I was at a tech conference yesterday that had its presenters up on a stage with the screen for presentations directly behind them. Big problem? The seated presenters heads were obscuring the view of the bottom 25% of the screen. If you are a conference organizer, you should look at a room as it will actually be used. This means you should sit in the audience and have someone sit in the cahir where the panelist is and see if anythign is obscured. This will solve the problem.
As much as I think Bill Clinton is a master communicator, no one is perfect. Lately, he has been a little too quick to appear angry at reporters. There is a role for anger, but it must be used sparingly and for big issues only, especially if you have the stature of being a former president.
I’m not a proponent of Monarchy, but I do give Queen Elizabeth high marks for her 2007 Christmas speech as seen on YouTube. The queen isn’t frozen or stiff, doesn’t should like she is reading, and uses great visuals of video images of family, plus holiday decorations. She appeared likeable. Here’s how I rate her.
The WalkerSpeak™ Rating (0-50 rating)
Movement 7
Message 7
Memorablity 5
Motivation 7
eMotion 7
A 33, all in all, not a bad performance by the Matriarch.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Benazir Bhutto, vividly demonstratives that you don’t have to be experienced, old and wizened to be a confident and compelling public speaker. Zardari is all of 19 years old; he’s just seen his mother’s brains splattered across his TV set, and yet at his introductory press conference (watch here) he comes across as poised, confident, and as a strong leader. I’m not suggesting that one good press conference appearance is enough to make him the next Prime Minister of Pakistan, but his initial performance in front of the camera will do much to solidify a positive image for him in his country and around the world. If you watch the first 30 seconds of this video, please note the volume and energy in his voice are powerful, his quoting of his own mother is memorable, and the emotion and absoluteness of his comments guarantee great sound bites. Something tells me he has a bright future ahead.
I’m often asked by aspiring professional speakers “what is the easiest way to learn about and get started as a professional speaker?” If they are in New York City, I invite them to attend a meeting of the National Speakers Association New York Chapter. Especially since I am president of the New York Chapter, I try to extend an invitation to everyone. I also advise people to try to become a member of the National Speakers Association.
However, this does present a chicken and egg situation. You can’t become a member of NSA unless you can document a certain number of professionally paid speeches you have given. And lots of people can’t figure out how to get paid gigs without the knowledge provided by the NSA. So, where to start? I advise people who are exploring the professional speaking market to take a simple, easy and inexpensive start into the professional speaking market by simply subscribing to the NSA monthly magazine called Speaker (you don’t have to be a member to subscribe). The magazine only costs $49 a year and is full of practical business tips on entering and advancing in the world of paid speaking. In fact, back in the day, I subscribed to the magazine for several years before making the plunge and becoming a professional member of the NSA. I still read the magazine each month and recommend it to others.
As promised, I am going to point out blunders and mistakes I make when giving speeches, in the hopes that you can learn and not have to make the same blunders. Here I am giving a recent speech in the
Middle East. If you go to 1:38 into the video, you will see me walking up on the podium as the host is introducing me. If you look at the video carefully you will spot a big problem. I have hooked my wireless microphone to the back of my pants in such a way that the flap of my suit jacket is pulled up in a ridiculous manner. Here’s the lesson: always have a spotter who will examine you head to toe right before going in front of an audience (and have them check out your backside). There is no way you can do this yourself and it will greatly improve your chances of making a strong first impression (and minimize people laughing at you).
My colleague at Media Training Worldwide, Jess Todtfeld, has just started a new speaking blog at www.speakinginsider.com. Jess is consistently funny and insightful around the office and in our trainings here. I think you will enjoy his thoughts and musings on speaking and media issues of the day. In addition to be the President of Media Trainign Worldwide and a traienr to thousands, Jess was a senior producer at the Fox News Channel for a decade and was a former standup comic
