According to the New York Times today, “Nokia, based in Finland, said it surveyed 9,000 consumers last year and concluded that by 2012 one out of every four consumers will create, edit or share entertainment with friends, instead of getting it from traditional media outlets like television or movie studios.”

The significance? It means the ability to speak–on camera–is going to go from being seen as a luxury skill to a basic, essential skill. 35 years ago, an executive graduating from a top law or business school who knew how to type was viewed as having a special, obscure talent. These days, anyone graduating from any school who can’t type is considered an unemployable fool.

Will the ability to speak clearly and confidently in front of a video capture device some day be considered as basic a skill as today’s typing?

Absolutely! So you better get used to it.

The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience.” Consistently, the worst advice speakers and presenters get, comes from everyone who is NOT your audience. The following gives examples of some of the WORST advice people are often given. It is followed by the advice of your audience. Listen to them. They are your true judge and jury.

How Can I be More Concise?

Your PowerPoint Administrative Specialist: “Limit your presentation to no more than 10 slides!”

Your Boss: “Strip out all of your stories, examples, and anecdotes. Just stick to the facts and you can slim down your presentation.”

Your College Speech Professor: “Research shows that no speech should last longer than 18.5 minutes.”

You: “The more concise I am, the sooner I can sit down, the less likely I am to receive any criticism for having gone on too long.”

***

Your Audience: “Concise? Why don’t you actually try to tell us stuff that’s interesting and useful? If you do that, the time will fly and we won’t be staring at our watches. If your speech is a concise 9 minutes long but you are so boring that we tune out after 30 seconds, then the next 8.5 minutes will seem like three hours. So what did you really accomplish? Guess what? We never complain about someone NOT being concise if they are really interesting, even if they talk for three hours.”

The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”. Consistently, the worst advice speakers and presenters get, comes from everyone who is NOT your audience. The following gives examples of some of the WORST advice people are often given. It is followed by the advice of your audience. Listen to them. They are your true judge and jury.

Is it OK to ask questions of audience members?

Your Corporate Communications Director: “Why on Earth would you want to do that?”

Your Marketing Director: “Too risky, what if they say something that contradicts our policies? Besides, there is no time for this foolishness.”

Your College Speech Coach: “You are there to provide your expertise, not lead a discussion. Don’t ask questions of your audience.”

You: “It seems a little scary asking audience members questions. What if they say something I wasn’t expecting or that contradicts what I’ve said earlier? I’ll look like a fool!”

***

Your Audience: “We thought you’d never ask. Sure, it would be nice if someone actually cared about what we thought for a change. As long as you don’t get annoyed at us for our answers and if you cut us slack if we can’t come up with an answer, then it’s OK to ask us questions. Questions can spice things up a little because it can get a little boring just listening to you. The one thing you know is that if we are answering your question during the middle of your speech, we aren’t sleeping, daydreaming or playing with our Blackberries.”

The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”. Consistently, the worst advice speakers and presenters get, comes from everyone who is NOT your audience. The following gives examples of some of the WORST advice people are often given. It is followed by the advice of your audience. Listen to them. They are your true judge and jury.

Should I show my audience that I am well-organized by telling them at the beginning the outline of my whole speech?

Your Speech Writer: “Yes, you want to show your audience that you are well-prepared.”

Your Boss: “Yes, this is the logical and rational thing to do.”

Your Speech Teacher: “Yes, you and your audience need a clear roadmap for your speech.”

You: “Yes, my audience will be impressed that I prepared so thoroughly for them.”

*** 

Your Audience: “Huh? What are you, our high school teacher? Do you really think we are going to write down your outline? If you waste time telling us what you’re going to tell us later, then you are practically begging me to take a little nap at the beginning of your speech, since you will cover everything later. Why not just hop into your speech by telling me something really interesting, useful and memorable right at the beginning?”

The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”. Consistently, the worst advice speakers and presenters get, comes from everyone who is NOT your audience. The following gives examples of some of the WORST advice people are often given. It is followed by the advice of your audience. Listen to them. They are your true judge and jury.

If I’m more comfortable holding a pen in my hands while I speak, is that OK?

Your Speech Coach: “Yes, it’s OK to hold a pen, or you can put one hand in your pocket.”

Your Self-Esteem Coach: “If it makes you feel better than it’s OK. Go ahead and hold a pen or a lucky rabbit’s foot.”

You: “I don’t know what to do with my hands, so I’m more comfortable holding a pen while I speak.”

*** 

Your audience: “Huh! Why would you hold a pen? Are you planning on spontaneously saying something so brilliant that you need a pen to write down your own quote while you speak? Are you a pompous a#$? If you’re going to hold a pen, why not a broom or a rake? Better yet, why not leave the toys on the table and just talk to us—hands-free?”

The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”. Consistently, the worst advice speakers and presenters get, comes from everyone who is NOT your audience. The following gives examples of some of the WORST advice people are often given. It is followed by the advice of your audience. Listen to them. They are your true judge and jury.

Should I tell jokes at the beginning of the speech to loosen up the audience?

Your Speech Writer: “Yes, this will be a great way to get the audience on your side.”

Your lawyer: “What? Are you crazy? Do you want to get us sued?” Don’t ever use humor at anytime in your speech.”

You: “Yes, I’d like to start off with a good joke—this will relax me and make me more comfortable for my speech.”

***

Your Audience: “Who are you, Henny Youngman? There’s nothing worse than someone trying too hard. That’s the problem with starting your speech with a joke—it’s too obvious. We know it’s coming and so do you. Sure, you might get a chuckle form us begrudgingly, but so will bad puns. You’d be a lot better off saying something funny in the middle or the end of your speech. We aren’t expecting it then—that’s why we’d be even more pleasantly surprised.”

TJ Walker gives his in depth analysis of the recent statement by United States Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama while attending a San Francisco fundraiser.

Click to Watch 

The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”. Consistently, the worst advice speakers and presenters get, comes from everyone who is NOT your audience. The following gives examples of some of the WORST advice people are often given. It is followed by the advice of your audience. Listen to them. They are your true judge and jury.

What is the most likely speaking disaster I could encounter while presenting?

Your Corporate Communications Director: “Your fonts will be inconsistent in size, shape and color. We, as a company, will look like idiots!”

Your Marketing Director: “If you forget to mention our seven key corporate marketing messages that were signed off on by the CEO last year, this speech will be a wasted effort!”

Your Audio/Visual Technician: “A bulb could burn out on the PowerPoint Projector.”

You: “I could forget some of my transition statements and I will look like a complete idiot. Everyone will laugh at me!”

*** 

Your Audience: “The biggest disaster is that you will have robbed me of thirty minutes of my life that I can never get back. The biggest disaster is nothing…that is, you said nothing interesting, nothing memorable or nothing useful and you wasted my time. Thanks for nothing!”

The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”. Consistently, the worst advice speakers and presenters get, comes from everyone who is NOT your audience. The following gives examples of some of the WORST advice people are often given. It is followed by the advice of your audience. Listen to them. They are your true judge and jury.

How do I get rid of my “ums” and “uhs?”

Your Volunteer Speech Group: “Have someone ring a bell every time you say um and uh during a speech. You will stop eventually.”

Your Presentation Coach: “Videotape yourself and then stop the tape every time you say uh or um. Count to “three Mississippi” silently in your head and pause instead of filling the sound with uh or um.”

You: “God! I hate myself for saying so many uhs and ums. This is my number one problem. If I don’t figure out a way to say fewer uhs and ums, I’m going to cancel my next 10 presentations.”

*** 

Your Audience: “Um, I guess it’s slightly annoying to hear a whole lot of uhs and ums, but do you know what is even more boring? Listening to a speaker give us a boring data dump. Do you know who says uh and um a lot? Martha Stewart, Bill O’Reilly, Ed Koch, and Geraldo Rivera. They all say uh and um a lot and they’re all multi-millionaires. So maybe saying uh and um aren’t your biggest problems?”

The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”. Consistently, the worst advice speakers and presenters get, comes from everyone who is NOT your audience. The following gives examples of some of the WORST advice people are often given. It is followed by the advice of your audience. Listen to them. They are your true judge and jury.

Should I use a teleprompter?

Your Corporate Communications Director: “Yes, this will ensure that we are all on the same page with our corporate marketing messages.”

Your Convention Technical Planner: “Yes, this will ensure greater consistency and control over time—we must keep everything on schedule!”

You: “My God! This teleprompter thing is the greatest thing ever created! Now I don’t have to memorize anything. Now, I don’t have to spend as much time rehearsing because everything will be right in front of me and yet my audience can’t see my speech. This teleprompter thing is a better invention than the iPod!”

***

Your audience: “Ugh!!! Have you ever actually listened to someone read off of a teleprompter who wasn’t a professional news anchor? They sound as energetic and engaging as Keanu Reeves on Quaaludes. There is a reason why the TV ratings for political conventions are usually lower than a test pattern running on cable access TV. Most people sound like robots reading without enough electricity when attempting to use a teleprompter. Instead of using a teleprompter, why don’t you just talk to us about what you know?”