Getting to the Thesis

Early in my career with LDS Welfare Services, I was fortunate to have as my boss a firebrand named R. Quinn Gardner. While I had been kicking around in graduate school, the military, and elsewhere, Quinn had been making a name for himself. He'd been a product manager for Pepsico, and then a vice president. The Mormon Church lured him away from industry to make him head of their welfare program, the managing director. Quinn changed my way of seeing the world.

What's your point, Tiger?

I'd be making a presentation or participating in a management discussion and at about 30 seconds Quinn would interrupt me. "What's your point, Tiger?"

He'd tolerate no rambling. Every word had to count. Above all, he wanted to hear that all-important statement (thesis) that revealed the point, lesson, or idea underlying my presentation or comment.

I suppose I'm not the speediest learner in the solar system, but it didn't take me long to recognize this pattern. Like Pavlov's dog, about 30 seconds into my presentation I'd glance over at Quinn. If he was starting to squirm in his chair, I knew I had only a few seconds to get my thesis out before he interrupted me.

At first, I didn't know what to say, how to format a thesis that answered his question before he asked. I'd make my best effort. He'd shake his head. "Have to do better than that," he'd say. "What's your point?"

Determined to escape the jaws of death (Quinn was the real tiger), I worked at boiling my ideas down into  a single summary sentence that delivered the basic message. Gradually, as I got better at my trade, the interruptions grew less frequent. Once or twice, Quinn even nodded his approval.

You get thirty seconds to deliver.

Imagine how you'd feel if people actually walked out of the room instead of just drifting away mentally when their attention wanders. My bet is that they start drifting away after about 30 seconds, shaking their heads and muttering, "What your point, Tiger?"

Learning Activity

For your upcoming speech, trim your attention getter to take less than 30 seconds.

If you  have to come back to give final details of your attention getter, do it at the end of your speech as a wrap up. For example:

"After beating me up, Quinn went on to become president of U & I Sugar Corp., then a successful private business consultant. But for the rest of my career, I'd either get my thesis out quick, or I'd hear his voice in my mind. 'What's your point, Tiger?'

Did I Wow 'em or Wound 'em?

Effective public speakers come in all sizes and shapes, both genders, and focus on a wide range of issues. What they all have in common is this: they learn from their speaking experiences. They realize that we are our own best fans and worst critics.

It's natural to do a quick self-assessment after we speak. We all do it. It's been said that our best speeches are given to ourselves in the minutes after we sit down. Unfortunately, our reflections on the speech we have just given can lead to agonizing endlessly about our mistakes instead of learning from the experience and moving on. Far better to have a structured approach to evaluating our performance against our aims.

The key to self-improvement is comparing what we did (performance) with what we intended to do (aims) and deciding what we'll do differently next time.

Learning Activity

After each presentation, assess your preparation and performance using the questions below. The assessment should be done soon after the speech and should be a thoughtful analysis of what actually happened. The purpose is to develop the habit of improving your performance by careful analysis of past experiences.

What was the purpose of my speech?

What was the thesis (big idea)?

What went well in the speech?

What did not go well?

What pointed feedback did I receive from others?

What will I do differently next time to be more successful? (List specific steps.) 

Beg, Borrow, Buy, or Steal - The Gentle Art of Getting Attention

When you have a great idea to share, you naturally want to gain a listener's attention and win good will in hopes that your idea will be accepted and acted upon. There are a variety of popular techniques promising to help you prepare listeners to receive and respond positively to your message. Some of those techniques work against you; some work for you.

Some attention getters work against us.

The two most often used attention-getting approaches actually work against the speaker:

Asking an engaging question - One of two things happens when you begin your speech by asking a question to get listeners mentally involved: (1) the question is lame and listeners groan inside thinking you're about to give them another run-of-the-mill pitch. Questions like, "How many of you have ever texted while driving," or, "How many of you ate breakfast this morning," are so predictable that listeners recognize them as attention-getting gimmicks; or (2) the question is actually engaging in some degree and listeners start thinking about their answer to your question. A question like, "How many of you have ever stopped to realize that you might become the victim of a serial killer," may give food for thought. Unfortunately, the consequence of having asked a good question is that your listeners are now thinking about a brother-in-law or step mom whom they've always suspected of being a serial killer. They go to the mental spot where they can think about things like this or search their mental data bases for any information they already have about such matters. If you ask a good question, listeners generally won't hear what you have to say next. Though some questions can be very intriguing, the best policy is to leave good questions to the end of your speech.

Telling a joke - We've all heard some great jokes. We love jokes. If they're truly funning, they buy good will for the speaker. However, there are two problems with jokes: (1) most jokes we hear are either tired or not truly funny and we give only a polite snicker as we wait for the speaker to say something important; or (2) the joke is funning but doesn't have anything to do with the speaker's message. We can see that the connection between the joke and the message is contrived. The speaker wanted to tell the joke, so he/she thought up some way to make it apply to the message. We see through the gimmick and forgive the speaker, but we're not impressed. True humor in a speaking setting is usually situational. The humor arises from something that is happening or has just happened and the speaker is quick enough to capitalize on the event.

The best advice is to avoid both questions and jokes in the effort to garner attention and prepare listeners for your message.

Some attention getters work for us.

The most effective attention getters take a piece of support for your message and bring it to the beginning of the speech. It gives listeners a taste of the information that will follow, sort of a preview. Such attention getters could include: (1) a startling statistic or fact, (2) a quote or testimonial on the topic of your speech, or (3) a story that illustrates your thesis.

Number (statistic) - "Seven million people are treated for sports-related injuries each year. That's the combined population of the states of Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. A lot of people."

Example (definition) - Wikipedia defines a serial killer as "an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with a cooling off period between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is based on psychological derangement or gratification."

Testimonial (quote) - "Abraham Lincoln once said, "When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion."

Story (narrative) - "James Chappel was simply walking past a junk yard when two pit bulls escaped the fence and attacked, ending Chappel's life."

Start with one of these varieties of attention getters and you and your listeners will already be on the road toward a life-changing (or at least life-enriching) experience.

Learning Activity

In the speech you are preparing now, select what you consider to be the most engaging piece of support for your thesis. Bring it to the beginning. You don't have to use the entire support item. You can go back and tell the rest of the story, give the rest of the numbers, or give a fuller account of the testimonial during your speech. Just give listeners a taste of something substantial to whet their appetites for your thesis which follows immediately.

As you practice, avoid all the lead-in comments. Don't tell us that you've had a cold and aren't feeling well. Don't remind us that you're nervous. Don't confess that you're not a very good speaker, and ask listeners to be nice. Just hit us with your number, testimonial, or story and then give us your thesis. We'll love you for it.

Have fun.

Impromptu or Teleprompted - Works both Ways

Last night, President Obama addressed both houses of Congress. He set forth a comprehensive jobs bill designed to "jolt" the economy back to life. As students of public speaking, whether you agree with his politics or not, you'd do yourself a favor to pull the speech up on the Internet and watch it (at least the first half).

I'm neither pushing nor bashing his policies, but I recommend him as an effective public speaker. What he did last night is far different from the impromptu strategies we're practicing in class. His speech was carefully written, scrubbed, polished, practiced, and delivered from a teleprompter. But the basic techniques would also work in an impromptu setting.

First, he had a simple, bold, memorable thesis. It was this: "This jobs bill is good for America. Pass it now!"

Second, he used the thesis to anchor the speech and tie the elements together. I heard him restate the thesis nine times. All of his reasons, examples, and support led back to the thesis over and over.

Third, he presented his message with conviction. I don't recall him ever saying, "I believe this will be good for America," or "I think . . .," or anything else that was tentative. He didn't try to sneak around opposing views; he simply made statements and left the listeners to decide.

You can, and should, use the same techniques when you have impromptu opportunities. Of course, the President used 4,000 words to deliver his message. In an impromptu setting, you'll often have only a minute (fewer than 100 words) to say what you must. Maybe two minutes, if you're lucky. So practice making simple, bold, memorable statements. Start your speech with one, end by restating it, and whatever you provide in the middle will be icing on the cake.

Have fun.

Impromtu Me

Your position as a leader, manager, or citizen may require you to take a position on an important issue without time to prepare and practice. This can happen in a staff, council, or executive meeting, in job interviews, talent competitions, classroom discussions, political debates or a variety of other settings. Getting caught totally unprepared and rambling through a statement without any plan can be disastrous, but knowing how to respond intelligently can be thrilling and place you ahead of the pack.

Live forever? I’d rather die now.

In the 1994 Miss America Pageant, Miss Alabama was asked: “If you could live forever, would you, and why?”

This was her response: “I would not live forever, because we should not live forever; because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever; but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever.”

Okay! Thank you, Miss Alabama.

If you’d like to see how one of these painful impromptu statements looks in video, watch Miss South Carolina (Miss Teen USA, 2007).

We shouldn’t be critical of Miss Alabama or Miss South Carolina for failing to make sense. Many of us have been in similar situations and have done no better. But, we can escape most of these painful moments if we learn to follow a simple pattern to prepare ourselves on the spot for such opportunities. This pattern is widely known as the PREP formula (Osborn & Osborn, Public Speaking, Houghton-Mifflin, 2006).

The PREP formula can save your bacon.

This simple recipe or pattern works this way:

P – jot down your position on the issue being discussed. Make it a clear and simple statement.

R – make a quick note of the reasons that you hold the position you do.

E – list any examples you can think of to support your reasons.

P – restate you position or main point in conclusion.

If you don’t have time to make quick notes, at least formulate the position statement in your mind and think of the best reasons for it.

As you speak, follow the PREP pattern in verbalizing the material you have thought of. You may not always feel like your comments are adequate to the topic, but you will be miles ahead of where you’ll be if you start talking with no plan in mind.

Here's a rough example.

Learning Activity

Look over the list of impromptu speaking topics listed below. Give yourself two minutes for each topic. Without further study, try to make a statement or take a position on each. Then either jot down or make mental note of any reasons for the position you take and try to think of examples to support your reasons. When you get the hang of it, try to stand up and do the same thing vocally. The more you practice, the easier this task will become.

Immigration reform

Border control

War on terrorism

Cosmetic surgery

Global warming

Smoke-free public places

Athletes as role models

Aid to foreign nations

Consequences of litigation

Parental discipline/permissiveness

Ethnic separation/mixing

Executive pay amounts

Welfare/aid to the working poor

Penalties to sleep-impaired drivers

Cell phone courtesy

Stem cell research

Health supplement industry

Increasing the minimum wage

Gun control

Music and rap lyrics as an art form

Animal combat

Space exploration

Television and video game violence

Reality television

School sports emphasis

Performance enhancing drugs

Privacy violations by paparazzi and tabloids

Drug testing

Government price regulation

Bailing out failing industries

Educational vouchers

Me in 30 Seconds

Ever walk away from an unexpected encounter with somebody you'd like to work for, or somebody you'd like to win as a customer or client, wishing you could go back and have the conversation over again? Wishing you had known what to say, instead of trying to make it up while you were saying it?

That's what a"Me in 30 Seconds" statement does for you. This little jewel is prepared in advance and can be used at a moment's notice when you just happen to bump into somebody important on an elevator, in the restroom, at the water cooler, or standing in line at the book store. It's also a great way to begin a job interview.

It's a very brief introduction to who you are, what you're doing, and where you're going (in a professional sense). The statement is brief because 30 seconds is about all the time a listener will give you before he/she starts thinking about something else.

Your Assignment

Create, practice, and present your Me in 30 Seconds statement to the class. We'll hear these in class on Tuesday, August 30. Here are some suggestions.

1. Watch the sample video below. I'll show you how your statement can sound. We played around with this on the first day of class, so it won't be new to you, but could serve as a reminder.

2. Write out your statement. Three or four short sentences. Sentence one: what have you done to be proud of so far? Sentence two: what are you doing now that is important? Sentence three: how can your experience and abilities benefit your listener?

Important tip: Be sure that there is a clear connection between sentence one and sentence three. That will help your listener see how your past experiences have prepared you to benefit him/her. For example, if you plan to become a nurse, emphasize past experiences that will aid you in excelling as a nurse. Then finish with a clear statement explaining how your background and present pursuits can benefit the listener.

3. Time it. If it goes over 30 seconds in three or four recitations, cut it down. Remember, listeners will only stay with you that long. Anything else you say is wasted breath (unless you've got a story to tell that is truly gripping, gory, or bizarre, which might earn you another five seconds—but don't count on it).

4. Memorize it. Practice, practice, practice until it flows smoothly and conversationally. If it doesn't come out word-perfect, that's okay. It'll be close.

5. Try it out on everybody who cares about you (mom, dad, roomie, pet turtle). If you don't have a friend in the world (like me), record it on your phone and play it back (same with video). Then do it again. And again. And again.

6. Have fun with it. Nobody's going to be executed for stumbling on this assignment. go for it!

Watch the sample video below or on YouTube. It's what I would say if I were looking for work.

Bringing Home A Story

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Frank

We all love a great story. In public speaking, it’s not uncommon for listeners to remember a well-told story, even when they can’t remember why the speaker told it.

Here are some keys you will want to remember:

1. Anchor your presentation or speech with a great thesis statement. The thesis sentence ties all the parts of your presentation together in a memorable way.

2. Be sure that any stories you use are directly related to the thesis.

3. Bring the story to life by, (a) acquainting us with the characters in your story, (b) letting us see the characters, and (c) letting us hear the characters own words.

Take a few minutes and watch this young speaker tell the familiar biblical story of Jonah. Notice especially how her quiet energy brings the characters and the moral to life. Note how she distinguishes one character from another by changing the tone and pitch of her voice. She’s young, but she’s already very good at this art. We can all learn a few things from her.

Here’s the link: http://vimeo.com/16404771.

Powerful Presentations

Presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, and Open-Office Impress are fantastic for preparing and delivering effective presentation.

Having said that, we need to remember that effective presentation are effective only when they follow the proven principles we have been learning in our course. You are preparing to present a 4-5 minute PowerPoint presentation with at least five slides. If you want your presentation to really hum (or sign, yodel, scream, whatever) so that your listeners willingly buy into what you are saying and remember it, you must follow a few proven guidelines. We discussed them in class today and saw examples. These guidelines include:

1. Use your thesis sentence as the title for your presentation. For example, instead of using a title like, "Credit Card Debt," make a statement like," Americans are burying themselves in credit card debt."

2. Make a statement in the heading of each slide. The heading statement is a main point that tells your listeners what the slide should mean to them. For example, let the slide heading be, "The summer of 2006 was the worst ever for wildfires," instead of using a label like, "2006 Wildfires."

3. Display your source citation on the slide and mention it out loud. For example, "I took this information from a 2004 study on cdc.org." Type cdc.org prominently at the bottom of the slide.

4. Be sure to follow the recipe for all presentation aids: 1) show it, 2) explain it, and 3) interpret it. When your presentation aid is part of a PowerPoint, be sure that the interpretation shows up in the heading statement of the slide.

5. Choose type faces and type color so that the slide is immediately readable by your viewers. White type on a dark-colored background is easiest to read. Make the type large (32 points for body type and 44 points for headings). Those aren't hard and fast rules, but be sure to reduce the amount of type on the slide so that it will all fit in about that size.

6. Of course, present a clear thesis and solid support as you have in past speeches.

Take a look at the PowerPoint example that follows. Pay particular attention to the slide headings, the source citations, and the use of colors and type sizes.

Content Statements vs. Value Statements

The thesis sentence and all main points in a speech must be statements, preferably simple declarative sentence. We all agree on that. Don't we? A trap we sometimes fall into is the tendency to let our main points be value statements. Watch out for these culprits. They are weaklings posing as heroes. Expose them. Banish them. Even better, kill 'em.

A value statement simply sets forth our opinion of the subject of the sentence. Examples of value statements would be:

Homework sucks.
Healthcare reform is stupid.
Operas are boring.

No matter how much we might agree with any of those statements, any one of them would be hard to prove to reasoning listeners.

A content statement makes a claim that can be supported. For example:

Most students hate homework. (A survey of students on campus could demonstrate that this statement is true.)
Healthcare reform is unpopular among Republican politicians. (A review of their voting records should tell the story.)
Operas put some people to sleep. (Testimonies from three husbands who were dragged to the opera and fell asleep might be adequate support.)

A Recent Example

A good student (maybe an outstanding student) in one of my classes emailed me some main points for review. The topic was the importance of eating breakfast as a foundation for good nutrition. The proposed main points were:

MP1: Not eating breakfast is bad.

MP2: Eating an unhealthy breakfast is just ok.

MP3: Eating a good breakfast is the best.

Clearly, the three points intend a comparison (bad, good, best). As you can see, each sentence is a value statement (is bad, is just okay, is the best). They could be strengthened by converting them into content statements—statements that offer listeners something of substance. For example:

MP1: Not eating breakfast is like starting a trip with no fuel.

MP2: Eating an unhealthy breakfast starts you fast then drops you flat.

MP3: Eating a good breakfast gets you all the way to your goal.

These three statements build on the analogy of energy or fuel consumption during a trip. We are all familiar with the way that works in automobiles. The three statements can be supported by reporting blood sugar test results, testimonies of experts, and interviews with students who have tried the three breakfast options.

Learning Activity

Take a careful look at the main points for your up-coming speech. If you find any value statements, kill 'em. Replace them with content statements.

Visit me at: frank-richardson-author.com or where-the-sun-rises.com.

Big week! Big ideas!

In some ways, the second week of class is the most important of the semester. If you missed a class this week, I suggest that you read this blog entry carefully and then read Essays 2-5 in your course packet. These are key concepts. They provide a solid foundation for effective speaking. If you still have questions after reading, please be sure to ask me.

Ethos - This term was coined by Aristotle, referring to the impression made by the speaker on her/his listeners. Listeners are more likely to listen and consider ideas if they feel they can 1) believe the speaker (credibility) and 2) like the speaker (charisma, attraction). See Chapter 3 in the text for more detail.

Values - Our values are the characteristics of people and conditions in the world that we prize or hold dear. We value them. They represent the way things should be. They are ideals. These values are not precise but we generally recognize them and share them. Values are either in-born or learned very early and are highly resistant to change. Furthermore, and this is important, values seem to be universal (or nearly so). Though there are some individual differences, most people have similar values. Such values include: love, work, compassion, achievement, fairness, honesty, loyalty, sacrifice, and so forth. There are many. Scroll down in the blog archive to posts in September 2009 to find more examples, or go to page 45 in your course packet.

Beliefs - Our beliefs represent the way things really are, as we see them. Our beliefs cause one value to ascend (become more important) and other values to recede (become less important). Values are hard to change but beliefs can often be changed by providing credible information.

Attitudes - An attitude is an inclination to act based on values and beliefs. Attitudes can change rapidly, and sometimes unpredictably.

Example of value, belief, and attitude: We value fairness. People should be treated fairly. We believe that some people are not treated fairly. For example, we are told that our prisons hold a disproportionate number of minorities. Therefore, our attitude is to work for more fair treatment of minorities. If we discovered that the information about the proportion of minorities in prisons was incorrect, it might change our belief and our consequent attitude.

Ideas - An idea is a statement that meets the following conditions:

1) The statement relates two values (compares, contrasts, or equates them).

2) The statement applies to most or all people.

3) The statement invites discussion, debate, or other consideration.

Ideas help us to clarify our values by deciding which value will ascend and which will recede in importance.

Example of an idea: Shakespeare wrote: "All that glitters is not gold." With a little effort you can see that his statement meets the three conditions for being an idea.

1) It relates two values. The two values are appearances and authenticity. We value a pleasing appearance. But we demand that things really be as they seem, authentic.

2) The statement applies to most or all people (students, teachers, actors, politicians, law enforcement officers, plumbers, med-tecs, etc.)

3) The statement could be debated. If something looks really good, who's to say that it isn't? Maybe good looks are enough. People in the cosmetic surgery industry claim that looking good will make you a better person.

Clearly, what Shakespeare intended to say was, "Authenticity is more important than mere appearance." He just said it more colorfully. His idea help us clarify or prioritize two values and answers the question, "Is beauty only skin deep?"

Learning Activity

As you prepare your first speech, take a careful look at the idea you are presenting to see if it is really an idea. If it is an idea, it will meet the three conditions above. If it doesn't meet those conditions, revise it until it does. If you're not sure, email it to me and I'll try to help. Good luck.

Visit me at: frank-richardson-author.com or where-the-sun-rises.com.

Play to Your Fans

To review the most important concepts from week one of our Public Speaking course, go to the Blog Archive in the side panel on the right and find the three blogs from August '09 (Demosthenes, Surfing the Adrenaline Rush, and Talk Your Way to Success). Read those. It'll take you less than five minutes.

I was bold enough to claim that the best advice you'll hear about speaking is this: "Play to your fans, and not to your critics."

I've spent the past hour Googling that as a quote. Can't find anything. Can you help me? Let me know. Even if no one famous said it, I stand by it. Works not only for public speaking but for most other aspects of life. Playing to our fans brings hope, courage, and determination to keep trying. Critics will rob you of all three.

Another key concept from this week is "trigger words." If you want to understand your listeners, you first have to understand yourself. Pay attention during the next week to those moments when you feel strong emotions (fear, love, hatred, enthusiasm, sadness, exhilaration, defeat). What words have sparked your feelings? Start to recognize the effect that words have on you and you'll be better able to judge the impact they will have on your listeners. Remember that words evoking strong positive emotions in one person can do the opposite to other people.

Thanks. Let's have a great time.

Visit me at: frank-richardson-author.com or where-the-sun-rises.com.

Say It With Style

We have shifted our focus from building great speeches to delivering great speeches. In short, we should agree that becoming an effective speaker depends not only on what you say, but how you say it. All of our discussion (and all of the preceding blogs) are intended to help with what you say. Now, let's talk about how you say it.

First, be aware that language choice serves three key purposes as you speak:

1. Word choice helps make your ideas simple, bold, and memorable.

2. Word choice awakens emotions in your listeners.

3. Words paint mental pictures.

Learning Activities

These are a few guidelines you should try to follow:

1. Avoid jargon (unusually specialized or obscure words) and its equally fatal companion, doublespeak.

2. Pronounce nouns, pronouns, and verbs correctly as shown in this list—

Syllable emphasis

moun tain' instead of mount' un

Lay ton' instead of Layt' un

cer tain' instead of cert un'

The infamous d/t swap

matter instead of madder

battle instead of baddle

Dropping the "g" (sorry Sarah Palin)

going instead of gonna

needing instead of needin

Pronoun Slurs

our instead of ar

we'll instead of will

I'll instead of ahl

you'll instead of yul

he'll instead of hill

she'll intead of shill

Vowel errors

mail instead of mell

pillow instead of pellow

just instead of jist

get instead of git

3. Try to increase emphasis on important ideas by using parallel words or phrases:

We won't be satisfied until . . . .

We won't be satisfied until . . . .

We can't be satisfied until . . . .

4. Increase the visual power of your ideas by using figurative metaphors:

"living on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of prosperity"

"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred."

"battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of brutality"

Try some new approaches with your language. Have a little fun.

© Frank Richardson, 2009.

email: swpubs@xmission.com

web: frank-richardson.com

What's the Big Deal About Values, Beliefs, and Attitudes?

We've devoted the last three or four blogs to this complex relational chain at work inside our listeners—values, beliefs, and attitudes. Not much fun. Great for people training to be shrinks, but not much fun for people training for sales, law enforcement, nursing, teaching, or operating small businesses. Why all the fuss?

Because this is how human beings work, at least in a rudimentary way. Anyone wanting to become a public speaker, to inform, persuade, or entertain others, should understand at least this much. And because, when you learn to see the world this way, the reaction of listeners to your ideas will not longer be a mystery.

As you talk your way to success, you should know how you are impacting your listeners. Remember that in our opening blog we agreed that the basic recipe for public speaking is:

• present an idea
• provide support
• draw a conclusion

Here's the good news. Each step in that recipe relates directly to the way your listeners feel, think, and act. Here's how:

• Ideas clarify values.
• Support changes beliefs.
• Conclusions guide attitudes.

Learning Activity

Write the three bullet points above in your public speaking journal. We'll be working on a better understanding of this scheme as we go along.

An Example

Suppose you are sharing this idea with your listeners: "There is great undiscovered talent in common people."

Values related in the idea: Talent, Common people

Listener beliefs:

• Kids from privileged backgrounds get more breaks.
• It costs a lot to develop world-class talent.
• People with real talent get discovered early.

Support you provide for your idea: The Susan Boyle story (see the video clip by Britain's Got Talent as shown on YouTube).

Your conclusion: "There is great undiscovered talent in common people. Be open to receive it."

Audience attitude: Greater openness to recognize talent in common people. Greater appreciation for common people.

© Frank Richardson, 2009.

email: swpubs@xmission.com

web: frank-richardson.com