Can I Get A Witness?

One of the most important things you can have is an accountability partner--someone you trust and respect who loves you but doesn't have a problem telling you when you're off track. Most successful people have accountability partners and it's an invaluable asset. And it can make you a better speaker.

Have that trusted friend (or professional advisor) stop by a practice session or witness your presentation...and ask them to give you a constructive critique. What worked and what didn't and why. Things they heard the audience say afterwards. (It's great to have a friend hanging around, overhearing conversations about your performance. My wife loves to go to my shows and anonymously hear people complimenting my stuff!)

That witness can help you smooth out the rough spots and, better yet, praise you for the things that shine in your speech. You'll find your performance will improve dramatically!

Nailing That Job Interview

My career track will changing soon. Because I nailed the interview. I mean, flat out hit every pitch out of the park. Not many things are better than knowing you handled a job interview with style and substance, and walking out feeling the love in that board room.

Presentation skills are not limited to the platform. In fact, the close-quarter combat that typifies most job interviews requires a similar amount of research, preparation, and practice. So before you head into your next interview, here are some things to have ready:

• Research. Doesn't matter if it's Microsoft or McDonalds, it really impresses the interviewer if you know all about the company's history, its products and services, and its customers. If you have Internet access, there's no excuse for not doing your homework.


• Preparation. You know that you're the right person for the gig--but why? The moment you know you're getting an interview, start preparing your answers to questions like, "What are your strengths...and why are they important to this organization?", "Which career decision do you wish you could take back?", and most important, "Why do you want this job?" Develop a compelling answer to that question and the job is as good as yours.


• Be Positive. Don't talk negatively about any previous job experience, especially about your old boss and what a loser he was. If you're openly complaining about your last job, chances are you'll be complaining about your new gig soon enough.


• Dress For Success. Yes, I know, it sounds trite. And I know you really, really feel like your freedom of expression is being censored because you can't wear a kilt to the interview. But trust me, the business world is not a democracy. Think of it as a benevolent dictatorship. So unless you find in your research that the company wants rugged individuals with wild fashion taste (and there are those companies out there,) please wear something appropriate.

Job interviews don't have to feel like the corporate version of the Bataan Death March--in fact, they can be thrilling IF you've prepped and presented correctly. (Good luck!)

Passing The "Who Cares?" Test

My favorite radio consultant, Mike McVay, was famous for going over my air check tapes and saying after every break, "So....does this pass the 'Who Cares' test?" He meant for me to determine, every time I cracked the mike, whether I was about to talk about something the listener really wanted to hear or was it just something that I was interested in. That philosophy has helped me become a successful morning radio personality.

But it's also helped my speaking career...because the first thing I do before I even start developing a topic is take the "Who Cares?" test. Who'll want to learn more about this subject? Why should my audience be interested in this particular story? Is this something that only I care about--or is a shared experience that will resonate with a large number of people?

It's a great litmus test, even if you're required to speak about a certain topic. For instance, one of my clients asked me for help in developing a presentation on mortgage lending. (You're already rubbing down the goosebumps, I can tell.) I asked him why that topic was so important. He said too many customers get pushed into deals they'll never be able to afford and it was his mission to convince the industry that its strategy should be to help customers achieve their financial goals without get-rich-quick gimmicks.

The topic we came up with was "Do The Right Thing-Creating A Lifetime of Customers By Helping Them Create A Lifetime of Wealth!" It turned out to be the best-attended session of his industry's conference.

Take the "Who Cares?" test every time you make a presentation and you'll be pleasantly surprised with the response when you choose a topic everyone likes rather than try to persuade people to enjoy something only you might like.

The Fifth Element

Breathing easier today...remember that audition in San Francisco I talked about last month? They finally called this morning and I've got a voice over gig later today. And it only took 32 days for them to decide to use me.

It doesn't always happen like that but when it does, it's good to remember the fifth element of successful performance...let's run through the list:

1. Plan -- Nothing beats great planning. Have a firm grasp of the big picture, understand WHY you're speaking, and then determine the theme and structure of your presentation.
2. Prepare -- Research, interview, get advice, and take care of the little touches that will make your speech a guaranteed success.
3. Practice -- Make sure your presentation is flawless and THEN start the rehearsal process. (Remember, practice doesn't make perfect...perfect practice makes perfect.)
4. Present -- If you've done everything above correctly, then you can relax and have fun!

and the fifth element--Patience. Everything happens when it's supposed to happen. so you might as well enjoy the ride.

Funny Is Money

There's nothing worse than listening to someone drone on and on with no attempt at humor--unless it's someone who thinks they're funny drone on and on...

Professional speakers have a saying that goes, "Funny is money." Humor adds pizzazz. It makes your presentation more memorable. And it wins your audience over every time. But what happens if you're just not a funny person?

I suggest you start looking back at the stories your friends find amusing. They don't have to be belly busters, but they do have to have an emotional connection to your subject matter. There's a reason your buddies are laughing--find a way to use it in your speeches!

Schmooze Or Lose

I love to schmooze. In fact, my wife says I'm the only person she knows who could work a phone booth. It's a natural part of my personality...and something I've found can make even a great presentation even more successful and lucrative!

Audiences love contact with celebrities--and trust me, if you've been asked to give a major presentation or keynote speech, you can consider yourself a "celebrity." Arrive early and stay late. Shake hands and look into faces. Connect with the crowd before you step on stage and they'll be in love with you before you even open your mouth.

Oh, and working the room doesn't stop when you step off the stage. Stick around and chat, sign a few autographs, let everyone who wants to shake your hand or ask a question get a little one-on-one time. (My experience is to set your mental clock to two minutes for each person--that way you're not still working the room at midnight!) You'll really make a lasting impression and you'll probably pick up some future business, too!

As one of my favorite speakers, Patricia Fripp, advises, "There is more business to be had from the connection with the audience members and contacts from the client organization than the greatest speech."

...And Now, How NOT To Handle A Heckler

It's remarkable that so many people working as communications professionals don't know how to communicate.

For instance, you'd think that a public information officer working for a controversial politician would be especially careful with his words--particularly in a setting where the media was ready to pounce on anything he said that might be "newsworthy." Unfortunately, this guy wasn't...(if you need the backstory, check out "How NOT To Handle A Media Stunt.")

It gets better. Better as in, "Raise your hands if you didn't see this train wreck coming." Our intrepid PIO agreed to take part in a public forum on freedom of speech--of course, he's the guy who (on his boss' orders) physically tried to keep several radio station talk show hosts out of the mayor's presser last month.

This poor guy is stuck trying to defend his boss' actions in a no-win situation (Mistake #1,) so he tries to inject a little levity into the proceedings by starting out with a lame joke (Mistake #2) that referred to the time-worn advice to speakers about imagining their audience wearing nothing but underwear (Mistake #3--that advice never works, by the way. It's well down on the effective presentation skills scale, right below "Break wind frequently.")

And the joke falls flatter than a pancake jumping off the Sears Tower. Here's what he said (courtesy of the Toledo Blade:)

"Two ladies that I used to work with when I worked at the [Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority], though, made me promise I would not picture them in their underwear when I spoke," Mr. Schwartz said of the women who were seated in the front row.

Mistake #4. Cue the crickets.

Not having endured enough discomfort, the PIO now has to handle a heckler who turns out to be the C-I-C of the radio station (meaning "Clown-In-Charge.") Having conveniently ignored an invitation to appear on the dais with the PIO, the heckler chooses instead to lob a few snarky comments up on stage. The PIO falls on the grenades and the entire forum degenerates into a screaming match.

Chances are that the relationship between the mayor's office and the radio station will never be repaired until the personnel changes. However, there are two key lessons to be learned from this brouhaha--one, always deal with a heckler calmly and politely. And since you have the microphone, you control the room...so if the heckler won't shut up, then ask the moderator or host to politely remove the offender.

Two, never argue with a fool. Your audience may not be able to tell the difference.

How To Handle A Heckler

I've written before about techniques for handling an unruly audience member, but I thought it would be good to show an acutal example of someone deftly and graciously dealing with a rude interruption:

Click to Play

(By the way, this guy could be a sleeper in the 2008 presidential race...much like when Bill Clinton came out of nowhere to win it all in 1992. If he can continue to handle the Mormon issue as well as he did at this event, watch out.)

Act Like A Winner, Part 2

It's good to know that all the stuff I write about on this blog (not to mention the countless hours spent giving workshops and speeches) actually have some practical personal use.

I had an audition for a talent agency in San Francisco yesterday--they're interested in representing me, so who am I to say no?--and it was all I could do to maintain an even strain. (It's a crazy concept to begin with...I live in Sacramento, so for all intents and purposes, I agreed to drive an hour-and-a-half, spend $30 on gas, tolls, and parking, give a three minute audition, then drive an hour-and-a-half back home and hope they liked me!) The audition itself could have been a disaster, but the experience reassured me that I can walk the walk when I talk about presentation and speaking skills. Here's what I learned:

• Practice doesn't make perfect--perfect practice makes perfect. When the situation looks and feels surreal, it's always good to know that your performance can't go wrong because you've rehearsed it enough so that the words seem effortless. A good thing, considering all the obstacles I encountered.
• Check out the venue before you deliver the content. The only big mistake I made...because I assumed (yeah, yeah, I know what happens when you assume) the audition space would be comfortable. It turned out to be an old office that was turned into a video room with just a camera, a carpet, and a piece of masking tape to mark where I would stand. I should have asked to see the room first, then planned my performance around it.
• When you're not comfortable with the performance setting, change it. My monologue called for me to sit in a chair. I had practiced for over a week in a chair. There was no chair. So--I asked for a chair. No big deal.
• Preparing to fail can be more important than preparing to succeed. What I mean is, it's just as important to prepare for disaster as it is for success. Because they didn't have a chair (or it was too much trouble to get one.) Fortunately, I had rehearsed standing up almost as much as I had sitting down, so I automatically knew how to adapt.
• Be professional. Be pleasant. Be persuasive. Nothing can shoot down a talented speaker like a bad attitude. Despite the setbacks, the spartan setting, the rush of the process, I was determined to make a great impression. It must've worked, because I got a thumbs-up from the assistant who handled the video camera.

It's great to be vindicated. Let's see if it translates into some paying gigs.

"I'd Like To Thank The Academy..."

It's the season to pick up hardware in Hollywood... Golden Globes, SAG Awards, the Oscars coming up soon, and of course, the Grammy Awards where the Dixie Chicks gave a clinic on how not to accept an award.

Just because you're a seasoned performer doesn't mean you'll automatically be glib and gracious. (Personally, I blew an acceptance speech a few years ago when I was inducted into my high school alma mater's hall of fame. Thanked everyone. Except my wife. Took me dozens of roses to make up for the guilt.)

One of my favorite speakers, Patricia Fripp, has a terrific article called "How Do You Accept an Award? Tips on How to Give an Acceptance Speech" that is filled with everything you need to knock it out of the park when you receive that Lifetime Achievement Award.

(Article used with permission by Patricia Frippp, CSP, CPAE PFripp@Fripp.com, 1-800 634 3035, http://www.fripp.com. You can read more about her in this month's MARKwrites Newsletter--she'll be the featured pro! To subscribe, email Mark@MARKtalks.com.)

No Where To Hide

I've said this repeatedly. Every client is reminded constantly. If I could put a disclaimer on a politician's forehead, I would. If there's a camera or microphone nearby, as far as you're concerned, it's ON.

It gets worse...because cell phone technology has made it possible to record short video, and since it seems that everyone has a link to YouTube or MySpace, you can't be safe in any public setting. Read this article in the NYTimes and see how the 2008 presidential candidates are weighing the pros and cons of using the Internet. Howard Dean embraced the Internet in 2004 and developed a formidable fund-raising/volunteer campaign...until the video of his primal scream hit everyone's Web browser, and suddenly, it was goodbye, Howie.

Again, my advice is that if you're in a leadership position that requires you to make public presentations, keep it clean from the moment you enter the room until the moment you leave. You never know when someone's watching. And recording.

What Was Hillary Thinking?

This one is going to be played over and over for weeks...and we still won't know what Hillary Clinton really meant.

At a town hall meet--sorry, she's calls it a "conversation stop"--in Davenport, Iowa, the former First Lady and hopeful first lady President was asked the question, “with all the bad and evil men around the world, what equips you to deal with them?” Hillary repeats the question, paraphrasing it like any good speaker should...and then she pauses and lets loose this wicked, Cheshire Cat grin, and suddenly the audience erupts with laughter. (The Chicago Sun-Times has the best account of it here.)

Look at the video and tell me what your immediate reaction was. Yep. She's gotta be thinking about Bill. That smile was a little too knowing.

However, Hillary bristled at the suggestion that she was dissing her husband, telling reporters to "lighten up." She offered a couple of different explanations to her "bad men" comment, but two things are apparent. First, whether or not she meant it, there are a lot of her supporters who will nudge and wink each other over Hillary's naughty little inside joke because they love her for standing by Bill during Monica-gate. That's not a bad position for someone of Sen. Clinton's history and reputation.

Second, she's either the clumsiest conversationalist in media history...or the most brilliant. And if you're running against Hillary, prepare for the latter.

What The Politically Savvy Are Saying

A really interesting piece in this morning's U.S. News & World Report about the specific language that the 2008 Democratic presidential candidates should use. It comes from longtime GOP consultant and wordsmith Frank Luntz:

On the Democratic side, we'll start with new fave Sen. Barack Obama. Luntz says he should talk about "hope" and "opportunity" and simply use his remarkable life story as the visual. "He's a natural," says Luntz, who cautions: "Out with the sound bites and in with the stories." Not surprisingly, Luntz says Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton should use hubby Bill as her visual and mouth words like "mission" and "finally"—as in a woman president.

Across the aisle, Luntz wants Sen. John McCain to talk about his trademark "reform" and "accountability." Olympics exec and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney should highlight "competence" and "good governance" and use the Olympic symbol lots. Luntz pal Rudy Giuliani should talk "success" and "results" and use the cleaned-up Times Square for his backdrop. And every candidate should brag: "I'm a leader in times of crisis." See the whole Luntz list at www.usnews.com/whispers."

Funny, I don't see the words "ethics" or "integrity" mentioned... but nonetheless, it's interesting to see what an expert thinks are the campaign buzzwords in the race for the White House.

Set Dressing

I've never seen it in person, but they say that the Oval Office is the most intimidating room in the free world. If that's the case, then whomever convinced President Bush to move from the Oval Office to the White House library as the setting for last night's speech should get a big raise.

It created a much better environment for the type of speech he was delivering to the American public--one member of a focus group interviewed right after the President's speech said the all the library books in the background made him look "smarter."

As a speaker, your setting is one of the most important--and one of the most overlooked areas under your control. Make sure it sends the right kind of non-verbal message...you wouldn't want to give an important speech on corporate waste on a stage cluttered with plants and props.

Everything in the room is under your control, from the signage to the furniture to microphone placement. Contact the event organizers and find out how large the stage is...ask if the podium is movable or fixed...are there any banners or posters...and above all, include a list of your personal needs and tastes in your meeting planner's package. (You don't want to show up and find that the lighting makes you look like a talking lobster!)

Speaking in the perfect setting may not make a great speech any better--but it certainly can turn a great speech into a disaster.

From Reel Life To Real Life

How do the most effective communicators make their presentations so compelling? They follow the strategy that makes instant classics out of movies or plays. It's all about the story.

Alfred Hitchcock used to say, "Movies are like real life with all the dull parts left out." That's a perfect game plan for anyone who's struggling with a sales pitch or worried about an upcoming speech--leave the dull parts out, concentrate on the action, and give your hero plenty to play with.

That means discovering your "EQ." If "IQ" is your Intelligence Quotient, then effective speaking has an Emotional Quotient. The "EQ" of every powerful presentation provides an investment of images, memories, and shared experiences that grab an audience's attention and refuse to let go. (It makes sense--the conversations you have with family and friends that get the best response are usually big production numbers filled with dramatic devices, so why not use that same approach for your next luncheon speech?

Once you find your speaking "EQ," it'll be time to add the "CQ" and "PQ" to really improve your speaking skills--check out my next monthly newsletter for more information on how using reel life strategies can make your real life presentations more effective. (Sign up at Mark@MARKtalks.com!)

SPEAKER SAVVY -- Weaker Sex? Stronger Speakers!

What makes women so successful as professional speakers? I've never been a big fan of "junk science," but there's an interesting new study featured in a book by a French psychiatrist named Dr. Luan Brizendine that shows women speak 20,000 words per day on average, while men speak only 7,000 words per day.

Her book, "The Female Mind," seeks to differentiate the thought processes between women and men (and possibly to prove that the female mind is superior.) While you might disagree with her conclusions, you can't deny that women dominate the world of professional speaking.

Consider this:

• Most presentation trainers in the world are women.
• Most media trainers in the world are women.
• The most highly paid speaker in the world is a woman.

My very UN-scientific theory is that women are much more comfortable with the concept of public speaking because they're wired to be much more emotionally expressive--something I believe is the single most important factor in successful communication. (Check out my web site, www.MARKtalks.com, to find out how you can "Act Like A Winner, Talk Like A Pro"...and discover the secret to powerful presentations!)

Men can't even hug without slapping the stuffing out of each other...no wonder guys struggle with public speaking. Little girls put on performances all the time--my 6-year-old daughter not only has her own cabaret act during bathtime, she also takes questions from her "audience!" Is there any doubt she'll be more likely to be a successful public speaker than any of the boys in her class?

MEDIA SAVVY -- Act Like A Winner, Talk Like A Pro

The hardest thing for most business leaders to do is to talk in front of a large group of people (even worse, in front of a camera.) Why? I think it's because they're "on stage" for maybe the first time in their lives and the experience puts them well outside their comfort zone.

I've been a professional actor and director for more than 20 years--and a professional speaker longer than that--and the things that make me successful on stage can help make anyone "act like a winner and talk like a pro."

You've heard the actor's cliche--"What's my motivation?" Well, that's the first thing you should consider before you even write one word of your speech or plan one interview response. Go through this checklist: Why am I doing this and what do I hope to accomplish? What's the best way to get the results I want? How do I want this event to affect my audience? (There are two other things an actor uses to get the best performance--if you'd like more information, contact me at mark@marktalks.com or check out my website at MARKtalks.com!)

Once you figure out your "motivation," it's much easier to decide what to say and, more importantly, how to say it. An actor prepares diligently for each role. Your role is just as important to your audience. If you want to talk like a pro, you have to "act" like a winner.