When reading the following article, consider using it as advice for a future speaker if they are considering giving their speech to a larger audience:

A TIP TO ENSURE THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE CAN SEE YOU GESTURE
by J.A. Gamache
Third place Champion at the 2001 Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking

Many times part of the audience has difficulty seeing us gesture when we give a speech. Do them a favor. Make wide gestures, and make them no lower than chest level!

Non-verbal language is an important part of all presentations in front of an audience. Your gestures give support and add clarity to your message. In fact, they are part of the message itself! Your gestures add a visual dimension to the words you have chosen. Hence the importance to make sure that all the members of your audience have a chance to see this non-verbal part of your message.

Here’s a tip to ensure that your gestures are easily seen by the whole audience: make wide gestures, and make them no lower than chest level!

Why no lower than chest level? Because gestures lower than chest level often go unnoticed.

Imagine that you are speaking to 200 people. Or even worse, you’re not on a stage and the crowd is seated at round tables, and you’re the after-dinner speaker. The audience can only see above the heads of the people in front of them. For them you only exist at chest level and above!

Furthermore, if you make gestures that are too subtle, there’s a good chance they won’t see them.

When you’re standing in front of large audiences, you appear tiny to the people at the back of the room! You might even be out of focus if they’re shortsighted! Not only should your gestures be no lower than chest level, but you also have to exaggerate your gestures.

The day I understood how difficult it can be for some people in the audience to see me, I changed the way I moved. At first, I felt uneasy. My new gestures seemed unnatural but I soon found how to move in a way that suited my personality.

During your next speech, think about the people who have difficulty seeing you. Make wide gestures, and make them no lower than chest level. It’s a good habit if you want to ensure the ENTIRE audience sees you gesture.

Happy speech!

©MMXI J.A. Gamache www.jagamache.com. All rights reserved.

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PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO REPRODUCE THIS ARTICLE in whole or in part if a copy of the reproduced text is sent to J.A. Gamache at info@jagamache.com after publication and also provided that this byline, including the following paragraph, appears along with the reproduced text:

This article was reproduced from “Speaking in Public with J.A.”, a FREE electronic magazine authored by J.A. Gamache, International Inspirational Speaker. To subscribe to his FREE e-zine or to find out more about his presentations, visit: http://www.jagamache.com/.
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A fellow Toastmaster recently had an experience that I believe many Toastmasters experience.  A speech so compelling and emotionally charged that it becomes hard to evaluate.  The following is from my friend Tom:

The crux of the matter is that I’m really challenged at times by speeches that are so emotionally connecting and captivating. I was especially totally consumed by a recent speech that I found that the detachment that I find necessary to do a proper evaluation was impossible, at least impossible in the time frame of a meeting.
 
It is not often that I ever find myself at a loss for words, but this was one of those times. I recall vividly feeling this sense of dread as I walked forward to give my eval thinking “what in the blazes am I going to say, and not shed tears”. What I told the group (and a small one that it was because of the holiday meeting) was how supremely difficult I found it to be standing in front of them that day. That I had been so moved by the speech and the speech content that coming up with a proper evaluation was just not going to happen.
 
I complimented the speaker for the amazing courage to give the speech she did. I said that there is some degree of risk in doing evaluations, and that risk I believe is being so caught up in the content that you can’t break free to provide articulate feedback. I really don’t recall what else I said, but the truth is that I was just simply blown away. So, thus the conundrum.

Thanks Tom!

by J.A. Gamache
Third place Champion at the 2001 Toastmasters International
World Championship of Public Speaking

Here’s a tip used by theater people to prevent memory blanks.  On the day of your presentation, just before getting on stage, repeat your text rapidly without emotion.

I once wrote a play for children and hired some professional actors to help me deliver my tale. On the day of the show I was happy as we were setting up the stage and the sound system when I heard one actor say to the others: “Let’s make a rehearsal!”.

I was shocked. We didn’t have time for a rehearsal! We only had a half hour before the kids would come in the room.

To calm me down they explained to me that they would not do a regular rehearsal but instead an exercise called a “speed run-through” aimed at bringing the text back to their memory.  That’s all. They would do it as they would work on something else. We would rehears the play but the actors would simply say their part rapidly without interpreting it.

I found it to be a quite ingenious way to refresh one’s memory. In addition, once it was over I was less nervous. I felt more confident because the exercise proved to me that I knew my text since I just said it out loud.

Here’s what I suggest. A short while before giving your next speech, say your text out loud, rapidly and without emotion.  You should make this exercise even if you don’t know your text by heart. Read your notes out loud if you have any.  What’s important here is to refresh your memory just before you speak.

Is it a guaranty that you won’t have a memory blank? No.  However, it will decrease significantly the risk that such an accident occurs. Having taken such a precaution you’ll be less stressed and that will make a difference on stage!

Happy speech!

©MMX J.A. Gamache www.jagamache.com. All rights reserved.

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PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO REPRODUCE THIS ARTICLE in whole or in part if a copy of the reproduced text is sent to J.A. Gamache at info@jagamache.com after publication and also provided that this byline, including the following paragraph, appears along with the reproduced text:

This article was reproduced from “Speaking in Public with J.A.”, a FREE electronic magazine authored by J.A. Gamache, International Inspirational Speaker. To subscribe to his FREE e-zine or to find out more about his presentations, visit: http://www.jagamache.com.

Excellent article from Craig Valentine…

3 Keys To Hook Your Audience Into Your Story

Tap, Tease, and Transport

Most speakers start their stories and hope their audiences will come along on those journeys. That’s average. World Class Speakers don’t do that. Instead, they make their audiences curious so that they want to come along. So here is the secret: it’s what you do before your story that really matters.

Example

For example, before one of my stories, I say the following:

“What do you think is the number one thing that stands between most people living their dreams?” The audience yells out various responses. Then, in a friendly/humorous way I say, “Those are all great answers and if you listen closely they all have the same thing in common. They’re all wrong.” The audience laughs. Then I say, “No, they’re not wrong. They’re just not the number one thing in my opinion that gets in the way. The number one thing is not what you think.”

What do you think the audience is thinking at that point? Right, they are thinking, “Okay, what is the number one thing?” And that is the key to curiosity. You have to get them to ask themselves a question and let them know the answer is coming up in the story.

Tap, Tease, and Transport

This is what I call the Tap, Tease, and Transport method. It is a three step process which includes:

1.   Tapping into your audiences’ mind with a question

2.   Teasing them to want to know more

3.   Transporting them into your story

The Method in Action

Tap: I tapped into their mind by asking, “What do you think is the number one thing that stands between most people living their dreams?” That was the tap. I got them thinking about themselves!

Tease: Then, I told them, “Your answers are wrong. The number one thing is not what you think.” That’s the tease. Now they know they’ll find the number one thing inside my story so they are amped up to come along. Why? It is because they know they are going to be given a point that will help them reach their goals.

Transport: Finally, I transport them into my story in stealth fashion. What I mean by that is you should never say, “Well, listen to my story” or “Now I’m going to tell you a story” or anything like that. Instead, sneak into your story. Get them into your story before they realize you’re going to tell a story. Once you say something like, “I’m going to tell you a story,” many audience members put down their pens and let their minds wander elsewhere. Instead, sneak them into it.

For your next story, try this 3-step method out. When you use the tap, tease, and transport method, you’ll look up and see you have everyone’s undivided attention as they join you on your journey. Tap, Tease, and Transport.

Article from Craig Valentine here.

Would you like to be able to write this:

When the smell of trees surrounds me as I walk in a forest, when the wind caresses my face during a bicycle ride, when the piece of paper I just folded becomes a bird, when I do all these, I am truly happy.

instead of this:

My favorite hobbies are taking walks, cycling and origami.

If so, check out this article from J.A. Gamache:

USE PARALLEL STRUCTURE TO SPEAK LIKE PRESIDENT OBAMA
by J.A. Gamache

To add power and eloquence to your speeches you could use a writing technique called “parallel structure”. I learned how to use it in one of Lynda Goldman’s communication capsule. (www.lyndagoldmanink.com)

What is “parallel structure”? As Lynda explained: “Parallel structure means that ideas that are parallel in content should be parallel in structure.”

Let’s look at the following phrase exerted from United States President Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural address as an example of parallel structure:

“… I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. …”

Have you noticed how this sentence can be easily separated in three similar parts?

“… humbled by the task before us ,…”
“… grateful for the trust you have bestowed, …”
“… mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.”

Each idea has a parallel structure starting with an adjective followed by the article “the”.

Have fun and try it in your next speech! See if you can tweak a paragraph or two using the same grammatical form at the beginning of each idea.

For example, instead of simply stating that your favorite hobbies are taking walks, cycling and origami, you could say:

“When the smell of trees surrounds me as I walk in a forest, when the wind caresses my face during a bicycle ride, when the piece of paper I just folded becomes a bird, when I do all these, I am truly happy.”

Do you see how this paragraph is much more powerful? It has more rhythm. Sprinkle some parallel structures in your texts and you’ll add pizzazz to your presentations.

Happy writing!

©MMIX J.A. Gamache www.jagamache.com. All rights reserved.

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PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO REPRODUCE THIS ARTICLE in whole or in part if a copy of the reproduced text is sent to J.A. Gamache at info@jagamache.com after publication and also provided that this byline, including the following paragraph, appears along with the reproduced text:

This article was reproduced from “Speaking in Public with J.A.”, a FREE electronic magazine authored by J.A. Gamache, International Inspirational Speaker. To subscribe to his FREE e-zine or to find out more about his presentations, visit: http://www.jagamache.com.
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