Preface
The purpose of this book is to provide you with all you need to give
a great speech. There are numerous books on public speaking;
however, most of them give you far more than you need, want to read,
or can use. At some point after reading the books available, you
want to say, “Enough! I will do it by myself!” Now you don’t have
to do that. The basics are here; the essentials have been boiled
down; the fundamentals have been written in a way that can be easily
understood, effortlessly digested, and skillfully applied.
After writing many textbooks, delivering hundreds of public
speeches, and lecturing on the topic for more than 30 years, I have
reduced the principles and theories to a basic set of nuts-and-bolts
that are all you need to give a great speech.
The best way to read this book is from front-to-back without
skipping around. Each chapter not only builds on the last one, but
refers to it and depends on it; thus, to get the full benefit start
reading, and don’t stop until you have completed the book.
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Chapter 1 - Deal With Your
Anxiety/Fear
Avoiding things that make you anxious is only a temporary solution, and
it will make you worry about what will happen next time. Also, every
time you avoid something, it is harder the next time you try it.
Avoidance, too, sets you on a pattern of avoiding more and more things.
For some people, just the thought of having to give a public speech can
trigger an adrenaline surge that quickens your pulse, raises your blood
pressure, and kick-starts your anxiety.
It will help you cope with anxiety to remember these four things:
1 Even experienced public speakers get nervous before a presentation.
2 Nerves do not need to be your enemy.
3 No matter how nervous you are, you are probably the only one who
knows it.
4 And, as long as you act like you are confident and play the role of
a secure and knowledgeable speaker, you will be in command of the
public-speaking situation.
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Chapter 4 - Organize Your Ideas
Planning is the key to good organization, and no matter the length of
the intended speech, its purpose, thesis, audience, or occasion,
carefully plan your introduction, body, conclusion, and the links that
hold the parts of the speech together.
Organization, as noted in the quotation at the beginning of this
chapter, leads to clarity. But the most essential point of the analogy
between providing a framework for a speech and planning a trip or
vacation is this: If the speech doesn’t move listeners toward some
meaningful and recognized goal, they will lose interest in it. Although
listeners do not always have to see their final destination, they need
some sense that they are progressing toward something. That final
destination provides listeners with closure or gratifies them through
accomplishment. And — here is the essential point regarding
organization — the more effectively listeners are led, the better the
payoff will be for both you and them.
Effectiveness cannot be left to chance.
Your reward for preparing a successful speech is that you will grab
listeners’ attention, guide them efficiently through your presentation
while holding their interest, and not just bring them satisfied to your
conclusion but have them, as well, accept your central thesis.
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Chapter 8 - Rehearse Your Speech
Rehearsing a speech is no different than test driving a new vehicle.
Would you ever think of going into a car dealership and purchasing a car
off the floor without first test driving it? A test drive is the best
way you have of thoroughly checking out a vehicle before buying it.
A test drive doesn’t obligate you to buy or even make an offer on a new
car, just as rehearsing a speech doesn’t obligate you to accepting
every idea and all the wording you have selected. You are simply trying
them on to see how they feel. Just as you want to thoroughly check out
the vehicle, you want to thoroughly check out your speech to see how
comfortable you are with it.
A car’s major systems are the brakes, engine, transmission, lights, and
the other electrical systems. A speech’s major systems are the
introduction, transitions, main points, sub points and supporting
material, visual support, and conclusion. How do they feel individually
as you rehearse them? How do they hold together as a complete unit?
In a test drive of a new car, you also want to check out the other
functioning parts such as doors and windows, trunk, engine, and locks.
The functioning parts of a speech are those revealed in your delivery of
the ideas. What about your facial expressions, gestures, and body
movement? How dependent are you on your notes? Or, to put it
differently, how well do you know your information? This ties into
another relevant question: how much will you be able to connect with
your listeners, notice their feedback, and respond and adapt as
necessary?
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Chapter 11 - Learn From Every
Performance
One of the best ways I have discovered for learning from every
performance is to use an evaluation form and, as objectively as
possible, look at every aspect of what I have just accomplished. Just a
random, cursory, subjective analysis, for me, doesn’t work for several
reasons:
First, it is casual and thus superficial.
Second, it often overlooks crucial aspects.
Third, because it is rapid and lacks thoroughness; it has no real
power to change behavior. The evaluation is seldom permanent and
lasting.
The point of this chapter, then, is assessment and evaluation. It
offers a checklist you can use to review each aspect of any speech
performance. It will examine everything from your analysis of your
audience to the selection of the topic, from the gathering of
information to its organization, and from the rehearsal of your speech
to its delivery.
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Chapter 12 - Break the Rules!
There is nothing wrong with “making your own rules” when it comes to
creating something that is entirely new and never experienced by anyone
before, but even in art, music, and literature, laying a solid
rule-based core of background and experience is likely to be what brings
you success, appreciation, and a desire for more. What you have to
understand, whether it’s art, music, literature, or speechmaking, all
have been around for a long time which means there are clear listener
expectations — predictions, assumptions, and expectancies — that must be
met or, at the very least, acknowledged, if you expect to be
successful. You have the right to “make your own rules,” but you may
not be allowed the freedom to do so when faced with listener
expectations.
The real problem with naiveté and innocence is that they often come
across as incompetence, ineptitude, amateurishness, clumsiness, and lack
of skill. When you try to succeed using your inexperience and, perhaps,
simplicity, what you may not realize is that your credibility takes a
whack. It is too much of a risk; better to learn the rules first, and
follow the advice for breaking the rules.
The essential point of breaking the rules is to put your own personal
stamp on your presentation — to make it distinctive, special,
extraordinary, and one-of-a-kind. What you want to do is avoid a
formulaic, cookie-cutter, mechanical presentation. Breaking the rules
often leads to making s speech memorable!
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Epilogue
Just as you would take the medicine a doctor prescribed to remedy an
illness, correctly spell the words you are using in an official essay or
report, or appear on time for an important appointment with a boss or
supervisor, you would follow public speaking rules if your goal was to
give a great speech. Although you may stand back and question whether
the prescription is the proper one, examine words to determine if they
are spelled correctly, or question the time arranged for an important
meeting, in the end, you would accept and follow what you knew was
important for you. In the end, you would accept and follow public
speaking rules because you knew they were important. The rules work!
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How do you give “the speech of your life”?
Let’s just say that as things have
worked out in your life, that what you would like to have more than
anything else comes down to giving what must be considered the speech of
your life. How you come across, how you present yourself, and how you
affect a group of people, is going to determine whether or not you get
what you want.
The speech of your life comes from you, and your success depends on your
message, you the messenger, and your magic. You can think about your
message being the meat, you the messenger being the potatoes, and the
magic being the spice. Let’s look at each factor.
The meat of your message depends first on study. Study is what makes
greatness. Whether it is based on your own background, the experiences
you’ve had, or research and investigation, great speeches reveal a depth
of knowledge and understanding.
When your message comes from deep within you, it reveals your soul. Soul
is that animating essence that we associate with your life. A great
message is not just words; it is emotion, body language, and passion or
spirit. People listen to your soul.
Finally, in a great message speakers share their scars. They reach into
their storehouse for the blemishes, faults, and sores that make them
human. Sharing their scars makes them human.
The important aspect of you as the messenger is that you be yourself.
Know who you are. To know who you are, be a self-monitor. Examine why
you do the things you do, why you say what you say, and why you think
what you think. Look at your behavior.
Be introspective. Examine your thoughts and feelings. This involves
self-searching, self-reflection, and self-contemplation. Know yourself,
and show yourself. Tear away the veil, and reveal the true you—who you
really are.
As a messenger, you must be sincere. This means being open, candid,
frank, honest, and truthful. When the covers of your book are opened,
are your contents thin, superficial, and shallow? Then enrich yourself
by reading, listening, observing, and experiencing.
Finally, as the messenger, be direct with your audience. Let your
audience understand what you know. Develop and polish rich, personal,
soul-wrenching stories that will grab, hold, and bind your audience’s
attention to your message.
As the messenger, you must project confidence (positive self-assurance),
credibility (an authentic, believable, convincing, and trustworthy
nature), comfort (that you are pleased and satisfied with your ideas),
success (accomplishment, achievement, attainment, and victory), and
polish (that you have spent some time perfecting, refining, and
improving your ideas).
In public speaking, nobody asks for perfection; they can, however,
expect polish!
Your magic represents the spice. It can be revealed in your writing, in
your delivery, and in your embellishment. “Magic” does not come from
supernatural powers or slight of hand. It comes from careful,
thoughtful, planning and preparation.
Write out some of your ideas. Use antithesis (opposites), or the setting
of one clause or other member of a sentence against another to which it
is opposed. “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be
nice.” “What counts is not the number of hours you put in, but how much
you put in the hours.”
Effective writing, too, utilizes parallel structure. Sometimes referred
to as continuums, serializing, or stacking, it occurs when ideas of
equal worth are given the same syntactical form. From the famous poem
constructed in parallel form, “Children Learn What They Live,” by
Dorothy Law Nolte, just two lines as examples: “If a child lives with
criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, he
learns to fight....” At the end of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A
Dream,” speech: “So, let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of
New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New
York....”
Effective writing utilizes triplets, or, a list of three things. A list
of three is always better than either two or four. Three is always more
than four! “People are born, people live, people die!” “If you want to
enrich today, plant flowers. If you want to enrich years, plant trees.
If you want to enrich eternity, plant ideas.”
Your delivery, too, contributes to the magic. Rehearse, rehearse,
rehearse. Delivery is a tool for expressing clear, interesting ideas
without distracting the audience. Effective delivery is conveyed by your
voice, language, and body.
Your voice is the sales tool that can sell your feelings and emotions.
It is the most powerful, persuasive, professional tool you own. Vary
your pitch (the highness or lowness of your voice), select the best rate
(it depends on your personality, the mood you’re trying to create, the
nature of your audience and the occasion), and avoid vocalized pauses (uhms,
and ahhhs). Pauses are for time to breathe, for messages to sink in, to
give listeners time to breathe, and for emphasis.
Language is important, and effective word choice can be magic. Study all
your life to be a wordsmith—one who knows, works with, and shapes words.
Pronounce words correctly, because incorrect pronunciation strips away
credibility. Use proper grammar; it is a key indicator of who you are
and what your background is.
Your body is an important part of your delivery. Pay attention to your
posture, personal appearance, facial expressions, eye contact, and hands
(forget your hands, but don’t forget to use them). And, never give your
ideas to an audience; give your speech to individuals in your audience.
Connect with one individual at a time. Weak eye contact looks insincere,
insecure, and uncomfortable.
Finally, embellish your speech by telling key stories, using power
phrases (“Attitude, not aptitude, determines altitude”), and using humor
and quotations. Don’t use humor to get a laugh; use it to revitalize
your audience. The best humor occurs naturally.
The speech of your life comes from you. Now, when you are faced with
giving the speech of your life, you know you have control over the
message, the messenger, and the magic. The real greatness within you
awaits your recognition.
On June 14, 2005, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar
Animation Studios, gave the commencement address at Stanford University.
Although not labeled as “the speech of his life,” clearly this was an
outstanding address, and it includes a number of the elements discussed
in this essay. Find the address at:
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html
Guy Kawasaki wrote a terrific essay, “How to Get a Standing Ovation,” on
January 18, 2006,
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/01/how_to_get_a_st.html at his
website, “How to Change the World.” His practical advice includes “Have
something interesting to say,” and “Tell stories,” and all of it is
useful and to the point. The comments about the essay that follow it are
both worthwhile and entertaining.
Debra Hamilton, president of Creative Communications and Training, Inc.,
writes a basic essay entitled, “Giving a great speech: 7 secrets to
dynamic, memorable public speaking,” which begins with advice such as
“use an icebreaker,” and “focus your material.” Her essay is available
at the ezinearticles.com website. Solid advice is given, and it is
fundamental to giving great speeches. See article:
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A Testament to the Power of Speech
It is a principle I have taught for
over thirty years. It is basic to speech-communication courses, and it
is essential to understanding what should be the foundation of
public-speaking effectiveness. In judging the success of a
public-speaking effort, you must look at the substance — support,
evidence, and ideas — of the speech, not just the delivery. Delivery is
merely a vehicle for conveying the substance. When I learned to put
delivery in its proper perspective, it was within the context of Plato’s
attack on rhetoric as “mere cookery.”
Plato was critical of the idea that rhetoric should be called an art,
while Aristotle argued in On Rhetoric that it was indeed an art. Plato’s
perspective on rhetoric has not been uncommon throughout the ages,
namely, that rhetoric is no art at all but merely practiced flattery.
The “fantastical banquet” of words is “mere cookery in words”; words
that are plain and to the point are all that are needed. Through the
character of Socrates he concludes it is no art. He goes on at length to
explain that rhetoric is merely a form of flattery, and more comparable
to cookery than to medicine.
Plato’s perspective was well supported in a column entitled, “Obama is
the candidate of passion rather than substance,” (The (Toledo) Blade,
Jan. 13, 2008) in which Kathleen Parker
argues that “it’s easy to be seduced by a charming idea with a dazzling
smile....It’s all about hope, really.”
Of course, Obama isn’t the first to depend on “grandiose prose and
inspiring rhetoric” to supply his political pitch. Speech that depends
on rhythm and refrain is alluring. It can make anything, even a simple
chair, seem magnificent.
It is important to understand here how easily and willingly the public
is seduced by the power of speech. Remember that the Nazis put enormous
effort into public speaking. A. E. Frauenfeld, a Nazi Gauleiter
(leader), wrote in “Die Macht der Rede” in 1937, about the power of
speech, “We connect the spoken word with thoughts of the person who
spoke it, with his appearance, the sound of his voice, the
persuasiveness and passion with which he spoke the words....Speaking is
communal; many hundreds or thousands share the enthusiasm.”
Ronald Reagan, a former actor and baseball announcer, understood this.
Not only did he speak “in warm, velvety tones that enveloped listeners
and made them feel good,” but, too, writes David Gergen, a Reagan
speechwriter, in Essence of Power (1984), in his speeches he evoked what
America had been and could be again, using terms, stories, and images
embracing liberty, heroism, honor, a love of country, and a love of God.
These values went deep with Reagan who discovered them from years on the
speaking circuit.
There is no doubt that there are times that call for seminal speeches
when substance matters less than delivery. Lory Hough and Aine Cryts, in
their online essay, “The Power of Speech,” cite Abraham Lincoln’s
“Gettysburg Address” that commemorated the most devastating battle of
the Civil War, or his “Emancipation Proclamation” that called for an end
to slavery. They cite Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats that helped
pull America out of the depression and Ronald Reagan’s speech in 1986
following the Challenger disaster that soothed a stunned nation.
President George W. Bush provided one voice following the September 11
terrorist attacks. Hough and Cryts also mention Robert Kennedy’s 1968
impromptu Indianapolis announcement that Martin Luther King, Jr., had
just been shot and Richard Nixon’s 1952 “Checkers” speech.
Nixon’s “Checkers” speech, according to Hough and Cryts, is “considered
to be one of the most successful political speeches in history. Just
chosen as Dwight D. Eisenhower’s running mate, Nixon had to clear his
name from charges of having a secret campaign fund. With his wife
sitting beside him, he apologized and called on people’s emotions, using
these words to end his emotional appeal after explaining that a Texas
supporter had sent a cocker spaniel to the family as a gift. “Our little
girl Tricia, the six-year-old, named it Checkers. And you know, the
kids, like all kids,” Nixon said affectionately, “loved the dog, and I
just want to say this, right now, that regardless of what they say about
it, we are going to keep it.”
There are times that call for the rhetoric that unites or soothes or
commemorates. There are times, as well, that call for impromptu comments
that explain or clarify. The bulk of a politician’s rhetoric, however,
is carefully planned.
Barack Obama is a powerful speaker. Biblical cadences come naturally to
him, just as if he is a great preacher. He has extraordinary rapport
with ordinary Americans, and he possesses, as well, a unique ability to
articulate, in a generous way, their polite but burning anger at the
state and their country. Obama certainly has the potential to “unite”
the American public in ways that few, if any, politicians have since
Bobby Kennedy.
Obama’s appeal, however, is to the soul (hope). He preaches the politics
of “not-yet-here,” and it resonates deeply with his listeners. There is
no doubt that his rhetoric soars and takes flight, but it alights
nowhere. There is no doubt that he declares that together we can do
anything, but he doesn’t mention any of the things we can do. What is
missing from his repertoire is a clear articulation of his intentions.
Avoiding detailed policy prescriptions, which bore many voters, leaves
him open to attacks.
To depend on delivery and high-flown language alone, to the near
exclusion of any substance, is an example of what Plato complained
about. Obama’s speeches are a “fantastical banquet” of words or “mere
cookery in words.” It may be what Americans want, but in no way is it
what Americans need. Although some may say this is a time for seminal
speeches when substance matters less than delivery, but I claim, as
Kathleen Parker does, “Hope is not a policy.”
“Mr. Obama isn’t just the inevitable dream candidate,” writes Parker,
“He is the self-object of Oprah Nation [referring to Oprah Winfrey’s
campaigning on his behalf], love child of the therapeutic generation.
What he brings to the table,” Parker continues, “no one quite knows. But
what he delivers to the couch is human Prozac.”
To be seduced by delivery with little or no substance is to miss what is
significant, meaningful, and important. It is to be seduced by the icing
and overlook the cake, to judge a book by its cover and ignore its
contents, and to be persuaded by facial expressions without noticing
what the speaker is saying. It is, however, a testament to the power of
speech!
For information on the origin and definition of rhetoric, go to the
website
http://www.brightrockpress.com/popsample.htm
A.F. Nariman, in an essay “Bush’s Speech, All Puff No Substance,” at a
website entitled Rense.com (http://www.rense.com/general26/spche.htm)
analyzes a speech George W. Bush gave on June 25, 2002, to show that it
held up a vision of the promised land but revealed no steps in how to
get there — a useful analogy for the “all puff no substance” discussed
in the essay above.
For specific populist commentary on a Barack Obama speech, “Obama’s
South Carolina Victory Speech,” go to the digg.com website at
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Obama_s_South_Carolina_Victory_Speech
Caroline Kennedy seems to capture his allure the best when she says,
“...for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that
president [a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my
father inspired them] — not just for me, but for a new generation of
Americans." Rhetoric without substance can be inspiring!
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Public Speaking Rules!
