Perhaps you have noticed that speakers range from awful to amazing. And then there are the speakers who are masters. How would you know if you are listening to a speaking master? I wondered and I asked some of those who I consider to be speaking masters.
I spoke with professional speaking colleagues. Collectively these four represent about 90 years in the business of professional speaking. They are all members of CAPS, the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. Their styles, as speakers, are as different as their responses to my question. And you will notice some common elements. Enjoy their comments.
How do you recognize mastery in speakers?
“A natural, easy style – especially the ease of doing difficult things without breaking a sweat. They clearly enjoy themselves and exude confidence. Their delivery is free-flowing, like a maestro.”
Jim Beaubien, Ph.D., CSP, HoF
“I know I am looking at it when I am not aware of it unless I am looking for it. With master speakers, you have to really look at what they do with pacing and pausing to see the technique. In our business, as with most others, it takes a certain level of competence to even recognize it. One surgeon could watch another take out an appendix and say, ‘Wow, that was masterful’, but you or I would probably not recognize the level of mastery.”
Warren Evans, CSP, HoF
“There is flow – integrated, flawless and seamless. No matter what they are doing, they demonstrate the pinnacle of the craft. My sister the dentist told me that when she started she knew what she was doing, but it took s-o-o-o long; now it flows.”
Linda Tarrant, CSP, HoF
“By their level of confidence and engagement. They are there for the audience, not for themselves. You sense mastery emotionally and intellectually more that through the other senses. True mastery even touches you from a spiritual perspective. I have heard very good speakers who did not touch me.”
Larry Pearson, CSP
George Torok
Speech Coach for Executives
CAPS Former National Board Member
speaking
professional speaker
Choose Your Speech Coach Wisely
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| Executive Speech Coach |
Working with a speech coach can be an intimate and unnerving experience.
What might you want from your speech coach?
An effective speech coach must be confident and capable enough to be direct with you – to encourage you, to challenge you and to guide you.
An effective speech coach must be able to identify and build on your strengths.
An effective speech coach must understand your needs, your audience and your message.
An effective speech coach must ask you direct, discovering and guiding questions.
An effective speech coach must demonstrate experience and success as a speech coach and speaker.
An effective speech coach must be an effective public speaker and communicator.
An effective speech coach must be constructive – not sarcastic.
An effective speech coach will help you uncover the best way for you to convey your message.
An effective speech coach will leave you a far better speaker.
An effective speech coach will leave you feeling good about yourself.
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
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speech coach
Mary Kay Ash
“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important’. Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.”
-Mary Kay Ash (1918-2001)
Founder Mary Kay Cosmetics
http://www.marykaytribute.com
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
Smile - say cheese!
Do you remember the photographer saying that?
It might have sounded corny – but it worked. Smile for the camera. Why? Because you always look better when you smile. In fact the best beauty secret is not a cream or lotion – it is a smile.
It looks better for a picture and it looks better for your presentation.
read more
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
It might have sounded corny – but it worked. Smile for the camera. Why? Because you always look better when you smile. In fact the best beauty secret is not a cream or lotion – it is a smile.
It looks better for a picture and it looks better for your presentation.
read more
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
Presentation Question Two
When you deliver a presentation - in fact every time you speak there is one question that pops up often in the mind of your listener. If this question is unanswered you might lose them. If you don’t answer this question your listener might ignore the rest of your presentation.
Too many presenters fail to answer this question. They fail and they wonder why.
Maybe you have good information to present. Maybe it is true and important. But if your listener doesn’t get it – your presentation failed.
This question is especially important when you are presenting information. Because of information overload we are trained to ignore information. It is a survival technique; helps keep us closer to sanity. (When it comes to sanity – close is good enough)
So what is this question?
“So what?”
You say, “The competition launched a new product.”
Your listeners think, “So What?”
You need to tell them why that is important and what that means to them. You need to convey relevance to the information.
Here are two phrases that you might use:
“What that means to you…..”
“The reason I tell you that…..”
Before your next presentation think about the “So what?” and answer that question every time you present information. Give relevance.
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
Too many presenters fail to answer this question. They fail and they wonder why.
Maybe you have good information to present. Maybe it is true and important. But if your listener doesn’t get it – your presentation failed.
This question is especially important when you are presenting information. Because of information overload we are trained to ignore information. It is a survival technique; helps keep us closer to sanity. (When it comes to sanity – close is good enough)
So what is this question?
“So what?”
You say, “The competition launched a new product.”
Your listeners think, “So What?”
You need to tell them why that is important and what that means to them. You need to convey relevance to the information.
Here are two phrases that you might use:
“What that means to you…..”
“The reason I tell you that…..”
Before your next presentation think about the “So what?” and answer that question every time you present information. Give relevance.
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
Presentation Question One
Before you deliver your speech or presentation you must ask yourself one critical question. If you ask yourself this question before every presentation you will create a better presentation and write it faster.
Ask this critical question and you will be more successful in your speaking. You will be better able to adapt the length of your presentation to last minute changes. You will look and feel more confident and convincing. You will be better prepared to handle questions and interruptions. You will be able to avoid wasteful tangents. You will stay focused.
The question that you should ask yourself before every presentation is this:
What do you want your audience to do, think or feel when you are finished speaking?
If you don’t ask this question you might be wasting time – yours and theirs.
If you ask this question – you will know why you are speaking. If you don’t know why you are speaking – you are wasting time and embarrassing yourself.
When you know what you want your audience to do, think or feel, then you can test every phrase you speak, every slide and every prop for how well it helps or hinders your purpose.
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
PS: This question also applies to everything you write – including your marketing material.
PPS: The first question I ask an executive when coaching their presentation is, “What is your purpose for speaking?”
Ask this critical question and you will be more successful in your speaking. You will be better able to adapt the length of your presentation to last minute changes. You will look and feel more confident and convincing. You will be better prepared to handle questions and interruptions. You will be able to avoid wasteful tangents. You will stay focused.
The question that you should ask yourself before every presentation is this:
What do you want your audience to do, think or feel when you are finished speaking?
If you don’t ask this question you might be wasting time – yours and theirs.
If you ask this question – you will know why you are speaking. If you don’t know why you are speaking – you are wasting time and embarrassing yourself.
When you know what you want your audience to do, think or feel, then you can test every phrase you speak, every slide and every prop for how well it helps or hinders your purpose.
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
PS: This question also applies to everything you write – including your marketing material.
PPS: The first question I ask an executive when coaching their presentation is, “What is your purpose for speaking?”
Cliché hell
Cliche hell
Please stop using clichés. It is like vomit - Regurgitated bile. Hell is a place where everyone speaks in clichés. Most of us are already suffering from listening to clichés. Some of us are guilty of spreading them.
It reeks of unoriginality. It is not clever. It is lazy.
Every time you parrot something that we heard before – you diminish yourself. And we tend to stop listening when we already heard it before.
The exception to this is the use of distinctive quotations – which I will discuss in another post. For example, Shakespeare never goes out of style.
So, which clichés push my barf nerve?
Pushing the envelope
Thinking outside the box
Raise the bar
Win – win
There is no ‘I’ in team
Go over his head
Bend over backwards
Just business – nothing personal
Fly-by-night
Nose to the grindstone
The full nine yards
Thirty thousand foot level
Working my fingers to the bone
Another day, another dollar
Put your money where your mouth is
24/7
Clichés are boring, unimaginative and destructive.
If that is the way you want to be remembered – use clichés. You will be quickly forgotten.
If you want to be different – be different. And you will be remembered.
In another post I will talk about how to twist clichés to make you more interesting, effective and memorable.
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
Please stop using clichés. It is like vomit - Regurgitated bile. Hell is a place where everyone speaks in clichés. Most of us are already suffering from listening to clichés. Some of us are guilty of spreading them.
It reeks of unoriginality. It is not clever. It is lazy.
Every time you parrot something that we heard before – you diminish yourself. And we tend to stop listening when we already heard it before.
The exception to this is the use of distinctive quotations – which I will discuss in another post. For example, Shakespeare never goes out of style.
So, which clichés push my barf nerve?
Pushing the envelope
Thinking outside the box
Raise the bar
Win – win
There is no ‘I’ in team
Go over his head
Bend over backwards
Just business – nothing personal
Fly-by-night
Nose to the grindstone
The full nine yards
Thirty thousand foot level
Working my fingers to the bone
Another day, another dollar
Put your money where your mouth is
24/7
Clichés are boring, unimaginative and destructive.
If that is the way you want to be remembered – use clichés. You will be quickly forgotten.
If you want to be different – be different. And you will be remembered.
In another post I will talk about how to twist clichés to make you more interesting, effective and memorable.
George Torok
The Speech Coach for Executives
Do Not Think on your Feet
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| Don't Think on Feet - Your Feet don't think well. |
It is too dangerous. When you try to wing it you leave too much to chance. You might be sharp today. Or, you might be ill or even in a foul mood.
Stop thinking on your feet. It will get you into trouble soon.
Instead, be prepared. The only thing you should do on your feet is consider options.
Analyze your presentation, the strengths, the weak points, and your audience. Consider the possible questions, objections and interruptions. Then prepare and rehearse your response to all of them.
Why should you do that much work? Because the pros do it. Plan strategies and tactics to deal with the possible challenges.
But – don’t think on your feet. That is pure suicide.
George Torok
Speech Coach for Executives
Donald Trump on Boardroom Presentations
Watch Donald Trump on the Apprentice. You might notice these unwritten rules about surviving in the boardroom with Mr. Trump.
1. Hair doesn’t count – when you are the boss.
2. The one who enters the boardroom last has the most power.
3. Make them squirm before you skewer them.
4. Pretend to offer them hope.
5. Pretend to give advice while you torture them.
6. Encourage your underlings to fight amongst themselves.
7. Sit in the position of most power.
8. Don’t mince words – you’re fired
9. Never gloat. Appear to be the reluctant but righteous deity.
10. Make the disgraced leave the boardroom first.
© George Torok has delivered many boardroom presentations over a 20-year corporate management history. He now works with executives and managers to help them succeed with their boardroom presentations.
Torok is the “Speech Coach for Executives”. Get your free presentation tips every month by registering at http://www.speechcoachforexecutives.com/. You can arrange for George Torok to work with you and your executives by calling 905-335-1997
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