on stage with the blinds open, that could have been embarrassing. Thankfully, I caught it before I went up on stage. However, as speakers it’s very important to check our zippers, our buttons, and anything else that could be a distraction.
Not only will a wardrobe malfunction distract the audience but it can throw us off once we realize it. Every speaker has to recover from this, so . . . → Read More: Prevent Public Speaking Embarrassment: Check your Wardrobe
By Arlen Busenitz, on December 1st, 2009%
"If you want to captivate the audience and keep them on the edge of their seats, you must have dynamic delivery skills."
Have you heard this statement? Is it really true? In the past three weeks, I saw two speakers keep the audience on the edge of their seats despite poor delivery skills. Why? I wondered the same thing until the answer flashed into my mind a few days later.
The first speaker we’ll call Mr. Monotone. His voice was as flat as the roads of KS. He did move some and had OK eye contact, but his voice was stuck in one pitch. Normally his delivery skills would have put the audience to sleep, but all 300 people hung on his every word. Why? Keep reading.
The second speaker was at a different event with a room full of 90+ people. Let’s call him Mr. No Eye-Contact. I don’t want to be disrespectful, . . . → Read More: How to Captivate the Audience with Poor Delivery Skills
By Arlen Busenitz, on October 21st, 2009%
A speaker can prepare and deliver a great presentation. However, if people can’t hear the message, it’s like having a table full of pizza and no one able to eat it. The microphone is every speakers friend or worst enemy.
Have you noticed how most people have microphone phobia? They stand too far back or don’t speak directly into it. Do you do this? Unfortunately this can hinder the audience from hearing us adequately.
Here are three public speaking tips for using a microphone properly.
Microphone Tip #1: Test right before the event
Several weeks ago I spoke at an event where the microphone was working 20 minutes before hand, but then was shut off in the back of the room prior to my speech kickoff. To make matters worse, there was no sound person in sight!
What did I do? I spoke a little louder for a few minutes, until . . . → Read More: Public Speaking Tip: How to Use a Microphone
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