August 2008
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To Hold Listeners Spellbound for an Hour,
Tell Stories, Stories and More Stories. |
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Joey Asher
President's
Perspective |
Of all the public speaking feats, few are more difficult
than holding an audience spellbound for an hour. No
PowerPoint. No flashy demonstrations. All you get is a
lectern placed in the middle of an otherwise empty stage
and a microphone.
As a listener, when I see that set up, I admit I start
to get nervous.
How do you pull it off? Stories. Stories. Stories.
Recently, I attended a lecture by David Maraniss at the
Atlanta History Center. Maraniss is on a tour promoting
his book “Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the
World.” It’s gotten good reviews. I wanted to hear him
speak because I loved his biography “When Pride Still
Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi.”
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Four Keys to Engaging Conference Calls. |
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“When I’m leading a conference call, I know that there
are people reading their email, working on memos and not
paying attention. Are there any tricks to making people
paying pay closer attention?”
We get that
question a lot. Here's our answer. Yes. There is a trick
to making people pay more attention. You need to be more
engaging.
It’s not the listener’s fault that your calls feel like
a waste of time.
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Based on Height, Obama Should Beat McCain. |
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If you want to rely on the “Height Index” then Barack Obama is
the favorite to become our next President.
Approximately 60 percent of the time, the taller candidate wins.
according to a Wikipedia analysis.
Senator Obama is 6-foot-1. Senator John McCain is 5-foot-6.
Of course height isn’t just a benefit when running for President of
the United States. There have been several studies indicating the
benefit of height in the marketplace.
For every additional inch in height, you can expect to earn almost
$800 a year in pay.
CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are approximately three inches taller
than the general population.
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Speechworks "Talking Points" Listed as Top Blog. |
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Our blog “Talking Points” is getting recognized in the “blogosphere.”
We have been selected for listing on
Alltop, a web-listing that considers itself a
“digital magazine rack.” It’s a site for top blogs and
websites. We are listed in the “Speaking” category.
To view the blog, click here.
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Neat Flip Chart Idea for Your Next Speech |
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Here’s an easy way to give a speech that your audience
will love.
Start with a blank flip chart. Walk before your audience
and say the following. “In preparing for my speech
today, I thought about the three questions that you
would want me to answer.”
Then state the three questions and write them down on
the flip chart.
Then say, “Let me answer the first question.” Then
answer the question, making sure that you use a story to
illustrate your answer. And make sure you speak with the
kind of energy you would have during an animated dinner
conversation with a friend. Be excited and let the
passion show.
Once you’ve answered all three questions, recap the main
ideas in less than 15 seconds. Stop.
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Public Speaking Tip from Albert Einstein. |
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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more
complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius --
and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite
direction."
Those are the words of Albert Einstein, the great
scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics.
While Einstein certainly wasn’t talking about public
speaking, he could have been. Great communicators work
hard to make their presentations as simple as possible.
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