Ever wondered what it’s like to work with a speaking coach? The Oscar winning movie, The King’s Speech, is an excellent example of how a person with serious presentation skill problems can overcome difficulties with the help of a communications expert. Although the king had a stuttering problem, many of the techniques his speech coach used with him are the same as those I use with executives in one-on-one coaching. Here is an analysis of one speech technique exercise in the movie. You can do it on your own to improve your presentation skills. Abdominal breathing exercises for speakers …or “Sit on him, Queen Mum.” Most people breathe shallowly, expanding only the upper regions of their lungs. Long sentences are almost impossible to get through without sounding winded. A good speaking technique is to breathe diaphragmatically. In simple terms, your waistline should expand when you inhale. When you exhale, your waistline should be its smallest. It’s much easier to illustrate this if the person learning this presentation skill technique lies down on the floor. The “breather” (speaker) can better see the movement of the diaphragm by watching his or her abdomen rise and fall. Inhale and your stomach rises. Exhale and it falls. It’s almost impossible to breathe the wrong way in this position. In The King’s Speech, the presentations skill coach had the future Queen Mum sit on the monarch’s stomach while the king practiced breathing more deeply. Since I don’t have access to Queen Mums when I work […]
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Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, General articles, Good and Great Speeches. Leave a Comment
Karen Friedman, a communications coach based in Philadelphia, has an article on this subject. She says the question should be, “Does TV news matter as much as it once did?” Here are excerpts from her article. The link for the full report is below. “Research suggests that it does not. According to data from Nielsen, viewership of the three evening network news programs has steadily declined over the past 25 years, falling by more than 1 million viewers each year — translating into millions of dollars in lost annual revenue. The 2009 Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism’s State of the News Media annual report says that local news staffs, already too small to adequately cover their communities, are being cut at unprecedented rates. As a result, this caused local revenues to fall by a surprising 7 percent in a single election year— and ratings continue to drop. Only cable news is flourishing.” “Rick Williams, executive producer at WPVI-ABC TV in Philadelphia, … says that because younger viewers find most of their information on the Internet, it is critical to cross-promote news between the TV and Web platforms.” “For example, stations are now streaming news events live and carrying breaking stories on their Web sites. Viewers no longer have to wait until the evening news programs. To do this, many stations have hired producers who only create Web content, update stories online, produce video for Web sites and generate breaking-news alerts that are sent to subscribers’ cell phones and e-mail.” […]
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Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, Media Relations, TV news. Leave a Comment
When you’re a leader, you must think about what you say. Not only is your reputation at stake, but your words can take on an impact bigger than you thought. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should know that by now. But she has egg on her face. And her communications have turned into a crisis communications case study. Media relations experts are thrilled that she has given a fine example of what NOT to say or do. Want to learn from her communication no-no’s? Here’s an article written by a media relations guru whose work I admire. Nancy Pelosi’s Three Classic Mistakes By Jerry Brown, APR www.pr-impact.com Nancy Pelosi has made three classic mistakes in telling what she knew about waterboarding and when she knew it as a member of the House Intelligence Committee. · She didn’t tell the whole story. Crisis Communications 101: When you’re in a crisis communication situation, tell the whole story at the beginning. If you don’t, all those ugly facts you want to hide are fodder for keeping a bad story alive. And each new forced disclosure will hurt your credibility. Pelosi has been telling her story in stages. And the news conference she called last week in an apparent effort to put the story to rest didn’t work because her words were so carefully parsed that she still doesn’t appear to have told all she knows. This is a politically charged story. So, Pelosi’s political opponents will do all they can to […]
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Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, General articles, Media Relations. Leave a Comment
What makes a good sound-bite? A short concise phrase or sentence that is repeatable. John Lechleiter, CEO of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), used this very good sound-bite in a speech today to the U S Chamber of Commerce : “Encouraging innovation needs to be the purpose of U.S. health care reform – not its victim.” In one sentence, he summed up what his concern is about President Obama’s health care reform principles. The words “innovation,” “purpose,” and “victim” are particularly powerful. He explained the result of innovation in simple to understand statistics: that innovation has helped boost the average American’s life expectancy from 47 to 78 years, a rise of 66 percent over the past century. He called that “unprecedented in human history.” HINT: When you give a speech, make sure you create sound-bites that are repeatable. Can your audiences retell your main point? Give them a sound-bite and they’ll be able to propagate your message. Need help crafting your sound-bites? Drop me an email: Jean@Real-Impact.com.
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Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, General articles, Sound-bites. Leave a Comment
I heard a very good speaker at a luncheon a few weeks ago, who gave us insights into the economy. CNBC pundit, Joe Battipaglia, was the speaker. A large man with a large personality, his energetic approach, even with the grim news, kept the audience interested. Despite that positive assessment of his speaking style, I still have some comments that could improve his presentation … tips that you can put into use in your speeches, also. He started his presentation with a joke. I really don’t like speeches that begin with jokes. They can put an audience ill at ease. You never know whether it will be funny, edgy, offensive, or delivered poorly. And, unlike Jay Leno, David Letterman and Joe Battipaglia, not everyone can deliver jokes well. Your own stories are better than a canned joke. Later in his presentation he told about some interactions he had with his family about the economy. They were much funnier and captured the audience attention better than his opening remarks. The other public speaking tip that applies to everyone relates to the use of audio visuals. He did not use any, but I wished he would have, especially because of the topic. Joe dealt with very heady issues about the economy. Those in the audience with financial backgrounds were fine with his information, but those in the crowd who did not have that expertise got lost a few times. Some visual aids would have helped the audience retain the information […]
Continue reading "Great speaker still needs these 2 tips"
Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, Free Tips, Good and Great Speeches. Leave a Comment
I heard a speaker at a United Way Tocqueville Society luncheon yesterday, who gave us insights into the economy. CNBC pundit, Joe Battipaglia, was the speaker. A large man with a large personality, his energetic approach, even with the grim news, kept the audience interested. Despite that positive assessment of his speaking style, I still have some comments that could improve his presentation … tips that you can put into use in your speeches, also. He started his presentation with a joke. I really don’t like speeches that begin with jokes. They can put an audience ill at ease. You never know whether it will be funny, edgy, offensive, or delivered poorly. He did deliver it well. But it was too long. It took several minutes to tell. And the punch line dealt with sex, always a no-no in speaking. Your own stories are better than a canned joke. Later in his presentation he told about some interactions he had with his family about the economy. They were much funnier and captured the audience attention better than his opening remarks. The other public speaking tip that applies to everyone relates to the use of audio visuals. He did not use any, but should have. Joe dealt with very heady issues about the economy. Those in the audience with financial backgrounds were fine with his information, but those in the crowd who did not have that expertise got lost a few times. Some visual aids would have helped the audience […]
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Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, Good and Great Speeches, Heck of a Blog. Leave a Comment
It looks like we’re in for 4 years of lessons on public speaking from the White House. President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress last night and once again gave us a lesson on how to give a speech. This one was a tough speech for tough times. What did he do that made it exceptionally good? He practiced. His delivery was better than usual, with lots of vocal variety in the tone of his voice, the volume and the pacing. Even the commentators said they could tell he had practiced his speech. The speech was written to be spoken. The sentences were short, just like the President talks. It wasn’t filled with flowery, poetic language like his inaugural address. That was not the purpose of this speech. It was to have a tough conversation with us. And it was meant to motivate. The result of the way it was written made it easy to read off a TelePrompTer. (If you’d like more advice on the use of TelePrompTers, go to my previous blog http://real-impact.com/on-television-here-are-some-hints-on-how-to-look-good .) He wasn’t afraid to share his emotions. Too many business speakers hide behind the facts and put on a dispassionate affect. Your audience wants to know you have a human side. He used many references with scenarios to which we could relate. “You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It’s the worry you wake up with […]
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Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, Good and Great Speeches, Heck of a Blog. Leave a Comment
Are you better with a scripted speech in front of a large group or in a question and answer session with a small group? Some people think that the communication skills required are the same. They are not. All you have to do is watch two political leaders today to see the difference. As I write this, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has just finished a live video chat with the editorial board of the Indianapolis Star. It was a question and answer session that also included questions sent in from participants via the Internet. Mayor Ballard’s communication strength is speaking one-on-one or in small group settings. Unlike others in the political arena, he keeps his answers short and allots time for many different questions and questioners. He does not drone on and on as we see with many public servants who hold office. His short answers allow for give and take and follow up questions. We will see another communication skill set demonstrated tonight when President Barack Obama addresses the nation. He is a brilliant public speaker and is particularly good in front of large crowds or when working from a script. But his answers in press conferences are too long. They turn into mini speeches, which can turn off audiences as their minds begin to wander. What is your speaking skill set? Have you perfected what it takes to address a large group? Can you read well from a script? Can you handle question and answer sessions with brevity […]
Continue reading "Know Your Speaking Strengths"
Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, General articles, Heck of a Blog. Leave a Comment
There have been many important speeches from presidents of the United States throughout my career as an executive speech coach. But I’ve never watched one like tonight’s speech by President Bush. It was one of the only presidential speeches that I would categorize as a speech which needed to educate us. Only by educating us, could the president PERSUADE us that his plan was the right one for these dire economic circumstances. Our individual and collective financial futures are at stake and most of us couldn’t tell what a mortgage backed security was if it was Fed Ex-ed to our front door. But mortgage-backed securities, as well as other complex financial terms and issues, needed to be explained to us in simple terms. It could have been done much better. Let’s analyze the speech from the 3 questions I always use with my clients: 1. Has the speaker given us a good road map, so we know where the speech is going? On the whole, Bush’s speech was well organized. He began with a brief overview of the problem and then acknowledged that we citizens wanted to know the answers to 3 questions: How did the US reach this point? How will the proposed financial bailout work? What does it mean to my financial future? Good questions that were repeated each time he got to that section. 2. Are there appropriate “speech landmarks” along the road, so that we can comprehend the information in a way that is memorable? In […]
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Disclaimer: This is a NON-partisan blog. Its purpose is to point out the good, the bad and the ugly of giving speeches. Day 1 of GOP convention Best speaker: Fred Thompson. Worst speaker: Bill Gross If you have any uncommitted time, google “Fred Thompson’s GOP Convention Speech” and watch it. He is a master, as you might expect from this senator-turned-actor-turned-presidential-candidate-turned-supporting-politician. He gets an A ++. Here are the positives you need to think about in your speeches before large crowds. And some of these pointers might surprise you. 1. He used “but,” “uh,” and “and” throughout his speech. While there are speech coaches worldwide who will tell you to eliminate those words from your speech persona (and I do, too, if they’re an annoying habit) … his speech sounded so conversational with these 3 tiny words included. Reason: There are very few people who never use these words in every day conversation. Surprised? These little touches show humanity. I’d guess that the But’s & And’s were added to the text of his speech. HINT: Very easy to add “but,” “and,” “well,” “so,” & “therefore” to your speech text at the beginning of sentences. The Uh’s were probably a part of his own “acting” technique to make it sound like he was speaking extemporaneously. HINT: It takes practice to be able to use “uh” and “um” effectively to give that effect. 2. He coughed and wiped his lips with his hand. This was good. Surprised? In its analysis, MSNBC made […]
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