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Archive for the ‘Public Speaking’ Category

We are just back from the Main Line Chamber of Commerce’s Society of Professional Women, held last night at the Radisson in King of Prussia. The topic of the talk was “What Not to Wear to Work.” Three brave women within the SPW ranks were ‘nominated’ for makeovers. The panel did a fantastic job in terms of co-presenting. Often co-presenters step on one another’s toes, but in this case they all worked together as a team.
Megan Kristel of Kristel Closets served as the moderator and fielded questions to Beke Beau, a Make-up Artist, and Van Ou, owner of Bubbles Salon in Bryn Mawr. Audience members went to a central microphone to pose their question, which was so much better than having audience members shout out their questions.
Co-presenting or being a part of a panel discussion takes a lot of pressure off of you as a public speaker. The event was very well organized and just a fun evening of networking and receiving valuable image information. Kudos to the Main Line Chamber and the Makeover Team.

Just back from a professional meeting of trainers in the Greater Philadelphia area. The speaker, who was billed as a public speaking expert, failed to deliver on so many fronts. Her topic was Web 2.0. So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when their were two screens set up with projectors aimed at each screen. But what I wasn’t expecting were animations coming at me left and right. My head still hurts.

The lights were fully dimmed at the front of the room, so she was not able to make eye contact with her audience. The lights to the rear of the room were full blast and shining down on the audience, forcing us to strip layer upon layer of clothing off. It was not pretty.

There was no attention getting opening. There was no personal story. There was little to know gesturing or vocal variety. There was no connection with 97 percent of her audience. The 3 percent who tuned into her were geeks who stole her show.

Forty minutes into the presentation I stopped taking notes and shutdown. I wrote a note to a colleague who drove into the city with me that my head hurt and I would meet him in the lobby when he had had enough. He was through too. Just as we made the decision to bolt, the fire alarm went off. Saved by the bell and we were out the door before the announcement came on that it was a false alarm.

Usually I would try to stay through the presentation and give the speaker the benefit of the doubt. However, this was a classic case of knowing when to fold.

According to a Gallup poll, more Americans fear public speaking than they do death. A full 96 million of those polled put public speaking at the top of their list of fears, followed by death as a close second.

Sometimes the fear is warranted. If you don’t develop your message and properly plan for your speech, you will have butterflies, dry mouth and a shaky voice. To relieve the tension, make sure you have put in the proper amount of planning and practice time for your talk.

On-Site
Once you are at the event, set up early, even if you have to set up, walk away, and come back at the appointed time. If you are using your own laptop for a PowerPoint presentation, make sure you have the proper cables to hook into a projector. If you are using someone else’s laptop, send them a copy of the PowerPoint well in advance to ensure that your version is compatible with their machine.

Co-present
If you have someone you can co-present with, it takes a lot of pressure off of you as the sole presenter. However, you must practice with the co-presenter to make sure you don’t step on each other’s toes. If you have access to a wire-free lavaliere microphone, you will be able to roam some and not be stuck presenting behind the podium.

Don’t Hide
Station yourself at or near the door to greet and get to know your audience. You might ask if you could sit in on the group’s meeting a month or so before your talk to get to know your audience.

Dealing with Stomach Butterflies
Do deep breathing exercises and repeat this mantra: “I am relaxed, confident, and calm.” Do not try to calm down by using alcohol or drugs. Also, the old saying of visualizing your audience in their underwear really doesn’t work.

Develop a strong opening statement that connects with the audience and memorize this statement. Make sure you have some Imodium or other anti-diarrhea medication on hand just in case you need it. Take it in advance of the speech if you feel your insides caving in. The last thing you want to do is excuse yourself to deal with intestinal issues.

Dry Mouth
Take a glass or bottle of water to the podium and take a gulp as you are being introduced. You might consider a small mint, like a Tic Tac, placed strategically inside your cheek. Do not suck on a full-size mint as you will only distract your audience. If all else fails, bite your tongue to stimulate saliva.

Wardrobe
You should wear comfortable and polished shoes – your feet help “balance” your voice. If wearing a tie, don’t tighten the knot too much as it will effect your breathing and intonation. Remove keys and change from your pockets so that you don’t jingle them and distract the audience.

Do not wear anything too flashy that might detract from your message; This includes low cut blouses, mini-skirts and dangling earrings. If you are not used to wearing high heels, then don’t try to on the day of your speech – you will be focusing on your aching feet and not your message. Control top pantyhose will inhibit your ability to breathe and relax.

Pregnant pauses
Ask a friend to count your “ums” and “ahs” and practice replacing them with pregnant pauses in which you simply breathe deeply for a second or two. Use pregnant pauses particularly while fielding questions, and definitely repeat the question so that the whole audience can hear it. Remember, a question is your opportunity to reinforce your message to the audience.

Practice, Practice, Practice
Sign up for a six-month membership at a local Toastmasters Club. At these meetings you can practice your speeches in a supportive environment. The more you present, the less you will stress when going to a podium.

The more you get used to doing presentations, the less stressful they will become. Even after doing hundreds of presentations, we still get a bit nervous before a presentation. After all, we are only human. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

Spot the Blind Horse

Spot, the blind horse I wrote about last December who was featured on the front page of the Chestnut Hill Local and served as my first blog subject, has gone to a better place. Even in the end, he was still teaching us lessons.

Spot was a nearly 30-year-old horse, who belonged to nobody and everybody at Northwestern Equestrian Facility (NWEF) in Chestnut Hill. He was a lesson horse for many years, carrying many riders on his back while he patiently tried to obey and understand their commands. Spot got his name because his undercoat, which you could only see when it was wet, had big brown spots show through his white overcoat.

In more recent years, Spot’s eyesight went and he was pretty well blind when I stumbled upon his story last fall. I had been doing a story on the Wissahickon Horse-lovers Organization for Adults (WHOA), when I took a break from the meeting and walked through the barn to clear my head. That’s when I saw Spot and a notice on his stall door that he was blind and that donations were being sought for his upkeep. The boarders at NWEF were carrying his load, which averaged about $500 per month. I wrote the story, sought donations, and placed a laminated copy of the article on his stall door. And then I visited him, and visited him, and visited him, and brought others to visit him. I took my good friend, Gina Pio Cossman, and her college age daughter to visit Spot. We ran him around in the ring and let him graze and groomed him. After interviewing Lisa Levinson, Zipora Shulz and Jim Harris for a story on their animal awareness group, Zipora and Jim asked if they could meet Spot. I took them to the stable and we fed Spot carrots. They giggled like little kids as his whiskers tickled the palms of their hands. They were very grateful to have connected. There were dozens of small children who would come up to me while I had Spot out to graze, and I showed them where he liked to be touched and told them his story.

Since I wasn’t riding regularly, I would carry horse treats in my car, along with some hard-toed boots, stopping in to see Spot several times a week. Sometimes I took him out, sometimes I groomed him in the barn. He was happy for the company. So was I. Everyone said how nice it was that I was giving him some attention; but they didn’t realize what he was giving me in terms of animal therapy. I had the honor of relating to this gorgeous animal, and on bad days rambling a bit about my woes. I got to stand with him in the sunlight and recharge from a hectic week as he grazed on green grass and we welcomed an occasional visitor. I got to groom him and smell like a horse for a couple of hours. I also got to write a lovely story about my friend. I got a lot from Spot.

I had written an initial draft of a story on Spot, and was returning to the barn with photographer Denize White-Christiansen, who lives around the block from me in Flourtown, when we stumbled upon a bigger and sweeter story. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and students from the Crefeld School were there on their weekly visit to take care of the horses. I talked to Gabe Pfeiffer, a 17-year old blind student who attends the school, and the article turned into one about what the sighted community needs to know about blind horses and people. He told me what would seem like common sense; don’t walk up behind a blind horse or person without announcing yourself softly. Spot, through Gabe, was still teaching.

This past Friday night I stopped by the stable after helping people get to ‘their stories’ during a Public Speaking Boot Camp for the Main Line Chamber of Commerce. I shared Spot’s story with the group and encouraged them to write down their stories about pets and people. It had been an exhausting day and week, and I really wanted to go home. But Spot’s spirit drew me toward NWEF. When I went in, I saw a sign on his stall stating that he should not be taken out of his stall unless Kathy, the barn manager, gave the okay. Not a good sign.

I tentatively knocked on her apartment door. Eventually, she opened it and told me that Spot had fallen earlier that day, and that they may have to put him down over the weekend. I went back down to his stall and groomed him from his head to hooves. He seemed to enjoy the grooming and didn’t seem to be in much distress. But the next morning I went to feed him apples and he wouldn’t eat them. He seemed scared and afraid to come close to the stall door. I told him he was a good horse and that if he had to go, we would understand. On Sunday morning, as I walked down the long aisle to his stall before the Wissahickon Day Parade and Horse Show, I was half expecting to find an empty stall – and frankly I was fine with that. The horse I had visited the previous day was not in good spirits, and I suspected he was in pain. Having been through this life/death scenario a few times with people and animals, I knew that putting an animal in distress down was the most humane thing to do; hard, yes – but also humane. Spot tentatively took some carrots from me, but it was clear he just wanted to be left alone. It was raining. I understood and let him be.

On Monday morning, I got a call from Denize asking me not to go to the barn until I had called her. I knew what this meant, and indeed, she broke the news, gently and lovingly. I told her I was okay and that I had said my goodbyes to him. Sometimes we aren’t so fortunate. She had not been so fortunate.
I later learned that Julie Goldberg, the Executive Director at NWEF, had spent the morning with Spot, giving him plenty of carrots, grass and love. His last moments were filled with mouthfuls of fresh grass, as she whispered to him and let him pass to the Rainbow Bridge.
When I got home at 3 pm, I did lose my composure when my sweet 9-year-old Golden Retriever, Simba, greeted me at the door with his tail wagging and a ball in his mouth. Simba (and Spot) made me realize that we only borrow these furry, hairy and feathered (and human) friends. We connect with them on so many levels, and one can only hope that when our time comes it will peacefully and that we had a chance to say our goodbyes.
Thank you to everyone at NWEF and beyond who took care of Spot for many, many years. I only knew him for a short time, but I am a much better person for having connected with him. Thank you to Len Lear and The Local for helping spread Spot’s story.
Thank you, Spot, for teaching us this final lesson about growing old with dignity and knowing when your time has come. You will always be a great lesson horse – and one who will be missed by many.

If you would like to make a donation to help pay for Spot’s final veterinary bills, please make checks payable to NWEF with Spot in the memo field, 120 W. Northwestern Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118.

Post Script: I had one green apple left in my Jeep. I always carried apples and carrots in the vehicle for Spot. Upon arriving at the barn late in the day after Spot had gone to the Rainbow Bridge, I decided to cut the apple in half and without thinking, gave half to Goober and half to Jasper, two horses who have no single owner – they too are lesson horses and owned by NWEF. The next day, Julie Goldberg e-mailed me to suggested I ‘don’t become and stranger’ and visit two other lesson horses in need of a little TLC. Their names: Goober and Jasper. Coincidence? You be the judge. I think Spot had a hand (or hoof) in it.

by Barbara L. Sherf

You’re either guilty, or you’ve been in a room when someone did one of these.

1) Reading bullet points from a slide.  (Hello, I have a college degree and we are avid readers.)  Tell us a story that goes with the bullet point, or use an example to make the point.  DO NOT READ YOUR POWERPOINT BULLET.  PERIOD.

2) Using photographs and clip art in the same presentation.  When in doubt, go with actual photographs instead of drippy Microsoft clip art.  We are in 2010.

3) Don’t Over Animate! Some animation can liven up a PPT, but know when to say when.  Have a colleague or speech coach critique your animation to tell you when enough is enough.

4) Practice, Practice, Practice – on somebody else, not me.  Don’t give a talk you haven’t given before to your target audience.  Find a group or a video camera to practice on to figure out what works and what doesn’t.  Get thee to a Toastmasters, a speech coach, or even the local nursing home to find an audience to practice in front of!  Just do it.

5) Do not stand in front of the beam of light coming from the projector.  Trust us, it just doesn’t look good…you are squinting and have text on your face.  Stand to one side or the other and face your audience.

6) Learn to troubleshoot your technology.  How many times have you seen a speaker not know how to set up the projector and then give a talk while looking off of their laptop.  One is too many!

7) Get advocates in the audience early on.  Assign someone the task of being your timer, your lighting person, your technical troubleshooter.  Do not get up and ask for volunteers once your talk begins.  Go over non-verbal cues with your timer to know whether to stretch or close your presentation.

Do use a formal evaluation form.  Participants will not give you corrective criticism to your face, but will do so if they are anonymous.

9) Graphs and charts that you can’t read on screen.  If you really feel the need to add a graph or chart, then use it as a handout or keep it simple on screen.

10) Using a variety of fonts and size fonts in one slide. Pick one easy to use font (Arial) and stick with it.  Period.

11) Use of too small of a font.  Use a 24 font size as a minimum.  Bigger is better.

12) Too many bullet points or information per slide.  Four bullet points tops.  Don’t write out a whole paragraph onscreen.  Learn to use and print your notes field.

13) Less is More: Give us the basic overview.  If we want more information, we will enroll in the second session…or seek out your consulting services on our own.  When we ask what time it is, don’t try to show us how you made the watch.

14) Lighter backgrounds are easier on the eyes (and the printer).  A dark background weighs everyone down.  Lighten it up and you’ll save your and our color ink cartridges and the environment.

15) Use your company logo and footer sparingly.  While we understand your need to have this on every slide, does it really need to overpower your message?  It should be seen subliminally, but not heard (or shouted) at the audience.

16) Decide early on whether you are going to take questions as you go, or hold them until the end.  We prefer the latter.  So many audiences jump around and ahead.  Set the ground rules early on and stick with them.

17) Don’t co-present with someone you are not comfortable with: IT SHOWS.  Big time.  You must have a certain comfort factor and chemistry with an individual you are going to get up on stage with.  If you don’t, go solo.  (see #4)

18) Involve your audience along the way.  We suggest investing in the Sharon Bowman book “How To Prevent Death by Lecture.”  Sharon is all about audience involvement…and so are we!

19) Please put your presentation through a spellchecker.  Once we see a typo, we are not paying attention to your message, but looking for other typos the whole time.  It’s annoying.  Thank you.

20) We again offer an evaluation form for those who don’t have one.  It’s free.  Learn from your mistakes.  That’s the only way you will become a better speaker (other than a bit of speech coaching, that is).

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