Have any of these happened to you?

1. Slow down your speaking. Have you ever been given this advice? You might think that the way to make this work is to add time to your presentation.

Better? Cut unnecessary content.

2. The speaker before you went over time. Should you just plow through your complete presentation? Even while the audience is checking in with their watches, and out on you?

Cut content.

3. We’re you asked to do your 40-minute keynote in 20 minutes? Should you plan to speed up your presentation?

You guessed it…cut content.

Is there a trick? No, just a process:

First, go back to the beginning. Ask yourself, “What is the point you expect your audience to walk away with?” Craig Valentine calls this your foundational phrase. If you can’t get it to 10 words or less, your audience won’t get it either.

Next, look at the content that doesn’t support this phrase. We all love anecdotes and quotes that sound good. Stephen Covey says, “Be Proactive”. If you only include them because they sound good without really supporting your point, you need to let them go. Cut them. Now.

Do you have any activities? Can you bring in something that takes less time? Maybe you can take that 5-minute group activity and replace it with a 2-minute one. I did that recently at a training…oh wait…you don’t need to hear that.

Take a close look at the stories you use. Do your stories have characters that aren’t important to the point? Are there any superfluous words or phrases? Let them go.

Are you adding commentary? Sometimes this may be valuable, but not always. Be sure adding your opinion supports the audiences needs. If you are doing it for yourself, cut it.

Having to figure out how to speak less can be annoying, but if you avoid cramming information in you can avoid cramming your audience out. It’s tough to do the first few (hundred) times, but once you master the skill of cutting out unnecessary content, you’ll be more effective when you do speak, and you’re audience will be more likely to want to hear you again.

He likened this to how being a speaker is like having a store, with a storefront, shelves and a check out counter while having no product on the shelves. If you were going to start a business, you would start with a product and then open the store.

Imagine if you instead opened a store and then when people stopped by to shop, saw the empty store and asked what your product was. Your reply – “what do you need?”

The real question to ask yourself isn’t “can I be a professional speaker?” It’s “What do I have to offer my audience?” If you can answer that, then you have something to put on the shelves.

Now’s the time of year when we look at where we are, where we’d like to be, and why did my mother do this to me???

Ok…Freudian issues aside, how can we look forward to a positive 2012?

Start with a look at yourself. Look at these categories and ask yourself, “Where am I?”

1. Education - do you have the degree you want, the skills you need or the abilities that will get you ahead? How can you bridge the gap in 2012?
- Take a class. No you don’t always need a degree to make a difference. Pursuing a degree puts you ahead of your peers, plus as you finish each class, you know new stuff. Yeah, it’s pretty cool.
- Read. Find your pace and bump it up a notch. Read a book once a year? Now read one every three months. If it’s already once every three months, up it to every other month. When you can, go with one a month. Look at “My Favorite Books” on the right side of this page for some ideas, or just browse your local library and/or Barnes & Noble (where I am right now).
- Join Toastmasters. Yeah, you saw it coming. No better way to improve your speaking, leadership and networking skills.

2. Job - I lovw the quote that 20 years of experience is usually just one year repeated 20 times. If you find that you fit into a similar category, what are you going to do about it?
- Take some additional training at work. Online or in person, most companies offer classes that can improve your skills. Take advantage of them.
- Look at the education options above. They apply at work in many ways.

3. Family - If you could make one change that would make your family life better, what would it be?
- Be specific! Don’t say “spend more time with the kids.” Try, “dedicate one hour on Mon/Wed/Fri to teaching my daughter to speak French.” or “Take my family out to a movie at least twice a month.” You get the idea?

2012 doesn’t have to win any awards for “best stresser” if you take a reasonable approach to setting that next resolution. You don’t have to bridge that gap from where you are to where you want to be in just one year. Take a look at wh

I watch a lot of people working on improving their speaking ability, and they tend to fall into two camps: those who seek help to become better and those that don’t.

Those that look for help and listen to the advice they’re given progress at a better rate than they would without the help. This is probably, in part, because seeking help also means doing more work. After all, if you don’t ask for help, you don’t have work to do to implement any improvements, since none are being offered.

If you are one struggling to ask for help, you could start by asking yourself “why?”

- Do you think you don’t need it? Try asking and find out if you see improvement

- Do you think you don’t know anyone who could help? Start by asking for a recommendation – someone to help you find help

- Do you think no one is good enough to help? Narrow your focus – instead of looking for someone to help you be a better speaker, try finding someone who can help with storytelling, or using visual aides or maybe just someone to help manage Q&A sessions better

There is always room for improvement, but it can be difficult to do in a vacuum. Try getting a coach to help you with some aspect of your speaking and see the dramatic difference a little help can make.

You may have heard the old reference that 80% of all statistics are made-up. Well, it seems like 95% of the time I hear about “everybody”, it doesn’t apply to me.

The corollary to this overused word? “Nobody”. As in “nobody does that anymore”, or “nobody likes congress.” It may even feel true sometimes, but the next time you use the word everybody or nobody, remember that you may alienate part of your audience. The part that isn’t nobody…

Simple vs. Easy

These words are not only used interchangeably, but also as a redundant pair on a regular basis. If fact, it is simple and easy to use these words incorrectly.

If you find the difference confusing, think of them like this: It’s simple to get more aerobic activity in your life, just walk for an hour each day. However, that may not be easy for everyone.

Necessary vs. Sufficient

These don’t get mixed up by the author or speaker so much, but sometimes by the listener. For example, it’s considered necessary to have valuable content in your blog for it to be a success. But all the great content in the world won’t insure success. It is necessary to have that content, but not sufficient. When you’re giving advice about things that have to happen, it may be important to mention that more may be needed.

Think about weight-loss ads that say “success is not typical.” That’s because their products were just one of the necessary steps in the overall program that made the photos you see happen.

What kind of word misuse do you encounter? Better, which ones have you misused yourself?

More importantly (as we enter the contest season), how do you give a winning evaluation?

First – Open Strong. The first words out of your mouth should be something great about the presentation. i.e. “Mike, it’s clear that you did quite a bit of research to bring us this presentation, and it showed. Mister Contest Master, fellow toastmasters and guests, Mike’s speech really hit the mark today, wouldn’t you agree?” Find something that you saw the audience react to and use it to get them to agree with you early.

Avoid: “For the next 3 minutes and 30 seconds…” in your intro. It’s redundant, it wastes time, and worst of all is says your main concern is the clock, not the speaker.

Next - Be Specific. There’s nothing more useless than hearing “if you made your closing longer, it would have made the speech stronger.” Really? You don’t say? Your advice is “add more closing”?

Try this: “Teresa, your closing felt rushed to me. You want to accomplish a couple of things during that time. One, summerize your points, and two, leave us with your best takeaway. When you see the green light, that should be your cue to finish up your last main point. Be done by the yellow and you’ll have time for a complete closing…”

Always – Care. They can tell when you don’t. This starts before the speaker is introduced. You have to approach the evaluation as if the speaker came to you and said, “My job depends on getting this right. Can you help me?” If your goal isn’t to help the speaker, then the judges probably won’t help you.

Finally – Summarize and be positive. The most important feedback you can give is to tell them what they specifically did well, and how to repeat it.

Avoid: “I look forward to your next speech.” Not because it’s trite, but because it’s vague. Be specific. Give them a reason you’re looking forward to the next speech, “John, You really hit the nail on the head with your woodworking tips, and I look forward to seeing how you’re next speech will give us more cool ideas for home improvement.”

Other thoughts: I’ve seen quite a few techniques, like G.L.O.V.E.,  A.C.E. and others used in competition, and the results are mixed. When I watch these evaluations, I ask myself is what you’re doing for the speaker or for yourself? If you use one of those techniques, it’s for the speaker. If you spend time describing it first, then it’s for you. Make sense?

Will these tips gaurentee you a win? Of course not. But if you open strong, care, and be specific in your feedback you’ll be competitive and more importantly you’ll help your speaker keep getting better. Isnt’ that what it’s really about?

Too many times, we like to place blame somewhere for why we aren’t doing the thing(s) we know we should be. Instead of blame, you have to decide that it’s okay to admit that it’s hard. Why? Because it is. For all of us.

You may look at all of the posts on this blog and think, “writing is easy for him.” No. I’ve made commitments, achieved some goals, not achieved others, and made new commitments. It’s not easy. And luck is nowhere to be seen.

I acknowledge that it is hard. Then I work on it.

If you’re 30 pounds overweight, you commit to losing 30 pounds and you only lose 10, are you a failure?

No.

Unless, you decide that you are, blame something external and go back to your old habits.

I’m reading The Writers IdeaBook, how to develop great ideas for fiction, nonfiction, poetry and screenplays. Okay…reading may not be the best way to describe it. This book is both a lesson on developing your own ideas and a series of writing prompts (over 400) to help the reader become a better writer. It’s the series of prompts that make the book unique, and also less of a read than a long-term commitment.

Tonight’s prompt is “Acknowledge that writing is hard. Write it down. Then write about how your going to make writing happen.”

I think this will work with anything, including that thing you are struggling with right now.

So go ahead, write it down.

Grab a blank sheet of paper, and write it down.

Certification is hard
Exercise is hard
Love is hard
Eating right is hard
Writing is hard
________ is hard

Which one is it for you?

For writing, the next suggestion is to find a time every day to write. 30 minutes, 15 minutes, even 5 minutes. The goal is to just write. If you can’t, okay. But, you can’t do anything else for that 15 minutes.

For other goals, it can be the same. Start with a short block of time. Set it aside and commit to it.

So, step two: go ahead and write it down.

I will take 15 minutes every day and work on my certification study
I will take 15 minutes every day and do 4 basic exercises
I will take 15 minutes every day and do something nice for the one I love (be specific)
I will take 15 minutes every day and prepare a proper meal instead of fast food
I will take 15 minutes every day and write something from one of the prompts in my book

Can you do that?

No…will you do that?

Better yet…Do that now!

Ok, you have your acknowledgement and your commitment. What’s next?

Write down the how.

I will use my certification exam prep book, and work on the practice questions.
I will start with 10 push-ups, 10 set-ups, 10 lunges and 10 arm curls.
I will take 15 minutes in my office after work and write something from one of my prompts.

Acknowledge, commit and plan. Now what?

Follow through. (somewhere someone is pressing an Easy Button)

Really though, stick with it. Just those few minutes each day. If you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up, or try to make up the time. Just go to the next day and keep that commitment.

Make a note of where you are today, and compare that to where you are in 30 days. When you see that progress, look at where you are and decide on the next commitment.

It doesn’t matter what goal you are avoiding, it is hard. Admit it. Acknowledge that it is hard, and you can get past that excuse and move on toward the next success.

1. Toastmasters has the flexibility to let you choose your path to success.

Many Toastmasters fall into one of three groups: getting over your fear of speaking, trying to become a better speaker, and enjoying the experience with friends. Note: you may be in one, two, or all three categories at different times or all at once.

If you’re working to get over your fear, there is some value in mixing up your topic selection more often than not. You need to focus on being comfortable, and finding your voice (and topic) is important there. Using a variety of topics can help you find your strengths and improve where you may not have known you needed to.

When you’re working to improve your skills, now may be the time to revisit some recent topics. Take what you’ve done before, work in some of your recent improvements (i.e. different opening, more audience interaction, etc.) and get more (fresh) feedback. This is especially helpful if you have something you need to do well at work, or even when you are competing in a Toastmaster contest.

Do you just like enjoying the experience with friends? It can be good to revisit some topics here too. I recently gave a speech on Fantasy Football to one club. It was fun for me, but the audience had very few football fans. I knew another club had some sports fans, so I modified the speech a bit and gave it again. I added five jerseys to my wardrobe, and pulled one off per main point. It added some humor and made it fun for me and the audience too.

2. Great speakers and leaders aren’t born, they’re made.

Two things amaze me. One is the person who make a dramatic improvement by working on their skills, integrating feedback, and continuing to want to improve. Second is the person who hides behind the “great leaders (or speakers) are born” myth.

3. Someone is glad you are (were) a member.

If you are a member, chances are really good that at least one person is glad you are. In fact, there are probably three, four or maybe dozens who are glad you’re taking the time to come out to meetings, speak, evaluate, and be involved.

If you stopped going to Toastmasters, I’d make some good money betting that at least one member misses you. Maybe it was your unique take on the Wicked Witch of the West (probably copyrighted), your great tips for their speeches (or blog), or perhaps just your smile. Don’t hold it against them if they were to shy to say “thank you” or just mention that you are great. After all, they’re there to get over their fear too.

Think about this: what brought you here? Specifically, what were you looking for when you first visited a Toastmasters club? What were you looking for when you joined? Are you still looking?

Another safe bet? You can find it. That confidence, that skill, that greatness you’re looking for. Next time you go to a club meeting, ask for it by name. You’ll find people there that are ready in willing to help you reach your goals.

What are your three lessons?

So, what’s the trick? How do you keep doing what is important, while also getting in some “fun” time?

1. Multitask. Wait, don’t hit me with those studies about the degraded effects of multitasking. I’m talking about using dead time wisely. For instance, listening to a book on CD while driving, or typing a blog post while BBQing chicken.

2. Keep a to-do list, but make it fresh each day. Nothing is more demoralizing that a to-do list that looks like the US Constitution (i.e. old paper). Start a new list every day and get ‘er done.

3. Recognize the dry spell, and recover. Sometimes no effort or planning will help you completely avoid the dry spell. Just make sure you see it for what it is and move on. No need to beat yourself up of linger on “if only…”

Life happens. Don’t miss it while you’re living it…