Life by Trial and Error » Speaking of Speaking

What Are You Waiting For?

Jo — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:28:54 +0000

One of my Facebook buddies recently recommended a poetry video and I thought, “Sounds good,” then I kept on reading and never checked the link.

Later, in another blog, I found another recommendation for the very same reading. This time I clicked. Take my word for it: don’t keep reading. Click on this powerful performance by [now deceased] poet Gabrielle Bouliane. You won’t soon forget it.

So? What are you waiting for?

20:20

Jo — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:37:12 +0000

Recently I performed my first pecha kucha presentation.

I discovered the pecha kucha format a couple of months ago. It’s a relatively new style of PowerPoint presentation with a simple but rigid structure: 1) it must contain exactly 20 slides; 2) the slides must contain only images, no words; 3) the presentation must run in automated sequence, so there’s no mouse clicking, and 4) each slide must show for exactly 20 seconds. While a verbal presentation is being given, the 20 slides serve only to illustrate what’s being said. That’s all there is to it. But trust me, it’s not easy.

When I first came across the format online, I was struck by the creative challenge. I really enjoy rigid creative structures like sonnets or haiku, so I was instantly tempted to try one myself. My second thought was that the total presentation time of 6:40 made this style perfect for a Toastmasters speech.

I created a rough draft for a presentation and began compiling images. Once I put the images into a PowerPoint file and began to practice, it became clear that I would have to do a lot of editing. I spent about a month revising both the verbal and the visual components before I wrought them into a shape that pleased me.

Then I began to practice. The secret to an impressive pecha kucha performance is all in the practicing. The relentless timing of the slide transitions makes the pacing of the verbal presentation absolutely crucial. For a couple of weeks, I practiced my script verbatim. Once I really had it down and wasn’t omitting anything or getting confused on the slide order, then I began to devise ways of tweaking the pacing. For almost every slide, I practiced adding or subtracting a word, a phrase, a very short sentence. These optional words could be added to stretch out the presentation when I’d rushed a slide, or omitted when I was in danger of running over on any given slide. This not only helped perfect my pacing, it also served to give the presentation a spontaneous feel so it didn’t sound canned (though it was).

I was a bit concerned about my venue. The room where my club usually meets is a board room. The room is narrow and long, and a closed rectangle of tables stretches the entire length, with chairs around the outside and a projection screen at the head of the room. I envisioned pacing in a “U” pattern around the top third of the table setup while making my oral presentation, so I could keep the slide images in sight as I spoke. This would have been a little awkward, but I thought I could pull it off.

A scheduling conflict caused our meeting to be bumped to a training classroom at the last minute. The substitute room turned out to be perfectly suited to my purposes. It was a broad room with small, round tables throughout. There was a dual projector setup along the longer wall, so there was a perfect space for me to stand in between the two images and my positioning made it natural for me to shift my focus both left and right as I spoke. Each time I did so, I was able to see the projected images out of the corners of my eyes. This made it possible for me to stay precisely on track with my slides without ever seeming to look at them at all.

My execution was flawless—I was truly “in the zone” and didn’t stumble at all. At the beginning, I could sense a bit of distraction in my audience, but by the fourth or fifth slide they became attentive. By the middle of the presentation, they were hooked. By the end, they were so rapt that the timer (literally a guy with a stopwatch) missed his cue and failed to signal me—not that I needed it, of course. The ending of the last slide was perfect to the second, making a huge impression. I got lots of great feedback, a really good evaluation, and even inspired one or two of the members to try the format for themselves, even after I warned them how much work was involved.

In the aftermath of my performance, I discovered one small problem with the experiment. I practiced so much and for so long, my script became part of my inner dialogue. I had trouble turning it off!

Altogether, though, it was a great creative experiment. I had a lot of fun putting it together and pulling it off so well was a real rush, too. I’ll probably do another one some day…but not for a long time!

I’m curious whether anyone else is familiar with this presentation format. Have you heard of it, seen one or created one yourself? Tell me about it.

The Devine Message

Jo — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:37:36 +0000

A church along one of my frequent routes has a message board outside, one of those with movable letters. Such boards are often used to quote scripture, announce church events or offer up pithy messages. The church I often pass is fond of the pithy message. Recently, I saw them offer tips on communicating with the Devine [sic].

Now you might think that every dedicated churchgoer would know how to spell “divine”. Sadly, it seems, you would be wrong.

I understand that the message board job might be delegated to some undereducated underling, and I don’t mean to ridicule such people, but I do think it’s a prime example of the erosion of good communication skills, even of literacy itself.

Not too long ago, I read an electronic newsletter put out by a business consultant who was attempting to sell his service to prospective customers. His subject was interesting and what he had to say had true validity, but his composition skills were no better than those of a C+ student. I was tempted to capture his text, edit it, and send it back to him with a carefully worded message about the value of professionalism in business communication and the importance of making a good first impression. I resisted the temptation, but to this day I remember neither his subject nor his ideas, only his poor writing skills.

Public speakers will tell you that most communication is nonverbal—what you don’t say is more impressive than what you do say. The same is true in written communication. It may be that half the people in the world can’t properly choose between “its” and “it’s”, but the half that do know the difference can usually be counted on to care about the difference. If your message is poorly communicated, your message is lost on the segment of your readership that knows how to spell.

Your patriotism will never impress literate people if you write of waiving the flag. If you think that comprise is a high-class synonym of compose, you need to check your dictionary. If you’re a news anchor, you need to know the difference between cache and cachet.

If you’re writing to capture an audience, sell a service or product, or persuade others to your way of thinking, do yourself a favor. Find the most literate person you know and ask them to revise your message. If you want to make an impression on your audience, make sure it’s the right kind of impression.

Stage Fright

Jo — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:15:33 +0000

All my life, I’ve suffered from terrible stage fright. Any time more than three pairs of eyes turned toward me with anticipation, my body went straight to Defcon 1. My face flushed, my chest constricted, my breathing turned rapid and shallow, my voice got all high and quivery, my hands trembled, my heart pounded, and my pulse thundered so loudly in my ears that even if I was able to sputter out a few words, I couldn’t hear them.

Needless to say, I grew quite adept at avoiding any situation that might require me to speak to others.

A few years ago, I found myself bored and unchallenged in my personal life. I had been snugly within my comfort zone for way too long. In an effort to shake things up a little and experience a bit of personal growth, I decided to come face-to-face with this fear and develop some public speaking skills. To this end, I sought out a Toastmasters club.

If you are not familiar with the organization, Toastmasters International comprises thousands of local clubs, all following a tried-and-true method of overcoming public speaking difficulties and developing the skills, techniques and experience necessary to perform in front of others. Many people seem to have the idea that you have to be a polished speaker to join Toastmasters, while just the opposite is true. That’s where you learn to become one.

My phobia was so pronounced that I had difficulty even entering the room for my first meeting. Before I actually crossed the threshold, though, a smiling face greeted me, welcomed me, shook my hand and literally drew me into the room. [A thousand thanks, Nathan!] Despite my anxiety, I enjoyed that first meeting. I returned to visit again, and requested a membership application at the end of that second meeting.

I’ve been an active member of Toastmasters International for almost three years now, and I could go on for pages about the benefits and personal growth I’ve enjoyed as a result. Since Toastmasters, its clubs and events are still a vital part of my daily life, the subject will no doubt recur in these postings from time to time. But there’s one special part of that experience that I want to share with you today.

Each year, Toastmasters sponsors a series of speech contests that begin in the local clubs. Club winners in a given area go on to compete with one another, area winners advance to compete against other areas in their division, and so on through the organizational layers. The culmination of this round of contests is the World Championship of Public Speaking contest held at the Toastmasters International Convention each year. There some of the finest presenters in the world meet to compete with one another for the title of World Champion of Public Speaking.

This excitement has been enjoyed by Toastmasters for 85 years now, but soon it will be available in documentary form for everyone to enjoy. A film crew worked behind the scenes at the 2007 World Championship of Public Speaking and produced a movie titled SpeakEasy. It is scheduled for release in January 2010, but the trailer is available now. I hope it will show you the energy, the enthusiasm and the drama of this event.

I’ve not yet attended an international convention, but look forward to doing so one day. This trailer has certainly boosted my interest. I’m on alert, waiting for the first opportunity to see the movie itself, and I’ll be sure to let you know when it has been released.

And if this looks like fun to you—or if it looks like the scariest thing in the world—perhaps you’d be interested in finding out what Toastmasters has to offer. There’s a “find a club” search button on their website. Don’t be afraid. Visit a meeting, and expect to find friendly, welcoming people who are genuinely glad to see you and eager to explain the program. If that’s not what you find, visit a different meeting!