From a Manuscript

Throughout our public speaking course I have encouraged you not to read to your listeners. It's okay to read a short definition, quote, or testimonial—maybe a sentence or two, but seldom more. As we prepare and give a speech of tribute, however, I encourage you to write out exactly what you want to say.

Maybe the word manuscript is confusing. The Oxford American Desk Dictionary (2001) defines manuscript as a hand-written or typed text. That's what we're talking about for this speech. Just write out what you want to say and practice it often enough so that you can deliver it to your listeners without reading it. Look down at the text as needed to remember what comes next.

Remember that the key to a successful speech of tribute is telling your listeners what obstacles the person or organization you are honoring has overcome. Then tell them what remarkable contributions the person or organization has made to society despite all obstacles.

Make sure the person or organization you pay tribute to is a public figure—someone we could all learn more about if we choose to. These speeches will be fun to hear, and hopefully inspiring. And, they will give you firsthand experience in speaking from a manuscript.

© Frank Richardson, 2009.

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

Hook, Line, and Sinker -The Psychology of Catch Phrases

The phrase, "hook, line, and sinker" comes, of course, from the sport of fishing. What a fisherman/woman wants is for the fish to swallow the bait fully—hook, line, and sinker. Well, the same is true of our efforts to persuade others to our points of view. Since using hooks, lines, and sinkers would be unethical, we resort to the verbal equivalent—the catch phrase.

A catch phrase is a short cluster of words that provide an intellectual and emotional anchor for our listeners. The phrase is chosen so that by saying a little repeatedly, we are saying a lot.

For example, in a recent persuasive speech about comprehensive sex education, Karlene repeatedly used the phrase "the teen's choice to have sex." She used the phrase at least seven times. She was painting the teen as an intelligent decision maker. The phrase fit nicely into her thesis that we should help teens understand the consequences of their choice.

In another speech, this one opposing abortion, Cameron repeatedly referred to abortion as a solution for the "inconvenience of unwanted pregnancy." Again, I counted sever or eight repetitions of the phrase. By repeating this catch phrase so often, Cameron trivialized the motive of those who seek abortions, thereby weakening their position.

Developing catch phrases is much like the skill of clearly stating your thesis. It gets to the "heart" of your message and makes it unmistakably clear to your listeners.

Learning Activity

Try to find a phrase—a few words—that capture the guts of your message. Try the phrase out on your friends to see if it communicates to them what you intend. Build it in to your speech, repeating it 5-6 times so that no listener can possibly miss it. By doing so, you ensure that even if the listeners don't remember much of the content of your speech, they will remember the catch phrase. They may not even remember who said it, but it can alter their thinking about the topic.

Let's go fishing.

© Frank Richardson, 2009.

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

Getting the Rhythm

Quotegarden.com presented this little thought by an unknown author, "The best way to sound like you know what you're talking about is to know what you're talking about."

When you speak, you have to bring more to your listeners than a charming personality and the latest in clothing fashion. You have to bring ideas. Ideas that enrich your listeners. The big surprise here is that—unless you are Albert Einstein or Bill Gates talking about something you know better than anybody else—your listeners are not really interested in your ideas. They are interested in the ideas you have gathered from others and are bringing to enrich them.

This is especially true in your efforts to persuade others. Listeners are enriched when you make supportable claims. Suppose you claim, "Our health care system is broken; universal health care will fix it." Have you enriched your listeners? Not really. You have merely expressed an opinion. You haven't improved your listeners' understanding of the issues or opened their eyes to new and helpful ways of viewing the world.

Contrast that with the following approach. "Our health care system is broken; universal health care will fix it. According to Dr. Patrick Whelan, M.D., and member of the Democratic National Committee's Faith Advisory Council, a 2002 Institutes of Medicine study concluded that health coverage for every citizen would mean fewer child deaths from asthma, fewer cancer deaths in minority communities, and fewer veterans who depend on emergency rooms for their primary care. You can read Dr. Whelan's entire statement at ourfamilydoctormag.com."

Now you have enriched your listeners. You brought with you to the podium the views of an eminent physician and you shared those. It's up to the listeners to decide what to do with the information. You have done your job.

Your greatest allies in persuasion are the words According to . . . . The persuasion one-two punch is: 1) make a powerful claim, and 2) provide support that the listeners cannot lightly dismiss. Claim-According to . . . . Claim-According to . . . Claim-According to . . . Get in that rhythm and you will find people flocking to your point of view. After all, the best way to sound like you know what you're talking about is to know what you're talking about.

© Frank Richardson, 2009.

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

Order in the Court!

We've finished our PowerPoint presentations. On the whole they were fantastic. I hope you are recognizing the improvement you have made during the past 11 weeks. Congratulations.

Now it's time to dive into the persuasion process. My best advice as we start down this road is to imagine to yourselves that you have graduated from law school and are now earning your living in a courtroom. Don't forget what you have learned about structuring your speeches and about looking up, speaking up, and moving up. But, in addition to those fundamental skills, we are now turning our attention to proving our claims. Emphasis is on the word prove.

Your next speech should be like this:

• 5-6 minutes.
• Prove to your listeners that a problem exists and needs our united effort to solve.
• Suggest several potential solutions.
• Make a call to action.

Use as many of the types of support (NETS) as are need to prove your claims. Be very generous in citing sources that prove there's a problem—and sources for the suggested solutions. Remember that a claim without credible support is no claim at all. Be bold—as bold as your support, your evidence, your proof will allow you to be. Use this speech to convince us. Sell your claim. Prove it. This speech should convince a jury, the electorate, or upper management. Go for it.

We'll work more on these and other elements of the assignment and the persuasion process this week.

© Frank Richardson, 2009.

email: swpubs@xmission.com

web: frank-richardson.com

Presenting at Your Peak

You are working on presentation skills—using language, your voice, your body, and presentation aids to heighten the impact of the ideas you are presenting.

1. Speak up. Ideas presented with energy and a dynamic voice will reach listeners not only at the level of understanding, but at an emotional level as well. Dynamic means loud-soft, fast-slow, and high-low. Practice is the key. As you practice, you will gradually develop an ear for monitoring your own voice so that you can murder unwanted monotone.

2. Dress up. Ideas are received more readily when a speaker meets and exceeds the dress standards of the listeners. When you look good, you automatically sound better to your listeners.

3. Move up. Practice posture and movement that conveys confidence in your ideas. Stand firmly on both feet. If you have nothing for your hands to do, let them hang comfortably at your sides. Don't feel confident? Practice is the solution.

Learning Activities

Practice, practice, practice! How many times should you practice your presentation aloud before giving it? You can not practice too often or too much. If you really want to improve, practice on at least three consecutive days. Emerson said, "Those things that we persist in doing become easier, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but that our ability to do it has increased."

Watch this video clip borrowed from Dancing With The Stars (results show, October 27). DWTS interviewed Nadia Comaneci (Olympic Gymnastics Gold), Gregg Louganis (Olympic Diving Gold), and Bill Walton (former UCLA and NBA star). Hear what these champions have to say about the importance of practice in preparing the mind and body for performance.

© Frank Richardson, 2009.

email: swpubs@xmission.com

web: frank-richardson.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

Putting the Power into PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is the industry standard for preparing and delivering presentations in business, education, health-care, and the professions. Follow these simple guidelines to get the biggest bang for your buck with most listeners:

1. Select a solid, dark color background and use it consistently throughout the presentation.

2. Select type in contrasting colors (white, yellow, etc.) so that it will be easily readable. Use a simple typeface.

3. Use large type sizes that are easily readable by groups of viewers (text 32 pt., titles 44 pt.).

4. Avoid slide transitions and goofy sounds that distract from your message. Fade and dissolve are the best transitions for most viewers.

5. Whenever possible, make a statement with the slide title instead of just using a heading.

6. Cite the sources for your support on the slide and say them aloud (i.e., foxnews.com).

If you will do these few things, your viewers will be able to see, read, and understand your ideas easily. They'll think you are wonderful and will thank you.

Please watch the attached sample presentation. Try to see how the presentation follows the guidelines listed above.

© Frank Richardson, 2009.

email: swpubs@xmission.com

web: frank-richardson.com