Talk to the Human™

As I walked into the room, there we no people there. There was, however, a good size stage and about 300 chairs, silent in anticipation of a future audience. I decided to step up the stairs to the 12X24 foot platform, and ponder giving a presentation in front of an audience filling that room.

I thought about 2005 World Champ Lance Miller’s presentation the day before, and how his chairs were filled and even after they brought in more there were people standing anywhere they could. I had no presentation to give at that event, but as I stood in that empty room and gazed at those 300 seats, I imagined them filled with an audience waiting to hear a well-designed (and hopefully well delivered) presentation. Just one word came to my mind. No, that word wasn’t fear, paralysis or even whatamIdoinghere.

That word was responsibility. It’s funny how a bigger crowd, even an imaginary one, can change your perspective on things. I’m not saying that I don’t feel responsibility when speaking to a 20-person Toastmasters club, or a 50-person lunch and learn. But that room really crystallized the depth and meaning for me.

What hit me there on that stage, in that empty room with those unfilled chairs was that when you speak to Humans, you have to be ready to take responsibility.

Responsibility for knowing your audience. What do they need, what do they want, and what are their expectations?

Responsibility for your content. Is it accurate, is it specific enough, and is it credible? Most importantly, will it help?

Responsibility for your self. Have you prepared to be professional, are your handouts professional, and is your delivery professional?

This responsibility can feel like a very heavy weight if you aren’t ready. But when you are, it can be a wonderful gift. Because on the other side of this responsibility is another word: Impact.

By meeting this responsibility, you can have a tremendous impact on your audience and their lives. What is it you want them to think, do or feel after your presentation?

Another convention presenter, Rory Vaden, talks about self-discipline and how we should “Take the Stairs.” One visual is of a line forming to wait for an escalator going down when the stairs next to it go unused. I know there were people that looked at those escalators differently after hearing his presentation. That’s impact.

Next time you have to address an audience of any size, consider that responsibility you have and how you’ll use your skills and your message to make that impact on your audience. It’s your responsibility…

This afternoon’s sessions were both really good. I always hate that I have to choose the sessions, and I feel the need to apologize to Rory Vaden (who I was able to see yesterday) and Jim Key for having to miss their sessions. On the good side, they are our next two visiting speakers this fall and next spring in District 22.

Lance Miller was the first with a great message on finding your voice. Cool thing: He gave out a laminated card (a bit bigger than 3X5) with speaking tips that included a section on finding your voice. I love good freebies and Lance’s style combined with great audience interaction was easy to watch and enjoy (even without the bribe).

The structure of his presentation mirrored the points on the card, which makes it a valuable keepsake to use when thinking about writing that next speech. When I read the point “What are you certain about? …Uncertain about?” I’ll think about his standard of certainty. Lance measures how certain he is by how long it would take someone to talk him out of his position. As an example, he said it would take quite a long time to talk him out of his certainty of gravity.

He then ran an exercise to help the group see how to easily construct a speech in very little time. It went well despite the fact that the room couldn’t hold everyone who came to see him.

You can find all of the points as well as a pdf of his card at his website: www.lancemillerspeaks.com

Later, Sasha Strauss presented on The World of Brands: How Brand Strategy Makes and Molds Minds. He has a very dynamic style that was easy to listen to and very entertaining. He had a really strong theme about how brands (eg. Nike, Mercedes, Disney and McDonalds) make you feel.

Message: you write the script about what the world should know about you.

One interesting point about brands and logos: the logos don’t have to have a reason. Case in point, the Apple apple. Why is there a bite out of it, and why is it an apple in the first place? You don’t even have to know (or care) to understand how it makes you feel. That’s what brands do for you. They free you from having to make choices over and over. By being consistent with your brand, you give your customers that consistency they are looking for.

As a part of branding yourself, you should additionally make sure that your online presence (Facebook, etc.) tells your audience exactly what you want them to hear.

There were some interesting descriptions of the Apple and Microsoft CEO brands. Some of it was “had to be there” stuff, but I liked the description of Steve Ballmer as a bull in a china shop.

He also spoke about Lance Armstrong’s charity LIVESTRONG and how by using the wristbands gives you a feeling of being a philanthropist. He really stressed that theme of a brand that is successful is so because it makes you feel a certain way.

I heard a lot of great comments about both speakers, and I’m really glad I attended their sessions instead of playing golf or something.

On to the Semi-final contests. More to come…

2010 Toastmasters Convention

I was worried that I might not have much to blog about tonight, but I have to say, “Wow!” The opening ceremonies at the 2010 Toastmasters International Convention were just awesome. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not, but when they announced the American National Anthem, nothing seemed to happen. After we waited for what must have been 12-14 full seconds (felt like 10 minutes),suddenly the room started singing. Seriously, I’m not sure if someone broke the cassette player or what, but the way it turned out was pretty cool.

The International President, Gary Schmidt (of “Confidence. Leadership. Service.” fame) gave a witty and concise report for his year. Gotta be honest: I didn’t see anyone nod off on that one. Really.

Speaking of Holy Crap! Next came the keynote address. Seriously, hire Todd Newton today if you can get him. I cannot lie, I had no idea who this guy was coming in (sorry). However, I can tell you now he’s on my list as one of the funniest speakers I’ve heard. Seriously. Not Kidding. Wow.

Of course, hanging out with friends after was fun too. Always good to hang out with real people once in a while.

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s events. Lance Miller and Rory Vaden are both speaking at the same time, which is a bummer. Since Rory will be at our Fall Conference in November, I’m going to see Lance’s presentation. Later it’s the awesome Jim Key that I plan to see. In the Afternoon are the Semi-final Speech Contests. I’m working one of them, and looking forward to cheering for our winner from District 22 in another one. It will be a long day, but worth it.

More to come after Lance’s presentation…

The second day of training is over, and I think I speak for 248 Toastmasters when I say, “I am spent.”

Today’s sessions were really great, and over the two days, I easily absorbed enough material for 5 speeches. In fact, I should generate some working titles while I think about it:

How a free breakfast really motivates the team
The need for leaders
New ways to support ID (International Director) visits
Providing better communication and standards
Why Rory Vaden is the right choice for our Fall Conference

That last one is based on two things:
1. Rory Vaden is our guest speaker at our coming Fall Conference in Overland Park, KS
2. He gave a fantastic presentation at out leadership training on the advantages of self-discipline

Other cool things that happened – I ran into more friends from last year’s convention, including 1995 WC Mark Brown and 2001 WC Darren LaCroix.

Next, the opening ceremonies are at 7pm. I’ll have another segment ready to post later this evening.

This week, Toastmasters International is holding their Annual Convention at the Marriott in Palm Desert California.

Here are a couple of thoughts for those coming between today and Wednesday:

1. The Palm Springs airport is small. You don’t have to worry about getting lost looking for your luggage. The ride to the Marriott is ~20 minutes.
2. Bring your swimwear. The pool here is nice, and the weather is “warm” (it’s a dry heat).
3. Bring capacity. There will be some free materials from the ID candidates, as well as a wonderfully-stocked TI store. Not to mention all of the tourist-crap for sale everywhere.
4. Check the TI website for the schedule. Plan who you want to see. Jim Key, Rory Vaden, Lance Miller and other great speakers will be there. Also, you can download and print their handouts in advance.
5. Have fun. The weather is great, the hotel is beautiful, and the people are going to be a blast.

P.S. Volunteer! It’s fun and you’ll meet cool people, see more and get to do more.

I hope to see you there!

You have your customer. Now it’s time to think about how you deliver your message to him/her. We’ll stick with the example from the last post, you as an expert in health and fitness.

We’ve established your customer as men 35-50 who have an desk job, are married with family commitments and need solutions that fit a busy schedule. Now we need a message that resonates with that group.

This message comes in multiple parts:

Your business name
Your tagline
Names of your primary products and services
Names of your signature presentations
Even how people refer to you

Some of these items can be the same. For instance, Craig Valentine has a product called Create Your Killer Keynote. He also has a presentation with the same name. I know because I own one and saw the other in Tulsa this spring.

For the rest of us, the business name doesn’t have to be complex or totally unique. But, you can choose to go that way too if you like.

Simple
Craig’s fitness coaching
Smith brother’s fitness
Marilyn’s body shaping

Unique
30-something fitness inc.
Pennystone fitness
FitBlogger

Next is the Tagline. For my Talk to the Human Blog, I decided on Ways to improve your interactions with real people. That wasn’t my first tagline, and it probably wont be my last. For more tips on taglines, check out this post on CopyBlogger.com.

Naming your primary products or services, of course, requires you to have them. Examples:

FitBlogger blog
Get fit with Chuck cd set
Eat right and be fit cookbook
Build a Better Bicep home study course
Joey’s personal fitness instruction

As I mentioned before, those signature presentation delivered as a lunch and learn, seminar, or even at your Toastmasters club for practice should have a catchy title to help the audience know the value they will get by listening.

Michelle’s 7 steps to a healthier you
Sonia’s 3 keys to eating tasty and healthy food
A heathlier you in just 9 minutes per day

Finally, I mentioned how people refer to you. This refers to a type of iconic status, which means it develops over time. For instance, I know a guy named Rory Vaden who’s signature presentation is about self discipline. It’s called “Take the Stairs.” I see it enough that whenever I look at an Elevator, my mind says “Rory!” and I head for the stairs (within reason). I should probably hide his Facebook posts, but that’s another story.

Iconic status isn’t always flattering. Personally I’m glad my “Talk to the Human guy” idea from early posts never caught on. I’m not even sure what I was thinking on that one. 

Determining your message is a multi-step process, and thinking about those different areas where your message goes will be important to your success. Start with that combination of who you are , what you offer and who your customer is. Brainstorm with some friends, your Toastmasters club, or here on the message board.

No Laughs to Know Laughs by Rory Vaden was published in 2007. This is a book designed to help people who feel they are currently in the “No Laughs” category to learn how to use humor effectively and “Know Laughs”.

I met Rory in Memphis this summer, and heard him speak at our Toastmaster Regional Conference. After hearing him speak and talking to him afterwards I decided to buy his book, which at 106 pages was a pretty quick read. In fact I had trouble putting it down and in fact finished reading it before flying home from the conference.

Rory’s assertion is that no one is born funny, but that humor is a skill to be learned much like any other. His book is roadmap to beginning that journey to becoming a more humorous person and incorporating that humor into public speaking. He includes his 7 laws of humor, 5 “fear fighters” and 10 reasons why people laugh. By understanding these ideas you will be a more comfortable speaker in any environment.

Although many of his examples are sales-related, he shows quite well how these principles can be used in other speaking situations.  

Great things about the book:
Easy style to read – Rory has a natural style that’s easy to follow
Nice humor throughout – an obvious need for a book on humor
Great tips that serve not only as a good read, but as a reference book you can go back to

Some limiting factors:
While being short makes it an easier read, some topics are covered more quickly than I might have expected
The section on humor exercises is just 4 pages

Great quotes:
“I bugged telemarketers when they were eating dinner”
“Capturing humor is easier than writing it”
“He had this look…like Jessica Simpson on Jeopardy”

Recommendations:
If humor is something you struggle with, this book is worth the investment. If humor is already your strength, you may find this book has a few tips you hadn’t considered before.

Check it out at http://secure.ssnseminars.com/store/Development-Resources-C10.aspx