Movie speeches are a great opportunity see how much impact you can have in a short space of time. I watched ‘Fair Game’ last night (with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts) which ended with a powerful movie speech. Powerful and short. In fact, the best movie speeches are only about 100 seconds. (The Gettysburg Address More…
4 ways to start a speech strongly
The most important thing when starting a speech or presentation is to make it clear to the audience where you are taking them. Think about a typical person in your audience. Their mind is full of to-do lists and daydreams; and you walk on stage. They’ve sat through boring presentations in the past and More…
Admit a negative point for persuasive communication
Persuasive communication techniques can be very simple. And effortlessly make a business presentation more engaging. Everybody has made mistakes, failed to achieve goals and been disappointed. So when you admit a negative, it creates a powerful connection with an audience. It also provides instant (temporary) credibility that sets up your persuasive point. Admitting a downside helps More…
Crazy over gestures for 70 years
Found this old film from the 1940s that runs through the ‘basics’ of effective public speaking. It’s absolute rubbish, but very funny, with an over-emphasis on body posture and forced gestures. There’s some hilarious footage here; especially in the scene demonstrating how not to make gestures when speaking. And in the final “live” speech the speaker’s motions are More…
Quick tip: Use memory hooks
Think of the listener’s mind as a smooth marble ball. When you speak, most ideas slide off. Your audience may be ‘aware’ of what you are saying, but the information is not sticking. Solution: personalise your examples by connecting with something already in the mind. This will act like a hook for your ideas. Memory hooks More…
Jeff’s final speech as Hawks President
I was lucky enough to be invited to the President’s Lunch for the Hawks game against the Western Bulldogs last week. Jeff Kennett spoke for the last time at this event as Hawks President. His stint ends at the club’s AGM on December 14, when Andrew Newbold takes over. The room was full with 600 More…
Groundbreaking new app – VividOutline for iPad
Is this app really groundbreaking? Well, if you want a quick, easy way to prepare a speech or presentation – and then rehearse the structure and key messages in just a few minutes, then it is groundbreaking. There’s been nothing like this before. Most software innovation in the area of public speaking and presentations is around More…
Quick tip: Ask (rhetorical) questions of your audience
Why ask questions? (like this one). Because they provoke the mind of your listener. Asking questions during a presentation forces the audience to mentally participate. We use the term ‘rhetorical question’ to mean that you don’t expect a reply. Even though the audience doesn’t answer, their minds are more active when they hear the question format. What’s More…
‘We can face the confidence with future’: A media lesson from Julia Gillard
Slips of the tongue happen all the time. They’re not a problem. What matters is how we handle them. When speaking in public (or televised from Parliament), the best way to handle them is to pause, smile, and correct yourself. A minor blip. The worst way to handle them is to ‘power on’ and pretend it More…
The Daily Show: The power of Chunking
The July 28 episode of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart had author Peter Tomsen talking about his 900 page(!) book “The Wars of Afghanistan”. Throughout, he summarized his key points using elements of Chunk Theory – for example, the numbering of points before explaining them. In response to one question, he said “there are two More…
