TJ’s Insights

I’m not a big fan of people using a wireless remote during PowerPoint presentations because the sheer act of holding a remote tends to stifle the natural hand motion of speakers. The fewer natural gestures, the more stilted and less natural any speaker appears to be.

However, if you are going to use a remote control to advance your PowerPoint slides, I recommend that you use one that is shaped like a normal sized computer mouse that can sit on a table near you during the presentation. At first blush, the thin, credit card sized remotes would appear to be superior to a remote as big as a mouse. But the credit card sized remotes have to be held in your hand anytime you advance a slide (and they have a pesky habit of staying in your hand throughout the presentation).

No, this isn’t a column on whether the media is controlled by liberals or conservatives. The bigger media bias for most people is an unconscious bias towards the print medium to the detriment of the spoken/oral medium. For example, companies that are looking to advertise for salespeople to do phone and in-person selling routinely ask applicants to send in text resumes and cover letters. Then applicants are weeded out on the basis of how well they have written.

I am a big believer in the power of the spoken word. When done well, a great speech can make an entire career. But…a speech is just one part of a comprehensive communications process (albeit the most important part in many cases). A strong and memorable presentation is a fantastic way to get someone’s attention and force them to focus on a subject and a couple of key ideas. But for most of us in the business world, the real key is how do you follow up.

When former conservative commentator Tony Snow held his first press conference, as the White House Press Secretary in May 2006, by all accounts he handled himself with skill, dignity and aplomb. So far so good. But then he walked back into his office with a gaggle of reporters behind him and made this comment about his first day performance:

“It was just a mess.”

Gotcha!

Snow made a monumental press blunder. When you say something that is attacking in nature, you are 99% assured of being quoted by the media. And if you saying something attacking against yourself, you are 100% certain of being quoted.

Many speakers can’t resist the temptation to use big words while giving a speech. Sometimes it is a conscious effort to appear to be smart, sometimes it is an unconscious impulse because that’s what a speaker thinks he or she is supposed to do in a so-called “formal” speech.

Either way, it’s a bad idea.

Using big, long, or fancy words in a speech can damage you with your audience, not enhance your credibility. If you use a word that some or most members of your audience doesn’t understand, you are creating a distance between you and the audience. At some level, audience members are thinking, “Hey, this guy thinks he’s smarter than I am. Well, we’ll see about that!”

I often have people come up to me after I’ve given a speech discussing dealing with the media and they say, “TJ I went to a large seminar once and was videotaped and it was awful; it’s not something I’d want to do again.”

I am sympathetic to these people because there is a lot of confusion about how video can help someone improve speaking and media skills. The typical problem isn’t with video but it is how people use video.

“What makes something a sound bite? What makes some of your words quotable to a reporter whereas most of you words are not?”

These are questions I toss out during speeches or training sessions to people. Normally, attendees toss out things like the following:

“It has to be short.”

“Something catchy.”

“Controversy.”

I then engage the audience further by asking more follow up questions. Then I give them a matrix for analyzing and creating sound bites.

But sometimes, I am met with blank stares. Uh-oh! This is embarrassing—or it least it could be, if you let it.

The “nicer” you are perceived by your audience, the more likely you will succeed as a speaker. If you are viewed as “nice,” those listening to you are more inclined to believe you, pay attention to you, accept you and buy into you and your ideas.So how can you seem more likeable as a speaker?

1. Meet, greet, and shake hands with as many audience members before you begin your speech. A grad, dramatic entrance at the beginning of your speech only works if you are a well-known celebrity who is already beloved.

I have noticed a trend lately where audience members who are sitting in the front row are clearly checking their email and text messages on their cell phones while I am speaking. What do you do as a speaker in this maddening situation?

For starters, don’t take it personally. The audience member may have a million dollar deal riding on his or her next email. As much as it pains me to admit, some things are more important than the pearls of wisdom flowing from my lips during a speech or training session.

One of the things that messes up public speakers confidence is the sense that they have to be perfect. If you have one or two strengths, these can often overwhelm any negatives you have.

Take, for example, Bill O’Reilly. I heard a podcast version of his April 20th, 2006 radio show. Believe it or not, in the first minute of his show, O’Reilly uttered a dozen or so “uhs” and “ums.” And this is from a guy who, by my estimate, makes around $20 million a year from public speaking on TV, radio and to live audiences!