The Surprising Power of Surprise

It's no surprise that including the unexpected in your presentation is an excellent way to keep your audience engaged.

What may be more surprising however, is that surprises actually help your listeners retain information.

Check out this University of Cambridge study:

Because they are hard to forget, surprises can help us learn.

Now scientists have identified a part of the brain that may be involved in learning from surprises. A team led by Dr. Paul C. Fletcher at the University of Cambridge monitored the brain activity in a group of volunteers who were participating in a simulation exercise.

The participants pretended to work at drug companies and were asked to predict whether a particular fictitious drug would trigger a particular fictitious syndrome.

In the early phase of the study, when the participants were not familiar with the effects of the various drugs, imaging tests detected high levels of activity in this part of the brain.

As the volunteers became familiar with the effects of the drugs, so that they were no longer surprised by the results, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex declined, but later in the study, this region became more active when the participants were surprised by unexpected responses.

- Published in Nature Neuroscience, 2001

From the Green Room: Don't give away your message. Your audience will be much more likely to remember it if it takes them by surprise.

Emotions are Contagious

This morning I attended an aerobics class, and witnessed firsthand the power of the speaker's (or in this case, instructor's) emotions.

You couldn't help but "catch" this teacher's energy and spunk. She seemed to be having the time of her life - and we couldn't help but join in the fun.

Though the class was full, she looked each person in the eye, and took the time to smile at individuals, including me.


What was most remarkable about her teaching style was the way she responded to her own mistakes. And she definitely made quite a few. But she seemed almost to embrace these missteps and use them as opportunities to get us laughing.

By the end of the class, though we were all exhausted, we were smiling.

I will go back to her class not only because she led a challenging workout, but because her joy is contagious, and quite simply, she brightened my day.

From the Green Room: Rest assured, you will mess up each and every time you get up to speak. It is how you respond to those mistakes that determines your success as a speaker.

Remember, your emotions are contagious. If you suffer, your audience will suffer with you. If you roll with your mistakes - or even embrace them joyfully - your audience will have fun, too.

Harvard Students Want to Learn How to Speak

Last week, the Harvard Crimson reported that "Harvard Speaks!," a public speaking student group lobbied the administration to make public speaking a core component of the Harvard curriculum:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/4/8/speaking-public-harvard-more/

"The College has sought to increase public speaking resources on campus and has even created a speech tutor program, but students are still calling for more opportunities to enhance their public speaking skills.

Members of “Harvard Speaks,” a campaign launched by students Tuesday night, hope to demonstrate to administrators the importance of public speaking as a life skill and the consequent need for more public speaking opportunities on campus.

“Whether it’s [speaking] with a law professor, in consulting, or in advocacy, the skills you take away from public speaking will help you communicate your message,” said Kevin Y. Fan ’13, the founder of the campaign, which has already collected over 100 student signatures on a petition calling for more public speaking resources."

And from the Harvard Speaks! Facebook page:

Harvard Speaks! seeks to revitalize Harvard’s hallmark - oratorical excellence. By making an investment in rhetoric, Harvard ensures that tomorrow’s leaders are well-equipped to think critically and communicate effectively.

That such a student group exists at Harvard indicates to me a realization of a basic truth about communication:

You can attend the top university in the country. You can graduate with honors, and go on to become a master in your chosen profession.

But this does not necessarily mean you know to speak well. The ability to communicate a message and connect with an audience is a learned skill - and something which everyone can get better at - regardless of your knowledge of your particular field.

And this is a perfect skill to begin to learn in high school and college - before you build your career and your ability to speak in public is already assumed.

Speaking for Others; Finding Your Voice

Listen to this remarkable story on the Moth (5th one down). Zoologist Alan Rabinowitz tells the story of how he overcame a debilitating stutter through his determination to be a voice for endangered animals - and jaguars in particular.


http://www.themoth.org/listen


Alan describes how he worked intensely for years to train himself to speak without stuttering. He explains that although technically his hard work paid off, and he could speak fluently, he still hadn't found his voice. He may have sounded fluent, but inside, he was still the stuttering, broken child.


As the story continues, Alan describes his determination to speak on behalf of animals - the only living beings he could speak to as a child without stuttering. He recalls a moment on his journey when he was given a once in a lifetime opportunity: to speak to the Prime Minister and cabinet of Belize to persuade them to take action to save the country's jaguars, who were being killed at an alarming rate.



By all accounts, this would be the most difficult and terrifying speaking experience of his life.


He recounts, "I had 15 minutes. I couldn't stutter. I couldn't distract them from the message of saving jaguars."


What happened? His speech was a rousing success. An hour and a half later, the cabinet voted to create the world's first jaguar preserve.


For the first time, Alan used his voice, not as a way to gain acceptance, but to be a voice for others. Alan finally found his voice by being a voice for those who could not speak.

From the Green Room: You can spend years learning how to become a better speaker. But until you speak from your heart, you will never truly find your voice.

Props, Not PowerPoint

Passover begins Monday evening. Our family will gather together for the Passover Seder - the retelling and re-experiencing of the Jewish people's exodus from slavery in Egypt.

Certainly, there's a lot of important information to cover. So, why not make a Passover PowerPoint presentation and show it at the Seder? Surely this would be a lot more "sophisticated" and "impressive" than the traditional, "old school" visual of the Seder plate!

So, what makes this such an awful idea?

Aside from certain religious prohibitions, one can only imagine that a PowerPoint presentation would turn a potentially meaningful, exciting and interactive experience into a dreadfully boring and passive one.

The Seder plate, on the other hand, with it's various, colorful symbolic foods, is a brilliant visual. It is concrete, tactile, and a great trigger for discussion of the topic at hand. What's more, it helps the participants remember the information, even after the holiday is over.

From the Green Room: Next time you give a presentation, consider minimizing your usage of PowerPoint, which inhibits human interaction and connection. Instead, choose a prop to emphasize your point. When used correctly, a prop not only helps you communicate your message, but helps your audience remember it, long after you have stopped speaking.

Cover the Extremities

My three-year old daughter refused to wear a jacket for most of this winter. She did insist, however, on always wearing her hat and mittens.

As frustrating as this was as a parent, she was perfectly comfortable - as long as her extremities were covered.

The same holds true for eye contact during a presentation. Focus the majority of time on "the extremities" - the people at the edges of the room, who are the most likely to be ignored. When you look people on the edges, you include everyone and make everyone feel comfortable. When you focus mainly on the middle, you exclude the folks on the side - AND make those in the middle feel uncomfortable.

From the Green Room: Cover the extremities. The most important people to look at are the people at the farthest ends of the room. By focusing on the edges, you include everyone.

Awaken Possibilty in Other People

Listen to this remarkable speech by Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic. Not only is Mr. Zander a conductor, but also a motivational speaker for business leaders:



About nine minutes into the talk, Mr. Zander describes a transformational moment in his conducting career, when he realized, "I don't make a sound....I realized that my job was to awaken possibility in other people."

What a wonderful metaphor for speaking!

So often when we get up to speak, we focus on the sounds we make, the words we say. This self-focus is what makes us anxious. After all, all eyes are on us, listening for what we have to communicate.

But imagine if we took the focus away from ourselves and saw our role as a conductor - to awaken the possibility in the people we are addressing.

This removal of focus on self might free us up to truly communicate and connect with the audience.

How to Give an Acceptance Speech

The acceptance speeches at last night's Academy Awards were unmemorable at best and dreadful at worst.

Only one speaker managed to give us a moment of grace - Sandra Bullock.



Without resorting to sappy cliches and narcissistic self-righteousness, she cut right the heart of the matter. Bullock was able to sum up in one sentence the essential message of the film - and then personalize that message in a way that felt completely authentic.

By choosing to take a moment and thank her mother, Bullock made us all feel appreciated and at the same time, paid a beautiful tribute to the film.

From the Green Room: Keep it simple. Keep it personal. Keep it short.

Remember Your Chest Voice

Does your voice jump an octave when your nervous?

You're not alone.

In this week's Slate magazine, Katherine Meizel analyzes why this week's American Idol singers were unable to hit their low notes:

It's not that they don't have the range, though; it's about the first-performance jitters. If you're anxious, the increased energy that higher pitches require—though they're more intimidating psychologically—can sometimes allow you to power your way through the nerves, but the more relaxed lower range you find at the beginnings of pop ballads becomes a stage fright minefield. Think about holding a rubber band when your hands are shaking: When you pull it taut, the intensified contraction of your muscles makes the quaver less noticeable; when the rubber band is slack, it trembles violently with your hands.

Maizel points to several of the performances including Ashley Lewis' cover of Leona Lewis' Happy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfhfm6Zp_ZI

Women in particular, tend to react to nerves by speaking higher than normal and using their head voice. This can make us sound less authoritative.

One way to combat this is to practice speaking in your chest voice in everyday conversation.

Then when it's time to get up to speak, your voice will more naturally modulate to the lower registers.

Likewise, men have an opposite tendency to stay in the lower range when speaking and can also practice varying pitch in casual conversations or even when reading books to children.

From the Green Room: Practice varying the pitch of your voice. The more you practice experiment with the different ranges of your voice, the less likely you are to jump an octave when you're nervous.

Lindsey Vonn and the Power of Emotion

The Olympics is a great reminder of the power of emotion. While it is the athletics that impresses us, it is the stories and emotions that move us - and that ultimately stay with us.

Watch (or rewatch) Lindsey Vonn's reaction to her first gold medal on Wednesday.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=04fb8dfd-11ac-413d88ad-efb130f93ebd.html?chrcontext=goldenmoments#



Ultimately it is her outpouring of feeling that makes this moment so memorable.

This seems obvious in the context of the Olympics, but is a good reminder for any time you are trying to connect with an audience. Find the emotion. You can have the most powerful content in the world - but if you fail to tap into people's feelings, your message will not stick.

From the Green Room: People will remember most how they felt when they listen to you. Take time to identify the emotions you want to express to your audience. After all, emotions are contagious. If you feel inspired when you speak, so will your audience.

Find Your Green Room Trigger

How do Olympic athletes train their minds for the challenges of such intense competition? Turns out, they work with a "mental coach."

In a 2/10 article on NPR.org, "Mind Games: Making Olympians Mentally Fit," Howard Berkes writes about short track speedskater Katherine Reutter's struggle to overcome insecurity and anxiety.

She turned to Nicole Detting Miller, University of Utah sports psychologist:

...Miller helped Reutter relieve the pressure of Olympic competition by focusing on something that already defines her success. For Reutter, that event actually occurred off the ice, on a mountain slope outside Vancouver, where Reutter and her teammates struggled with an endurance exercise.

"It's so steep, it's so hard, that you can't run it," Reutter says. "You have to, like, lunge up it."

The men on the team had to climb the steep slope twice. Reutter was the only woman to join them on a second attempt. She started five minutes behind the men but beat two of them to the finish.

"I will be proud of that moment for my whole life," Reutter says. "And I never would have known what a huge accomplishment it was if Nicole hadn't forced me to realize it."

That strong sense of success applies to Reutter's upcoming Olympic experience.

"I know that even if I didn't win, I put in enough work that I could've won," Reutter says. "I will always be proud that even when it looks like I can't, even when I feel like I can't, I'm always willing to push a little harder just to see if maybe I can."

At Green Room Speakers, I call this finding your Green Room Trigger.

I can teach you how to identify a past success - a zone moment - and use it as a trigger each time before getting up to speak.

Over time, you will begin to asssociate speaking with that feeling of success and self-actualization.

From the Green Room: Speaking anxiety often stems from negative triggers, such as thinking about a past speaking or performance experience that didn't go so well. The Green Room Trigger helps you break that negative thought pattern and focuses you, instead, on your best self.

Drew Brees: Clarity of Purpose

Watch Saints' quarterback Drew Brees' MVP conference interview on NFL.com:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-super-bowl/09000d5d8164b81b/Drew-Brees-MVP-conference-part-1

During his opening statement, Brees says:

Our victory last night was the culmination of four years of hard work, fighting through a lot of adversity, ups and downs, and more importantly than that, representing a city that has been through so much – been through so many struggles and hardships.

Along the way, people have asked me so many times, ‘Do you look at it as a burden or extra pressure? You feel like you’re carrying the weight of the city on your team’s shoulders?’ I said, ‘No, not at all.’ We all look at it as responsibility. Our city, our fans give us strength. We owe this to them. That’s made all the difference.

Brees' eloquence and poise in this interview flow from his crystal clear sense of purpose and mission that he has had all along.

Speaking about his experience - and truly being able to capture the moment - then become effortless, as he knows exactly what his message is.

From the Green Room: Take time before you speak to clarify - in one sentence - what your purpose is. When you are able to fully own that purpose, everything flows from there.

Candidate Sam Arora: Getting Right to the Point

Watch this video of Sam Arora, who is running for Maryland House of Delegates (Montgomery County, District 19):



Arora starts off by saying, "Hi, I'm Sam Arora, and I'm at the intersection of Georgia Ave and Layhill Rd, just a couple miles from where I live in Silver Spring."

Often speakers waste time at the beginning establishing their credibility. By the time they get to their message, the audience has lost interest.

Arora gets right to the point. By physically placing himself at a busy intersection then identifying his street names as just a couple of blocks from his home, Arora wastes no time and instead accomplishes three things at once:

1. He demonstrates his credibility as a local.

2. He shows a willingness to get out on the streets.

3. He shows a visual example of the particular problem he is trying to solve.

Unfortunately, the traffic behind him is not actually all that heavy, but he nevertheless gets his point across!

From the Green Room: Don't waste time at the beginning of your speech with too much personal background information. State only what your audience needs to know in order to be able to make your message compelling and believable. Get right to the point.

Today marks the One-Year Anniversary of this blog. It has been a terrific year. Thank you to my readers!

Can You Dig It: Meeting Your Audience Where They Are

Watch this video by two candidates from Maryland's 6th district: Jordan Hadfield (State Senate) and Todd Crandell (House of Delegates):



Despite the poor quality of the video, the message is brilliant.

By offering to get out there and shovel citizens' walkways, Hadfield and Crandell demonstrate a willingness to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

What's more, they communicate a precise understanding of the fundmental physiological needs of the community at the present moment.

Shovels in hand, they turn the inconvenience and isolation of a blizzard into a powerful opportunity connect with voters.

From the Green Room: Before you speak to any audience, try to figure out what they need most at this very moment. Once you identify that need, figure out a way to address it.

Steve Jobs and the Art of Leaving Things Out

Back in September, I wrote about Steve Jobs' ability to capture an audience through his passion.

Now I want to focus on his ability to capture an audience through his restraint.

In this Sunday's NYT Week in Review, Steve Lohr writes about Jobs' signature simplicity in Apple's products. Lohr writes that the products "cut through complexity by consciously leaving things out- not cramming every feature that came into an engineer's head, an affliction known as "featuritis" that burdens so many technology products."


"'A defining quality of Apple has been design restraint,' says Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster and and consultant in Silicon Valley."

Design restraint is at the core of Apple's success and should be at the core of your speech-writing process.

From the Green Room: When you craft a presentation, avoid "featuritis." Make conscious decisions to leave any information out that is not absolutely essential to your message.