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February 2010 |
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With Public Speaking, a Little Goes a Long Way. |
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Joey Asher
President's
Perspective |
I know that I should be a better
person than this. But my main reaction to President
Obama’s State of the Union address last week was “Why
did it have to be so freakin’ long?”
I don’t have the attention span for
such things.
If I were President, I would propose
that all speeches be limited to 15 minutes, with half
that time devoted to Q&A. Now that would be change we
could believe in.
No one Wants to Hear a Long Speech
I’m not alone on this issue. Attention
spans are short. There was a study done of college
students during 50-minute lectures. Researchers found
that the students’ highest level of attention was in the
first five minutes of the lecture. After that, attention
levels dropped continuously until the 17th
minute and leveled off.
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What if You Don't Know the
Answer to a Question? |
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If
you give enough presentations, it’s going to happen. Someone’s going
to ask a question during a presentation and you’re not going to know
the answer.
Maybe
you just need a moment to think about it. Or maybe you just have no
clue what to say.
So
what do you?
Here’s what not to do. Don't fake it! Your credibility with the
audience can be lost in an instant if you are caught bluffing.
Instead, you can do one of two things.
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Lessons in Business-Relationship Building
From a Study of Doctor-Patient Communication. |
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And
you thought your colleague across the hallway was a poor
listener. Consider this. When the doctor asks you
“Where does it hurt?” you have less than 18 seconds to
respond before being interrupted.
That’s just one conclusion from a burgeoning field of
research into how doctors and patients communicate,
according to an article in the New York Times.
For
people trying to communicate more effectively in
business, the research provides a fascinating case study
in how to (and how not to) diagnose problems. The
takeaway message? If you want to reduce
misunderstandings, frustration, and lawsuits, listen
carefully, don’t interrupt, and ask plenty of questions.
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How Ben Franklin
Can Help Improve
Your
Public Speaking Skills. |
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Do you speak
with all the energy of a house plant? Do you pepper your
conversation with too many “Uhs” and “Ums.” Do you keep your face
in a permanent state of “boredom”?
More
importantly, do you want to change some of these habits?
If so, then do
what Benjamin Franklin used to do. Pick one point of improvement and
work on it continuously for a single month. Ben didn’t know it at
the time, but he was changing habits using a technique that
psychologists call “reticular activation.”
Reticular
activation is the little bug we plant in our heads to sensitize
ourselves to certain things. For example, reticular activation is
what makes you suddenly begin to notice all the blue Toyota Camry's
on the road two days after you've bought your blue Camry.
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Public Speaking Wisdom
from Peter Drucker. |
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Business Guru Peter Drucker said “Communication . . .
always makes demands. It always demands that the
recipient become somebody, do something, believe
something. It always appeals to motivation.”
To motivate
people effectively, you need to have a focused message that you
deliver with passion. That’s what we teach at Speechworks.
In our
Persuasive Speaker workshops, we coach our clients in how to stand
up and deliver presentations with passion and in a way that connects
and motivates. In our two-day program, you will deliver five
presentations in front of a small group all with the help of our
expert coaches.
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