Public speaking, media training, presentation training, crisis communications
Archive for July, 2008
The Night Before the Big Speech
Posted by TJ Walker in Keynote Speaking, Presentation Skills Training, Public Speaking Skills on July 14, 2008
I am a confident speaker. Very Confident! But even I have my limits. If I had to speak in front of an important audience for the first time and I had to be unshaven, that would shake my confidence. That almost happened to me today. I woke up in Los angeles this morning and went to shave, but half an hour before I needed to leave the Hotel, I realized I had left my razor and shaving cream at the beach the day before back in Long Island. Oops! The clock is ticking and I look like a bum! Fortunately, I was at a first class hotel and house keeping brought me a razor and shaving cream in less than five minutes. I made my speaking engagement with a clean face.
So what’s the lesson? If you’ve got a big speaking engagement, that’s not the time to skimp. Motel 6 and Econo Lodge might be great bargains, but you are unlikely to get a razor delivered in less than five minutes. And that can make the difference between giving the speech of your life and delivering a presentation you’d rather soon forget.
Do You Already Know the Answer to Your Question?
Posted by TJ Walker in Presentation Skills Training, Sales and Marketing, Social Speaking on July 13, 2008
I’ve never believed in the old saw, “never ask a question that you don’t already know the answer to” unless you are in a court of law. After all, how else would you ever learn anything? But at some point, it is futile to ask questions when you know the answer is extremely negative. On a taxi cab ride today from an airport in Los Angeles I was subjected to extreme heat (90 degrees plus) with no air-conditioning in the back seat. The driver had air conditioning, but he informed me that he didn’t want to have any contact with passengers in the back to protect his safety, thus the glass protection separating the air-conditioned front seat from the sweltering back seat. To make matters worse, the cab was filled with signs asking passengers not to talk to the driver, as he did not wish to be disturbed. After nearly passing out from the heat, I rolled down the back window, even though the driver admonished me for doing so. At the end of the trip, the driver turned to me and asked,”Sir, was your trip satisfactory?”
Some questions don’t need to be asked when the answser is glaringly obvious and the questioner doesn’t seem to be sincere.
Jesse Helms, Public Speaking and Media Master Expert, Dies
Posted by TJ Walker in Debate Central, Government & Politics, Media Training, Politics, Presentation Skills Training, Professional Speakers, Public Speaking Skills on July 10, 2008
People ask me all the time if I was a natural born speaker and communications expert. I tell them “no.” Then they want to know if I have special or rare talents to make it easy for me to speak well. Again, the answer is “no.” But there is one skill I have that many people don’t have: the ability to listen and learn from people who I have absolutely no ideological or philosophical agreement with.Â
As a kid growing up in the 70s in North Caroline< I developed a fascination with Sen. Jesse Helms, the Rush Limbaugh of his times. Helms became famous for his television, radio and print commentaries in the 60s and his hard-core conservative viewpoints. Even though I never agreed with Helms on much or anything, I developed a respect for his passion, clarity, and forcefulness of speech. Most people don’t seem to be able to separate message from technique, so they intstantly tune out anyone with whom they have disagreements. This is a mistake. Jesse Helms passed away last week http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/politics/00helms.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=jesse+helms&st=nyt&oref=slogin. I can’t say I mourn his loss, but he was a role model for me in many ways–he won’t soon be forgotten.
Rush Limbaugh Is a public speaking master
Posted by TJ Walker in Media Training, Politics, Presentation Skills Training, Public Speaking Skills on July 9, 2008
If you want a daily three-hour tutorial on how to be a master communicator, then I urge you to listen to the Rush Limbaugh show. (12 noon to 3p EST on 600 stations) I’m not asking you to buy into most of his beliefs, or any of them (I don’t). But you won’t find a more skilled communicator anywhere than Rush. The New York Times Magazine gives Rush a major profile this past weekend http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/magazine/06Limbaugh-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin revealing, among other things, that Rush just signed a new $400 million contract. Where Rush distinguishes himself form other conservative commentators is that he is consistently funny, clever, creative and irreverent. For example, when asked to comment on Bill O’Reilly, Rush says that “somebody’s got to say it, the man is ‘Ted Baxter.” Hilarious! And dead on.
Appearance Matters !
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on July 9, 2008
TJ Walker, CEO of Media Traing Worldwide, explains why appearance matters and how an unkept look can prevent people from hearing your message.
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