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Welcome Message
Last month I had the great opportunity to visit China, and take in the sights, sounds and tastes of this unique and fascinating culture. And despite the fact that China is a totally different world than what I'm used to, I was truly surprised by the similarities that I found. For one thing, the drivers are even more "daring" (read: terrifying) than they are in my fair city of Montreal. Second, I saw that no matter where you live or what your background, people of all cultures tend to get very nervous when they have to give a presentation. Filler words such as "um" and "uh" (or the Mandarin equivalent, which sounded very similar to our "um's" and "uh's") nervous fidgeting and low voices seem to be universal traits within many cultures and ethnicities. So we are not alone!
That revelation was the reason why the Question of the Month addresses how to reduce nervousness. Then, from the TED archives, Malcolm Gladwell's speech about spaghetti sauce gives a great example of a simple speech structure and a good connection with his audience, largely due to his easy, conversational speaking style. And please note the new location of my speaking engagement at the HBAC on June 3, to which you're all invited!
If you have any comments about this newsletter or would like to submit a Question of the Month, please email me!
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Upcoming Speaking Engagement
New location: Hampton Inn & Suites Montreal-Dorval, QC
June 3, 2009
11:30am-1:30pm
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"For the second year in a row, you energized and inspired our audience with your workshop, "Easy Ways to Create and Deliver a Great Presentation." The points you made were practical, understandable, and useful, and your delivery was entertaining and motivational. The attendees especially liked the interactive components of your presentation, as well as how you 'deconstructed' the public speaking process, leaving them with tips and techniques that they could easily apply to their next presentation."
- Temilade Akinaina, Student Programs Development, Alumni, McGill University
View more customer testimonials...
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What's the News??
Keep up with the latest news and events on our News page!
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Cool Quote
"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."
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UNDERSTANDING HUMAN NATURE VIA SPAGHETTI SAUCE
 Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, The Tipping Point and most recently, Outliers, discusses the American quest to find the perfect spaghetti sauce in this 17-minute TED video, and relates this quest to a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.
In his introduction, the first thing that comes across is his very friendly, conversational speaking style. He sets up his credibility right from the start by mentioning the books that he's written. He makes the audience laugh several times throughout the speech, but most importantly, the first laugh comes in the first minute of his speech. This allows for a quicker connection with the audience.
Standard protocols of speaking
Malcolm follows some of the 'standard protocols' of speaking, and they work very well in moving his speech forward. Two of the main protocols he uses include:
- Tell a story, make a point (or its close cousin, make a point, tell a story). His whole speech revolves around stories. Stories about his mentor Howard Moskowitz and how he affected the future
 of spaghetti sauce and Pepsi. Stories about mustard. And stories about coffee choices. As he concludes each story, he makes his relevant point about how these stories relate to the nature of human choice, happiness, and ambitions.
- The Rule of Three. Nearing the end of the speech, Malcolm recaps "the three things that Howard did." Three is often a magic number in speeches. Focusing your message on three significant points and repeating them in different ways throughout your presentation adds maximum impact to a speech.
Anything to improve?
This was a very enjoyable presentation, and the speaking 'glitches' were minor:
- Space confinement. In the first two minutes of his speech, he stayed within the same 2-foot area, stepping back and forth. This didn't last too long, and he very quickly seemed to get more comfortable using more space on the stage.
- "Um." There were quite a few occurrences of this filler word at the beginning of the speech, but they became far less noticeable after the 2-minute mark.
- "Sorry." At around the 16-minute mark, Malcolm noticed that he forgot to mention something, so he blurted out a quick "sorry," and then said what he missed. If you've missed an important point and it's a relevant time in your speech to bring it up, you can simply say something like "and one thing that I didn't mention before but is very important is..." Apologizing is not necessary.
All in all, this was a very intelligent speech, presented in a witty, interesting manner. Who knew that history of spaghetti sauce was so dramatic?
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WHERE WAS I LAST MONTH?
In China! For a little over 2 weeks, I visited Ningbo and Shanghai. I enjoyed the sights, the sounds, the tastes, and the glorious chaos of two very busy Chinese cities.
And now, armed with a renewed appreciation for my own country and a burning desire to learn Mandarin, I'm recharged and back at work!
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QUESTION OF THE MONTH
 "I get so stressed when I have to give presentations. I worry that I'll forget what I have to say, or that my audience will be able to tell how nervous I am. What can I do to relax and calm my nerves?"
- Sara, Vancouver BC
Dear Sara,
To answer this question, I'll focus on the two most important things you must do to build confidence and calm your nerves: prepare and practice.
Prepare: You need to do your homework to fully prepare for your speaking engagement. First, understand your audience and what they expect. Who are they, what are they expecting to hear, why are they there, etc. This will help you focus your subject, and ensure that it will be interesting to them. Second, research your topic thoroughly. You can use your own experience or outside research/information, or a combination of both. If it's easier for you, write the whole speech word for word so that you can become very familiar with the content.
Practice: Top athletes do not get to the Olympics by swimming one lap, nor do professional speakers make five-figure paychecks because they're good at 'winging it.' You must rehearse your presentation. Practice in front of a mirror, your friends and family, your pet goldfish, or a video camera. Stand up, move around, and give the speech as if you were standing before your audience. The very act of rehearsing your speech gives you the opportunity to hear what you're saying out loud, allowing you to refine the language, enhance your stories or examples, go over transitions and key points in your presentation, and get a better sense of what content works and what doesn't. Run through your presentation as many times as required so that you are completely comfortable with the material. You should know the presentation so well that you could do it without PowerPoint or notes.
The more prepared you are, and the more you practice, the more confident you will feel. Good luck!
Do you have a question about public speaking? Email me your question today and I'll answer it in a future issue!
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Be a Better Communicator - Starting Today!
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