Sometimes it's better not to be prepared

Wait... Did Lisa actually just say, "Sometimes it's better NOT to be prepared?" Are pigs flying? Is the sky falling?

I know. It's practically all I talk about. It's my "thing." So let me tell you a story.

I have a client who has recently decided to "come out" about her epilepsy. After a life-threatening and life-changing event a couple of years ago, she has decided to write a book and start speaking about her experience, to become an advocate for people with epilepsy. She wants the timing to be right, and has some concerns about how people will react, so she is working on her presentation and her book somewhat secretively. Very few people in her personal or professional life know she has epilepsy.

Last week, at a service club where she is a member, she was reminded it was her turn to stand up and give a five-minute presentation about herself and her business. She had somehow missed the notification, so was taken by surprise and had not prepared anything.

She stood up and started speaking. She talked about her business, her accomplishments, her family. And then, it just came out: her epilepsy. She revealed her big secret, without even thinking about it. She talked briefly about the disease and some statistics and shared her passion for the awareness and research organization she supports.

And immediately, hands went up. Questions, questions! Questions about her personal experience. Questions about what they should do if she ever has a seizure in their presence. Gratitude and admiration for her sharing.

Here's my point about preparation. I didn't really mean it's better not to be prepared AT ALL. My client has been preparing to talk about this for some time. She's got all the data memorized. She can tell her own story by heart. She was prepared, deep inside her brain.

However, had she been expecting to talk about this, she would have been anxious. Petrified, in fact. Her two biggest fears about talking about her epilepsy, especially the recent life-changing events, were that she would be unable to give a presentation without crying and that people would perceive her differently, as flawed and damaged, once they knew.

But because she didn't have time to think about it, overanalyze it, or worry about how the audience would respond, her story just came out, freely, naturally, and uninhibited. And the audience couldn't have reacted more positively. (Kind of how it was for me when I revealed my experience with panic attacks. She and I immediately bonded over our secrets.)

I will never recommend that you don't prepare for your presentations. In fact, you should always be prepared to speak (and here's how), because you never know when you'll be asked to speak off the cuff. Being prepared at this level, you never need to feel anxious about speaking -- even when the occasion arises unexpectely; you will always be ready. Can you imagine how great that would feel?

My client's preparation paid off when she needed it most. Will yours?

10 posts on sticking to your time

This story by Jeff Foxworthy perfectly illustrates the responsibility of a perfomer (or speaker) to have practiced and prepared well enough to be able to stick to the time allotted -- no matter what happens.

"In my finest moment as a standup...it was the first time I did Johnny. And they told me you had six minutes. We don't want you doing six minutes 20 seconds and we don't want you doing five minutes and 40 seconds. We want you to do six minutes.

I tell my first two jokes. I tell joke #3 and not only do they laugh, it gets an applause break, which never happens in a comedy club. Now I'm smiling, because they're applauding, I'm happy they're applauding, but in my mind this has messed up my six minutes. I had not timed for an applause break.

So even though I'm smiling and I'm starting to go into joke #4, my mind is three minutes ahead of myself, going 'Okay, three minutes from now you have four jokes about your dad; out of the four, the second one is probably the weakest. Cut that joke.'"

~ Comedian Jeff Foxworthy, I Am Comic documentary

Whether you're performing on Johnny Carson or reporting the latest sales numbers to your management team, it's never okay to go long. Your audience will appreciate finishing a few minutes early, but a few minutes late might throw off their whole afternoon.

Here are some of my favorite posts on timing. My fellow bloggers and I wouldn't write about this so often if it weren't such a problem! Please read some (or all) of these and learn how to incorporate timing into your preparation so you never go long again.

Timing your presentation when incorporating activities How do you practice when you don't know how long your activities will take?

You never have as much time as you want Presentations always start late... how will you handle it?

Run out of time? Never again! The most valuable tool in my speaker kit

Time vs. information How to break down your presentation for the time allotted

The rewards of ending on time Great story from someone who did the right thing when there was no time for her to speak

Is there enough white space in your presentation? What to do if you're verbose!

A 90-minute show in 2 minutes A whole episode of Saturday Night Live delivered in two minutes!

And a few favorites from my fellow public speaking bloggers:

How to keep time during your presentation by Olivia Mitchell

What do I do if my presentation is running short or long? by TJ Walker

We're out of time, and it's your fault by Alan Hoffler

Physical comfort is overrated

I recently came across an excerpt from Tim Gunn's book, Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work, and was struck by number 3:

"3. Physical Comfort Is Overrated

Some people think of dressing up or being polite as a burden. They think having to wear a tie or use the right fork or send a thank-you card is a kind of shackle. To these people I say: Getting out of bed is a shackle. If you feel that way, stay in it! Invest in a hospital gurney and wheel yourself around on it when you need to go out.

I get very impatient with this whole "comfort issue" with clothing. Yes, you don't feel as comfortable in clothes that fit as you do in your pajamas. That's a good thing. You're navigating a world where you need to have your wits about you. If you're in a lackadaisical comfort haze, you can't be engaged in the world the way you need to be."

If you don't know Tim Gunn, he has been the designers' mentor on the show Project Runway for eight seasons, and is a former instructor and chair of fashion design at Parsons The New School for Design. I must say, I'm not surprised to hear someone from the fashion industry eschew comfort in clothing. I mean, these people make a living selling women 4-inch heels, skinny jeans and Spanx.

But Tim's comment made me think, and that's a good thing.

I'm a comfort nut. I don't own heels over an inch and a half, and sometimes that's even too high -- I'm all about my Dansko clogs. I prefer a soft t-shirt and shorts pretty much any day of the week. I don't wear wool -- too scratchy. I don't wear suits -- too restrictive. Most of my clothes have a hint of stretch. Tights? Maybe in the dead of winter, and the waistband has to fall somewhere around my hips or I will asphyxiate from cutting off the circulation around my stomach.

I get Tim's point, however. There's something about being in a jacket and button-down shirt, in slacks and dressy shoes, that makes me feel the need to sit up straight, watch my language, and act like a grownup. This is not a bad thing, especially when standing on stage in front of an audience.

A client mentioned the other day that she had watched video of herself after one of her few speaking engagements. She had worn a button-down shirt, untucked (as is typical for women's shirts), with the cuffs left unbuttoned, and a pair of black trousers. She had dressed to look nice, as well as for comfort.

When she watched back the video, all she could see was how sloppy she looked. She hadn't anticipated her outfit coming across like this when she got dressed. But on stage, every little flop of her sleeves was noticeable.

As speakers, we are not dressing for high fashion. We are dressing appropriately for whichever audience is attending our presentation. This could mean a sweater set with a skirt, a collared shirt with nice pants or khakis, or a suit. It completely depends on your audience and how they will be dressed. So, is it possible to look nice and be comfortable? Should we give up the idea of comfort in order to keep our wits about us, as Tim suggests?

I don't wear clogs or Tevas to speaking engagements. But I do wear these. Tim Gunn would probably find them hideous, but they make standing on my feet for three or four hours straight a piece of cake.

I have a collection of jackets and sweaters that are comfortable and appropriate in design and color. I have tailored pants that are comfortable enough not to cut off my circulation or show every detail of what's under the fabric. My presentation clothes are not shapeless enough to put me in a "lackadaisical comfort haze," but are comfortable enough to get through several hours of training without pain or irritation. Keep in mind that, if you are uncomfortable or distracted by your clothing, it's likely the audience will be, too.

I think I've found a good balance between comfort, style and professionalism. How about you? How do you balance your comfort with clothing that's appropriate for your work? Do you think comfort is overrated?

Are you fueling your audience's distraction?

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A couple of weeks ago, I took a class on healthy sleep habits. It was a typical slide show with several bullets on each slide, interspersed with a few clipart images.

At one point, the instructor put up a slide with six bullets, each denoting a type of sleep disorder.

A woman in the back of the room immediately raised her hand. When the instructor called on her, the woman asked, "What's parasomnias?"

Parasomnias was the sixth bullet on the slide.

This is one of the best illustrations I've seen for why you don't want to put all your ideas on one slide! For goodness' sake, this woman couldn't wait for the instructor to get through the other five bullet points. She had to know what parasomnias were. NOW.

When you put all your ideas on the slide, you are asking for audience distraction. They may not raise their hands and ask you to jump ahead, but mentally, they already are.

Instead of giving your audience a reason to be reading ahead and not paying attention to what you're talking about at that moment, divide up your slide into its separate ideas.

If the slide was something like this:

I would break it out into six separate slides, something like this:

Remember, whether you have six ideas on one slide, or six slides with one idea each, the presentation takes the same amount of time!

Don't be afraid to spread out your ideas, giving each one the focus and attention it deserves, and keeping audience distractions to a minimum.

Why you won't see before and after videos of my clients

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I occasionally have a prospect who asks to see "before and after" videos of my clients. I don't offer this for several reasons, but mostly because each client has her or his own goals to achieve, and watching someone else's video will not tell you anything about their achievements.

Here are some of my clients' goals for coaching:

* I really just want to learn how to be comfortable in front of a crowd... I don't want to be defeated by insecurities or self-consciousness

* To become confident and comfortable in public speaking situations. It also wouldn't hurt to become a more effective communicator

* To learn skills. When I feel prepared my anxiety is diminished tremendously

* I want to move from good to great as a speaker

* To learn how to build an excitement within my audience for my subject

* To learn how to tell my story

* To stop feeling nervous and to be more natural, spontaneous and confident

* To be the best I can be

* To be comfortable, prepared, and give an excellent speech

* To make my presentation interesting, organize my presentation, get the point across in a positive way

* To enjoy public speaking, not dread it, and to have the audience enjoy the experience too

* Increase impact learning and motivating audience into action needed

* Being able to make a presentation where I can control my focus, attention and emotion

* Become a better public speaker

If your goal in getting coaching is to overcome nervousness, how can you prove you've succeeded to someone else who may not even notice your nervousness in the first place?

If your goal is to control your focus and attention, and another speaker's goal is to become a successful motivational speaker, your accomplishments might appear to be seriously lacking to the person with the loftier goal.

It's impossible to compare one speaker-in-training with another, because each person has different skills they are learning, different style and personality, and different goals to accomplish. Even the goal "to be a better speaker" is all relative.

A speaker who wants to be more spontaneous and confident may indeed feel more spontaneous and confident after a few sessions, and this will spur him to find and accept more opportunities to speak and to continue building his skills. But to put that client up for judgment in front of someone who doesn't know him, his achievements or his struggles makes no sense and is not productive.

Each of us is constantly learning, and we each have our own reasons for wanting to be better speakers. We each have our own areas of improvement we focus on.

I have a couple of speakers who want to be motivational speakers and tell their story to a lot of people. They're just starting out and their videos would mean very little to you. But they are making leaps and strides at every session, internal growth and mental readjusting that no one can see but them, in addition to outwardly visible improvement of skills.

I have other clients who want to do better at work; I have clients who want to build their businesses; I have clients who want to be better prepared, engage the audience more, reduce anxiety or get better at communicating. I even have a client who wants to be able to tell her story without crying.

Ultimately, we all want to give better presentations by the audience's standard, to wow the audience, keep them engaged and be memorable enough that they will take the desired action after our talk. But we won't make external, visible changes until we have made internal, invisible changes.

Each person has her own standards, her own path to follow, her own challenges to overcome, and her own way of knowing when the objective has been accomplished. Each person knows in her heart what success will feel like, and it may not look anything like what you think success looks like.

And that's perfectly all right!

Going sideways

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I heard someone speak recently whose "schtick" is to make comments under her breath, or toss in little side comments (kind of like a run-on sentence with lots of parenthetical statements) as she's talking. If I had added up all the time she spent going sideways (but I didn't, because I'm not obsessive that way), I'm guessing she wasted a good 3 minutes of a ten-minute presentation going off track.

This happens to be her style of humor, and that's okay if it's not overused. But beyond the humor, there was a lot of wasted time with extra comments that didn't help the direction of her talk.

The next time you give a presentation, pay attention to your parenthetical statements. Do you make them? And if so:

Is this something you do because you feel you haven't explained your main ideas enough?

Is it something you do to be funny?

Is it something you do unconsciously to avoid silence and pauses?

Videotape or audio record yourself when you can to catch these and similar little verbal habits. I won't say "bad" habits, because we each have our own individual style and these habits aren't bad unless they become distracting to your audience and take away from your message.

When you find yourself about to go off on a mini-rant or side comment, ask yourself if it adds to the presentation. Is it funny? Does it extend your ideas? If not, make the effort to skip it and keep going forward rather than sideways.

Learning to be aware of and then to manage your habits and quirks is key to a concise, clear message that your audience doesn't have to go through a maze of parenthetical statements to understand.

Don't miss Beyond Bullet Points "Live!"

Cliff Atkinson, author of Beyond Bullet Points, is offering -- for the first time ever -- courses to the public on his BBP method! (If you haven't read Beyond Bullet Points, I highly recommend it. You can get it here.)

On November 11, Cliff is offering his one-day basic PowerPoint course, and on November 12, he's offering his advanced version. You can sign up as an individual or as a group.

Here are all the details, and when you're ready to register, please use this link (it's my affiliate link).

The program will be held at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles. Hope to see you there!

Make a big space more intimate

"In the boom, in the 80s, of comedy clubs, all these entrepreneurs were putting together these rooms with these high ceilings and 'Hey, look at this great comedy room!' It's like, 'You dummy -- it's supposed to be a little box, like this, with a low ceiling. The laughs don't go up in the air. It's supposed to be a low, low ceiling.'"

~ Actor/Comedian/Producer/Writer Carol Leifer

"Comedy rooms are very hard to figure out. It’s all vibes. There are certain givens, like having a low ceiling because laughs need to hover. If you ever go into a comedy club, the good ones have low ceilings. If you have to do comedy outdoors, as I’ve done sometimes, it’s hard because the laughs just go into the air and dissipate. The laughter needs to hover, because it’s contagious."

~ Actor/Comedian Susie Essman

"Any gig outdoors during the day is crap. Light and the elements are bad for laughs...

Best gig? Anywhere that has the audience in tight, low ceiling and dirty...most Edinburgh venues."

~ Comedy Magician Pete Firman

I recently wrote about speaking in a venue that was way too big for the audience. The organizers had attempted to keep everyone together in a small area of the giant room, but the high ceiling and large space negated any intimacy that was achieved in moving the tables together.

A couple of commenters on that post talked about bad conference rooms they had spoken in, including this comment from Rowan Manahan:

"...Not one thread of soft furnishing in the entire room, a high ceiling and a glass-topped table in a large boardroom. I sounded like someone had turned the Treble up to 11 and the Bass down to 0 on an amplifier!

I had people scurrying around looking for anything that could soak up some sound. We ended up using three Flipcharts with large towels draped over them to act as baffles in the back of the room and some large potted plants up at the front."

Through conversations with other speakers, I think it's been established that meeting rooms are frequently inhospitable places for presentations. So what do you do when the room is too big for your audience? Create intimacy however you can. It's always better to have too many people in a room than too few. How can you create a feeling of closeness in an airplane-hangar-sized room?

1. Tighten up the group

Don't let the audience disperse themselves around a large venue. Part of what a speaker is trying to achieve is a group experience, and when audience members are separated, that feeling of connection and camaraderie dissipates. And as every comedian knows, you want your audience packed tight so their laughter and emotional responses are concentrated.

Have everyone come to the front and sit in the first few rows. If you know the room is too big for the numbers who are expected, go ahead and just put away the chairs in the back rows before people arrive. You might even consider arranging the chairs or tables into a U or circle shape. Reduce the options for people to sit far away from you and from each other.

2. Manage the sound

Your distance from the audience, open doors and windows, carpeting, wall hangings and height of the ceiling will all have an impact on sound. Hard surfaces bounce sound while soft surfaces absorb. You don't want too much of either; a good balance cuts down echo but still allows your voice to resonate.

Keep windows and doors closed, so your voice doesn't fly out the window and, if there are curtains, try closing them for better sound absorption. If the room is big and there's a lot of echo, try Rowan's suggestions from above to capture sound and keep it in a small space. Stand close to your audience and try to remove barriers such as tables or a lectern that creates more distance between you.

3. Use a microphone if necessary

Don't shy away from using a microphone if it will improve the sound in a large venue. If you have more than 30 or 40 people in a large room, it will also benefit you to have a mic to take questions, so the audience can be heard as well.

Check out these acoustically friendly and unfriendly spaces at Voice Academy for ideas.

What have you done to make a big room more intimate for your presentation? Share in the comments!

Why be okay when you can be great?

A speaker I heard recently got halfway through his presentation before he started to make his point. He confessed to me later that he had been a last-minute replacement and hadn't had time to put something together. But as a regular speaker, he felt confident about his ability to wing it. And after the presentation, several people mentioned that they felt he was speaking directly to their lives. It was clear to me that he was winging it, but maybe not to anyone else!

Another speaker I heard recently ran out of time at the end of her presentation and exclaimed, "I didn't realize I had this much to say!"

Really? How could this have happened?

1. She didn't prepare

2. She didn't practice

3. She didn't time herself

To be fair, this was not a bad presentation; it was very informative and the speaker had great confidence and personality. It was not clear that she hadn't prepared, except when she got to the end and was disappointed not to be able to say more.

So just imagine if these two speakers HAD prepared. Imagine how much impact they could have made if they had really nailed it from beginning to end.

We can ALWAYS do better. We should never get complacent just because we speak a lot, have confidence and can whip out something in a few minutes. It's easy to start thinking we can phone it in when we are experienced and feel good about our skills.

Even if you're asked to speak off the cuff, you should be able to write down a point or two on a napkin to mentally ready yourself. Dig deep to find a story from your life to illustrate your points and you've got an opening. Recap your main idea and you've got a closing. You can do this in five minutes -- my group coaching clients do it all the time.

If you are NOT a last-minute replacement, then you have no excuse not to give the audience your best. It's never okay to wing it just because you think you can get away with it. You are doing them and yourself a disservice. We all have occasions when we are given a less-than-optimal amount of time to prepare. But please don't make it a habit. Phoning it in is not going to have a long-term positive effect on your audiences.

Always strive to do your best, give maximum value and be present for the audience. Why be just okay when you can be great?

Only 4 days left to register for public speaking group coaching in Santa Barbara!

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted successful entrepreneurs who discovered that improving their public speaking skills enabled them to gain more clients and grow their businesses. It makes sense that strong communication skills and being perceived as an expert in your field through speaking engagements would help to build your business.

But where does the average entrepreneur find this kind of training? Right here in Santa Barbara!

Santa Barbara's only public speaking group coaching program kicks off a six-week fall session on September 14 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Public speaking group coaching emphasizes building skills and confidence in a safe and encouraging environment, and includes exercises, discussion, opportunities for practice, and videotaping of practice presentations. For entrepreneurs on a budget, group coaching is more affordable than individual coaching and -- with a group size of only six people -- it's more personalized than a seminar.

Some of the topics covered include managing fear and anxiety, engaging your audience, structuring a presentation, creating a strong opening and closing, PowerPoint design principles, proper preparation, relaxation tools, and more. Tuesday meetings are held in Santa Barbara from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Public speaking is a critical skill for today's entrepreneur and is one of the best personal and professional development tools for building confidence, through speaking practice and experience.

Reserve your spot now!

Concrete cereal

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My cereal box usually has a graphic on the front that shows, "9g protein," "8g fiber," and "7 whole grains."

I noticed yesterday that the brand has a new flavor in new packaging, and now in addition to showing the grams of protein on the front of the box, there is also a large statement, "As much protein as an egg."

Now, if you're looking for specific nutritional benefits to your cereal, you can pick up the box and look at the nutrition label on the side, which takes some time, effort and manual labor. And then you actually have to know what those numbers mean, or go do the research to find out. You can also scan the front of the box for marketing messages. And in quickly scanning the box, which message is more meaningful: "9g protein" or "As much protein as an egg?"

This change in packaging reflects Chip and Dan Heath's concept of "Concrete" in their book, "Made to Stick." In this case, "As much protein as an egg," answers the question, "How much protein is 9 grams?" If you care about how much protein you're eating in a day, knowing that one serving of this cereal has the same amount of protein as an egg helps you make your decision about what to have for breakfast. You don't have to look up any nutrition tables or do any research to choose your preferred option.

A concrete message is a quick shortcut to your audience "getting it." Why beat around the bush, using abstract statistics and complicated numbers, making more work for your audience, when you can just give them a tangible example to grasp?

Share your examples of concrete messages in the comments!

Five things speakers can learn from event planners

I have two clients who are event planners. They create amazing social and corporate events as well as weddings that would charm your socks off.

If you've ever been to a conference, a wedding, a large fundraiser, a political rally, or a memorial service, chances are an event planner was involved.

All event planners have one thing in common: No matter how complicated or difficult the planning and organization, they make the event appear seamless. With vendors ranging from caterers to florists to photographers to musicians to hotels to audio/visual professionals, and every other kind of service provider you can imagine, the event planner juggles personalities, schedules, budgets, and activities to create an event that seems like it just "came together."

As speakers, there's a lot we can learn from event planners. Here are some event planning tips to help you put together your next seamless presentation.

1. Understand the purpose of the event.

Event planners have to understand what their client's purpose is for the event in order to be successful. Is it to raise money, thank donors, build morale, celebrate an important occasion, educate staff, experience their dream wedding, create industry cohesion? What are the desired outcomes or results?

As a speaker, understanding your client's desired result will help you create a presentation that truly meets the needs of your audience and guarantees that you are focusing on the proper objectives when preparing.

2. Make the best use of the venue.

Granted, event planners frequently get to choose their own venue, while speakers are mostly expected to go where the client tells us to go. However, once you know the venue, there are still a lot of things to consider, and event planners are masters at making any venue workable.

How big is the room? If it's too big, how can you make it more intimate? If it's too small, how can you make it feel more roomy? How's the lighting, the temperature, the seating? Are there enough electrical outlets for your equipment? How far away is parking, and do you have to lug your supplies a long way? (There is one venue at UC Santa Barbara that I've spoken at many times, where I have to walk from one end of campus to the other. A rolling case makes this trek much more bearable.)

3. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare.

An event planner generally does not throw together a wedding in a month. There are vendors to coordinate, invitations to be sent, a site to secure. It would be ridiculous to expect a well-organized event with such a short lead time, unless it's very small, with very few attendees and very few supplies and equipment needed.

Likewise, it would be foolish to start preparing your presentation a few days before you deliver it, yet this is quite common. Have you taken the time to determine your objective, prepare a strong opening and closing, and practice the presentation? Have you gotten input from the organizers or attendees about their needs and interests? Have you rehearsed any demonstrations, games, examples or activities? Have you checked to make sure you have extra batteries, an extension cord, enough handouts, a backup copy of your PowerPoint, and a timer?

Preparing to give an effective, engaging and memorable presentation takes time. There's no way around it. Give yourself as much time as you need so you can give the audience your best.

4. Be flexible.

"Stuff" happens. Event planners are experts at working around setbacks and figuring out solutions when things don't go as planned. They don't panic, they just get busy.

As a speaker, if you have not yet experienced one of these setbacks, it's only a matter of time before you do. Your technology will fail. Your room will be next to a loud construction site. The speaker before you will go long and your presentation will be cut by fifteen minutes. The trick is to keep going. Sometimes your audience will know there's a problem, but most of the time, you will be the only one. Keep it to yourself, fix it as quickly and quietly as possible, and move on.

At some point, after all the planning and preparation, you have to let go and accept that whatever happens, happens!

5. Enjoy yourself.

Event planners don't get to relax until their event is over; even after all the planning is done, event supervision and management is the last step in the process. But it's important that she's not too stressed out to enjoy the fruits of her labor during this last push. After all, she still has to run the show, interacting with clients, vendors and guests -- and if she's not enjoying herself, her bad mood can easily rub off on others.

Likewise, a speaker is no good to himself or the audience if he is not having a good time. Before, during and after your presentation, you are interacting with your client and your audience, and you are still working until you get in your car to leave. It's not only your job to convey information, but to ensure your guests are enjoying themselves, even (or maybe more so) if your topic is dry, heavy or intense.

These are just a few examples of what you can learn from event planners. Share more in the comments!

When nobody cares if you go long

On Speak Schmeak, I've written many posts about how to be memorable and engaging as a speaker. There are certain rewards that come from offering memorable performances: The audience remembers your message and takes action, you get invited back to speak, you get referred to other organizations, maybe you get a raise, maybe you get a promotion. And of course, there's the personal satisfaction of a job well done.

Here's another reward you may not have considered... When you receive an Emmy, the producers let your acceptance speech go on for THREE MINUTES when everyone else is cut off after 40 seconds.

Yes, this is unprofessional of Al Pacino; he should have prepared a 40-second speech like everyone else (it took him 15 seconds just to get started). But who's going to shut up Al Pacino? He was given the usual "wrap up" requests, but kept speaking, and they never played him off.

Let's just say there are perks to being a well-known, popular performer!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Guest Post by Irene Brennick

I hope you're all enjoying a lovely three-day weekend. As my brief Monday-through-Thursday vacation of last week has turned into Monday-through-Monday, I'm going to share one last guest post with you, by speaker and author Irene Brennick before I get back to work tomorrow. If you love analogies like I do, you'll appreciate the one below.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Great public speakers don’t just get up and talk, they inspire and motivate us to take action. If we want our audience to remember what we’ve talked about, or if we need to convey a message in a short amount of time, simple visuals can really do the job.

Although I’m not one for long, drawn out presentations, I don’t like to be so rushed that I don’t have time to make my point. Sometimes as a United Way campaigner, I had five minutes or less to motivate people to give back to their community. I was expected to stand before hundreds of salespeople and in just five minutes, get them to stop what they were doing, think about those less fortunate, forget focusing on making money, and make a decision to give back —- right on the spot —- by filling out a pledge form.

When I had to make a quick presentation like this, I would cut a long stem rose from the bush in my front yard and bring it with me. I borrowed this idea from a minister I saw do it in church.

I’d walk to the front of the room, flower in hand, and ask the company CEO to join me. You can bet this got everyone’s attention. Smiling, I asked the CEO to take all the petals off the flower. He’d usually pluck off the petals and throw them, trying to get a good laugh from everyone.

I paused for a few moments so everyone could see him holding the stem. Then I asked him to put the petals back on. A little nervous, he would laugh at first, then bend down and pretend to stick the petals on. Everyone chuckled as the petals fell back to the floor. Next, I thanked him and told him to sit down.

I faced the audience and showed them the stem. “This is the work of the nonprofit,” I said. “This stem is the person who comes to us every day —- lonely, scared, stripped of hope and dignity. It may have been the cruelty of their own family, abuse endured over and over, or a tragic accident, but for these people, life has been hard. One by one, their petals were ripped off.

“Non-profit organizations and the volunteers who donate their time, have the near impossible job of putting the petals back on. It’s so much easier to take them off though, isn’t it? I was just a stem when I came for help, but today I can look at you and say that I am healed, whole, and happy. We’re all busy trying to make money, but I’m asking you not to forget the people who need you.

“You’ve probably already received your United Way pledge form, and it may be on the bottom of your to do pile, but I’m asking you to put it on top, because nothing matters more than helping another human being.”

As you can imagine, the room fell silent, and the message came through loud and clear. I know people won’t recall exactly what I said that day, but I bet they remember the long, empty stem and what it means. Visuals can help make a point and leave a lasting impression.

Irene is the author of Bring Your Audience to Their Feet.

Public Speaking Tips from my Dog Balou -- Guest post by Joey Asher

Still out of town! Enjoy this post about what a dog can teach you about public speaking!

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My dog Balou is a 60-pound, black-lab mix that we adopted at a PetSmart rescue day last year in Sandy Springs, Georgia. And if he could only talk and write on a flip chart, I’m sure he’d be a great public speaker. That’s because he understands how to connect with people better than most humans.

It’s about connection not perfection

First, Balou understands that you can do a lot wrong if you establish great rapport.

Balou makes lots of mistakes. He eats the insoles out of shoes. He chewed the upholstery on our nice living room sofa. When he vomits on the kitchen floor, it’s truly disturbing. And I won’t bother describing the foul and prodigious “gift” he left for us in the basement on Thanksgiving morning last year. I guess we forgot to let him out the night before.

But we forgive Balou’s mistakes because we love him. When I’m working at the kitchen table, he sits at my feet. When my kids come home from school, he runs to the window and starts barking for joy. And he does this hilarious thing with this ratty stuffed panda where . . . Well you get the idea.

Like Balou, great public speakers understand that you can overcome mistakes with connection. They’re not worried about forgetting a point, using an awkward phrase, or having their hair out of place. They don’t worry if the projector breaks. They know that if they connect with the audience with energy, eye contact and stories, all will be forgiven.

My Dog Displays Lot of Passion

If Balou were a public speaker, his best trait would be his passion. Balou has no trouble expressing his excitement. When I’m about to take him for a walk and he sees me grab his leash, he goes berserk. He leaps, twirls, and sneezes repeatedly (Sneezing is how Balou shows excitement). That excitement is contagious and endearing.

Great speakers also show passion. I worked with an attorney that gave a presentation on how women attorneys can balance work and family. As she spoke, her face lit up, her voice became intense, and her arms moved wildly. Her passion was obvious and I was riveted.

Balou Makes Great Eye Contact

Balou knows that to connect with people, you need great eye contact. If I say, “Hey Balou”, he looks up at me. If he wants to go outside, he looks at me and barks. When I come home from work, he shows he’s happy to see me by looking right at me and wagging his tail.

Similarly, great speakers understand that eye contact is critical. I worked with a project manager recently who had great energy but looked at his feet when he spoke. We helped him by making him hold the eye contact for three to five seconds with individual listeners.

Balou just loves you

Finally, Balou understands that you win affection by showing affection. We love Balou because he loves us and shows us in dozens of ways.

The same is true with great speakers. They show their affection for their audience by addressing their key concerns rather than giving a generic speech. They leave plenty of time for questions. They then answer those questions with a helpful, sincere tone. Audiences return the love that you give.

I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that Balou knows how to sell himself so well. His livelihood depends on it.

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Joey Asher is President of Speechworks, a selling and communication skills coaching company in Atlanta. He has worked with hundreds of business people helping them learn how to communicate in a way that connects with clients. His new book “How to Win a Pitch: The Five Fundamentals That Will Distinguish You from the Competition” is available on Amazon and at www.speechworks.net