Attention Grabbing Presentation Skills – Get Noticed and Promoted – Preparing For Audio-Visual Disasters – “The Bulb On The Projector Popped And The Teachers Freaked!”

Dave Hill - Presentation Skills Article

It was just meant to be another parent-teacher meeting at my kid’s school. Little did the teachers know that disaster was on the way. The parents and kids slowly started filling the school gymnasium. The location was not ideal, as the metal roof of the building seemed to capture the many conversations going on before the meeting, and elevate it to the point of not being able to hear the person chatting to you. The PowerPoint projector had been set up ahead of time, and was projecting a picture of a bunch of happy kids on the screen. Teachers were scurrying in and out of the room with an aura of stress; they were each going to present a section of the school happenings, goals and achievements. The teachers called for attention, parents started to take their seats, and the background noise started to diminish. Then it happened. There was a noticeable pop from the projector, and the screen went blank.

Imagine 6 female teachers looking at each other with eyes as big as golf balls and mouths wide open in silent screams. By looking at their stressful faces, I knew that they were trying to speak telepathically to each other. “I am not going to speak without the PowerPoint”. “I am on the verge of running out of this room”. “Don’t even think of asking me to speak”. “I feel a hot-flash coming on…”

The parents and school kids picked up on what was playing out in front of their eyes. Tension was building in the room as people were thinking, “I am really grateful I am not in their shoes right now“.
We wondered if they were going to call it off, but then we noticed that 5 of the teachers were staring at the 6th. They were making facial gestures at her, nodding, and subtly pointing at the speaking area at the front of the room. She was apparently the “chosen one” and hesitantly stepped forward, looking at the ground with her mind going at 100 miles per hour, trying to get her thoughts together. She started by immediately saying something funny, relating to the popped bulb. I cannot remember what she said, but it got everyone chuckling, and there was immediately a relaxation of tension.

I had heard this teacher speak before at a graduation ceremony. She was the only one who spoke without notes and from the heart. Her speech was memorable, compared to the others who were reading notes word-for-word in a monotonous voice, without any eye contact or engagement with the students or parents.

The “volunteer” teacher talked while maintaining a level of confidence, and managed to stumble through the presentation while trying to recall the main points she had to cover (for everyone). She completed her presentation and received loud applause from the parents and school kids. They recognized what she had just done, and were not only appreciative; they were relieved that she did not break down and cause an awkward moment.

Now that I have described someone else’s disaster, let me describe my personal embarrassing mess-up. I was scheduled to give a free technical presentation to a group of engineers in 2008. The meeting was being held in a private room at a local restaurant, and I was to speak after the business meeting. My contact had told me that he would bring the screen and projector so I could do a PowerPoint type presentation. I put a lot of work into the risk engineering technical presentation, and it even included videos of toxic clouds and explosions to help people understand how I help keep people safe in the unlikely event of a toxic or flammable release at a chemical plant. During the business meeting, as I was arranging my hand-out notes, my contact came over to me, red in the face, and stated that he had just noticed that he had forgotten to pack the cord that runs between the projector and the laptop. We jumped in his car and went to the local electronics store; however we could not find the correct cable. I was stressed and annoyed with myself.

Before departing for the meeting, I had considered bringing my own projector and cables. Somehow, I managed to convince myself that that would be a waste of time. The loud voice of “Murphy” rang loudly in my head- “If something is going to go wrong, it will!” It was ironic that Murphy would impact me, the Irishman, but it was a reality check for me, the person who knew to be better prepared for things going wrong. Luckily, it was a small group of people and I was able to get them to huddle around the laptop screen and see my slides and videos. Not ideal by a long stretch, but at least I managed to get my message across.

Some Considerations To Help You Prepare For Audio-Visual Problems:
1) Think of all that could go wrong- ask other presenters what could go wrong, and have some form of backup plan.
2) Have funny comments available ahead of time for each type of failure instance. Deflect the tension.
3) **Get to your venue as early as possible, set up the equipment, and test everything. Talk to the audio-visual technical person to get an idea of what problems have come up in the past in that specific room.
4) Find out ahead of time how you can contact the technical person at a hotel or conference area if things do go wrong.
5) Projector & Laptop Computer
• Check before you leave your house that you have packed all the necessary cables and extension cords.
• Find out if the venue has spare projectors, bulbs, and laptops at hand.
• Do you have a spare bulb for your own projector? Practice how to replace it in a hurry.
• Consider the possibility of using your handout notes to work from, if everything else fails.
• Is your computer set up so that distracting updating security software messages and similar messages do not pop up during your presentation?
6) Microphone – see my previous article on “Befriending the Microphone” at this link:
• Test it ahead of time to find the feedback areas and learn where the on/off button is.
• Is there someone qualified to make adjustments if feedback or anything else starts to become a problem during your presentation.
• When were the batteries last changed? Do you or the A-V technical person have spare batteries?
• Will the crowd size and room size be small enough for your voice to project to everyone without a microphone?
• Will there be a second microphone that can be used as a backup?

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on preparing for audio-visual equipment disasters when delivering presentations. Please use the comments section below, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com. Let’s help each other succeed.
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
http://www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2010 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Attention Grabbing Presentation Skills – Get Noticed and Promoted – “Purposeful Movement – The Angry Cameraman”

Back in 2001 I was invited to deliver a speech on a local Dallas, Texas, Broadband TV station. I had been warned that a bald head needed some make-up so it would not glare or look like I had a hole in my head. One of the women at the event put some make-up on my head but there was one other thing they should have warned me about that they didn’t.
The understatement of the day would be that I am an energetic speaker. I easily become animated and energy flows from my body in abundance as I am delivering stories and humor. The energy is not just in my voice, it is also in movement in the speaking area. In my opinion, some of the energy is a release of stress, the other energy comes due to getting wrapped up in my stories and literally re-living them as I am speaking.
I arrived at the TV studio and it was intimidating. There was a sense of anxiety from all the people participating in the TV show. There was nervous laughter and the strict professionalism and seriousness of the camera operators and director added additional stress. My turn came to speak; I was introduced and immediately lunged into my dramatic story. “Lunged” is a key word!!!
There was a great sense of relief once we had all spoken and the director shouted “that’s a wrap” or something to that effect. It was then that one of the camera crew took me aside and reprimanded me for moving around the stage so fast, “You were killing us, we were struggling to keep the cameras on you because you were moving so fast”. “The audience will have to wear neck braces to be able to watch this”. I nodded my head to indicate that I understood …slow… down… the… movements… so that they are not negatively impacting the speech, …especially if it is being filmed.

Why Use Purposeful Movement?
1. The movement can help guide the audience’s train of thought and also make transitions powerful and clearer
2. It adds visual detail to the structure of the presentation
3. It helps you move to a different area of the stage and engage with even more audience members (particularly where the audience seating area is extremely wide).

10 Suggestions for Successful Purposeful Movement Techniques
1. As a general “rule”, start your speech center stage and finish in the same area
2. Purposeful movement can be from left/right, forwards/backwards and even diagonally.
3. After moving on the stage, look at the audience members in the “new quadrant” and make eye contact
4. Think about what purposeful movement you will incorporate and at what parts of your speech you will incorporate it
5. Do not pace backwards and forwards like a caged lion (unless you are discussing caged lions!)
6. What’s comfortable for you? I have heard some people advise that you stay in an area of about 6 ft. by 4 ft. If that works for you and your speech content, implement it.
7. Check out the room size ahead of time if possible. This can help you visualize your audience when practicing
8. What will work for the room size and set up? One of the most challenging locations I have delivered a keynote was to nearly 1000 students in a gymnasium. The gymnasium had bleachers with the students on each side, about 100 parents and teachers in front of me, and even more people behind on each side. I used purposeful movement to my full extent to make sure every single person in the audience felt included.
9. To understand the level of purposeful movement that can be incorporated into a speech, check out Jim Key’s website where he has his 2003 Toastmasters International World Championship winning speech with staging notes. http://www.jimkey.com/Championship/speeches.asp
10. Practice, practice, practice so the movement is fluid and natural

Examples
1) “I have discussed the efforts I have put into becoming a successful public speaker; however, let me take you back to when I was a young engineer standing in front of corporate executives answering questions and my mind went blank”.
Note: As I am saying the words “let me take you back”, I am walking slowly to the left or the right to symbolize going into the past. If my speech wording has me going into the past again, I make sure I use the same side for clarity and consistency. If I was to talk about going back to my childhood in the same speech, I would walk further than I had walked to get to the young engineer stage placement.

2) “We have talked about my humorous escapades as a teenager, now I need to take you to a different place, the place where pranks go wrong and consequences are dire”.
Note: As I am saying the words “now I need to take you to a different place”, I might decide to step backwards, or backwards and diagonal to symbolize moving into a negative story.

3) “My talk today was designed to change your life. I have a personal story that will demonstrate how my life was changed”.
Note: As I am saying the words “I have a personal story”, I might step forward center stage to symbolize moving into the positive story in my speech conclusion

Workshop Exercise
1. Get an easy to remember familiar joke or short story that could incorporate lots of purposeful movement. Give the volunteers time to commit the content to memory. Ask them to deliver the joke/story and incorporate appropriate purposeful movement.
2. Provide group feedback to the participants on what works and what could be improved upon.
3. Keep it positive, fun, and meaningful

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on incorporating purposeful movement into speeches. Please use the comments section below, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com. Lets help each other succeed.
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
http://www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Attention Grabbing Presentation Skills – Get Noticed and Promoted – “Speech Endings – From the Pulpit to the Podium”

Dave Hill - Presentation Skills Article - Ending Your Speech

George Burns wrote, “The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible!” This quotation carries humor that I am sure most of us can relate to. It also carries a truth that applies to public speaking “beyond the pulpit”, particularly to speech endings. The quotation brings back memories from my childhood in small Irish towns.
The Church of Ireland churches I went to with my family were quaint, traditional, had the correct “ancient wood smell” of a church, were cold to the point of being able to see your breath in winter, and the congregation size could be counted on fingers and toes. I also remember the sermons, long sermons, blurs of words that did not mean anything to me, words that were no more that background noise as I squirmed for what seemed like hours on the bare wooden pews. It wasn’t until I heard the four beautiful words that my brain would switch back into the present; the words “thanks be to God” signaled the ending of the sermon.
On the subject of speech endings, have you ever listened to a speech where you were unsure that if it was the ending or not? It sounded a bit like an ending, so you started clapping, a few other people hesitantly also started clapping, and then, to your embarrassment, the speaker continued speaking. The energy was sucked out of the audience as they were now more focused on determining when the real ending was coming rather than the content. When the ending did come, it was so weak that the audience hesitated for a few awkward seconds until they were sure.
It is critical that a speech ending is not haphazardly put together. The ending is as important as a captivating opening or the speech body content that intrigues and captivates.

How Do You Close a Speech Effectively?
1. Make sure that the audience is not left wondering, “Is this the ending?”
2. In a previous article, I wrote about the importance of having a strong well practiced, flowing speech opening. The same applies to the ending. The article is located at the following link…
3. The ending should be smooth and deliberate.
4. In a previous article, I also wrote about mind mapping; this simple visual structural analysis tool can also help determine what your ending should incorporate to wrap up. In the mind map, you might be able to identify two stories that build upon each other, one could be the opening, and the other could tie up the ending. Here is the link…
5. The ending should be concise; do not go on and on and on to where the audience is thinking to themselves, “Ok, we get it, we really get it, its time to stop talking“.
6. Focus the thoughts of your audience.

10 Success Strategies for Speech Endings
1. Summarize some of your points.
2. End with a short story that relates to your speech.
3. Finish with a story or “thread” that relates to your theme or to your opening story
4. Don’t start introducing new information.
5. In speeches such as a motivational speech, it is highly effective to have some kind of “call to action”, challenge, or appeal that the audience members can reasonably implement.
6. Convey a sense of finality. Focus your finale with wording, energy and intonation to identify the ending and trigger applause.
7. Use words such as, “Let me end by saying…”, “In my presentation today, we have covered…”
8. End with a quotation. Some of my favorite quotation sites are: http://www.quoteland.com/ and http://www.quotegarden.com/. It is appropriate to identify who the quotation owner is. You can see me using quotations in my demo video on my web site at www.davehillspeaks.com.
9. Make a dramatic statement or use a shock close.
10. End with humor.

Final Words on Speech Endings
1. Incorporate purposeful movement into your ending. Finish center stage. If making a significant concluding statement, take a few steps towards the audience to help emphasize its importance (this can also help the audience understand that this is going to be the ending).
2. Take your applause. Stand there, make eye contact, and let them congratulate you.
3. Practice, practice, practice, until your ending if flawless.
4. Remember, the ending is considered one of the most important parts of your speech.

I would appreciate any feedback on speech endings. Please use the comments section below, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com. Let’s help each other succeed.
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Attention Grabbing Presentation Skills – Get Noticed and Promoted – “Speech Memorization Tools”

Dave Hill - Presentation Skills Tips

It was the final stage of a humorous speech competition. I had come to win. My speech had been written and honed to maximize its effectiveness. It had been practiced to the level of needing to get this speech out of my system. There were over 200 people in the audience that evening, as well as 10 judges. One of the judges was a friend that I had competed against in the past. He knew that I would occasionally get a mind blank when delivering a speech even though I rehearse extensively. Anyone who is in the business of public speaking knows that the mind is not the most reliable tool in the presence of anxiety or stress.
My humorous speech was about a camping incident where a bear came into the campsite. I talked about climbing a tree while the bear was shaking it. I had written the tree scene to use the humor rule of three- the first two parts set up the sequence, and the third part was the humorous punch-line. It went like this:

As the bear shook the tree, my brain said, “Climb higher!”, my stomach said, “Jump and run!”, and my bladder said, “Evacuate!”

Unfortunately, when I came to say the third part, my mind went blank. At that moment, I happened to be making eye contact with my friend in the audience who was a judge. The smile on his face gave a clear indication that he knew what was going on. A split second later (not long enough for anyone else in the audience to know), my memory switched back into focus and I delivered my third part, receiving the expected laughter.

Success Strategies for Remembering Speeches and Presentations without Notes

Strategy #1
Storyboard your speech. Make sure that your stories and transitions flow in a logical VISUAL format. Questions you can ask yourself are:
a) Does the story relate to the point that I am making?
b) Does the story fit into the overall presentation in a logical manner? Is the progression of the presentation following a natural sequence, such as time based- for example from child, to youth, to teenager, to adult? Another natural progression would be geographical location, such as traveling from my house to the store, stopping at the gas-station.
If your stories and transitions are haphazardly put together, it will be very difficult for your brain to process the information and remember the structure and content of your speech. I previously wrote an article on Mind-Mapping. This is a very useful method to help storyboard your speech and identify which stories would fit best, and in what order. Here is the link to the article:

Strategy #2
I use the word- association method when I have a well- structured, storyboarded speech, but still need a few visual prompts to bring me from story to transition to my next story. I basically remember a key word and relate it visually to a key word at the beginning of the next sentence. Here is an example:

At the tender and impressionable age of 21, the family baldness gene exploded in my head. I woke up one morning. My pillow, which only the night before had been clean and pristine, was covered in hair. Yes – the family baldness gene had EXPLODED.
I went to the MIRROR, and did not like what I saw. A negative voice in my head said, “You’re a mess; you’re bald and your ears stick out.”
I went to my mother for consolation. With her ever-positive outlook she said, “Ah, Davey Boy, you’ll have great listening skills with ears sticking out like that!”
“I don’t want great listening skills, Mum, I just want to be able to get a date!”

If I visualize a mirror exploding (an object with an extreme action is the easiest to remember), I know that once I say the sentence with the word “EXPLODED” in it, the next scene is going to be me at the MIRROR.

Strategy #3
A well known technique for remembering the structure of a speech is to develop “house files”:
1. Walk through your house rooms and identify key objects (e.g. entry door, side table, window, display cabinet, dining table, floor mat, dresser). Memorize these in a specific logical order (as if you are walking through the room). You can use this layout over and over again for different speeches. Longer speeches may require you to use several rooms, and you move logically from room to room.
2. Now take the structured contents of your speech and assign a memorable visual image that relates to key parts (stories, points, transitions etc.). The more outrageous the visual image, the better.
3. Give each image an extreme action
4. Envision each visual image at a specific room object in a logical speech flow order. As you walk through your room, you are walking through your speech
5. It can take as little as 5 or 10 minutes to remember your visual images in the correct order. Your speech outline is now in your memory.
To give you an idea of what this looks like, let me give you an example using a brief outline of my bear story. My wife and I get woken while tent camping in the wilderness of Canada. She sends me out to check what the noise is, and hands me a tiny unreliable flashlight. I end up in between a bear and its cub, and climb a tree with Mommy Bear in pursuit. If I want to apply this methodology to help me remember the fundamental outline, I would walk through one of my house rooms and:
a. Imagine a tent stuck in my dining room doorway with loud snores coming from it
b. Visualize a bear sitting on my side table with a cub climbing up her leg
c. Envision a small flashlight on the windowsill flickering on and off
d. Picture a tree on top of my display cabinet and I am swaying from side-to-side while holding onto the top of it
e. I am standing on the dining table with a transparent body showing my visible brain, stomach and bladder (to help me remember the “bladder evacuate” humor )

Strategy #4
1. Practice, practice, practice out loud (practicing in your head is not very effective). If you feel confident that you have spent adequate time rehearsing, then you will have less anxiety and less probability of memory lapses.
2. Imagine you are delivering your speech successfully in front of your audience (a positive outlook helps reduce anxiety).
3. Make sure the structure of your speech or presentation is clear in your mind, and that you are not losing your way. If you are losing your train of thought, then you have a good indication that you need to make changes.
4. Make sure the content of your speech flows smoothly. I find that my personal stories are easy to recall, and the main stumbling area is typically in the transitions. I spend more time sharpening my transitions. Again, if I find I am stumbling with words, sentences, etc., I make changes.

Strategy #5
A speech that is memorized too much can come across as mechanical or unnatural. Find the balance.

WORKSHOP EXERCISE
1. Write out the outline of a short speech in 5 bullet-points
2. Follow steps 1 through 5 above in Strategy 3, using the five “house files”
3. Test the effectiveness of this memorization by identifying the image/action at each location (point to the location and say what image/action is located there)
a. In logical order
b. In reverse order
c. In random order
4. Practice, practice, practice visualizing the outline in logical order until it becomes ingrained in your brain.
5. Repeat the four-step exercise, but now use ten bullet points and ten different “house files”.

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on memorizing speeches. Please use the comments section below or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com –
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Powerful Presentations – Get Noticed and Promoted – Props and Presentations – “How I Nuked the Audience”

Dave Hill - The Big Prop

It was May 2000, and I was in the final of a speech competition. In front of me was an audience of over 200 people. My speech was humorous; however, I was trying to make a subtle point to people about limiting the amount of TV they watch and doing more family fun stuff.

To drive my point home with a little additional humor I went….a little crazy! I decided I would end my speech by having a huge TV box filled with pots and pans sitting in a shopping cart. On top of the TV box was an abundance of talcum powder.

My thoughts were to jokingly tell the audience to bring their TV sets to the front door and dump them onto the curb. I would then push the shopping cart to the edge of the stage and let the TV box tumble out and roll towards them. The pots and pans would create a frightful noise and the talcum power would create a visual cloud, and simulate the “TV” breaking inside the box. I would then deliver my serious closing line. That was the plan…..here is how it played out:

I pushed the shopping cart at high speed towards the edge of the stage; the TV was ejected and rolled, and rolled, and rolled, until it hit an audience member (a competition judge). The amount of talcum powder I used was excessive (understatement of the year) and as the TV rolled it produced a huge mushroom cloud that travelled into the audience. Some of the audience members were coughing and spluttering with the talcum powder cloud, and the remaining audience members were laughing out loud at the unplanned mayhem. I tried to deliver the last line of my speech with seriousness and sincerity; however with the audience laughing, I lost it and broke down laughing while spluttering my words.

I did not place in that speech competition, and reflecting back I concede that hitting a judge and causing him to cry out in pain may have lost me some points!

Having said that, props can be a great asset to a speech or presentation- as long as they are used appropriately. The following are some thoughts on using props:

Why use a prop?

• Helps you make your point
• Helps the audiences understand or remember your message.
• Add visual interest
• Focus attention

Some examples of props I have used are:• I once used a table saw as a prop for practicing safety. I told people how I had an accident with a table saw because I did not follow the safety rules. I started up the table saw. There was noise, a big sharp blade and saw dust flying everywhere.
• In a speech about Ireland, I had a dish towel with a map of Ireland showing its mountains and rivers. As I talked about the different places people were hopefully able to visualize the scenery I was trying to describe.
• In a speech about pubs in Ireland, I poured out a glass of Guinness and held it as I described the tranquil atmosphere in some of my favorite pubs.
• In a speech about the importance of changing batteries in smoke detectors, I brought a smoke detector and asked everyone what it was. When they said it was a smoke detector I threw it against the wall saying that it was a useless piece of plastic since it did not have a good battery. At the end I had large photographs of burning houses to make my final point.

Dave talking about courage with Larry the Lobster

• I use a live lobster to convince people to face their fears

TECHNIQUES OF USING PROPS

The two main techniques of using props include display & rehearsal

DISPLAY
a. In most cases you may want to keep the prop hidden until you are ready to use it. This gives more emphasis. When you show the prop it can provide more emphasis if you pause immediately after showing it.
b. In a competition several years ago, I had a prop that was hidden by a table cloth. The prop was an ironing board. I was explaining what stupid gifts I had given to my wife. I described my wife ripping open the package on Valentines Day to see that I had given her an (PAUSE) —- ironing board.
c. Make sure your props are in a good location – easy to access and visible to the audience. Do not turn your back to the audience while retrieving your props.
d. Do not use props that you have to spend a lot of time arranging. This can interrupt the flow of your speech.
e. Do not let a prop interfere with the audience’s view of the speaker.
f. Make sure that your prop is big enough for the audience to see

REHEARSAL
a. It is important that you practice using your props.
b. Timing is very important.
c. Make sure the room can accommodate your prop
d. Is there a table to put your prop on?
e. Is there a hiding place for your prop?
f. If your prop is hidden by a cloth or other wrapping, can it be removed easily without distracting rustling noises?
g. If the room is long, or wide can the audience see your prop?
h. Practice enough so that you know what can go wrong.

Risks of using props

Here are the mistakes I have seen or done:
a. Turning my back on the audience as I went to retrieve my hidden props.
b. Talking with my back turned as I went to get my props.
c. Prop was too small for the size of the room and was probably distracting.
d. A speaker putting a scarf prop around her neck and the lavaliere (lapel) microphone gave a loud scratching noise.
e. Using party poppers at the end of a presentation to create excitement. The finale of the speech was for all the audience to set off the gun powder filled poppers. We were in a 700 person corporate office with smoke detectors in the room – that is what is known in the speaking industry as a career limiting prop!
f. My Ireland map dish towel was in front of the audio speaker. When I went to point out a place on the map I got very loud microphone feedback. I will never do that again!

What can we learn from this?
a. Props can be beneficial to use
b. Learn the techniques
c. Know the risks
d. Practice, Practice, Practice

Final Note:
a) The prop movement should be smooth. Make sure it is not moved so fast that it confuses the audience and they are unsure of the purpose of it.
b) The prop should not be a distraction to the other parts of a presentation where it provides no value (e.g. if I did not hide my live lobster prop after I used it, the audience might stay focused on it rather than me.

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio – Keynotes – Workshops – Synopsis etc.) www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

Exceptional Presenters get Noticed and Promoted – “Befriending the Microphone”

Dave Hill Speaking at the 2004 World Championship of Public Speaking

It was February 2001, and I was a contestant in a speech competition. The crowd was larger than I was comfortable with, the room was large, and to add to the stress, I was told that I would need to use the lavaliere (lapel) microphone so my voice would project to the back of the room. My speech was practiced and finely honed. I had entered the competition with the intent to win.

My speech included stories that allowed my speaking character to fully blossom. My stories were told with energy, and my body gestures were animated as I presented my speech with passion. Unfortunately at one part of my speech when I was speaking in a loud animated voice, I stood in front of a very large speaker- and it squealed irritating feedback into the audience ears with the same effect as fingernails screeching on the blackboard. The feedback destroyed the effect of my speech, and I did not win.

If I was doing the same speech today, I would know that I would need to test the microphone before my speech by walking around the stage while simultaneously talking in a loud voice. This test would help me find feedback “hot-spot locations”, which I would then know to avoid.

In the last 10 years, I have entered over 60 speech competitions, and have taken home trophies for most of them. Sometimes I have won because someone with a better speech had microphone problems that could have been avoided. My stories and humor seem to give me an edge, and the microphone helps me project my energy and visualizations to the audience. Microphones are a huge benefit for a speech; however, in the hands of inexperienced speakers, they can destroy the effect of the most polished speech.

The following are some of the tips that I have learned from the school of hard (and very loud) knocks:
1. Microphones are beneficial – they can really enhance your speech or presentation. It takes a bit of practice to get comfortable with them, but it is worth the effort.
2. When using a mike, make sure you know how to turn it off and on and where the “mute” switch is. Practice using a mike as often as possible, and think about how you will manage all parts of your speech with a microphone at the lectern- in your hand, or with a lapel mike. Use a “dummy” microphone to practice if you will be using a hand held one.
3. Microphones do go wrong, they sometimes don’t work, they can give annoying feedback, and they can make you sound as if you have a bucket over your head. Think ahead – if any one of these faults occurs, what will I do? Will I battle on or dump the microphone?
4. Arrive early to do a sound check. You can get someone sitting at the back to help out.
5. Do not tap the microphone to check if it is on. Do you really want the audience to be irritated before you speak?.
6. Know where the audio speakers are – if you walk in front of them and speak, you run a high risk of getting loud, nasty feedback. The sound check can help identify bad areas to speak – walk around the speaking area while talking in your loudest voice to identify “feedback hot spots”.
7. When using a lectern microphone, adjust it so that it is an appropriate distance from you for good sound, and that it is not blocking your face.
8. Remember, if you are using a lectern mike, you are stuck there. If you turn away to point to a screen etc, your voice could be lost.
9. Make sure the lectern or mike is in a position such that it is not obstructing the screen, it is not blocking your speaking area, and that it is in a position to minimize feedback.
10. Ladies – and guys wearing kilts – if you will need to use a lavaliere microphone, think about where the transmitter box will be located (in a pocket, on a belt etc.). Also, think about how the lapel mike wire can be hidden in your clothing.
11. If you are going to be moving about energetically, think about how to attach the transmitter firmly (I have seen it dropped many times, and it can ruin a speech with distraction etc.)
12. The lapel microphone needs to be attached firmly to a tie, jacket or other piece of clothing. Do not assume the person attaching it on you is experienced in this; many times they are not. You do not want the mike rubbing against clothing, jewelry or hair. Prior to your speech, discuss with your helper who is going to turn on the transmitter. I prefer to get the helper to turn it on so I can mentally focus and control any anxiety.
13. Over-the-ear type microphones can fall off if not attached correctly. Practice attaching it, and even shake your head to make sure it will not dislodge itself.
14. Practice as much as possible with a microphone, and think about how your gestures could end up rubbing or banging the microphone with distracting noise.
15. When using a microphone, move papers or other materials quietly- the noise is picked up, and is distracting. Use heavier paper such as 32 lb.
16. If there is a break during your presentation, make sure you turn off the microphone before going to the washroom. Imagine the potential embarrassment!

Summary
Use the microphone if it is available. Both the speaker and the audience will benefit from its use. Remember – the microphone is your friend. Practice, practice, practice, and use it to your advantage.

The Exceptional Workplace – Empowered Presenters Power Your Profits – “Death By Public Speaking”

Imagine you are in a room full of highly technical engineers. You are an employee of engineering Research Company that is presenting to a group of outside company engineers on various research topics that the engineering companies will be paying for. You present with a technical PowerPoint presentation and a wave of stress is travelling through your body. You have presented in this forum before and you expect some pointed questions, cynical remarks, sarcasm, and sometimes some playful humor. At the back of the room sit your peers, awaiting their turn to present.

I attended this meeting as one of the outside company engineers. The consultants who were presenting ranged in experience levels from a few years through to the PhD’s with an abundance of experience. The presentation skills ranged from people who were comfortable presenting, could remain calm during the question period and provide good answers, through to the other end of the scale where there were presenters scared to death, sounding like they were on the verge of breaking down, and couldn’t answer questions very well. Age and experience did not seem to be a factor. A few of the younger speakers coped quite well, and I suspect they had gained experience and training at college and other venues.

What can we learn from this?
1) Culture of helpfulness – As the presenters were challenged and questioned they occasionally “froze” trying to understand the technical question and also to try to answer it with adequate detail. I hate to see anyone put on the spot struggling to answer a question (I have been there too many times myself) and it made me feel good to hear the presenter peers at the back of the room “jumping in” to help clarify the intent of the question and to also help provide some additional information and answer it. This is an excellent culture of employees who have an inherent instinct to help each other and make sure that they are all successful. This in turn makes sure the image of the research/consulting company is maintained. Imagine if these were employees who were working in a festering, conflict ridden workplace. Can you imagine the peers sitting in the back of the room smirking at the presenter “crashing and burning” up front and thinking to themselves, “glad its not me”. As an engineer in the audience being encouraged to spend my company’s money on research, how would I feel if the presenters were not able to answer questions? Maybe I would advise my company that we could put our limited resources elsewhere.
Exceptional workplaces have a strong focus on making sure employees have good communication skills, have a sense of balanced fun and respect, trust each other, and will do anything to help each other and advance the company.

2) Death by public speaking – The second visual I have from this meeting was a relatively young consultant presenting. It was an image I have seen before in different forums and it haunts me. The presenter appeared scared to death of speaking in front of an audience. He was nervously coughing and clearing his throat as if he had inhaled a mouthful liquid. His presentation was about 20 minutes long, and I have no doubt that it was a slow drowning. His coughing progressed to the extent that one of the audience engineers went outside and got him a bottle of water. As he went through his presentation his voice got more and more stressed and he sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down. During the question and answer period his peers helped him out, but I was very glad when he was finished.
From a workplace excellence perspective we should not allow our employees to “crash and burn” like this. It is totally avoidable. There are organizations such as Toastmasters International where you can become a good speaker in six to twelve months and an exceptional speaker if you stay longer. The cost for six months public speaking training is in the order of the price of a tank-full of gas for your car (~$40). I know many companies who send their employees to this organization to help them succeed. Find a club in your neighborhood at http://www.toastmasters.org

3) You have to laugh – The third visual I have from this meeting was an experienced presenter trying to get a research project video to work in the PowerPoint presentation. The research project documentation included a high speed video of a large test explosion, which would show the explosion flame running through a flammable vapor cloud and transitioning into a fearful explosion. Explosion videos are one of the highlights of the presentations and everyone waited in anticipation. This was an explosion where things did not go as planned, and it produced explosion effects that caused the research engineers to inadvertently provide audible expletives in the video soundtrack. The presenter spent a minute or two trying to get the video to work, but it was unsuccessful. One of his peers shouted out from the back, “you will need to act out the explosion” then someone else shouted out, “can you do an interpretative dance?” The presenter had the character where he could take the humorous comments in his stride, and the room erupted in laughter. With the laughter in the room the failure of the video became inconsequential and the presentation was continued without it. What I learnt from this is the presenter’s peers knew that the humor was appropriate for that specific presenter. They knew that he had a humorous demeanor and would “play” with their comments. I am sure you will agree with me that the comments would not have been appropriate for the previously described “stressed” presenter. Humor is a great tool to have in a meeting or presentation, but be careful that it does not cross the line and hurt someone. If there is a single person in the room that will be impacted negatively by humor, it is not worth it.

How can you help me communicate more information on this important subject?
1) Do you have any stories to share pertaining to presenting to challenging audiences?
2) What other success tactics would you recommend?
3) What’s the funniest thing you have seen during a presentation?

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC All rights reserved.