?There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, public speaking?  

Jean de la Bruyere quotes (French satiric moralist, 1645-1696)

This is something that I have heard so many speakers talk about, but I have only recently found out how powerful it really is.

I recently completed the Toastmasters humourously speaking advanced manual. This manual requires you to use humorous stories and jokes in your speeches. Almost every time, I got a better response from using my own stories, than I found by using a joke that I found, or from somebody else?s stories (not just for humour, but for making a point in general).

A story is a bit like a new word, once you first hear it, everybody seems to be using it (think the starfish on the beach story). Even though it may be a great story, it gets boring very quickly.

There are several reasons for this:

Your own stories or jokes

• Have a personal meaning to you
• Are easy to remember
• Are original
• Have a message that you can convey in a unique manner
• Keep the audiences interest

Other people?s stories or jokes

• Have been heard before (possibly many times)
• Are not original
• Tell somebody else?s message
• Lose the audience

One of the best ways to use your own stories is to keep a story file. Whenever anything interesting happens, or something strikes you as interesting, make a note of it in your story file. It can be as simple as a word document. Here is an example (that did happen to me).

Story

• Recently, I was cycling up a steep hill (next to the Cape Point Nature Reserve)
• I got tired and was about to stop when I saw a pack of baboons
• I raced up the hill faster than I have ever done before

Points

• You can do anything with the right motivation
• No matter how tired you are, you always can always find that extra energy

Now, when you are looking for a story to illustrate a point, it is a simple case to look through your story file. A story file is also a great place to look for ideas when you are getting stuck on a speech.

I also use my digital recorder to jot down ideas and stories when I think of them, and then add them to my story file later.

"The best way to sound like you know what you're talking about is to know what you're talking about."

Author Unknown

Find out how to submit your Club Officer List online. Remember that it needs to be done by the end of June each year.

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Note that these are my own videos and are not officially sanctioned by Toastmasters International. Use them for your benefit, but use them at your own risk!

His speeches to an hour-glass
Do some resemblance show
Because the longer time they run
The shallower they grow.

Author Unknown

I have no idea how, but my blog has been featured on the Alltops website. The Alltop site is a ?digital magazine rack? of the Internet. If you visit speaking.alltop.com, you will see this very blog featured!

Go and have a look, it is a pretty interesting website – it is very easy to get some good articles on some interesting topics.

Something seems to be working – thanks everybody for the support!

In a recent post, I spoke about the 10 myths of public speaking. Here is the corollary – the 10 truths of public speaking.

1) You can never be over-prepared. The better prepared, and the more you practise, the better you presentation will be.

2) The slides are not the presentation. If you create your presentation and then your slides (if necessary), your slides will support your presentation, rather than be a substitute for it.

3) It is about what the audience can receive. If you focus on meeting the needs of your audience, rather than on impressing them with how much you know, you will have retain their interest.

4) Timing is important. Good timing keeps the meeting on time, it allows for you to say everything that you wanted to say, and it keeps the audience happy. Remember that most audiences start tuning out for the last few minutes of a presentation, no matter how long or short it is.

5) Preparing an effective speech takes time. The more that you prepare, the better your presentation.

6) Only use notes to jog your memory. Use notes (preferably q-cards) if necessary, but only to remind you of your key points. This allows for you to keep your focus on the audience, and not on your presentation.

7) You might need a microphone. A microphone ensures that you will be heard by everybody, and it allows for you to play with your vocal variety. Unless it is a very small room or group, you will probably need a micrphone.

8) Structure is important. A well structured speech keeps the audiences interest. It prevents them from getting lost and confused.

9) You would rather give a speech than die. Gun or microphone – which is it?

10) Try not to alienate anybody in your audience. I say try, because it is almost impossible not to offend somebody at some stage, but don’t deliberately do so.

… and a bonus

11) You can become a good speaker. Follow the tips above, join Toastmasters and you WILL become a good speaker!

I was recently interviewed by Francisco Sarai for his website. He asked me about mentorship, speaking and Toastmasters. Francisco is a speaker, writter and blogger based in Portugal, so an international interview! You can read the interview here.

There is also an interview of fellow Powerful Presentation Alliancemember – Wayne botha on Francisco's website.

Be sincere; be brief; be seated.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, on speechmaking

This is a presentation pulled off the Coca Cola (Japan) website. The slides are of their "Financial Results Presentation for the year ended December 31, 2007". It consists of about 70 slides, and is very scary.

Thank goodness I did not have to sit through that presentation. Here a just a few problems:

• Many slides
• Small, unreadable fonts (I don't think there is a single font above size 12 – except for the title page)
• Complicated tables and graphs
• Cluttered slides
• Long paragraphs
• …what else?

This presentation is a great example of a really poor presentation.

(You can download the original presentation off their website here).

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Perhaps they need to attend my "Put the Power back into PowerPoint" seminar :-)