Great Public Speaking

Public Speaking Skills - The Size of the Audience

2012-01-30T10:01:00.002-05:00

The size of your audience has a direct effect on the types of humor which are most appropriate, the expected audience response and the timing of the presentation.

Members of very small business groups tend to be too self-conscious to laugh much. Use short one-liners. Be brief and informal with your humor; don't use any long stories or jokes.

In small groups laughter will come more quickly. It's now OK to stretch to jokes and short stories. Your presentation will take less time to deliver than to a large group.

A presentation to very large crowds in enormous rooms or venues such as stadiums will take longer to deliver because laughter comes in waves. The portion of the audience right in front of you will laugh first. Then most of the rest of the crowd will laugh. The third wave will come when those slower to get the joke finally do, and when those who laugh because everyone else is laughing kick in. You must allow time for this phenomenon to occur. In large crowds you must play to the back of the room. These people are hardest to reach.

Why do you need public speaking to boost your career?

Speaking Training: Presenting Like a Pro

2012-01-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

http://www.AmazingPublicSpeaking.com

If you want to get paid for your public speaking engagements then you
need to know what professional speakers know.
Over 450 public and professional speaking videos.

Public Speaking Gags - He Tripped Me!

2012-01-20T10:54:00.002-05:00

And now for the ultimate audience gag. Drum roll, please. I do an old, old banquet gag that I recycled for the 90s.I call it Cuss Your Lunch which stands for Cuss(tomer) Service Your Lunch.

Through my practical joke company, I have done literally hundreds of performances as the Clumsy Waiter at banquets, luncheons, and wedding receptions. These performances were done mainly for fun and they are not messy unless, of course, you want them to be. When I started speaking more and more to business audiences I wanted to find a way to incorporate this outrageous routine. Now Cuss Your Lunch is a live training session on customer service, but the participants don't know it. I get the company to arrange an appreciation luncheon for the managers or employees of the customer service division.

I am planted as the waiter at the function. The participants really feel what it is like to get rotten service. There are two ways this can end. One way is to prat fall to the floor and make a really big commotion. I claim that some innocent attendee tripped me. The banquet manager or head waiter then comes in and fires me. Then I reveal the joke and immediately go into a customer service presentation based on what they have just experienced. The other way to end this presentation takes more time and effort, but is more fun. In this case, I storm out of the room after being fired. I immediately go somewhere and change into a spiffy suit. I change my hairstyle, take off my glasses and return to the meeting as the guest speaker whose plane was late. The looks on the participant's faces are something you have to see to believe. If you want to see for yourself, you can hire me to do this for your company. Ha-ha.

Don't be afraid to have fun with an audience. Gags are a good way to do it and they can really help you drive home your point too.

Get more great speaking gags and tricks!

Attention Public Speakers: I Don't Know How She Did It...

2012-01-18T10:57:00.002-05:00

and I don't care...

If you've known me for a while, you probably have heard me talk
about the fact I wanted the "Ka-ching" sound on my cell phone
as my ring tone. I gave up trying to figure it out myself knowing
it would take me all day.

A young, geeky girl in the office heard me complaining about
this. She took the phone and came back in five minutes with the
Ka-ching sound on the phone.

Do I know how she did it?.....NO
Do I care how she did it?.....NO
Was the job done quickly without any hassle on my part? .....YES!

This same geeky girl edited a video for me that has made me I
would estimate at least 5 million bucks since she did it.

I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU THIS FOR YEARS

If you want to be successful online, you need to get a geek. I
recruited my first one in 1997 and he was a major part of my
success today.

The fact is that you shouldn't be wasting time trying to figure
out complicated technological things when a local nerd could do
it easily for practically pennies.

Here are just a few things a geek can help you with:

=> Tutoring to help you operate your computer, IPAD, IPhone,
Droid, etc. better than you currently can

=> Social networking

=> Answering your dumb questions over the phone hahahaha without
making you feel bad about it.

=> Formatting e-books for you and

a ton of other things that will be outlined for you at the link
below.

The only problem is that people go out and try to find geeks on
their own, and they do it the wrong way which usually ends in
some kind of emergency disaster call to me.

That’s why I’m excited to tell you about a young student of mine
Zach Swinehart, and his "Geek Guidebook".

NOTE: I've never really promoted something this cheap that could
have such a profound effect on your business.

In the guidebook Zach walks you through EVERY step of the
process of finding and working with a geek. Here are a few of the
things included with the book:

=> Training about the five different types of geeks, and how
each one can benefit you

=> Step-by-step instruction on each of the 4 approaches you
can take to find geeks

=> Insight on how much to pay your geek, and how to pay your
geek

=> An outline of how long it takes professionals to do
things, so you will know if your geek is slacking off

=> Convenient downloadable pdf & doc formats, so that you
can start reading minutes after your purchase

=> Instruction on how to keep your information secure, so
that your geek doesn't compromise your security

PLUS

A bunch of bonuses, sample ads, interview questions and
customizable templates to find the perfect geek(s) for you.

Don’t let your Internet marketing success be delayed by your lack
of technological knowledge. Check out the super cheap Geek
Guidebook, and have your geek worry about the techy things, while
you work on the important stuff.

Another note: I built my Internet empire with Geeks. You'd be
crazy for this cheap amount of money to ignore this young man's
new book.

Check it out at:

http://www.GreatInternetMarketing.com/geekguide

Catch ya
Tom Antion

http://www.GreatInternetMarketing.com/geekguide

Corinne Gregory's Testimonial For The "Ultimate Guide To Professional Speaking"

2012-01-16T09:59:00.000-05:00

http://www.antion.com/ultimateguide

Speaker Corinne Gregory talks about how Tom Antion's Utimate Guide gave her great money making tips.

Presentations in Non-Hotel Venues

2012-01-13T09:19:00.002-05:00

When you are speaking at an event that is NOT in a hotel setting, you must pay particular attention to making sure you have everything you need to make a smooth event.

Here's a brief checklist of things that may not be available if you aren't in a hotel:

*Projection Screen
*Flip Chart
*Extension cords
*Power strips
*Ice
*Refreshments, coffee, juice, water, etc.
*Lunch
*Cups
*Napkins
*Pens
*Pencils
*Microphone and sound system
*Adapters
*Signage
*Copies

Add to the above list any items particular to your event that the hotel usually supplies. Pay close attention to every detail because there may be no time to head to Radio Shack or some other outside vendor before your event starts.

Checklists, forms, agreements and more, all in one place!

Public Speaking - Presenting Like a Pro

2012-01-11T09:23:00.000-05:00

Public Speaking - What to Know About Speaker's Bureaus

2012-01-09T09:24:00.001-05:00

1. The bureau must please their clients. Their aim is to have the client use the bureau for speakers on a regular basis. If you please their client, the bureau will use you again and again.

2. The client belongs to the bureau forever. Just as a sales rep's clients belong to them. The manufacturer is careful to give all commissions on business from their sales reps back to their reps. If they fail to do this, the sales rep will find other manufacturers who will do so.

3. The bureau looks not only for talent and content, but also for a speaker who is a pleasure to work with.

4. There are many speakers who speak on your subject. It is a competitive market. Speakers are easy to find. Clients are hard to get.

5. The bureau spends thousands of dollars in direct mail, advertising and telemarketing to find a client that wants to book you. You pay the bureau when they get you a job. Straight commission. Experienced speakers reveal that 50% of the fees they obtain for themselves go to marketing costs. So when you receive a bureau booking (most bureaus charge 25% - 35%) it is a bargain. This is why experienced speakers obtain 85% of their bookings from bureaus. They work hard to develop the relationships.

6. Ask bureaus for advice. If they offer career consultations, pay for it. They work with the buyers all day, every day. They are experts. What better source could you find?

7. If you team up with 20 bureaus that each get you one $2,000 talk per month, you will gross $40,000 monthly, or $480,000 per year. The client pays all travel and hotel expenses. When your calendar is full at the $2,000 price, it is time to raise your fees. Always give your bureaus plenty of advance notice of a raise. Many speakers we work with began at $1,000 and now charge $50,000 for a keynote.

8. Discuss the selling of your books, audio's and videos in bulk to the client. Give them written rates and commissions. Same with consulting and training fees.

9. Be available. Have the best answering machine or answering services you can find. Check you messages every 2 hours. If a bureau has a client waiting, they cannot hold on until you return their call a week later.

What else don't you know about speaker's bureaus?

Public Speaking - Humor to Avoid

2012-01-06T10:15:00.001-05:00

The overriding principle is that you should not tease the audience about beliefs that are important to them or about any topic that is currently upsetting them. In addition, never use the following types of humor: Racist, sexist, religious, puns, any type of off-color humor, or humor about physical or mental disability.

I was preparing a presentation for a large hotel chain and from my pre-program work I uncovered a topic that was ripe for humor. The hotel chain and the franchisees were having some clearly ludicrous contract negotiation problems. When I approached the meeting planner about the topic, he told me that the franchisees were pretty upset about the way things were going. My comments, even though they were funny, might make them think about a painful situation. I chose to cut them. Why should I take the chance? It was also another good lesson in clearing humor before use.

When it comes to the nevers mentioned above, there are established pros who get away with ignoring them. Dr. Jarvis has been doing a hilarious bit on religion for twenty years without a problem. But, he has done the bit thousands of times and knows exactly what he is doing during the rest of the presentation to be sure the audience is receptive. I've talked to him recently and he tells me that people are so sensitive now he uses extreme caution when using the bit.

Use public speaking to make yourself the expert.

Tom Antion - Cruise Ship Speaking

2012-01-04T09:45:00.000-05:00

http://www.AmazingPublicSpeaking.com

Learn how to take wonderful cruises and become cruise enrichment
speaker.
Over 450 public and professional speaking videos

Presentation Skills - Humorous Acknowledgments to Tough Situations

2012-01-03T09:13:00.002-05:00

There will come a time when you will either be in front of a hostile audience or a hostile question will pop up during a relatively calm presentation. This is a tough situation at best and you have to handle it with kid gloves. Humor can save the day and maybe even help you become President.

When a hostile situation arises, you have to be especially careful that you don't antagonize the questioner or group further by making a flippant response. You can use humor to distract the antagonism, but you should always make a serious reply to the question at hand.

Example:
Let's say you are speaking at a stockholder's meeting and you are telling them about all the wonderful new products that are coming out. Then someone yells out, "What about the supreme turkey of a widget you came out with last year?" Now you are on the spot. If you ignore the question you will look like you are hiding. If you use a comeback that attacks the questioner or makes fun of him or her you will turn the rest of the group against you. So what do you do?

Use a prepared one-liner or some mildly amusing admission of guilt and then immediately go into a serious response to the question:

"We are donating all those widgets to the Navy because they have a shortage of boat anchors this year [pause for laughter]. But, seriously folks, based on all the available research we had at our disposal the widget looked like it would be a good solid seller for us. Then when the gizmo industry took a big hit, we no longer had a market for the widgets."

Then get back to your agenda.

Learn more great speaking tips!

Public Speaking Cartoons

2011-12-30T10:29:00.000-05:00

http://www.AmazingPublicSpeaking.com

You must be careful using cartoons during your presentation. Tom tells you a couple ways that are more safe. Over 450 public and professional speaking videos.

Humor For Public Speakers - Stupidity

2011-12-29T09:20:00.001-05:00

40 TERMS FOR THE STUPID:

A few clowns short of a circus.

Dumber than a box of hair.

Too much yardage between the goal posts.

A few fries short of a Happy Meal.

An experiment in Artificial Stupidity.

A few beers short of a six-pack.

A few peas short of a casserole.

Doesn't have all her cornflakes in one box.

The wheel's spinning, but the hamster's dead.

One Fruit Loop shy of a full bowl.

One taco short of a combination plate.

A few feathers short of a whole duck.

All foam, no beer.

The cheese slid off her cracker.

Get more great speaking humor for your presentations!

Professional Public Speaking - Sexist Language

2011-12-27T09:20:00.002-05:00

The use of sexist language is something you must also be careful to avoid in order to be in tune with today's society. There is an excellent section about this topic in the book Speak Like a Pro by Margaret Bedrosian. A salesman is now a salesperson. A fireman is now a firefighter. You don't look for a chairman for a meeting, you look for someone to chair the meeting or a chairperson.

You must be very careful in your use of humor in these sensitive times. People may fixate on one wrong word and tune you out and/or be offended. You may personally feel that using a little off-color joke once in awhile is OK, or you may think that no harm is done in using sexist language whenever you feel like it. I can assure you that you are wrong when it comes to professional presentations. Do whatever you want with your friends, but if you persist in any of these behaviors you will be labeled as "out-of-touch" and largely unpromotable in virtually every major corporation.

How will you make more money per speech in 2012?

Public Speaking - Solving Problems Early

2011-12-21T12:50:00.000-05:00

http://www.amazingpublicspeaking.com

Tom Antion shows you a little problem and what you should be prepared for before you speak.

Public Speaking Tips - Interplay

2011-12-19T10:04:00.002-05:00

I love to interact with the audience. It is much easier now that wireless microphones are so readily available. I can go right into the audience, I can sit in one of their chairs, I can sit on an audience member's lap if I want to (by now you should have realized that I am inclined to be totally irreverent if I know the audience can handle it).

You don't have to be as wild as I sometimes am to get the job done. You can calmly go into the audience with a wireless handheld microphone. Let the audience members ask their questions directly to you while you hold the mic to their mouths so that everyone else can hear. (Don't forget to bring the microphone back to your mouth for the answer.)

Another technique I use frequently is to speak directly to one audience member. It goes like this, Sharon, this is just between you and me. Whenever I do this, I can see out of the corner of my eye everyone else killing themselves to eavesdrop on Sharon and me. They feel like they are getting to hear something secret.

One-on-one interplay is also good when you are teasing or doing a little roast humor on someone in the group. Joe, lots of people believe that you are one of the top sales managers in the company. . . . Lots of people believe in the Easter Bunny too!

I'll go right up to someone in the audience and touch them on the shoulder while I'm talking (don't do this in Asia). I might say (reading their nametag to get the name) John here may have the highest sales volume, but if his net income is no good, John is not a happy guy.

Some speakers make up skits and give the audience members easy, but funny, parts to play. This is just an advanced form of role-playing.

Don't be afraid to get right in there and get your audience involved, physically, mentally, and emotionally and you will be on your way to becoming a NO ZZZZZs presenter. Bonus quotation lesson: Here are three different quotations that make the same point. Different audiences would relate to each differently. Always think about the make-up of your audience before you select your quotes.

How can you make money per speech?

Presentation Skills - Saver Lines

2011-12-16T10:44:00.003-05:00

Saver Lines are what you say when your supposedly humorous statement does not get a laugh. You shouldn't be ashamed to have to use saver lines. The top comedians in the world need them and some purposely make mistakes so they can get a laugh from the saver line. Johnny Carson was an expert at this. After a poor response to a joke he would say a comically insulting line like, "May an aroused herd of Yaks make an everlasting commitment to your sister" or "This is the kind of crowd that would watch Bambi through a sniper scope."

This method is most effective when a speaker shows a high confidence level and is fairly experienced. Say a witty, mildly attacking line to force them to laugh after they didn't laugh at your joke or one-liner.

* Do any of you out there speak English?
* I've got a book for sale outside that explains these jokes. You may want to pick up a copy.
* (If one person is laughing) Will you be kind enough to run around the room so it looks like everyone is having fun?
* You have marvelous self-control.
* I've got 20 more bad jokes just like that one and no one gets out until you start laughing.
* [Pick out a well-known person in the crowd] Joe that's the last time I'm using one of your jokes.
* I know you're out there, I can hear you breathing.
* I'm not going to wait forever for you.
* I was waiting on you a little on that one.
* That was a Polaroid joke. It takes one minute to get it.
* Everyone doesn't have to be funny all the time and I just proved it.

How can you make more money at each of your presentations?

Involving Your Participants: Using Participant Introductions

2011-12-14T10:30:00.002-05:00

Interacting with your participants generally increases their learning, holds their attention, helps you make your points, and possibly provides for new information to be shared. Technical presentations hold some different challenges because most of the participants will be writing and taking notes throughout the program. Interactive processes must enhance the learning process and not just provide a break or entertainment. There are lots of proven techniques, but the introduction seems to work best of all and will, as a general rule, get most if not all of the attendees to participate.

Attendees at a technical session generally have a specific need in mind when they sign up for the program. By getting them to open up and share their needs, all the participants stand to benefit from the applications and concerns of someone else. In other words, there is a sharing of goals, concerns, and needs which may become as relevant and valuable to the participants as the materials you present.

Participant introductions serve two useful purposes. First, getting people to say anything at the beginning of a session gets them involved and is a way to establish interest in what you will say afterward. And second, if the participants do not know each other they may find it useful to know who is in the room.

On the other hand, introductions can take up a lot of time. People can insert many irrelevant comments and take up valuable time talking about themselves. If your session is part of a larger program, like a conference, introductions may not fit into the workshop format. The critical consideration in whether to have participants introduce themselves is time. For instance, if there were 15 people in the room for a three-hour session, introductions might be helpful. If there are 60 people in the room for a one-hour program, the time constraint would eliminate the possibility of adequate introductions.

Learn more about great presentations!

Public Speaking - Stand Up and Be Counted

2011-12-12T09:15:00.001-05:00

You've heard of stand-up comics, right? There's evidence from a study done by The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania that you should be a stand-up presenter. These results came from a controlled study of a situation where the presenters tried to persuade people to invest in a new business venture.

For the first group, the presenter sat down and talked across a table. For the second group, all the facts and figures were identical, but the presenter stood up and used visual aids. Can you guess the results? In the first group, 58 percent of the people agreed to invest in the new business. Not bad, right? It's not too bad unless you compare it with the second group where 79 percent of the people agreed to invest.

Another study at the University of Minnesota found that a stand-up presentation using visual aids will cause your customers to be willing to pay 26 percent more money for your exact same product or service.

When you stand up, you instantly command authority, attention, and interest. People know it's time to listen. When you are standing, you can move about, which also keeps attention. Rigid, feet-glued-to-the-floor presenters will elicit loud snoring in short order. People also love visual aids, and you are the best and most reliable one in your presentation.

What other tips can increase your speaking effectiveness?

Public Speaking - Lecterns

2011-12-09T12:07:00.000-05:00

http://www.amazingpublicspeaking.com

Tom Antion shows you a lectern with wheels. He discusses what you would use this for.

Public Speaking - Use Volunteers

2011-12-07T09:37:00.000-05:00

http://www.amazingpublicspeaking.com

Tom Antion shows you the value of volunteers. Get volunteers by letting them attend the event for free.

Public Speaking - Types of Props

2011-12-05T09:29:00.002-05:00

There are many different kinds of props that can be used to your advantage in a presentation. Extra large or extra small props are funny. Noisemakers are funny. Even though you are attacking the sense of hearing, you are attacking it in a unique way that makes it memorable. Costumes and magic tricks make good props.

I have a friend who speaks on telephone skills. He uses a giant telephone receiver to make a point about the importance of phone skills. I used a clown prop to make the serious point that if we went through with this merger it would be like being in a thunderstorm with a clown umbrella (for those of you that don't know, a clown umbrella is only about 8 inches in diameter).

Noisemakers are fun. I recommended that a sales manager get one of those expressway revenge devices that makes machine gun, ray gun, and bomb noises when you press a button. If XYA company (remember no Zs) gets in our way, this is what will do to them (he pressed the machine gun button while holding the device near the microphone). He got his point across.

I've worn gorilla costumes, brought full-size mannequins on stage and kicked them around. I've done simple magic tricks and many other things to get my point across in a more memorable and interesting fashion.

You don't necessarily have to do wild things to use props. A very creative friend of mine was going to talk about the keys to creativity. She opened by holding up keys, then discarded them in favor of a combination lock. Her point was made.

Learn more great public speaking tips!

Public Speaking - Block off the Sound Area

2011-12-02T09:48:00.001-05:00

http://www.amazingpublicspeaking.com

Tom Antion goes into detail on how and why you should block off the sound area from people bumping the equipment.

Tom Antion's Ultimate Guide To Public Speaking

2011-11-30T09:42:00.003-05:00

I Pay YOU to Use My New Book to Make a Fortune as a Professional Speaker

Tom Antion, a veteran of over 3000 paid speaking engagements, has written the ultimate guide to being a public speaker and he'll pay you to read it even if you are already a pro speaker, just for writing a great testimonial for the book.

The testimonials are starting to pour in. Here's what I've gotten up on the web so far:

Click here to see them

Hi! I’m Tom. And I want to share with you a powerful new resource that can change the lives of you and your family. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro, my “Ultimate Guide To Professional Speaking” e-book will change what you think you know about careers in public speaking and arm you with the strategies and techniques to make the most money possible!

Ready to take your speaking career to a new level?

Public Speaking - Use Volunteers

2011-11-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

http://www.amazingpublicspeaking.com

Tom Antion shows you the value of volunteers. Get volunteers by letting them attend the event for free.

Public Speaking - Cruise Ship Speaking

2011-11-23T09:34:00.001-05:00

http://www.AmazingPublicSpeaking.com

Learn how to take wonderful cruises and become cruise enrichment
speaker.
Over 350 public and professional speaking videos.

Presentation Skills - Delivering the Punch Line

2011-11-21T10:01:00.002-05:00

Most jokes are designed to end with a humorous climactic word or phrase. Here's an example from Larry Wilde's book Library of Laughter:

"I can't understand why you failed in business."

"Too much advertising."

"You never spent a cent in your life on advertising."

"That's true, but my competitor did."

Everything in the joke up to the comma after "That's true" is the setup of the joke. "But my competitor did" is the punch line. The punch line gets its name from the delivery technique used. You must punch the line out a little harder and with a slightly different voice than the rest of the joke. Lean into the microphone and say it louder and more clearly than you said the setup lines. If the audience does not hear the punch line, they are not going to laugh.

Just before the punch line you should pause slightly to emphasize and draw special attention to the line. After you deliver the line, don't utter another sound. Give the audience a chance to laugh. Words or phrases appended to the climax tend to delay or impede laughter. Until you get some experience, it is really tough to wait. Beginners tend to be afraid that no laughter will come, so they keep going. If you keep talking during this period, you will easily squelch the laughter. As your confidence builds, pausing will become easier and easier. Sometimes waiting the audience out will actually give them a cue to laugh even if the joke wasn't that great.

When you deliver your punch line, deliver it to one person and one person only. It doesn't matter how large the crowd is, you can look one person right in the eye and deliver your line.

Get more great tips from the man who wrote the book!

Public Speaking - Mental Involvement

2011-11-14T16:21:00.001-05:00

One of the best ways to get your message to sink in is to get the audience thinking. This may sound elementary, but when you are up there spewing words at the audience, they may not have time to think. That is one reason pauses are so effective. They give the audience a chance to catch up and apply their own thoughts and value systems to what you are saying.

Asking questions of the audience is a great way to force them into the think mode. Has anyone ever been to Cleveland? A simple question like this zooms an individual audience member's mind to Cleveland if that person has been to Cleveland. If that person has not been to Cleveland, he or she will be tuned in mentally to see what you have to say about Cleveland. Have you ever had your keys in your hand one minute and the next minute they were gone? This question is the Has-this-ever-happened-to-you? variety. To corral the most audience members with a question like this, all you have to do is use a question that you know (from your pre-program research) will relate to most of the audience.

Johnny Carson before he retired, Jay Leno, and David Letterman all use questions about current news to grab their audiences mentally. They ask Did you read today or did you hear today about . . .? Johnny, Jay, and Dave know that if the audience has heard about the current event they will feel a common bond and if they haven't heard about it, they will listen more carefully. To make sure these talented and funny talk show hosts reach the largest portion of their respective audiences, they almost always explain or recap the news item before they make the joke. This gives those audience members that haven't heard about the current event a chance to get the humor.

Get the book on public speaking excellence!

Public Speaking - Bombproofing

2011-11-11T10:10:00.003-05:00

Are you afraid of bombing when you get up in front of a group? You don't have to be. With proper material selection, a few prepared comments in case of unexpected problems, and attention to time, worries about bombing can be virtually eliminated. Also remember one key point that Mike McKinley, past president of the National Speakers Association, told me: "The audience doesn't know your script. If you make a minor mistake, so what. Just keep on talking."

When you want to get a message across using humor, there is one overriding principle that will give you the greatest chance of success along with the least chance of failure. If you make all your attempts at humor relevant to your presentation, you get an automatic excuse from your mother if your humor is not all that funny. If your humor is received as funny, so much the better; but if it isn't, at least you made your point. Audiences will be much more tolerant if the humor ties into the subject at hand.

At social functions, relevance is not as critical as it is in serious business settings. If you stray off the main topic just for fun, it's no big deal. However, if you are still a little apprehensive about your humor skills in a presentation, the theory of relevance will always keep you safe.

Even if your delivery is not great at this point, the proper selection of material will carry you a long way. You must consider the nature of the audience, your personality and style, and the nature of the subject.

If you keep the above principle of relevance in mind, you should never have to suffer the embarrassment of your humor bombing out.

Get access to over 350 public speaking training videos!

Public Speaking - Stage Height

2011-11-09T09:29:00.000-05:00

http://www.amazingpublicspeaking.com

Tom Antion talks about stage height and the limitations it can bring to your presentation.

Public Speaking - Use Product Related Stories

2011-11-07T11:30:00.002-05:00

You can bring your product to life in the eyes of the client with stories. I learned
about this from the general manager at John Wanamaker Department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I was doing a customer service presentation.

The manager was telling me about the time he and his wife were shopping for a handmade quilt to give as a wedding gift. They went to several different shops in eastern Pennsylvania. The people working at the shops were uninformed about and indifferent to the questions being posed about the history of the quilts. They eventually came upon a shop where the proprietor went into great detail about the person who actually made the quilt and about the origin of the material, thread, etc. Guess where the manager bought the quilt?

Of course, not all customers would want this level of detail. But the ones that do may be influenced to buy immediately if you are ready with this kind of information about your product, idea, or service.

You should also develop interesting or humorous stories or one-liners about how your product was used. For example when I was in high school, I used to sell matchbooks with advertising on them to small businesses. On a sales call I would put a used match in my wallet which I would pull out with great ceremony and say, "This is THE match that lit the bonfire we had just before winning the homecoming football game. You can have a match similar to this one." That would get the clients smiling. Then I sold them one or two cases of matchbooks.

Think up ways such as my one-liner to talk about your product, idea, or service to keep it in the customer's mind with a nonsales sales pitch. Product-related stories or jokes lend a favorable light to your product without increasing sales resistance.

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Public Speaking Humor - Stone the Speaker

2011-11-04T11:32:00.002-04:00

Here's another gag I do when I really want to focus attention on an important point. Either before the program or at a break, I recruit audience members who are sitting near the front. I give each one a piece of crumpled paper and instruct them to throw it at me when they hear a certain word. Some presenters tell me that is the dumbest thing they ever heard and that they would never do it in a professional presentation. They say that until they understand the rationale.

Do you remember I said I pull this gag when I want to focus attention on an important point? Guess who is riveted on what I say until they hear the key word? Of course, all the recruits with the crumpled paper. Then, after they throw the paper and I make a big reaction, the rest of the crowd is totally focused in their effort to see what is going on. That is when I make my key point. I have virtually guaranteed the attention of each audience member.

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Presentations - What about Specific Industries?

2011-11-02T09:22:00.001-04:00

If you are looking for stories and humor in a specific industry, you must work a little harder. Certain professions like medicine and law have many individual books, newsletters, and articles written about them. But if you are a plumbing executive, it is unlikely you could go down to your local bookstore and find a plumbing joke book.

Start a file right away for industry-specific information you find. A good place to start looking for information to fill this file would be in a trade journal for your industry. Almost every industry you can imagine has one or more associated trade journals. If you're looking for humor, sift through back issues to find humor you can use now. Virtually no one remembers cartoons and jokes more than a month or so. Watch for industry newsletters so you can extract usable material. Check your company bulletin boards regularly for funny signs and postings.

Call others in your industry to look for stories or incidents that would be of interest to your audience (remember to give credit). Collect everything you can collect that is interesting and industry specific and soon you will have the best collection around.

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Public Speaking - I Won! I Won!

2011-10-31T09:42:00.003-04:00

Another fun way to get the audience involved physically is to give out prizes. My favorite way to do this is to tape my business card underneath several randomly selected seats before anyone is in the room. Sometime during the program I will tell the audience that I have some gifts for them and they are hidden in the room somewhere. I also tell them they should not bother looking for them because they are sitting on them right now. Then I direct the audience to feel under their seats for the business card.

When the winners find the business cards they get to come up on stage to redeem their prizes, but there is usually a catch. I make up some funny questions to ask them. They get the prize no matter how they answer.

If you are pressed for time, you can hand the prizes to people in the first row and have them hand them one-by-one back to the winners. This gets many people involved physically because they have to handle the prize. (It's not a bad sales technique either. You might use your product for the prize if you want the other audience members to touch it and want one too.)

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Public Speaking - Doors

2011-10-28T09:29:00.001-04:00

One of the biggest sources of distraction has to do with something every meeting room has and that is a door. Doors squeak, they slam shut, and they allow people to walk in the audience's line of sight. According to Tom's Law of Presentations, these three things are only allowed to happen at the exact moment of your best punch line or most dramatic statement.

Doors are very easy to deal with if you can gain access to the room early. The first thing I do is check to see if the doors squeak. If they do, I call maintenance or find a little oil can and oil the hinges. If it's an old hotel, this probably hasn't been done in 30 or 40 years. Then I let the door swing shut on its own. This tests the closing mechanism. If it is hopelessly weak and allows the door to slam shut, I either ask for it to be adjusted (which no one ever knows how to do) or I have someone stand at the door to open and close it for latecomers. The latch of the door can make lots of noise to, so you simply tape the catch mechanism shut.

Door location can also be a pesky problem. Sometimes the room is set so there is a door behind or very close to the stage area. If someone would enter this door during your presentation, it would be very distracting. You can usually tape up a "Please Use Other Door" sign to help with this. When you know you have any kind of door problem, try to alert the planner or recruit people from the organization to police the doors for you.

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Public Speaking Audience Tips

2011-10-26T09:11:00.002-04:00

You can't catch many fish by using food you like for the bait. You must give them what they like. You must absolutely, positively know your audience.

You should know what the members of the audience have in common (interests, enemies, competitors, etc.). You should know what the hot topic of conversation is, but be sure they are joking about it themselves. It may be too hot. You should know the restaurants where they eat, the name of their newsletter, how much money they make, the name and record of the local sports teams, etc., etc., etc. The more you know about the audience, the better job you will do. Your goal should be to make that audience know that the presentation they are witnessing was created specifically for them.

If you don't present to the same audience all the time, you must have a method for getting this information. Most NO ZZZZZs presenters use some form of pre-program questionnaire which is sent out well in advance of their program. I got the basis for mine from Dottie Walters at Walters International Speakers Bureau. I made some slight changes to suit my presentation style and I keep adding and deleting questions to tweak it to perfection.

Your conversations with the program coordinator will give you some of the information you need. You should fill in as many of the blanks as you can before you send out the questionnaire to save the program coordinator some work. This also proves you were paying attention to what he or she said.

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Public Speaking Jokes

2011-10-24T10:22:00.002-04:00

In his book Comedy Writing Step by Step, Gene Perret, one of the best known comedy writers in Hollywood, says, "A joke is anything that makes people laugh. It can be a series of words, a look, a shrug of the shoulders, even a moment of silence but if it makes people laugh, it's a joke."

I agree with Gene, but I try to avoid using the term joke when training people to do presentations. Here's why. When I ask my seminar participants for a show of hands of who can tell a joke, only a few people raise their hands. In fact, most people claim they can't tell a joke. Their claim indicates to me that they are simply not practiced and are maybe a little afraid of the term itself. I assure them that using humor in professional presentations is NOT about telling jokes. It's about using many easily implemented forms of humor to help attain the goals of a presentation.

This highfalutin explanation is usually enough to distract them so I can teach them how to tell jokes. Consequently, you won't see me using the word joke very much in this book. I'm too busy teaching you how to make people laugh.

If you like to tell jokes there are presently 97.5 zillion joke books available on every topic in the world. Acquire the ones you like and pick appropriate jokes to help you make the points of your presentation.

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Public Speaking - How Can Humor Help?

2011-10-21T10:15:00.002-04:00

MAKES YOU MORE LIKEABLE. The more an audience likes you, the more they will be likely to agree with your ideas.

AROUSES INTEREST. Many of you speak to audiences that don't even want to be there. Humor can help you gain their interest.

KEEPS ATTENTION. Grabbing interest at the beginning of a presentation is not enough to carry you to the end. You must keep the attention of the audience all the way. Unfortunately our audience's attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter. They are becoming more of the MTV generation where the average time a shot is on the screen is just a few seconds. According to Ron Hoff in his presentation skills book,
I Can See You Naked "If corporate managers ever saw their own meetings on TV, they would pick up their remote controls and zap themselves into oblivion in the flick of an eyelash." We are competing with movies that have 100 million dollars in special effects. We must be prepared to deliver a fast-paced program that surprises members of the audience. At times we need to knock them in the head to make sure they are present. Humor and other presentation devices placed appropriately will help you do this.

HELPS EMPHASIZE POINTS AND IDEAS. Anyone who has ever taken a simple speaking course knows that you must hit your audience on the head with your point over and over before they get it. Humor is one of the hammers you can use.

DISARMS HOSTILITY. Nonfrivolous humor can be used to take the edge off audiences that are clearly against you.

REDUCES RELATIVE STATUS. Many of you are what I call the "big-shots" of your organization. Your position as boss creates a big barrier to listening. Don't forget, "BOSS" spelled backwards is double-SOB and that's the way your audience will look at you if lord your status over them. Making a little fun of yourself (self-effacing humor) will do wonders for opening lines of communication.

OVERCOMES OVERLY FLATTERING INTRODUCTIONS. Introducers come in all quality levels. If you get one that makes you sound like God, it will create expectations in the audience that you couldn't possibly live up to. Humor can neutralize that problem instantly.

GETS YOUR POINT ACROSS WITHOUT CREATING HOSTILITY. Sometimes you have to deliver tough negative messages. The careful use of humor can help you do your dastardly deed without creating unnecessary anger.

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Presentation Skills - Organization

2011-10-19T09:27:00.002-04:00

Being able to find humor, stories, quotes and other speech material when you need it is very important. It is very frustrating to know you have a piece of material, but you can't find it. Some type of system of organizing all this material is essential to efficient preparation.

A file and cross-reference system will help you keep track of your material. I use both a computer and hard copy filing system. Both have advantages, so don't worry if you don't have a computer.

On the computer I keep separate files for all the different topics I cover in my presentations and also for the different parts and categories of speeches like Response to Introduction and Openings. You can also do this with three-by-five cards or in a regular file box or cabinet. I make files for categories of specialty humor like roasts and toasts and I also make files for the different parts of a talk like response to introduction, openings, and closings. When I'm preparing a talk, all I have to do is open the file on that topic and pick the information I want to use. I copy this material to another file named for the group to which I'm speaking.

Some information in my topic files may be duplicated in other topic files. This is basic cross-referencing. For instance, one of my signature stories about my dog, Freeway, makes several different points. It can be used as a customer service story, to illustrate going the extra mile, reacting under pressure, or thinking quickly. Since it is a story involving an animal, it could be told to a group of animal lovers. Consequently, this story shows up in many of my topic files.

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Public Speaking Training - Use Humor to Maintain Interest Level

2011-10-17T09:28:00.002-04:00

To effectively use humor to maintain interest, you must first understand the listening pattern of an audience in a typical boring presentation.

A typical "goodnight kiss" presentation starts out with a hopeful audience at or before the introduction of the presenter. If the introduction is halfway good, the interest level will stay up or rise slightly. Then the boring presenter gets up and tells a dumb and/or irrelevant story or joke and the interest level begins to fall rapidly. As the presenter gets deep into the subject matter, the audience passes through sleep (ZZZZZs), rapid eye movement sleep (New Improved ZZZZZs) and soon into a comatose state (Extra Heavy Duty, Industrial Strength ZZZZZs).

At a critical moment in the presentation, the interest level of the audience rises sharply. This is usually the moment Mr. or Ms. Hammock Head says, "In conclusion." This sharp rise in intensity is primarily due to the audience members putting on their shoes and gathering their briefcases. After droning on for another 15 minutes, the on-stage anesthesiologist figures enough is enough and immediately drops dead, but no one in the audience notices.

Even if you are a really good presenter, it is still tough to keep an audience's interest level up. Every person in an audience daydreams to a certain extent. He or she can't help it. The human mind can listen far faster than you can talk. The mind of each audience member is naturally bored. For those of you that like numbers, the average rate of speech is 140-180 words per minute. The mind is capable of listening at 700 wpm. It's no wonder audience members get bored.

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Professional Speaking Training Opportunities

2011-10-14T09:31:00.001-04:00

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Public Speaking Techniques - Localized/Personalized Comments

2011-10-12T12:02:00.002-04:00

If you plan on making any comments to specific people in the audience or about the location of the presentation, now is the time to do it. Anything you say at this point should be personalized and/or localized and broadly understood.

One of the things I enthusiastically and sincerely say somewhere in the beginning of a talk is, I am so happy to be here. However, that can mean uh-oh, it's pillow time to the audience because everyone says that. What I do is find a reason specific to that group and tell them why I am so happy to be with them. This shows the group that I am thrilled to be with them at that very moment. They can't help but like you a little more because of this simple statement. And you know what? I really am thrilled to be with them. If you aren't really happy, it will show, so don't say this unless you mean it.

Another thing I let the audience know even before the talk starts is that I am a giving and helpful person. There is nothing hidden. I do this as I'm walking around talking to people before the program. I'll say to most everyone, Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you. Saying this sincerely to a person in your audience is a quick way to build rapport. You will have instant friends in the audience who are less likely to nod off.

If you have a head table, a joke on one of the persons up there with you will work. Audiences like to be able to see the reaction of that person. Make sure you clear it with your target first. If you tell a joke on someone at the head table and he or she doesn't laugh, the audience will not laugh either. This will put a damper on the rest of your talk. Also, if you have four vice-presidents of a company at the head table and you only tease two, the other two may be offended. If the CEO, owner, or highest ranking officer is there, joke about that person because BIG targets are the best. I say again, make sure you clear the joke with Mr./Ms. Big first.

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Presentation Skills - Appropriate Targets For Humor

2011-10-10T09:00:00.002-04:00

You must constantly remember to base your humorous material on an important target shared with your intended audience. You get this information from your pre-program questionnaire and other pre-program research.

People Use people they know in your jokes and stories. Talk about their CEO or supervisor (get permission from these people first). Joke about or insult the CEO of a major competitor, but be careful here. You may want to work for the competitor some day. Always pick BIG targets to tease. Never pick secretaries, receptionists, or janitors as targets of humor.

Places
Quip about the places they go. Their cafeteria, the bar across the street from their plant, or the crowded highway leading to where they work are all good targets for humor. In Washington, D.C., where I live, everyone jokes about troubles on the Beltway.

Things
Joke about the things that mean something to them. Joke about their new marketing plan, company picnic, new voice-mail system, etc. Just be sure that they are joking about it themselves. The topic might be too hot to tease about.

If you have a general audience and you cannot get specific information, use general humor. Most people are married and have children and experience family conflict. They go to the doctor and dentist. They stand in line at the motor vehicle administration. They deal with financial problems. Joke about any universal problem which your audience can relate to.

Remember, always pick BIG targets. Joke about celebrities, media stars, and athletes that everyone knows. Keep in mind that there is a genuine sports interest in virtually every audience.

The best and safest target to use is the one that's reading this book. You can joke about your physical appearance, clothing, weight, etc., without much worry of offending someone else.

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Public Speaking - Get The Facts First

2011-10-07T11:47:00.002-04:00

If you are not familiar with your intended audience, you might ask in your pre-program research, or questionnaire How diverse is your group? What are some of the characteristics of the members from each of the countries represented? The answers to these questions will help you plan your strategy for connecting with a particular audience.

When I was doing my planning for a presentation in Washington, D.C., I found out that 25 percent of the audience was Asian Indian. I knew very little about the Indian culture and didn't have long to plan. What I did know was that the Dunkin' Donuts store located near my home was owned and operated by Indians.

That was a good excuse to stop in, down a few eclairs, and do some research. I told the proprietor what I was trying to accomplish and he was glad to help. Out of all the information he gave me about humor in India, I only used one line. That was all it took to connect. The line was, I want to tell all my new Indian friends I'm sorry Johnny Lever couldn't make it.

Johnny Lever was one of the top comedians in India. They lit up and I went on with the program. If your local donut shop isn't run by the appropriate nationality for your next presentation, don't worry. There are other sure-fire methods to get the information you need. If you are presenting out of the country, get the opinion of local people before you attempt to use humor. If you are presenting in the U.S., seek out members of the nationality to whom you are presenting. If you don't happen to know any, you can always call their embassy.

I've called our State Department, The World Bank and even Voice of America for information. Just tell the receptionist you want to speak to someone from the country of interest. Don't forget to tell them you want to converse in English.

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Public Speaking Course - Keepers

2011-10-05T09:18:00.000-04:00

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Presentation Skillls - Types of Pauses

2011-10-03T09:09:00.004-04:00

A true NO ZZZZZs presenter doesn't feel that he or she must jabber away constantly to keep the audience awake. Skilled presenters use silence to add to the effectiveness and polish of a program. Theatrical folks have identified a whole bunch of neat pauses which I'm sure they have a ball playing with. I'm only going to address some of the most obvious and important ones here.

Short

The shortest pauses, which last anywhere from one-half to two seconds, are for the simple purpose of separating your thoughts. All you have to remember is to slow down. Give the audience a fighting chance to absorb what you are saying. Change your voice inflection slightly at the end of each thought to cue the audience the next thought is coming. Also, use a short pause before and after any phrase (punch line) or word you want to emphasize.

Spontaneity

Another neat pause is known as a spontaneity pause. This is a planned "unplanned" pause used so that you don't look too rehearsed. You might apply this pause when you want to pretend to search for a word or phrase that you already know.

Long

Long pauses of more than three seconds are very powerful. They command the audience to think about what you just said that is if what you just said was worth thinking about.
Please[pause][pause][pause] don't be afraid to be quiet once in a while. It can dramatically increase your impact.

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Enjoy a Professional Speaking Career

2011-09-30T09:38:00.000-04:00

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Public Speaking - Lost In Translation Humor

2011-09-28T09:39:00.001-04:00

Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American ad campaign:
"Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."

The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means "bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax" depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, "ko-kou-ko-le," which can be loosely
translated as "happiness in the mouth."

In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" came out as "Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead."

Also in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger-lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off."

The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, "Salem - Feeling Free," got translated in the Japanese market into "When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty."

When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was apparently unaware that "no va" means "it won't go." After the company figured out why it wasn't selling any cars, it renamed the car in its Spanish markets to the Caribe.

Ford had a similar problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company found out that Pinto was Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals". Ford pried all the nameplates off and substituted Corcel, which means horse.

When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." However, the company's mistakenly thought the Spanish word "embarazar" meant embarrass. Instead the ads said that "It wont leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."

An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired "I Saw the Pope" in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed "I Saw the Potato."

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Tom Antion's Professional Speaking Marketing Strategies

2011-09-26T12:01:00.000-04:00

Learn a strategy that will get you more speaking engagements at higher
fees.

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Public Speaking - College Humor

2011-09-23T09:28:00.000-04:00

SYMPTOMS OF SEMESTER BURNOUT

1. When your parents inquire about your grades and you sing the cookie monster song (C is for cookie, that's good enough for me...)

2. You have spent more time figuring out that you only need a 54% on the final to pass than you have actually spent studying.

3. When you are swamped with homework and spend your time making up a list like this.

4. When you start showering after class rather than before.

5. The test papers are no longer worthy of the fridge door.

6. When the campus drunk tells you you should study more.

7. When your favorite paperweight says "Sierra Nevada - Pale Ale"

8. Visions of the upcoming weekend help you to make it through Monday.

9. When your absence exceeds your attendance.

10. When your study schedule is based on the rationale that you "might" actually die before the test.

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Presentation Skills - Dieting Humor

2011-09-21T09:13:00.003-04:00

RULES FOR DIETING:

1. If you eat something and no one sees you eat it, it has no calories.

2. If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, the calories in the candy bar are cancelled out by the diet soda.

3. When you eat with someone else, calories don't count if you do not eat more than they do.

4. Food used for medicinal purposes NEVER count, such as hot chocolate, brandy, toast and Sara Lee Cheesecake.

5. If you fatten up everyone else around you, then you look thinner.

6. Movie related foods do not have additional calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel. Examples: Milk Duds, buttered popcorn, Junior Mints, Red Hots and Tootsie Rolls.

7. Cookie pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking causes calorie leakage.

8. Things licked off knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing something.

9. Foods that have the same color have the same number of calories. Examples are: spinach and pistachio ice cream; mushrooms and mashed potatoes.

10. Chocolate is a universal color and may be substituted for any other food color.

11. Anything consumed while standing has no calories. This due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.

12. Anything consumed from someone else's plate has no calories since the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to his/her plate. (We ALL know how calories like to cling!)

Professional Speaking Tips: Autographed Books

2011-09-19T12:45:00.000-04:00

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Public Speaking: What If The Banquet Staff Are No Shows?

2011-09-16T09:09:00.002-04:00

Thank goodness this doesn't happen often, but it happened to me this past weekend. I had my full day Electronic Marketing camp scheduled for a 7:00 AM setup with attendees to show up around 8:30 AM. I showed up in the room and no one was to be found anywhere.

Here's a checklist of what to do:

1. Immediately use the house phone to call the front desk and ask for the "manager on duty." Start raising a little h _ _ _. I do this simply to get their attention. You might mention something like "breach of contract" which usually gets extra attention.

2. Start opening side doors in the meeting rooms and looking at all the other meeting rooms to see what you can scrounge, tables, extension cords, chairs, etc. Drag them into your meeting room so you can take ownership. (I'm not saying ruin someone else's setup, I'm just saying if no one else's room is set up, then it's their fault if they didn't come down to double check things early so grab what you can.)

3. If you need a screen and none has shown up, (this also happened this weekend) find the most usable section of a white or light colored wall and set the room around that area.

4. If you have a breakfast scheduled or coffee/tea service go directly into the kitchen and start yelling "HELLO." Always have a copy of your contract with you if you have one. Go directly to the chef on duty and see if they can get something going quickly.

5. Don't be afraid to jump in and do things yourself. Move quickly with a stern look on your face. If someone eventually does show up, this demeanor should transmit the idea that you are miffed and there is not time to play games.

Yes, I know some people will say that you should be sickening sweet to get things done, but I'm afraid that when there are deadline time constraints you must get action quickly and many hotel staff people are not in any kind of hurry, so if you want to be ready when those attendees roll in, you have to move people to action.

Oh, one last thing. Always have cash bribes on you to get fast action when you really need it.

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Public speaking Opportunities - Top Ten Ways to Make Money

2011-09-14T10:30:00.001-04:00

There are many ways you can get into professional speaking. This video gives you the major entry points.

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Public Speaking Success - Best Seating Tips

2011-09-12T11:02:00.001-04:00

When possible set presentation to the long side of the room so the last row is as close to the presenter as possible. Avoid long narrow rooms which put audience members far from the presentation as if they were in bowling alley. People prefer to sit by aisles.

Avoid chairs next to walls. Audience members will feel trapped. Aisles should get bigger as they get nearer the exits because they must accommodate more people.

Seat for least distraction--no audience member should have to cross more than six people to get to a seat.

Make people sit as close as possible to the front. Force them to front with reserved signs on back tables or keep chairs stacked until all front rows are full. Don't tip chairs up to reserve seats or force people forward because they may trip over the
legs of the chairs.

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Public Speaking Humor - The Top 20 Reasons Dogs Do Not Use Computers

2011-09-09T10:51:00.002-04:00

The Top 20 Reasons Dogs Do Not Use Computers...Courtesy of www.TopFive.com

20. Can't stick their heads out of Windows 7.
19. Fetch command not available on all platforms.
18. Hard to read the monitor with your head cocked to one side.
17. Too difficult to "mark" every website they visit.
16. Can't help attacking the screen when they hear "You've Got Mail."
15. Fire hydrant icon is very frustrating.
14. Involuntary tail wagging is dead giveaway they're browsing www . pethouse.com instead of working.
13. Keep bruising noses trying to catch that MPEG Frisbee.
12. Not at all fooled by Chuckwagon Screen Saver.
11. Still trying to come up with an "emoticon" that signifies tail-wagging.
10. Oh, but they WILL... with the introduction of the Microsoft Opposable Thumb.
9. Three words: Carpal Paw Syndrome.
8. 'Cause dogs ain't GEEKS! Now, cats, on the other hand...
7. Barking in next cube keeps activating YOUR voice recognition software.
6. SmellU-SmellMe still in beta test.
5. SIT and STAY were hard enough, GREP and AWK are out of the question!
4. Saliva-coated mouse gets mighty difficult to maneuver.
3. Annoyed by lack of newsgroup, alt.pictures.master's.leg.
2. Butt-sniffing more direct and less deceiving than online chat rooms.

and the Number 1 Reason Dogs Do Not Use Computers...

1. TrO{gO DsA[M,bN HyAqR4tDc TgrOo TgYPmE WeIjTyH P;AzWqS,.*

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Public Speaking - Testing Introduction Humor

2011-09-06T09:27:00.002-04:00

Test humor is humor that is placed in your written introduction. It is to be read by your introducer, not by you.

Pick a couple of these lines and stick with them. The real value of test humor comes when you have heard the same line being delivered in your introduction over and over. The laughter of the audience will tell you if they are ready to laugh. This concept is called "in fun" (see Wake' em Up Business Presentations for a additional training.)

NOTE: The "?" is for your name, and most of these pieces of test humor can be used for either male or female presenters

? is one of the greatest speakers ever and that's just not my opinion, it's his/hers too. Let's welcome ? (lead enthusiastic applause)

It has been said that ? is the number one man/woman in the field of ???. And here folks is the man/woman who said it. Let's welcome ? (lead enthusiastic applause)

The man/woman I am about to introduce is so full of ideas I have heard him described as a manic EXPRESSIVE. Let's welcome ? (lead enthusiastic applause)

? is a man/woman who helps people. In fact, he/she would never turn someone away from his/her door if they needed help ...He/she would let them sit there all day if they wanted to. Let's welcome ? (lead enthusiastic applause)

? says she wants to fly to Hawaii for a second honeymoon and she's getting her husband to drive her to the airport.

Public Speaking - Cat Humor

2011-09-02T12:41:00.002-04:00

I gave my cat a bath the other day ... they love it. He sat there, he enjoyed it, it was fun for me. The fur would stick to my tongue, but other than that ..

--Steve Martin

The cat who doesn't act finicky soon loses control of his owner.
--"Morris the Cat"

Garfield's Law: Cats instinctively know the precise moment their owners will awaken ... then they awaken them ten minutes sooner.
--Jim Davis

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.
--Garrison Keillor

The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath.
--W. C. Fields

We have two cats. They're my wife's cats, Mischa and Alex. You can tell a woman names a cat like this. Women always have sensitive names: Muffy, Fluffy, Buffy. Guys name cats things like Tuna Breath, Fur Face, Meow Head. They're nice cats. They've been neutered and they've been declawed. So they're like pillows that eat.
--Larry Reeb

Cat: A pygmy lion who loves mice, hates dogs and patronizes human beings.
--Oliver Herford 1863-1935 American Writer.

A little girl cried. Daddy, Daddy Fluffy is dead. That’s OK dear. Fluffy has gone to Heaven to be with God. What would God want with a dead cat?

I’m not one of those as can see the cat in the dairy and wonder what she’s there for.
--George Eliot.

What astonished him was that cats should have two holes cut in their skins at the exactly the same places where there eyes were.
--Georg Christoph Lichtenberg 1712-1799

Presentation Skills - Doors

2011-08-31T13:59:00.001-04:00

One of the biggest sources of distraction has to do with something every meeting room has and that is a door. Doors squeak, they slam shut, and they allow people to walk in the audience's line of sight. According to Tom's Law of Presentations, these three things are only allowed to happen at the exact moment of your best punch line or most dramatic statement.

Doors are very easy to deal with if you can gain access to the room early. The first thing I do is check to see if the doors squeak. If they do, I call maintenance or find a little oil can and oil the hinges. If it's an old hotel, this probably hasn't been done in 30 or 40 years. Then I let the door swing shut on its own. This tests the closing mechanism. If it is hopelessly weak and allows the door to slam shut, I either ask for it to be adjusted (which no one ever knows how to do) or I have someone stand at the door to open and close it for latecomers. The latch of the door can make lots of noise to, so you simply tape the catch mechanism shut.

Door location can also be a pesky problem. Sometimes the room is set so there is a door behind or very close to the stage area. If someone would enter this door during your presentation, it would be very distracting. You can usually tape up a "Please Use Other Door" sign to help with this. When you know you have any kind of door problem, try to alert the planner or recruit people from the organization to police the doors for you.

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Public Speaking - Excellent Storytelling Tips

2011-08-29T09:59:00.002-04:00

Specify the location of a joke or story. If your story takes place in a restaurant say, "I was at Jerry's Sub Shop in Rockville, Maryland, the other day." This gives the audience something concrete to think about, which makes them more involved mentally.

When crafting a story, use people, places, and things the audience knows. When the audience is familiar with the elements in your story, they will become even more involved. As soon as you mention the company cafeteria, their minds race to the cafeteria to meet you and find out what happens. However, don't use humor that is too inside. Only a few people will understand it.

Emphasize the adjectives and verbs in your stories to make them sound more interesting. Try it. Look around where you are right now and describe anything you want. Really put punch behind the adjectives and verbs and see how your description comes to life.

Use specific and interesting verbs and adjectives. Say I was exhausted, not I was tired. Say, her head was nodding and drooping, not her head was down.

Learn your stories. In a normal speech if you forget the exact thing you wanted to say, you can improvise and go on. But if you leave out an important detail in a story or if you accidentally give away the climax too soon, you have a mess on your hands. I tell a story at least 30 times in private before I'll test it in front of an audience.

Use true facts from your own life. This makes it easier for you to tell the story because you lived it and you can learn it faster too. Also, someone else can't steal your story as easily if all the facts have to do with your life.

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Presentation Skills - Audience Dynamics

2011-08-26T11:42:00.001-04:00

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Public Speaking - I Could Do Without Some Emotional Audiences

2011-08-24T10:54:00.002-04:00

You may present to audiences that have very negative emotions already piqued. They may be downright hostile. When this is the case, you need to say things that will reduce the emotional intensity.

I don't often face hostile audiences, but a friend of mine is an expert on them. Larry Tracy trains business executives to communicate successfully with skeptical and even hostile audiences. Larry's expertise comes from hard-won experience. In a previous life in government, he had the job of speaking to hundreds of emotional, demanding audiences in the 1980s to defend and debate the Reagan Administration's Central America policy.

Larry tells me that hostile audiences have a great deal of what psychologists call cognitive dissonance, a tendency to protect existing beliefs and prejudices and reject contradictory information. He says this emotional baggage has to be bypassed before a speaker's facts can be comprehended, and that only a speaker perceived to have empathy has a chance of reaching such an audience. Larry trains his clients to follow what he calls the KAP method Know your audience's concerns, and Anticipate their objections and questions with realistic Practice. The practice consists of a simulated presentation with colleagues role-playing as the more contentious audience members.

Larry says that speakers confronted with an angry audience should think of themselves as a thermometer, always attempting to keep the heat down. A calm voice and use of phrases such as I understand your point and I certainly see where you are coming from, as well as open body language can help cool down emotionally-charged audience members. He adds that speakers should never appear dogmatic. They should never tell an audience that they are going to persuade them or show them where they are wrong. Above all, speakers should never become embroiled in a shouting match with audience members.

He says the key to getting hostile audience members to change their view is a thorough pre-presentation analysis of why the audience has invested so much emotional capital opposing the issue. This analysis may show that audience members have been previously misinformed and speakers, after showing they are reasonable, credible, and open-minded can then provide new data, allowing audience members a face-saving means to change their mind.

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Tom Antion - Writing a Eulogy

2011-08-22T13:11:00.002-04:00

I was inspired to do this video and to help people learn to write a eulogy when my father passed away in July of 2000. It's a difficult time for you. We are here to help with your funeral
speech.

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Public Speaking - 4 Reasons Why Humor Is Your Best Friend

2011-08-19T09:43:00.003-04:00

HELPS RELATE FACTS AND FIGURES. A friend of mine says, "I don't want to bore you with sadistics." Technical and financial presenters must be especially careful to spice-up long lists of numbers and generally dry material. You must keep in mind that most people in your audience are not as passionate about your subject as you are or they would be up in front of the group. Think from the audience's point of view and do whatever it takes to break up boring material so you don't lose your audience totally.

MAKES A POSITIVE IMPRESSION. Laughter and good humor create bonds. Even if the audience members don't like you, they will like you better if you can make them laugh or smile and they will leave with better thoughts of you.

SHOWS THAT YOU DON'T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY. The old saying goes, "If you take yourself too seriously, no one else will." You don't want to be known as a stuffed shirt. If you can laugh a little bit at yourself at the right times, your audience can laugh with you and not at you.

HELPS PAINT PICTURES IN THE AUDIENCE'S MIND. The pictures humorous storytellers can paint are what people remember, not the words.

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Public Speaking - Great Exit Lines

2011-08-17T09:32:00.003-04:00

P.T. Barnum would have trouble getting people to leave his museum so he put up a sign that said, "This way to the Egress." When people went through the door, they found themselves on the street. I don't want to find myself there, so I'll finish up now...

You've heard that "All's well that ends well." Well in my case it's All's well that ends. Goodnight.

When all is said and done, there is usually more said than done. I think I've said enough. Good Luck.

When a speaker says, "Well, to make a long story short," it's usually too late. I don't want you to feel that way about me. Thanks for having me.

If you have a Question and Answer period:

Now let's open it up for questions. Ask me anything. If I know the answer, I'll give it to you. If I don't, I'll make something up.

Complimentary and funny:
Secretaries are the backbone of an organization. They are the structure that holds everything together [start to get emotional and cry. Take out a handkerchief and hidden noisemaker. Blow your nose really loudly]. I'm sorry. I get so emotional. You're the greatest. Good bye.

Paraphrase a quotation:
The next time you're feeling down, and you look in the mirror and see a few extra wrinkles, just remember what my old buddy Mark Twain used to say. "Those wrinkles are where smiles have been all these years." I'm Tom Antion. I love you.

Now I'm going to say something in the public interest. Goodnight.

George Eliot said, "Blessed is the man [I would substitute the word person for the word man to avoid sexist language], who having nothing to say refrains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact."

An old-timer is one who can remember when time was marching on instead of running out. My time is running out, so in conclusion...

My great, great granddaddy always told me, "When you're holding a conversation, be sure to let go of it once in awhile." I'm letting go of ours right now. Are there any questions?

My talks usually have a happy ending. That's because everyone is glad they are over.

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Public Speaking - Online Video Resources

2011-08-15T13:38:00.000-04:00

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Public Speaking - Use Product Related Stories

2011-08-12T09:43:00.002-04:00

You can bring your product to life in the eyes of the client with stories. I learned about this from the general manager at John Wanamaker Department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I was doing a customer service presentation. The manager was telling me about the time he and his wife were shopping for a handmade quilt to give as a wedding gift.

They went to several different shops in eastern Pennsylvania. The people working at the shops were uninformed about and indifferent to the questions being posed about the history of the quilts. They eventually came upon a shop where the proprietor went into great detail about the person who actually made the quilt and about the origin of the material, thread, etc. Guess where the manager bought the quilt?

Of course, not all customers would want this level of detail. But the ones that do may be influenced to buy immediately if you are ready with this kind of information about your product, idea, or service. You should also develop interesting or humorous stories or one-liners about how your product was used. For example when I was in high school, I used to sell matchbooks with advertising on them to small businesses. On a sales call I would put a used match in my wallet which I would pull out with great ceremony and say, "This is THE match that lit the bonfire we had just before winning the homecoming football game. You can have a match similar to this one." That would get the clients smiling. Then I sold them one or two cases of matchbooks.

Think up ways such as my one-liner to talk about your product, idea, or service to keep it in the customer's mind with a nonsales sales pitch. Product-related stories or jokes lend a favorable light to your product without increasing sales resistance.

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Public Speaking - Joke Telling

2011-08-10T09:42:00.002-04:00

Jokes! Jokes! Jokes! Everyone tells me they can't tell jokes. The good news is that it doesn't matter one bit if you can tell a joke or not. The better news is that if you really want to tell jokes, you can. I'm going to give you some simple techniques that will improve your joke and storytelling capabilities.

Being a humorous NO ZZZZZs presenter is quite different from being a stand-up comedian. Most stand-up comedians must be experts at telling jokes. Their only purpose is to entertain. If they do not skillfully make the audience laugh, they bomb. Laughter is their only desired result. You, as a NO ZZZZZs presenter, however, are using humor as a tool to convey your message or information. You should want the audience to have a good time, but it doesn't matter so much if the audience laughs as long as they get the message. Laughter is a bonus. Realizing this fact should take away much of the anxiety you may feel about using humor.

Let's get back to jokes. I really get tired of hearing people in my seminars tell me they can't tell a joke. I can't iron a shirt either, but I could if someone showed me how and I practiced enough (Note: As long as there is one dry cleaner store left on the face of the earth this will never happen). I might never be as good at it as my mother, but I could become competent if I really tried. It's the same with jokes. If you apply the delivery techniques discussed, if you select appropriate and relevant jokes, and if you practice diligently, you will become competent at telling jokes and successful in your main goal of enhancing your presentations. As stated above, when it comes to professional presentations, being able to tell a joke does not matter. So, don't let it bother you if you have a little trouble at first. Just keep practicing. You will get more positive results out of storytelling, using one-liners, and many of the simple humor techniques discussed. The delivery techniques you'll learn will also apply to these other forms of humor.

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Seminars and Presentations Training

2011-08-08T12:29:00.000-04:00

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Public Speaking - Tips From a Woman Presenter

2011-08-05T09:39:00.002-04:00

A Guest Post From Marianna Nunes, Speaker

As a female humorist, I test the waters of all my audiences in four ways:

1. I go early and try to meet as many people as possible. This warms them up to me, eases my nervousness, and I get a sense of how serious or playful they may be as audience members.

2. I go early so I can sit in on other programs. I see how readily they laugh or do not laugh, which lets me know what to expect for my program. If they're playful in one program they will usually be playful in the next program. Also, I can pick out the playful audience members that I may use in my program. If something significant occurs in an earlier program, I can tie it in to my speech in a humorous way.

3. I trust my intuition or gut sense when I walk into my audience. I actually can feel if there is a serious or playful tone in the room.

4. I prepare my introduction (which I insist that they read exactly as written)with a few humorous lines. If the audience does not laugh at those lines, I know I'm probably in for a long hour and not to expect too much laughter from the audience.

As a general rule for female humorists, it is usually easier to get more laughs and interaction from an all female audience. In a mixed audience, I find that the women are more open to laughter and they keep the audience alive. An all male audience is usually more reserved and more difficult to warm-up. They also prefer more content. With an all male audience, I act more corporate in my speech , my dress, and my entrance. These are general experiences that I have encountered, and I have had many, many exceptions.

The most critical piece of advice is to match your audience. If they are serious, begin a little more subdued so they can relate to you. I recently saw a great performer with such high energy (not matching her quiet audience) that many people left because they were so uncomfortable. The way to sell yourself to your audience is to make them feel they are like you! Thus, match them as much as possible with the tone of how you begin, your content, and your dress.

Marianna Nunes is a keynote speaker who captivates, motivates, and educates her audiences nationwide. At the lowest point in her life, Marianna was diagnosed as having cancer. Her personal relationship and business fell apart, and she was forced to go into debt. However, through a long process of raising her self-esteem and using laughter as a healing source, Marianna succeeded in rebuilding both her life and her career. She travels extensively, offering programs to business and association clients of all kinds. She is also well known for her popular singles program "The Art of Flirting."

Public Speaking - Create an Atmosphere Conducive to Laughter and Interaction

2011-08-03T10:27:00.002-04:00

Unless you are using slides or video projection, you want the room lights at maximum intensity for normal business presentations. This could change if you want a comedy club atmosphere where the presenter is extremely well lit and the audience is in relative darkness. Darkened seating allows the audience members to laugh as loud as they want without feeling like everyone is looking at them.

Half of your effectiveness with humor is realized because the audience can see you. The audience wants to see your face. They want to see your expressions. They want to see your body language. It is easier to establish a bond when the speaker and the audience can see each other, which is one good reason to avoid reading your presentation from behind a lectern. I attended a presentation in Washington, D.C., by a "big name" author. I'll call him Mr. Sleeping Bag or SB for short. Before the presentation Mr. SB was in the room with 300 people with a bored, nasty look on his face. I tried to make eye contact with him when he walked by me and he stared right through me. He conducted a three-hour slide show with no breaks.

Oh, no!! Better start handing out the kerchiefs and caps because the audience was just settling down for a long winter's nap. He was totally "in the dark" behind a lectern. I am an audience watcher, so I know he never connected with the audience. Besides being in the dark, the man made several other inexcusable mistakes that indicated little regard for his audience. Three hours is too long to go without a break. Starting at the one-and-one-half hour mark people were constantly getting up to go to the restroom or getting refreshments.

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Presentation Skills - Words

2011-08-01T10:26:00.002-04:00

Terminology is different in most areas of the world even if the language is English. Highly tested humor that would work anywhere in the U.S. may fall flat in another country simply because the audience doesn't understand one of the words. For example, in Australia, "breakout sessions" are called "syndicates." If you were making a joke in Australia that used the word syndicate, you might totally confuse the audience and they wouldn't laugh.

People from most other countries will not relate easily if you mention measurement units such as miles per gallon or miles per hour. You should avoid talking about seasons of the year, which may not be the same, sports figures or celebrities that don't have world-wide name recognition. Rethink all the humor you normally use and try to identify problematic words. This is difficult to do by yourself. Try to find a person familiar with the local culture to help you.

When using translators, humor is tougher because timing and word play don't translate well. You might have to slow down considerably because of interpretation. Some speakers use half sentences to keep up the pace. This is very difficult and requires practice.

Speakers have been known to have fun with interpreters (of course, I would never do this). An unnamed speaker I know purposely mumbled to his interpreter to see what would happen. The interpreter mumbled back. Then the speaker mumbled again. It was hilarious.

Even when the audience speaks English, they may not be able to understand your accent. Avoid idioms and slang and check with local residents to see if you can be easily understood. You may have to adjust your normal rate of delivery and style.

Art Gliner, a longtime humor trainer, gave me this tip: He learns how to say "Happy New Year" in the different languages represented in his audience. That technique always gets a laugh and the further it is from New Years, the better it works. Art also tells me a word of welcome given in the native language works well too.

Difficulties may also arise in question and answer sessions if the presenter cannot understand the questioner. Try to speak with as many local residents as possible before the program so you can get a feel for their accent.

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2011-07-29T12:07:00.001-04:00

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Presentation Skills - Using Humor In Sales

2011-07-27T10:23:00.003-04:00

Humor is great for helping you overcome problems that arise during a sales presentation. You certainly don't want your one big chance in front of Megabucks Corporation to be blown because of minor problems.

I'm not suggesting you substitute clever one-liners for solid preparation. I'm suggesting that your ability to use appropriate humor in the face of adversity will send a subtle, but clear, message to your prospect. The message will be that you are polished and unshakable when a problem arises. Some salespeople are afraid of humor because they think they won't be taken seriously. In fact, being able to use appropriate humor makes you more powerful. Most buyers of any substance have been around the business block a few times. They know that good buyer/seller relationships experience unforeseen problems all the time. Your cool, lighthearted demeanor will be giving them the impression you can calmly handle whatever might come up.

Another advantage of humor is that it can help break down the status barrier between the salesperson and the client. It helps build a rapport and a sense of we instead of you and me which makes your point of view, as the salesperson, much more persuasive. David Rich reports in his book How to Stay Motivated on a Daily Basis, that even Las Vegas has learned the power of a smile. David says that black jack dealers who smile while playing consistently bring in 5 percent more revenue than nonsmiling dealers. He says the reason is that people are more likely to play longer when they believe they are playing with the dealer against the house as opposed to playing against the dealer. David's advice:

"Avoid the smiling dealers."

When people are laughing they don't feel like they are being sold. Their resistance to the sales message is greatly reduced. That's why it is important to weave your humor in with the sales message rather than tell a joke at the beginning and then forget about humor.

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Public Speaking - I like Humor. Where Can I Find It?

2011-07-25T09:24:00.002-04:00

I say again. Humor surrounds you if you just open your eyes to it. Your own personal life situations are always the best. Next in line would be updated and personalized humor taken from other sources.

You can find instantly usable humor (instant as soon as you practice and twist it around a little bit) on television, in the newspaper, in books, on the Internet, in Reader's Digest, in joke services, and from other speakers (always, always give credit). You could even have your own speech/joke writers as long as you can find one that understands you and your industry.

When using any of these sources, be ready with a pencil and paper or tape recorder to grab the stuff you like. You will look through much more material than you could ever use. The old saying is that you have to sift through a lot of dirt to get to the gold.

I have more than 400 volumes in my humor library now and it's growing all the time. Here are just a few humor references I always check when working on a new presentation:

* Witty Words by Eileen Mason
* Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, Edited by Evan Esar
* Humorous Stories About the Human Condition by Eric W. Johnson
* The Public Speakers Handbook of Humor by Helen & Larry Eisenberg
* 2715 One Line Quotations for Speakers, Writers and Raconteurs by Edward Murphy
* 5600 Jokes for All Occasions by Mildred Meirers & Jack Knapp

Your local library is an excellent source for humor. I found over 100 listings on humor in my small town library. They had tapes, records, books, and videos available and all at no charge. You can look for humor in the library under the following topics: Humor, Wit and Humor, Humorous Stories, Humorists, Humorous Poetry, Humorous Recitations, Humorous Photography, Proverbs, Caricatures and Cartoons, and Quotations.

Keep in mind that you can't always use the humor in these sources as is. You must update, personalize, and localize much of the humor to increase its effectiveness.

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Presentation and Seminar Training - Costumes

2011-07-22T10:21:00.002-04:00

No, you don't have to go on-stage in a gorilla suit, although you could if you wanted to. A costume can be anything from a flashy tie, to a feathered hat, to a full blown shiny Marca Polina outfit (the feminine Marco Polo) complete with an illuminated magic wand, that my friend Sally Walton wears when she talks about the magic art of "Communicating Across Cultures." Costumes add a flare and excitement to your presentations and certainly help to make them more memorable.

If you don't like to wear costumes, get the audience members to wear them. Better yet, get the "big shots" to wear them and you will probably be the hit of the meeting. I was doing a customer service talk for a pizza franchise and I had one of the senior managers march into the meeting wearing a filthy, doctor's lab coat with ketchup all over it (fake blood). I had another senior manager come in with a crisp, new lab coat. I asked a simple question, Which manager would you like operating on you? Of course, all the junior managers yelled out that they wouldn't let either one of these people operate on them. Everyone was laughing and joking around, but the point was made. They must keep their employees looking clean and neat because nice customers won't want to be served by grungy food service workers.

Costume characters can be hired to hand out fliers at your event, entertain, and generally create an air of fun and excitement. The local heart association has a "blood drop" costume they use when they are soliciting funds. There are literally hundreds of costumes available through costume shops or mail order. Just make sure, as always, the theme of the costume matches the theme of your presentation or event.

Public Speaking - I Can't Heeeeere You!

2011-07-20T10:38:00.002-04:00

Larry Wilde, the author of more than 50 humor books, tells the story of the time he was auditioning to take over the television show Let's Make a Deal when Monte Hall retired. In the opening of the show he was supposed to engage in small talk with an audience member. He went up to someone in the first row and said, "Hi! What's your name?" Although the audience member answered him, there was dead silence in the sound booth. The sound men were actually laughing at Larry because he neglected to hold the microphone near the mouth of the audience member for the response. You might think this is common sense, but try it out and you will see that it is not as easy as it looks. It takes practice to do it smoothly.

If you are at a lectern, you should know how far your lips need to be from the
microphone. Hopefully you checked this out before the presentation started. If that was not possible, you can watch the introducer or speakers that are on before you to get a feel for the proper distance. When using a handheld or lectern microphone be very careful in pronouncing
words that have the letter "p" in them. This letter tends to make a popping sound that is very distracting. If you are using a handheld microphone, you usually can significantly reduce the "p" sound problem if you hold the microphone at a slight angle. If the microphone is fixed on the lectern, you can de-emphasize the word with the "p" or turn your head slightly away from the
microphone.

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Public Speaking - Starting Off

2011-07-18T09:23:00.003-04:00

You would think that starting off would be a critical time in the presentation wouldn't you? In fact, it's not at all. You can say virtually anything in the opening moments because no one will absorb what you are saying. You can recall your last visit to the city. You can compliment the group. You can talk about the weather. It really doesn't matter.

If we take our example from the theater, you will note that nothing of significance happens until the audience is ready to settle down to the business of listening. When you go to a play, the curtain rises and the maid is dusting or the butler is picking lint off a pair of pants. Nothing really important happens until the audience has had a chance to focus on the stage.

You can say anything to use up time, but don't use up too much time. Some speakers think that fooling around too long makes the audience become restless. However, this approach starts a nice slow relationship with the audience where you don't come on strong until they get to know you a little. This might be a good time to show some concern for the audience's comfort. You could ask, Is it too hot for you, or can everyone see OK? If it is too hot or they can't see, do something about it or call someone who can. Show them how concerned you are. If it is too hot and you can't do anything about it, you have an opportunity to make light of that fact. If you don't, everyone will be thinking about it anyway and not listening to you. You could walk over to the air conditioner and pretend to read a notice, Maintained by the Devil-May-Care Air Conditioner Company.

This lighthearted attitude will demonstrate the fact that you can be flexible enough to handle any adverse situations that may arise. If you can handle it, then your audience will likely follow. If you want to take a more hard-hitting approach, you can use a unique humorous opening, or a challenging or electrifying statement that will speed the normal focusing process.

These openings command attention. I opened an employee appreciation luncheon once with the statement, I'm here to talk to you today about Quality Improvement. I thought the audience members were going to cry until I started laughing and said, You've heard enough about that lately, haven't you? In fact, they had it up to their ears with Quality Improvement training. At a sales training seminar the first words out of my mouth were, I want you to fail! I want you to fail because in order for you to succeed you must fail! To succeed to high levels you must fail a great deal! This was a serious NO ZZZZZs opening that commanded immediate attention.

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Public Speaking - Appropriate Targets For Humor

2011-07-15T10:11:00.003-04:00

You must constantly remember to base your humorous material on an important target shared with your intended audience. You get this information from your pre-program questionnaire and other pre-program research.

People
Use people they know in your jokes and stories. Talk about their CEO or supervisor (get permission from these people first). Joke about or insult the CEO of a major competitor, but be careful here. You may want to work for the competitor some day. Always pick BIG targets to
tease. Never pick secretaries, receptionists, or janitors as targets of humor.

Places
Quip about the places they go. Their cafeteria, the bar across the street from their plant, or the crowded highway leading to where they work are all good targets for humor. In Washington, D.C., where I live, everyone jokes about troubles on the Beltway.

Things
Joke about the things that mean something to them. Joke about their new marketing plan, company picnic, new voice-mail system, etc. Just be sure that they are joking about it themselves. The topic might be too hot to tease about.

If you have a general audience and you cannot get specific information, use general humor. Most people are married and have children and experience family conflict. They go to the doctor and dentist. They stand in line at the motor vehicle administration. They deal with financial problems. Joke about any universal problem which your audience can relate to.

Remember, always pick BIG targets. Joke about celebrities, media stars, and athletes that everyone knows. Keep in mind that there is a genuine sports interest in virtually every audience.
The best and safest target to use is the one that's reading this blog. You can joke about your physical appearance, clothing, weight, etc., without much worry of offending someone else.

Learn more about what kind of humor to use...

Public Speaking - Gaining Critical Attention

2011-07-13T10:05:00.004-04:00

Some Attention-Gaining/Interest Devices:

* Humor, of course
* Props
* Stories
* Voice inflection
* Stage movement
* Asking questions of the audience
* Showing visuals
* Playing music
* Gesturing
* Using quotations
* Reading or reciting poetry

Effective NO ZZZZZs presenters use attention-getting techniques spaced throughout their presentation to keep the audience's interest up. Each of these is discussed in detail throughout this book. The great sales and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, hits the audience like clockwork with a joke or story every seven to nine minutes. I even shorten that more to between six and eight minutes for high content talks and several times per minute for mostly humorous talks.

So, my response to the original question "When should I use humor in a presentation?" is at the beginning, the middle and the end, or anywhere you want a peak on your intensity wave. Use humor throughout your presentation and space it at intervals to provide a change of pace and to reemphasize your message in a new and interesting way.

Use as Much Humor as You Need

How much humor should I put in a serious talk? That's my second most frequently asked question. I can't give you the exact answer on that one, so I'll give you the answer everyone hates. It depends. You must ask yourself a series of questions. The answers to these questions will lead you to the final percentage that is right for you.

* Why am I here? Am I here to entertain, inform, motivate, answer questions, etc.?
* What is the nature of my subject? Am I here to congratulate the audience on breaking last year's sales record or am I here to inform the audience there will be massive layoffs?
* What is the nature of my audience? Are they fun-loving and laid-back or do they normally want the information fast and dirty?
* What about me? Have I developed appropriate humor that helps make my point or hold attention? Have I practiced one-liners until I'm comfortable telling them? The answers to these questions will clearly direct you in the appropriate amount of humor to use.

Get the book that explains it all...

Public Speaking - Brand New Complimentary Webinar

2011-07-11T09:19:00.003-04:00

Complimentary Webinar Wednesday, July 13th 8:00 PM Eastern Time

Can't make it? Register anyway and you'll be notified when the
replay is ready.

(Note: Special bonuses for people on the live event)

"How to Make Websites the Search Engines Love for 20 Bucks or
Less"....and you can be proud of them too.

I've built a nice big empire of websites and blogs that make me
lots of money and I probably paid less for twenty of them than
you paid for one.

In this complimentary webinar you will learn:

=> How to make a gorgeous website or blog in 2 days or less . .
. once you know the secrets you'll never overpay or wait forever
to have a massive web presence.

=> How to choose a domain name . . . cute names aren't always in
your best interest.

=> Where to get cheap and reliable hosting . . . pick the right
place and have your website going with just a couple clicks.

=> What plugins are...and how they make your website do all kinds
of cool things.

=> How many widgets it takes to change a light bulb
hahahaha...well maybe I won't cover that, but you will know
exactly what widgets are and what they'll do for you.

=> How to add things to your site with virtually zero web
skills...Put in a couple hours practice and you'll be publishing
around the world for ZERO cost.

=> Where to go to get custom graphics for your site for less than
10 bucks. . . great graphics are dime a dozen if you know where
to get them.

=> How to notify the entire world every time you add content to
your site. . . .thousands of geeks are happy to give you their
"Ping" lists.

And like anything I do....you'll get much, much more

To register for the complimentary webinar visit:

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I'll talk to you Wed night

Professional Speaking Marketing Strategies

2011-07-08T10:29:00.000-04:00

Learn a strategy that will get you more speaking engagements at higher
fees.

http://www.AmazingPublicSpeaking.com

Public Speaking - Bumper Sticker Humor

2011-07-06T09:40:00.003-04:00

These bumper stickers can be used for great one-liners for presentation humor. Find one that is appropriate for your next speech!

The gene pool could use a little chlorine.

All generalizations are false.

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.

Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

Forget the Joneses, I keep up with the Simpsons.

Cover me. I'm changing lanes.

As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in public schools.

The more people I meet, the more I like my dog.

Laugh alone and the world thinks you're an idiot.

I get enough exercise just pushing my luck!

Sometimes I wake up grumpy; Other times I let her sleep.

All men are Idiots, and I married their King!

Work is for people who don't know how to fish.

I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.

Get more great presentation humor!

Public Speaking - What to Do After Identifying a Story?

2011-07-05T09:34:00.002-04:00

When you come across a story in a book, or when you have a personal incident you think will make a good story, ask yourself the following questions:

Is it clean?
Can I use it in a professional presentation to make a point?
What point does it illustrate?
What other points does it illustrate?
How many categories should I file it in so I can find it when I need?
What should I say to lead into the story?
What should I say following the story?
Where should I put it in my presentation?
Is it better than something I am already using?

Just thinking about the answers to the above questions will make your storytelling better. Many presenters just slap any old story into their presentation, any old place, because they like the story. That is not the way to do it.

The best presentation techniques all in one place!

Public Speaking Tips - Clothing

2011-07-01T09:47:00.002-04:00

Fun presenters can wear fun clothing but within the limits of your industry. I'm not going to pretend to be Mr. Clothes Horse (I've been accused of looking too corporate), but I will offer a few tips that should help you out.

* When presenting, don't wear clothes that are uncomfortable even if they look great.
*Wear clothes somewhere in the upper fringe of the limits for your industry, i.e., stand out, but not way out.
*If you really want to be remembered, consider trademark clothing, i.e., you are known for wearing funny ties, glasses, hats, etc.
* Don't wear loose jewelry or anything that is a distraction. Be especially careful of this if you are being videotaped.
* Double check and double sew all critical buttons and catches.
* Consider where your microphone and transmitter could be attached when purchasing presentation clothing. You may want to buy the clothing slightly large to decrease transmitter pack bulge (or if you gain weight).
* Take just about everything out of your pockets to reduce bulges.
* If you are much older than your audience, dress in your most stylish outfit (don't go overboard).
* If you are much younger than your audience dress in your most conservative outfit (don't go overboard).

Trick: Remove your glasses to change the mood. You might deliver straight information then remove your glasses to tell a personal story. Don't make a big theatrical deal out of it and don't repeat it too often in the same presentation.

Note: Glasses are articles of clothing, but they could also be considered props.

Trick: (Men) Unbutton your coat to show an extra degree of openness. Take your coat off and roll up your sleeves for a let's get-down-to-business look.

Learn more great presentation tips!

Public Speaking - Visual Humor

2011-06-29T14:27:00.002-04:00

Regardless of one's nationality and culture, cartoons and comic strips are the most universally accepted format for humor. These pieces of visual humor are seen in newspapers and magazines in most areas of the world. They may be found in newsstands in large cities or in large libraries. It might be fun to collect cartoons and comic strips when you travel so you have a ready supply when you need one for a presentation.

Be careful to avoid cartoons that have political overtones. If you are presenting to a small group, you can show the periodical or pass it around. If you want to use the cartoon or comic strip in a visual, you may need permission from the artist or copyright owner. Always read the caption for a foreign audience and give them time to mentally translate what you say. It may take what seems to be forever (4-6 seconds) for the idea to sink in.

Another good resource for cartoons is Witty World International Cartoon Magazine by Creators Syndicate. Other forms of visual humor that transcend most cultural barriers are juggling and magic. Good resource materials are available on both topics. Speaking With Magic is a book by Michael Jeffreys that not only teaches you simple tricks, but gives you the points you can relate to the trick. Two good magic videos for speakers by master magician Tom Ogden are Teaching and Training with Magic and The Magic of Creativity. I got Michael's book and the two videos from Royal Publishing. For juggling and other magic books, call or write for a Morris Costume's Catalog. There is a small charge for the catalog, but it's worth it.

What are the best techniques you can use to make more money as a presenter?

Presentation Skills - The Length of the Program

2011-06-27T10:11:00.002-04:00

The most important consideration in determining how long a technical seminar or workshop should be is the time required to cover the subject in sufficient detail. Some subjects require two or three days to tackle the complexities of a topic, while that amount of time would be superfluous in others. The burdens placed on the presenter(s) should also be considered. In a single-day program, chances are that one individual can handle the entire presentation. If it is longer, either more presenters will be necessary or more participant activity must be scheduled to ease the strain on the presenter.

In the world of speaking, there are speakers and there are trainers, and the two differ greatly in their content, styles, and goals. Trainers are far more concerned with the accuracy and relevance of the material content than a speaker will ever be and yet, they must be as entertaining and motivating as any other. Technical trainers can seldom count on standing ovations, peals of laughter, or thunderous applause. What you can count on is being followed to the restroom and being asked questions, people standing around waiting to tell you of their experiences on the same topic, and serious questions about the topic you just presented.

Evaluations of trainers by attendees are usually sparse as well. Most trainers have discovered that the attendees have their own agenda when they arrive and their acceptance and satisfaction is totally dependent upon whether or not you live up to those preconceived expectations, whether they are a part of the program or not.

Evaluations will most often be extremely critical of facilities and temperature and will reflect learners' representations of what they think the trainer should be, irrespective of the material content.

Nevertheless, technical training can be one of the most rewarding of all presentations because you may have the opportunity to observe the participants taking "hard skills" with them that they can apply immediately to make their lives and businesses a fuller and richer medium for their personal growth and happiness.

Become a better presenter and make more money!

Humorous Acknowledgments to Tough Situations

2011-06-24T09:55:00.002-04:00

There will come a time when you will either be in front of a hostile audience or a hostile question will pop up during a relatively calm presentation. This is a tough situation at best and you have to handle it with kid gloves. Humor can save the day and maybe even help you become President. When a hostile situation arises, you have to be especially careful that you don't antagonize the questioner or group further by making a flippant response. You can use humor to distract the antagonism, but you should always make a serious reply to the question at hand.

Example:
Let's say you are speaking at a stockholder's meeting and you are telling them about all the wonderful new products that are coming out. Then someone yells out, "What about the supreme turkey of a widget you came out with last year?" Now you are on the spot. If you ignore the question you will look like you are hiding. If you use a comeback that attacks the questioner or makes fun of him or her you will turn the rest of the group against you. So what do you do? Use a prepared one-liner or some mildly amusing admission of guilt and then immediately go into a serious response to the question.

"We are donating all those widgets to the Navy because they have a shortage of boat anchors this year [pause for laughter]. But, seriously folks, based on all the available research we had at our disposal the widget looked like it would be a good solid seller for us. Then when the gizmo industry took a big hit, we no longer had a market for the widgets.

Then get back to your agenda.
If you expect to be in a position like the above speaker, try to anticipate the hostile questions that could arise and prepare responses for them. You might not be able to anticipate all the questions that could come up, but by preparing in advance you are giving yourself an infinitely better chance of responding correctly. Another good resource is What to Say When . . . You're Dyin' on The Platform by Lilly Walters.

One of the most famous examples of good preparation came during Ronald Reagan's 1984 bid for reelection. Reagan made a very poor showing as he stumbled through his first debate with the democratic challenger, Walter Mondale. The media jumped on this and Reagan's age and possible senility became a big issue until about two-thirds of the way through his second
televised debate with Mondale. A question was posed to the president that ask him if he was concerned about how his age would affect his ability to do the job. Reagan's prepared two-line
response virtually nailed the lid on Mondale's coffin and squelched the age issue even though he was four years older than he was in the last election. He said, "I'm not going to inject the issue of age into this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political gain my opponent's youth and inexperience." Some say this comment won him his second term of office. That's the power of preparation.

Get the great presentation tips on the internet!

Terry Canfield's Testimonial for the "Ultimate Guide To Professional Speaking"

2011-06-22T09:59:00.001-04:00

http://www.antion.com/ultimateguide

Terry Canfield tells why Tom Antion's Ultimate Guide is great for his career in public speaking.

Public Speaking - Planning To Mess Up?

2011-06-20T09:11:00.001-04:00

The great comedian Norm Crosby, who is best known for appreciating standing ovulations when he performs, has made a living out of the ingenious misuse of words. In real life though, malaprops are usually uttered by people who don't even realize their fox paws. A friend of mine who is a fund-raiser for an unnamed, stuffy Washington, D.C., art society, told me of a hilarious incident that took place during a meeting.

The humorless director stood at the conference table in an effort to put an out-of-control meeting back on track and said, "I fear our discussions are tangenital to the issues at hand."

TANGENITAL! My friend looked around at the other attendees who were all fighting back laughter. She had to excuse herself from the meeting to keep from laughing right in the face of the old windbag. A flexible presenter who was truly in touch would have 1) realized her mistake, 2) laughed at herself, and 3) used that unplanned comic relief to get everyone's attention so that she could regain control of the meeting. Someone really experienced would make the mistake on purpose.

I have learned, in my years of writing comedy skits, that many times the mistakes are much funnier than the planned program. Now I plan mistakes when appropriate. To make this more foggy, I'll explain in one sentence. I learned that when I plan something and then I mess up the plan, the plan becomes funnier than the plan I planned to use, so now I plan to mess up the plan so the plan is planned to be funnier than a plan that is not planned to be messed up. Get it? Good, because you need to hear loud and clear what I'm writing here so you bunglestand it.

Tips for a better presentation?

Presentation Skills - Stress

2011-06-17T11:00:00.002-04:00

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Public Speaking - Quotations

2011-06-15T11:52:00.002-04:00

Quotations are safe to use because if the quotation is not funny, it doesn't matter since you are just reciting it. You did not write it. It can still be used to make your point. You can use the power of the name of the person who did write it. People will be more likely to laugh or at least chuckle if a famous person made up the quotation.

If you are not sure to whom the quotation belongs, it does not matter at all. Unless I am absolutely certain who said something, I always give myself an out. I usually say I BELIEVE it was ____________ who said. This keeps me out of trouble for attributing the quotation to the wrong person. Sometimes I say, My great, great grandpappy used to say, or My old aunt Maude used to say. However, if you know for sure who said something and their name carries
weight, go ahead and use it.

There are literally thousands and thousands of notable quotations available to you. Check the bibliography for the names of some quotation books I use and look in the Internet section in Chapter 16 for searchable quotation web sites. Here are just a few examples of some of my favorite quotations:

* Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill
* I am a friend of the workingman, and I would rather be his friend than be one. - Clarence Darrow
* I never made a mistake in my life; at least, never one that I couldn't explain away afterward. - - Rudyard Kipling
* Get your facts first and then you can distort them as much as you please. - Mark Twain
* Many of us spend half our time wishing for things we could have if we didn't spend half our time wishing. - Alexander Woollcott
* He is more apt to contribute heat than light to a discussion. - Woodrow Wilson

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Presentation Skills - Record Your Presentations

2011-06-13T10:49:00.002-04:00

You will find that this testing process is continual even after you start using your material in front of live audiences. If you pay close attention, you will notice that when you say something in a slightly different manner it may get a better response. If you can remember how you said it, you can say it that way next time too. This is how a story or a piece of material evolves and gets better all the time. It is very difficult to remember, however, exactly how you said something during your presentation. That is why most pros tape record whenever they can.
I try to at least audio tape every presentation I give. It is amazing how much you can learn by doing this. You don't have to get fancy either. I started with a $15.00 recorder. I just sat it on a table near the stage area. If you can afford a higher quality recorder and microphone that is even better, but it is not necessary. Video tape is even better and, with the decreasing costs involved, a camcorder and microphone are within reach of most serious presenters.

If you are starting with audio tape only, you won't have to worry about your body language, posture, or stage movement. All you have to do is listen to what you actually said, if it was humorous, and how the audience responded. I used the term actually in the last sentence, because many presenters think they said one thing, but the tape proves they said something completely different.

If you really want to learn the most from audio taping your presentations, have the tape transcribed. I know this is a pain in the neck, but you won't believe how much you will learn until you do it. You will see on paper all the ums and ahs, extra noises and words and syllables you uttered. Most people are in shock when they look at a transcription of what they actually said during a presentation.

Learn to make $5500 or more for every presentation!

Public Speaking - I Can't Heeeeere You!

2011-06-10T09:58:00.003-04:00

Although this may seem obvious, make sure the audience can clearly hear every word you say. Most jokes and stories depend on key words. If you slur a word, the audience may miss the whole idea of the story (remember you need a good sound system too). Besides enunciating clearly, you must use the microphone properly. Hand held microphones must stay with you when you turn your head from side to side and must be directed toward the mouth of anyone you are conversing with during the presentation.

Larry Wilde, the author of more than 50 humor books, tells the story of the time he was auditioning to take over the television show Let's Make a Deal when Monte Hall retired. In the opening of the show he was supposed to engage in small talk with an audience member. He went up to someone in the first row and said, "Hi! What's your name?" Although the audience member answered him, there was dead silence in the sound booth. The sound men were actually
laughing at Larry because he neglected to hold the microphone near the mouth of the audience member for the response. You might think this is common sense, but try it out and you will see that it is not as easy as it looks. It takes practice to do it smoothly.

If you are at a lectern, you should know how far your lips need to be from the microphone. Hopefully you checked this out before the presentation started. If that was not possible, you can watch the introducer or speakers that are on before you to get a feel for the proper distance.
When using a handheld or lectern microphone be very careful in pronouncing words that have the letter "p" in them. This letter tends to make a popping sound that is very distracting. If you are using a handheld microphone, you usually can significantly reduce the "p" sound problem if you hold the microphone at a slight angle. If the microphone is fixed on the lectern, you can
de-emphasize the word with the "p" or turn your head slightly away from the microphone.

Check out the best presentation tips on the web!

Public Speaking - Connecting With the Audience

2011-06-08T09:07:00.001-04:00

Audience members assimilate information in three different ways. Some people hear the information, some see the information, and some feel the information. Although most individuals switch their emphasis frequently, one style usually predominates for a given individual. The styles of information transfer are called respectively auditory, visual, and kinesthetic.

For you to connect with the most audience members, you should include information throughout your program that appeals to all three of these styles. People that are primarily visual assimilators may be daydreaming throughout the portions of your presentation where you are using only words to convey your information. They will perk-up when you use a visual aid such as an overhead, flipchart, or prop.

People that are kinesthetically oriented are looking for those words that describe feelings and that evoke emotions. They will also wake up and come to attention if you have them come up on stage with you and you shake hands with them or put your hand on their shoulder (not in Asia). Auditory assimilators might just love to hear you talk or they might like to hear a recording of JFK or some type of music.

When you plan your program so that auditory, kinesthetic, and visual elements are interspersed throughout, this will increase your chances of connecting with all the audience members and decrease the chance that old Mr. Sandman will come knocking on their heads.

Discover more great tips for better presentations!

Presentation Props - Advertisements

2011-06-06T10:12:00.002-04:00

You can concoct fake ads, or use real ads that are funny in your presentation. They can be read aloud, projected, or distributed as handouts. I got an idea for a funny ad from an attorney friend of mine who was hired by a legal temporary service. I used the following flier as a fun way to keep my practical joke company's name in front of clients who were involved in the legal profession.

Watch for funny ads that relate to your business or presentation topic in magazines and other periodicals. Cut the ads out and photocopy for distribution as a handout or make them into slides and overheads.

Jay Leno has a series of books called Headlines I, II, and III. Besides having really funny headlines from newspapers and magazines, the books have lots of blooper advertisements along with commentary from Jay. My favorites are the funeral monument company that advertised a lifetime replacement guarantee and the sporting goods store that advertised a Back-to-School special consisting of high-powered rifles.

Get more great tips for the best presentations!

Public Speaking - Tips For Television and Video

2011-06-03T09:29:00.002-04:00

MEN

* Wear knee-length socks.
* Always keep double breasted jackets buttoned. Single breasted jackets can be opened, but not too wide.
* I SAY AGAIN Wear Makeup. TV lights can penetrate several layers of skin. You can't possibly shave close enough to prevent whiskers from showing without makeup.
* Don't forget makeup on receding hairlines or bald heads.
* Trick: Run the thin part of your tie through the loop in the back of the main part of your tie then clip the thin part to your shirt below the loop. This will keep your tie perfectly centered without the tie clip showing.

WOMEN

* Don't wear vivid red lipstick or lip gloss. Stick to softer tones and dab lips with a little powder.
* Consider dress shields if you perspire easily.
* Make sure your hair will stay where you want it. You don't want to be fooling with it while on the air.
* Make sure a lavaliere or lapel microphone and transmitter can be attached to your clothing.

- Lillian Brown has written the best resource I know of on the topic of appearing on
television. It's called Your Public Best: The Complete Guide to Making Successful
Public Appearances in the Meeting Room, on the Platform and on TV (Newmarket
Press: New York 1989).

What other great tips can help your speaking career?

Public Speaking - Using Participant Introductions

2011-05-31T09:04:00.003-04:00

Interacting with your participants generally increases their learning, holds their attention, helps you make your points, and possibly provides for new information to be shared. Technical presentations hold some different challenges because most of the participants will be writing and taking notes throughout the program. Interactive processes must enhance the learning process and not just provide a break or entertainment. There are lots of proven techniques, but the introduction seems to work best of all and will, as a general rule, get most if not all of the attendees to participate:

Attendees at a technical session generally have a specific need in mind when they sign up for the program. By getting them to open up and share their needs, all the participants stand to benefit from the applications and concerns of someone else. In other words, there is a sharing of goals, concerns, and needs which may become as relevant and valuable to the participants as the materials you present.

Participant introductions serve two useful purposes. First, getting people to say anything at the beginning of a session gets them involved and is a way to establish interest in what you will say afterward. And second, if the participants do not know each other they may find it useful to know who is in the room. On the other hand, introductions can take up a lot of time. People can insert many irrelevant comments and take up valuable time talking about themselves.

If your session is part of a larger program, like a conference, introductions may not fit into the workshop format. The critical consideration in whether to have participants introduce themselves is time. For instance, if there were 15 people in the room for a three-hour session, introductions might be helpful. If there are 60 people in the room for a one-hour program, the time constraint would eliminate the possibility of adequate introductions.

Learn more about professional introductions!

Presentation Skills - Old Humor Is Good Humor

2011-05-27T10:25:00.005-04:00

Humor is only old if your audience has heard it before and if they remember it. Most people don't remember the exact details of jokes, one-liners, and stories. This is not contradictory to the fact that one of the uses of humor is to make your points more memorable.

One of the reasons people don't remember jokes and other pieces of humor is that the humor is usually heard out of context. The humor was not used in conjunction with a point which is the way you should use it in a professional presentation. The humor was used for entertainment value only and was enjoyed and quickly forgotten.

When you bring back some of this old humor, you will be tying it to your point which makes it acceptable to use in the first place. In the second place, even if some audience members recognize the humor, they probably don't remember the punch line. If you tell it well, even these people will enjoy hearing it again.

The technique to tell a very old joke or story is to tell the audience it is old. This is the one time when you should tell the audience you have a joke or story coming. If you don't tell them that you know it is old, they will likely think you are out of touch. If you tell them you are going to tell an old story or joke, you are telling them you know it's old, but it makes the point so well that you think it is worth telling again.

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Presentation Skills - Types Of Pauses

2011-05-25T09:48:00.001-04:00

A true NO ZZZZZs presenter doesn't feel that he or she must jabber away constantly to keep the audience awake. Skilled presenters use silence to add to the effectiveness and polish of a program. Theatrical folks have identified a whole bunch of neat pauses which I'm sure they have a ball playing with. I'm only going to address some of the most obvious and important ones here.

Short
The shortest pauses, which last anywhere from one-half to two seconds, are for the simple purpose of separating your thoughts. All you have to remember is to slow down. Give the audience a fighting chance to absorb what you are saying. Change your voice inflection slightly at the end of each thought to cue the audience the next thought is coming. Also, use a short pause before and after any phrase (punch line) or word you want to emphasize.

Spontaneity
Another neat pause is known as a spontaneity pause. This is a planned "unplanned" pause used so that you don't look too rehearsed. You might apply this pause when you want to pretend to search for a word or phrase that you already know.

Long
Long pauses of more than three seconds are very powerful. They command the audience to think about what you just said that is if what you just said was worth thinking about. Please[pause][pause][pause] don't be afraid to be quiet once in a while. It can dramatically increase your impact.

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