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Tips for Visual Aids in Speeches

Ever wonder why you remember some presentations and not others?  It could be because good speakers do more than just address what you hear. They address what you see.  Here are 3 hints for making the visual part of your speech memorable: Make your photos BIG on the screen. It’s easier to get an emotional reaction the crowd when you monopolize their visual space. Think like  Steven Spielberg. Your audience is used to not just good…but GREAT…visuals. Use close up photos. Wide shots are useful but your audience might miss what you really want them to notice. Use videos. Millennials expect action.  

Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Good and Great Speeches, Heck of a Blog, Public speaking. Leave a Comment

Pre-Speech Beginnings Must be Planned

Want to make a great entrance when you are giving an important speech? Just ask Leslie Knope, political candidate for the city council in the fictitious Pawnee, Indiana, how to start a speech strongly…or how not to. Knope, played by Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation, was presenting to a crowd of 100 spectators and had a red carpet for her entrance to the speaker’s dais. But the red carpet didn’t go all the way to the stage; the floor, which was supposed to be a basketball court, had been changed to an ice rink; and her motivational music, “Get on Your Feet,” lasted 10 seconds and had to be replayed in spurts for her to reach the podium 90 seconds later. Watch this snippet for a good laugh, and then learn the lessons about the pre-speech details. Lessons to heed before you start speaking: You are in charge of everything involved in your presentation. That includes your introduction, any music or media used, any props, the seating of the audience. Make sure your introducer knows what you want him/her to say, can pronounce your name, and runs his/her words by you. In many cases you will have to make a few adjustments. If you use music or multi-media in your speech, you must make sure you have the rights to do so. Intellectual property rights apply. I use videos that I have shot and edited. And on occasion, I use clips from movies that I have licensed for use […]

Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Free Tips, Good and Great Speeches. Leave a Comment

Learning from The King’s Speech

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 […]

Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, General articles, Good and Great Speeches. Leave a Comment

Leadership interview

What does speaking well in public have to do with leadership?  Everything!  This weekend I was interviewed by leadership coach Judy Nelson about good and bad speeches and things that leaders can learn to make their communications better.   Here’s the link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/CoachJudyNelson/2009/05/16/Jean-Palmer-Heck-

Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Free Tips, General articles, Good and Great Speeches. Leave a Comment

Great speaker still needs these 2 tips

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 […]

Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, Free Tips, Good and Great Speeches. Leave a Comment

Speech Openings CNBC

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 […]

Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, Good and Great Speeches, Heck of a Blog. Leave a Comment

How to Deliver a Tough Speech

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 […]

Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, Good and Great Speeches, Heck of a Blog. Leave a Comment

GOP Thompson Demonstrates 9 Speaking Tips

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 […]

Posted by Jean Palmer Heck in Analyses of, Good and Great Speeches. Leave a Comment