Public speaking, media training, presentation training, crisis communications
Archive for January, 2010
What’s another good way to keep my presenting skills from becoming awful?
Posted by TJ Walker in PowerPoint, Presentation Skills Training, Sales and Marketing, Social Speaking, Story Telling, Uncategorized on January 16, 2010
The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book “How To Give a Pretty Good Presentation” (Wiley 2010)
What’s another good way to keep my presenting skills from becoming awful?
Use them as frequently as possible. I know that you don’t love to give speeches and you aren’t a preacher who is going to put speaking skills to use every Sunday morning. But try not to let your speaking skills rot away from disuse. If you only play golf once every five years, how good is your golf game. However, if you play golf once every three weeks, at least you know, more or less, how you will do next time you are on the links. I’m not suggesting you spend every free night giving speeches at the local toastmasters club, but once every 3 or 4 weeks, you could look for some opportunity to speak out. It could be giving a toast in front of 6 friends at a birthday party. It might be asking a question at a school board meeting. Or just volunteering to say the pledge of allegiance at school convocation.
Anyone can speak as well as Martin Luther King
Posted by TJ Walker in Keynote Speaking, Politics, Presentation Skills Training, Professional Speakers, Sermons, Social Speaking, Uncategorized on January 15, 2010
The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book “How To Give a Pretty Good Presentation” (Wiley 2010)
A final Word
I respect your decision that it is not your goal to become a world-class professional speaker—it’s OK, really. But I do want to leave you with a story of a young man who was quite similar to you. Many decades ago he was in college and had to take a public speaking class. Public speaking really wasn’t his thing….he didn’t consider himself to be a natural born public speaker. Sure enough, he went through the course in the way you would expect. He slogged through the course and got the grade of “C.” I guess you could say his teacher considered him good enough to give a “pretty good presentation.” The funny thing is this same guy went into a career where he had to speak a lot. And then one day he went to Washington and gave his “I have a Dream Speech” and went down in history as having given the greatest and most influential speech of the 20th Century. So if you think of yourself as only capable of giving a pretty good presentation, then you are in good company; Martin Luther King Jr. was also in the same boat. There’s nothing wrong with giving a pretty good presentation, but you already have all of the innate skills you need to be a great speaker—good luck with all of your future presentation!
The one thing that will truly surprise you about Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Posted by TJ Walker in Fear of Speaking, Politics, PowerPoint, Sermons, Uncategorized on January 15, 2010
Here’s on eI bet you didn’t know. When Marti Luther King Jr was in college, he earned the grade of C in public speaking class. And yet he went on to give a speech that has been ranked the best of the 20th Century. So no, I don’t think speakers are born; they are made thorugh practice, time and effort.
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 15, 2010
Martin Luther King Jr’s Secret — public speaking media training presentation training
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 14, 2010
George Clooney to host MTV Haiti Fundraiser – public speaking media training presentation training
George Clooney to host MTV fundraiser Telethon to Raise money for Haiti
Posted by TJ Walker in Keynote Speaking, Media Training, Pitching, Politics, Public Speaking Skills, Sales and Marketing, Uncategorized on January 14, 2010
Why would George Clooney be a good fundraiser on an MTV telethon?
1. He’s well-known and famous so people aren’t worried that he would steal their money.
2. He is credible; whether you love or hate Clooney’s domestic politics, he has long and deep credentials as a humanitarian on the international scene.
3. He’s clearly not raising money for financial gain; in fact he’s donating large sums of money.
4. As an actor, he’s capable of presenting his pitch with emotion and this makes it more powerful.
5. He will have a TV network at his disposal and that means he will have the dramatic raw footage of the devastation in Haiti to move people to action.
6. Clooney is an experienced fundraiser who knows how to follow the basic rules of all good fundraising. To learn what they are, watch the video above here at tjwalker.com/blog.
What do you do if your presentation is running short?
Posted by TJ Walker in Fear of Speaking, Presentation Skills Training, Professional Speakers, Public Speaking Skills, Social Speaking on January 14, 2010
If you are running short, that is usually not a problem. Sure, if you have been paid $50,000 to give a keynote speech in front of 5000 people and you are supposed to speak for an hour and you are done after 10 minutes, then you have a problem on your hands. But I’m assuming, since you simply want to give a pretty good presentation, you aren’t in the professional speaking business. Great! That takes all the pressure off.
If you are allotted 30 minutes and you finish after 20 minutes, it’s highly unlikely that anyone in your audience is going to be upset with you; in fact, you are likely to be proclaimed a hero! If you have covered your main points and done so in a memorable way, then sit down—don’t worry about being a little short.
However, sometimes people are short because they race through their speech in order to finish faster and sit down—this is a problem. Other times people finish earlier than their allotted time because they strip the speech of all interesting examples, stories, case studies and vignettes. This, too, is a problem.
Your goal should not be to give a presentation in as brief amount a time as possible or to finish in less time allotted.
Final Speaking Tips – Be interesting
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 13, 2010
I’m often asked, “TJ any final tips for me? I have to give a presentation tomorrow and I still don’t know exactly what to say or what I am going to do.”
If you want to give a pretty good presentation, the answer is simple: just make sure you have one interesting idea in your presentation. You may be thinking “that’s ridiculous! I have dozens and dozens of ideas, facts and numbers in my presentation.” Yes, but how many of them are interesting, significant or memorable?
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 13, 2010
Sarah Palin Debuts on Fox! public speaking media training presentation training
10 Public speaking Do’s and Don’ts (what bugs the audience? Disasters?)
Posted by TJ Walker in Body Language, Fear of Speaking, Keynote Speaking, PowerPoint, Presentation Skills Training, Professional Speakers, Social Speaking, Speaking Competition, Story Telling, Technology on January 12, 2010
Do the following:
1. Be interesting.
2. Be passionate.
3. Tell stories.
4. Tell examples.
5. Tell case studies.
6. Look at the audience.
7. Let people ask questions anytime.
8. Tell people why they should give a da*&!
9. Move your head, hands and body.
10. Finish on time (or early)
DON’T do the following:
Mark McGwire Confesses to taking Steroids
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 12, 2010
So Mark McGwire finally confesses to Bob Costas that the home run slugger took steroids in the 1990s—shocking! I will begrudgingly give credit to McGwire for subjecting himself to a no-holds-barred interview with Bob Costas, but McGwire falls way short when it comes to putting out messages that would restore his image. Costas tried every which way to get McGwire to concede that possibly, maybe, there was a teensy tiny possibility that steroids could have enhanced McGwire’s ability to hit homeruns. McGuire was as insistent that the steroids had no impact on his playing abilities as a 70s era tobacco company executives were in there belief that there was no link between smoking and lung cancer.
McGwire helped repair (slightly) is PR image among fans and the public, but he will never be seen as a Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth. McGwire did score points by revealing how his injuries kept him in constant pain in the 90s when he was playing. Steroids and growth hormone allowed him to keep his job and play the game (and not become a used car salesman like other ball players). But now the issue is not whether McGwire is just like other ball players, but whether he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame with all of the greats of the game. At this rate, McGwire still has many years of public penance before he will ever be given that ultimate honor.
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 12, 2010
Mark McGwire confesses to Steroid Use – public speaking media training presentation training
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 12, 2010
Senator Harry Reid gets in trouble for using word “Negro” public speaking media training
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 12, 2010
Coach Rex Ryan–top motivational speaker??? public speaking media training presentation training
Sen. Harry Reid in Media Blunder for “Negro” Remark
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 11, 2010
Sen. Harry Reid is in mini-media brouhaha over disclosure that he used the archaic word “Negro.” So how has he done containing the media damage? Overall, I give Reid passing marks. #1. He didn’t deny the remarks. #2 He didn’t try to explain or quibble over the details. #3. He didn’t sound lame by saying things like “some of my best friends are…” #4. He apologized clearly and forcefully and without ambiguity. #5 He coordinated (apparently) with the White House and got a direct response from Obama saying the matter was forgiven and forgotten.
This “Negro” episode won’t be the high point of Reid’s career, but it won’t destroy him the way Senator Trent Lott’s remarks about Strom Thurmond did. But with Reid approval and reelection numbers so low, this one minor incident might be the straw that broke the camel’s or voters’ back.
Rehearsing – how far in advance; how to rehearse; who to rehearse to, etc; which famous speakers to watch or look to for pointers; how many points to cover.
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 11, 2010
The best way to rehearse is to start as far in advance as possible. But since you don’t want to give a world class speech and you just want to give a pretty good speech, I will cut you some slack. Don’t bother rehearsing until the day before the speech is due. And you don’t have to practice in front of a mirror (that will only make you paranoid about your nose or your hair). Instead, all you need to do is rehearse once in front of a tiny video camera—either a cell phone camera or webcam. After you have recorded your speech, watch it. I know you don’t want to do this, but it really is essential if you want to give a pretty good speech and avoid giving a pretty awful speech. If you watch a video of your speech and you feel it’s pretty awful, chances are you are right—it is awful! That’s OK, just try again (on video) and do less of the stuff you don’t like and do more of the stuff you do like. Just keep on doing this until you can watch a speech of yourself and conclude that it’s pretty good. You don’t have to make it fantastic or perfect—just pretty good. This might require just one recording or it might require 4. Regardless, this is a quick and easy process. People who make awful, boring speeches never rehearse on video. They might think about it, they might even contemplate it for hours, but they never actually record themselves because they are too chicken. It’s OK to be scared, but preferably you are more scared of giving a lousy speech.
The #1 rule for giving a pretty good speech is to rehearse on video at least once and then watch and critique yourself.
Sending Advance materials – what/how to send, how far in advance, to whom to send them.
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 8, 2010
Sending Advance materials – what/how to send, how far in advance, to whom to send them.
Here is the reason to not send materials to people in advance of a presentation: “If I send them all of my content, they won’t need me, they won’t be impressed by me, they will be ready to poke holes in my data, they will have ammunition to use against me—better to keep them in the dark!!!”
That’s the reason I here, but it’s just not a good reason.
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 8, 2010
Michael Steele Gets in Trouble for NOT Lying – public speaking media training presentation training
Michael Steele in trouble for NOT Lying
Posted by TJ Walker in Crisis Communications, Government & Politics, Media Training, Politics, Professional Speakers, Public Speaking Skills, Uncategorized on January 8, 2010
GOP Chairman Michael Steele is in trouble. His crime? He was asked the question “will Republicans take over the House in 2010? He answered: “no.” Hardly an earth-shattering answer, given the fact that nobody really thinks the Republicans will win back the house in ’10. But a number of GOP stalwarts are mad at Steel for not telling a bald face lie. Of course, the same thing would happen to a Democratic Chairman caught in a similar situation. I don’t blame Steele for telling the truth, but he could have used more finesse. This is one of those rare situations where it is not only ok, but necessary for a political figure to slightly dodge the questions and say something like, “we are going to fight to the death to win every single house seat in every district.” No one would take that statement seriously and no one would be offended.
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Sarah Palin Debuts as Pundit on Fox News Channel
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on January 13, 2010
So Sarah was a paid pundit on Bill O’Reilly last night—how’d she do? There are obviously many ways of grading her. I leave the politics to others. From the standards of TV punditry, she actually did an excellent job. She was interesting, charming (or disgusting, depending on your political orientation), opinionated, and dynamic. While I haven’t yet seen the ratings of her appearance on Bill O’Reilly last night, I have to think they sky rocketed. Whether you love Palin or think she is a train wreck waiting to happen, she is riveting TV. For a fuller critique of her performance, please click the video below.
pundit, sarah palin, TJ Walker, tv commentary
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