Tomorrow I am off to the Toastmasters District 59 Conference in Hamburg. I will be competing in the Humorous Speech Contest and the Table Topics (impromptu speaking) Contest. I am looking forward to the competitions; however, the best part will be seeing old friends and making new ones. Toastmasters people are terrific.

Planning to be in Hamburg this weekend? If so, consider dropping by to hear some great speeches and have a lot of fun. Full details can be found here.

Perhaps you have noticed that the tag line for this blog is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “All the great speakers were bad speakers at first.” Great quote. (And perfect for a blog about public speaking.)

Here’s a slide of the quote and a picture of Emerson that I have used in courses that I have taught on public speaking and presentation skills:

Question: Would the slide be as effective if Emerson’s picture were flipped the other way as in the slide below?

Most people (and all of my students) prefer the first slide. Why? Because Emerson is “looking” at the words. In the second slide, he is looking away from them.

Psychologists have found that most people have their vision “pulled” in the same direction as that in which the person in the picture is looking. Yet we also want to read the words; thus when they are on the other side, we are simultaneously pulled in the opposite direction.

Another example; this one a little more nuanced. Have a look at the two slides below. Do you have a preference for one over the other?

Some of the people in my classes had no opinion; however the vast majority preferred the first one. Now, in the first slide, Lisa – if I may be so presumptuous as to be on a first-name basis – has her face turned away from the words. However, her eyes are looking at them. In the second slide, the reverse is true.

This makes sense. Have you ever spoken with someone who is facing you but whose eyes at one point look elsewhere? You will almost certainly turn and look in the same direction to see what is there.

Admittedly, today’s tip is a subtle one and most people would not have difficulty with any of the slides above. However, as speakers our job is to make it as easy as possible for our audiences to understand and remember our message. Thus, everything that we can do to add a little more “spit and polish” to our presentations tilts the balance in our favour.

The next time you combine pictures of people and words on a slide, make them work as effectively as possible by having the people look at the words. And be creative. You do not have to limit yourself to pictures of people looking directly left or right. With a bit of thought, all kinds of pictures can be used.

Just ask Albert Einstein, someone who did his fair share of thinking.

One of the most famous catchphrases of motivational guru Tony Robbins is “Live with passion!” (I can just see that big pearly white smile.) He’s right; that is how we should live. That is also how we should speak: with passion.

Garr Reynolds, the author of “Presentation Zen”, gives a number of delivery tips on his website. The first and most important of these is to show your passion. I’ll let Garth speak for himself:

If I had only one tip to give, it would be to be passionate about your topic and let that enthusiasm come out. Yes, you need great content. Yes, you need professional, well designed visuals. But it is all for naught if you do not have a deep, heartfelt belief in your topic. The biggest item that separates mediocre presenters from world class ones is the ability to connect with an audience in an honest and exciting way. Don’t hold back. Be confident. And let your passion for your topic come out for all to see.

I always find it incredibly rewarding when someone who has listened to one of my speeches or presentations says to me afterwards that they could tell that I was really passionate about the subject. It means that I did my job properly.

Passion comes in many forms. It can be rousing oratory, but it can just as easily be understated. Below is a very moving speech from Becky Blanton, a writer, photographer and former journalist who urges us not to judge the homeless and to always have hope. As you will hear, she knows what she is talking about.

Becky Blanton might not be the most polished speaker; she might fiddle with her notes; she might look down at the floor too often. But the quiet passion with which she speaks trumps everything else. It is moving and memorable.

Today’s post is relatively short, but that’s because most of the work was done a couple of weeks ago when I gave my first on-line interview. Yep. My first on-line interview! How cool is that?

A young woman named Erika Liodice writes a blog, “Beyond the Gray”, on inspiration and chasing your dreams.  She came across my blog and was kind enough to invite me to do the interview, which you can read here.  Given that public speaking ranks among people’s top fears, Erika was intrigued by my interest in, and passion for, the subject.

I don’t know if my comments will offer any ground-breaking insights into pursuing your dreams of public speaking (or anything for that matter) but perhaps you will find one or two useful thoughts.  Again, you can read the interview here.  I hope you enjoy it and thank Erika for posting it. And please be sure to have a look around Erika’s site.  It is full of interesting and inspiring articles.

Cheers and stay motivated, whatever your passion!

In the 1950s, 3D movies were all the craze. Since then, the technology has improved immensely and 3D has been used in a variety of interesting, educational and entertaining ways.

"Oooh! Aaah!"

Photo courtesy of Goddard Photo and Video Blog

For presentations, however, sometimes two dimensions are better than three.

In his terrific book, Presentation Zen, Garr Reynolds applies a principle from the field of electronic communications – Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) – to presentations:

[T]he SNR is the ratio of relevant to irrelevant elements or information in a slide or other display. The goal is to have the highest signal-to-noise ratio possible in your slides. … There is simply a limit to a person’s ability to process new information efficiently and effectively. Aiming for a higher SNR is an attempt to make things easier for people. Understanding can be hard enough with out the excessive and the nonessential bombardment by our visuals that are supposed to be playing a supportive role.

One good way to reduce the “noise” in your presentations is to use two-dimensional charts and graphs and forget about fancy 3D effects. 3D does not make the information for the audience easier to understand; to the contrary, it can often make it harder.  Let’s look at a simple hypothetical example.

Below is a chart for the three-year performance of ABC Co. The 3D effects make it difficult to understand all of the numbers. For example, the yellow Profit column for 2008 is partially obscured by the green Revenue column for 2009. Did profit for 2008 come in at $100,000 or greater? Not so clear.

Now let’s look at the same figures in 2D. Less fancy, to be sure; however, it is also much clearer. Profit for 2008 did exceed $100,000. The information is much more digestible for the audience.

As Reynolds says:

While it’s nice to have a choice perhaps, 2D charts and graphs will almost always be a better solution. Three-dimensional charts appear less accurate and can be difficult to comprehend. The viewing angle of the 3D charts often makes it hard to see where data points sit on an axis. If you do use the 3D charts, avoid extreme perspectives.

Remember that the next time you are using charts or graphs. Save the 3D effects for another time. Perhaps a good IMAX movie.

A new presentation tool caught my eye this week.  It is called Prezi. Now, I have to say up front that I have not used this technology, nor have I seen it used in an actual presentation.  Still, my first impression is a favourable one.

The basic difference between Prezi and PowerPoint or Keynote is that whereas the latter are series of slides, Prezi is a single canvas on which you put all your material.  You then move from place to place, zooming in and out and spinning around with a significant amount of freedom.  I suggest you click this link to the Prezi website and watch the one-minute video on the main page.  Then, click through some of the examples on the bottom of the page.

The effect is certainly arresting, in part, I am sure, because of its novelty.  As with any presentation, the special effects of Prezi should be used to enhance the message and not outshine it; and I can see how it could be easy to get carried away with the “oooh and aaah” factor.  You still need great content.

Nonetheless, Prezi looks intriguing.  I particularly like the way in which an entire presentation (such as in the picture above) can look very much like a mind map, which is an excellent way to craft the elements of your presentation holistically and creatively.

I predict that we will be hearing much more about Prezi in the future.  In fact, it has already made the big stage.  Prezi was used effectively by Parag Khanna during a recent TED talk.  You can watch the presentation and read Khanna’s comments about Prezi here on Prezi’s blog.

What do you think?  Have you used Prezi or seen it in action?  Let us know.