Talk to the Human™

Have you heard (or read) opinions about how competing, and even winning, a Toastmasters contest has no real value in “regular” speaking?

I have, and I find it very confusing. With the exception of some very specific types of speaking, such as debates, I can’t understand why people have trouble translating great contest speeches into great speaking in general.

In a previous post, I wrote about some lessons I learned from watching contest speeches, especially at the top level. In this entry, I’ll describe how those same lessons apply to “regular speaking” (if there is such a thing).

First was, Have a message. In contest speaking, I think this is the single most important aspect of a winning speech. This is such an obvious need for any presentation, including project reviews, performance discussions, and any training that I can’t imagine how you wouldn’t see the correlation. No matter when you talk, without a message you are just blabbing. Right?

Next was Tell your own compelling story. While much of our corporate-style speaking may seem to be devoid of storytelling, the fact is that it is still the best way to make your point stick. It may be true that your boss only wants the brief facts without anything “extra”, but the fact is this is still an invaluable skill to have. You should be ready to back up your point with a story in case the boss wants more detail.

Use humor appropriately. I’ve had a couple of rare bosses with no sense of humor, but in a majority of cases even the most stoic of bosses like a little humor thrown in. Appropriately for those circumstances does mean to use caution and keep it professional, but it doesn’t mean you can’t elicit an occational chuckle.

Finally was Set the stage with grand and normal gestures. In this case, you may stay with more conservative gestures, but again the watchword is appropriate. Yes, it would be rare to use the type of stage presence that the Champs have used to win those awards. But knowing and practicing the appropriate gestures for your topic, audience, and stage is still a skill that will make a positive difference in any presentation.

The next time someone tels you that contest speaking has no bearing in “real” speaking (be sure you use the air quotes in your response), remember these tips. You can most certainly apply those skills you learn while competing. They wouldn’t just apply to professional speaking, but to corporate, volunteer and most other types of speaking.

Hooray for long titles!

Seriously, I just received Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars by Mitch Meyerson. I’ve been waiting for this book, so rather than wait for Sunday to do a review after I finish reading it, I thought I would clue you in to a great purchase you can make today.

Mitch Meyerson has authored and coauthored a number of great books on marketing, including titles such as Guerrilla Marketing on the Front Lines and World Class Speaking with Craig Valentine. He also certifies Guerrilla Marketing Coaches and works with Craig to certify World Class Speaking Coaches. 

This book is a compilation of chapters from very successful people with specif advice on using Social Media. One chapter (which I read immediately), How to Communicate with Impact Using Social Media, was written by Craig Valentine. Others were written by well know authors and blog experts Chris Garrett, Chris Brogran and Brian Clark. I wrote about Brian’s site, CopyBlogger in a previous post. There is also a chapter by Sham Hyder Kabani, author of The Zen of Social Media Markeing.

With 22 chapters in all, this look like a great resource for using social media. Take a look at the Facebook site for the book launch, you can find some good information from Mitch to see if this book is one you should add to your library. Watch for the full review soon.

August 20th came and went without much fanfare. In fact, if you didn’t know it, you wouldn’t even have expected that my Talk to the Human blog has been up and running for a full year now. I found a stat on the Internet, which I chose to believe, that says:

The Perseus report noted [in the link] indicates that 66.0% of surveyed blogs had not been updated in two months, “representing 2.72 million blogs that have been either permanently or temporarily abandoned”.

And…

In fact, 1.09 million blogs were one-day wonders, with no postings on subsequent days.

I’m glad those weren’t me. In fact, in my own empirical research, I have found a number of blogs on speaking that had been abandoned within 3-6 months of their initiating.

In this last year, I’ve posted over 200 blog entries. With the launch of a new site, SpeakerBlogger.com, I may have trouble keeping up that pace, but I’ll keep working on it.

One year down, many more to go!

P.S. I am working on getting my blog listed on Technorati, so I need to add this code for verification: PX2M62AWUZ22

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…

As I watched the International Speech Contest at the 2010 Toastmasters International Convention, I noticed a few things that, in my opinion, truly contributed to the best speaker being recognized as the World Champion.

First, without a doubt is have a message. This may be a no-brainer, but in two years of watching the finals and three years watching regional/semi-final contests I have seen some speakers miss this one all together. You may ask, how do they miss something so critical? Good question. It’s simple, they only think they have a message. You have to, have to, HAVE TO  be sure that the audience will walk away with your message, and better yet with it worded the way you meant it. See Craig Valentine’s work on Foundational Phrases – No Phrase, No Stage.

Tell your own, compelling story. It has to support the message, and in my experience the strongest messages are the ones learned from someone else, like a parent or sibling.  In David Henderson’s speech, The Aviator, his lesson “losing people is a part of loving people” came from a powerful discussion with his mother. His use of dialog was strong, and it helped us relive those moments with him.

Use humor appropriately. David’s speech had a very serious message. However, he was able to light up the room with parts of his story about how he and his friend would play together. As I remember it, they “flew over a bazillion missions together without any casualties.” In Robert Mackenzie’s speech, My Alter Ego, there were a number of well placed lines that fit right into the speech. A crowd favorite was, “By 30 I had said ‘no’ more times than Toyota said ‘recall’.” 

Set the stage with grand and normal gestures. David took us back to a time when he and his friend, at age 7, used to play aviator together. He did this twice by extending his arms and making airplane (and shooting) noises to simulate the event. Robert did this by showing us the size and place for his invisible alter-ego, and then taking us back to that spot on the stage when he needed to, including simulating a door to go inside and shut himself in.

Of course, giving a championship-quality speech is more than checking off a few boxes of “must-do’s”. But if you are missing any of these elements in your speech, don’t be shocked if your name doesn’t get called.

Another thing – be sure to practice (duh), but don’t overdo it on soliciting feedback. Use Ideas #1 and #2 in my advaced suggestion post, and get feedback each time you practice. Have someone you respect and trust write you a manual speech evaluation each time you practice, and ignore all the verbal minutia you get from the rest of the room. Of course, you’ll want to get some professional-quality coaching as well. World Champions Edge (affiliate link) is a great place to start.

Good luck, and don’t wait too long to get started. Next year will be here any minute…

By now you know there’s a big speech contest every year at the Toastmasters International Convention, right? But wait, there’s more. There’s a whole Convention going on during the Convention! And. It’s. Fun.

Here are my tips on the best way you, fellow toastmaster, can (and should!) experience the convention next year.

1. Go (duh). You can’t get the tremendous advantages from attending the convention by skipping the whole event.
2. Divide and conquer. You can’t attend every session, but you can learn from every session. Make friends, take notes at each session and trade notes with others (or Blog them like I did)
3. Network. Did you know there is a district in Australia with two Lt Governors Education and Training (like me) and two Lt Governors Marketing? I didn’t until I met one. Turns out that’s what you do in a district is so big it needs to split next year. There’s a cool goal.
4. Mingle with important people. Our International President (Pat Johnson), Executive Director and others in the leadership and world headquarters (WHQ) staff love meeting members (even from Kansas). Did you know that if enough people ask for a certain item to be stocked in the TI bookstore, that they will add it? Me either, until I mingled.
5. Volunteer. Many hands make light work. I spent two hours as a Sgt at Arms at the door of the Opening Ceremonies. Met more people, had easy access to pop out to the restroom, and now at least one WHQ Staff member owes me a favor (another story)
6. Go to the Board of Directors briefing. It’s interesting to learn what changes are coming, and what’s being planned for our organization.
7. Write. Put your experiences down on paper (or blog). Last year I finished a CC manual in about 3 months after the convention. There are always so many topics to talk about.
8. Read. Buy at least one book from one speaker and get it autographed. For me it was Carolyn Kepcher, the Golden Gavel recipient. She is an amazing businesswoman, an outstanding speaker and wow-level pretty (not that that matters).
9. Meet the candidates. There are always candidates for International Director and the top offices. They have some amazing ideas, really useful handouts (many on data CDs now) and will take the time to talk to any member.
10. Dress up and dance. The final dinner on Saturday night is your chance to Tux-it-up. Look your best, eat great food and do some more mingling/networking/sucking-up (if necessary). Then, after dinner and the events, you can get some dancing in with 1,500 of your closest new friends.

If you are wondering…yes, I did everything I’m advising you to do. If you go and do less, you’ll be squandering a great opportunity. If you don’t go, then you won’t even know what you’re missing. Don’t let another great convention pass you by.

Next year the convention is in Las Vegas. Even in Australian dollars you can probably afford the airfare there. Start planning now for the trip and when you go, you won’t regret it. And – of course the contest will be great too…

It’s been a fast-paced week with a plethora of opportunities for Toastmaster from around the globe. Personally, I had a wonderfull time and accomplished a lot in this much-too-short Convention.

It all culminated tonight with the final dinner event, the International President’s Dinner Dance (ticket required). At this event, the new International President assumed responsibility and the current IP became the Immediate PIP (Past International President). Now, say that three times fast.

Two interesting topics of note:

First, the outgoing IP, Gary Schmidt, walked in to the theme from Star Wars, and had Golden Gavel Recipient Carolyn Kepcher on his arm. The fact that she stayed for the extra evening to support our International Convention spoke volumes to our membership. She could have easily got on a plane after last night’s Golden Gavel Dinner, and that would have been absolutely fine. But, a number of members mentioned that it was [pretty cool] of her to stay for this dinner event.

Second, new IP, Pat Johnson, gave an outstanding acceptance keynote as our new President. She asked us “Who are your giants?” that allow you to see farther than you could see without standing on their shoulders. Who has made a difference in you life, what evaluator, what mentor has helped you to get where you are today. And…who will you serve as a giant to help them see farther than before?

Her theme of Achieving Greatness Together wove well into the stories and presentation overall, and was a great way to start off her new year.

It’s been an amazing and fast-paced week, and now I am just plain tired. I hope you have enjoyed reading my recaps of the convention. Feel free to post comments on any of the entries, and look at the site and read other posts on my site on Toastmasters-related topics of Communication and Leadership.

Also take a look at a new site I’ve launched with Arlen Busenitz, called SpeakerBlogger.com. Take a look and check it out. Also, we are actively seeking guest posts to publish on the site. If you have something you’d like to submit, please let me know.

Tomorrow…the EDGE with Mark Brown, Craig Valentine, Ed Tate, Darren LaCroix and possibly other World Chanps! More to come…

http://www.speakerblogger.com/

I’ve been working with Arlen Busenitz on a new project, and we have taken it live this week. SpeakerBlogger.com is our new site to Help  individuals take their experience & passion and create a platform to help others and make a profit. 

Take a look now, and sign up to get our free e-book, 7 Steps to Turn Your Passion & Experience into Profit.

Check back as we’ll be putting 2-3 posts a week and going into more depth on the 7 steps. National experts will also be sharing their thoughts through guest articles.

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.

Have you ever wondered what magic words you could use to get better customer service?

I seem to remember, in the good ole days, my Grandfather telling me about a phrase that worked really well for him. It was “I’ll just take my business elsewhere.” Is there a single company in America that would even bother to respond to something like this? I’m reminded of a Simpson’s episode a few years ago called “Flaming Moe’s” where Homer invented a new drink, and Moe (the Bartender) stole the formula and kept the profits. There is a scene where Homer is saying “You just lost a customer.” Moe is so busy serving Flaming Moe drinks, and the crowd is so noisy that Moe can’t even hear him. After Homer repeats it a few times with no effect, he just leaves in disgust.

I’ve seen a lot of use of ”I’m going to tell on you.” This in the sense that if I’m unhappy with your product or service and you don’t remedy the situation, I’ll tell two friends and they will tell two friends (and so on). I’m starting to think this is becoming our generation’s “good ole days” story line. I’ve been keeping up with Alan Weiss’ blog, Contrarian Consulting. He had an issue with Saks Fifth Avenue in New York a while back. In this thread, he talks about not getting much help (he does point out a specific bright spot in the service too) and posts it for the world to see. It’s an understatement to call Alan’s work a well-read blog. A few days later, he posted an update, including a reference to a direct e-mail he sent to the company with no results. Today, he posted another follow-up about a reader who works there who left him a message that has proven difficult to return. If a well known author and general big-whig like Alan can’t get improved service (or even a reasonable response) with the “tell on you” model, how far can you or I get?

Maybe the new mantra is “I’m going to tell on your competition.” Instead of announcing where the deficiency is, perhaps it’s time to tell the world “Hey, I went to Macy’s. Not only were the shirts just as good as the other guys, but the staff made me feel like they were glad to see me.” Note: this is not so much a threat as it is a true course of action. You don’t say it so much to get better service, you use it once you get the service (like a tip). Case in point, there’s a guy at Dillard’s here in Wichita that aways finds me as I approach his department. He’s helpful, pleasant, and now I find myself looking for him when I go in. He’s not an isolated case there.

This leads me to some possible advice for Alan (although I’ sure he’s used this tactic as well); Now that you have pointed out the deficiencies at Saks (which made some great reading, by the way), maybe it’s time for a “Try Sears, where the salespeople care about helping you and you’ll feel so good with that Craftsman wrench in your hand that you won’t care what color your shirt is” post. It’s just a thought…

In the final analysis, maybe there are no magic words for better customer service. I think we are at a point where the best customers find the best service (as Alan did in his post) and if you don’t keep looking, you get what you accept. What does your experience tell you?