Less is More

Yesterday I had a fascinating conversation with a conductor who spent the summer working with an orchestra in Salzburg. She spoke of the challenge of communicating with the musicians in German, when she barely speaks the language.

The conductor was forced to say less and rely even more on nonverbal communication and say only what was absolutely necessary. She realized that she was able to get across the same information just as effectively - and much more efficiently - than when she was speaking in English.

From the Green Room: Next time you prepare a presentation, imagine that you will be speaking to a group of people for whom English is a second language. Eliminate filler words. Speak as simply and clearly as possible. Focus on the essence of what you are trying to communicate. Then try practicing your speech focusing solely on nonverbal communication (gestures, facial expressions, movement, etc).

You will see that by using fewer words, you will actually say much more.

The Emotional Power of Variety

In the June 2009 issue of Oprah magazine, Tim Jarvis discusses a psychology study conducted by Dr. Emily Pronin at Stanford on the power of speed reading to raise spirits. Pronin discovered that fast-thinking activities such as speed-reading actually induce a positive mood.

At the same time, she also found that in certain situations, such as times of stress, slowing down makes us happier. Pronin concludes:

"We found that varied thoughts tend to be more uplifting, whereas repetitive thinking tends to be mood downer."

The same is true for a listening audience.

A presentation with vocal variety - in volume, pace, pitch and emotion - is not only more interesting to listen to, but makes your audience feel better listening to you so that they want to hear more.

From the Green Room: Vary your voice. You will lift your audience's spirits so they have more energy to listen to you.

Begin With the Unexpected

While visiting my husband's family in Santa Barbara this week, I had the pleasure of listening to a performance of the Canadian Brass at the Lobero Theater.

As we took our seats, I noticed that the stage was set up predicably - with black chairs arranged in a semi-circle, music stands, and brass instruments ready.

When the lights went down, we heard horns playing from the back of the concert hall and turned around to see the quintet slowly walking down the aisles, playing what sounded like a graceful processional. By the time they reached the stage, they had us.

What was so brilliant about this entrance, was that the stage set-up had led us to believe that the musicians would enter from the wings. The simple twist of entering from the back - and thus physically being with the audience - enabled the musicians to both surprise and connect to us. The effect was both captivating and endearing. You could feel the warmth and affection coming from the audience for the rest of the performance.

From the Green Room: Try beginning your presentation with something unexpected that also brings you closer to the audience. They will love you for it.

To Gain More Confidence Public Speaking, Jump Up and Laugh!

Recently, I ran a training for a group of young professionals. I asked them to stand up, muster as much energy as they could, and say "Good morning everyone."

Not bad, I told them afterwards.

Next, I asked them to jump and laugh at the same time for about five seconds before again saying together, "Good morning everyone."

This time, the energy in the room increased tremendously.

Jump and laugh is a simple exercise used by actors before an audition. It is almost impossible not to sound energized and enthusiastic after doing it - and it's a wonderful way to channel nervous energy and gain more confidence public speaking.

Someone in the group asked the obvious question, "What's the point of this exercise if you can't actually do it in public, right before you speak."

Ah, so here's the secret:

If you practice jumping and laughing each time before you rehearse your presentation, you will train your mind to return to that same of state of high energy right before your actual speech - even without the exercise.

From the Green Room: Each time you practice, jump and laugh right beforehand. The dual motions give you a burst of energy and launch you straight into the present moment - exactly where you should be. Being fully present will give you more confidence public speaking.

I love this article from this week's Onion:

Nation Descends into Chaos as Throat Infection Throws Off Obama's Cadence

WASHINGTON—Looting, fires, and mass rioting swept across the nation today when a mild throat infection threw off President Barack Obama's normally reassuring and confident speech cadence, sources in every major city reported.

"My fellow [cough] Americans, please [cough] remain calm," Obama said during a nationally televised emergency address to the nation that caused the Dow Jones to plunge 50 points with every cough, sniffle, or wheeze. "Now is not the time for [cough]…everything's [cough]. Stop it."

Without the president's fluid, almost poetic tone to reassure them, the American people have abandoned all semblance of law and order and descended into a nationwide panic, burning buildings to the ground, disobeying police, and relinquishing all hope for the future...

As Julianne Moore once said,

“You know, comedy's hard. With drama, you have a responsibility to the emotional truth, but with comedy, you have emotional truth and you have technique on top of it.”

How true.

From the Green Room: Comedic exaggeration aside, your listeners respond just as much (or more!) to the sound of your voice as they do to what you have to say.

More from Coach Bowman

Listen to this interview with swim coach Bob Bowman, who I wrote about in my last post. Coach Bowman, among other things, is the coach of Michael Phelps.

In the interview, Bowman talks about what swimmers and their coaches should (and should not) do right before the race:

Note: There are some annoucements before the interview - but it's worth the wait.

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

By focuses on a technical detail - the process of success - rather than on the end result, the swimmer keeps his/her attention fully in the present moment - not on the larger meaning of the event.

Bowman's message can apply beautifully to speaking:

From the Green Room: Right before you get up to speak, try not to focus on the broader significance of what you are about to do (e.g. my career depends on this, I have worked so hard to get to this moment). Instead focus on something one technical reminder. (e.g. Breathe. Keep feet planted. Smile.)

The Price of Not Being There

In last week's Washington Post Sports section, Amy Shipley recounts swimmer Katie Hoff's surprisingly disappointing race, "more than 10 seconds off her personal best."

The article groups together a number unfortunate circumstance including her recent illness, missed training time, and the fact that she is working on her stroke.

But at the end of this list, she quotes Hoff's coach, Bob Bowman. (who incidentally is also Michael Phelps coach)

"Physical problems are not her only ones," he said, "She was just not there, probably psychologically and physically."

What can speakers learn from this?

No matter what baggage you bring to the table, take a few moments before you speak to get yourself present.

Do your Green Room Trigger.
Take deep breaths.
Feel your feet firmly planted on the ground.

Do whatever it takes for you to get in the here and now.

Simply being there - being present - can be the difference between stumbling over your stumbling blocks, or as the saying goes, using them as stepping stones - and thus reaching to even greater heights.

Find Your Green Room Trigger

In this week's New Yorker, Alex Ross writes about Marlboro Music, an elite summer music program at Marlboro college in Vermont "where artists could forget about commerce and escape into a purely musical realm."

The summer seems to give the musicians a formative and utopian musical experience that carries them through the year:

"One musician after another says the same thing: from September to May, when they sit down to play in an antiseptic postwar performing arts center after an hour or two of rehearsal, they close their eyes and think of Marlboro."

Take a moment and think of a memory, an experience, a place where you felt in the zone. It could be a moment from childhood or an experience you had this week; an athletic or artistic or travel experience - just a moment when you were at your best and everything seemed to click.

Think of a word, a mantra, a motion that represents that experience for you and use it each time before you get up to speak.

I call this the Green Room Trigger. For the musicians in Ross's piece, their summer at Marlboro is that trigger - a memory that enables them to feel present and in the zone - even at potentially disheartening and unfulfilling moments.

From the Green Room: Find your Green Room Trigger - a word, mantra or motion that takes you back to a moment in your life where you were fully present. Then use this trigger before you get up to speak. Over time, this exercise will help you get in zone and be at your best each time you speak.

Today's Vocal Assignment: Read the Three Little Pigs

Recently, I was trying to help a client get his voice "out of the box." I gave him a copy of the Three Little Pigs, and we practiced reading it. This is an especially good story for vocal training.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. The story has different voices. When you read it, try using a different voice and focus for each of the three pigs - and especially for the wolf!

2. The story builds. As the wolf moves from house to house on his rampage of huffing and puffing, practice building from low to high (energy, volume, tempo, etc.).

3. The story has several tone changes. In just a couple of minutes, tones may range from lazy (the first pig) to terror (enter the wolf) to triumph (the third pig's victory). Try exaggerating these tone changes. The more you exaggerate, the more flexibility you will have with your voice.

From the Green Room: Read childrens' books. It's a wonderful way to get your voice "out of the box" and experiment with the full range of your vocal ability.

If You Must Read...

One of the greatest speaking challenges is being able to connect to the audience while reading a prepared script.

Great speakers seem as though they are in conversation with their audience. It is very difficult to do this if you are reading your remarks word for word.

When possible, I recommend using notes or an outline, rather than a script. But of course there are times and occasions when this is simply not possible.

So what is a speaker to do?

Try writing your speech as if you are writing a personal letter to the audience - and read it that way, too.

You might even start your speech, "Dear (audience),"

While you won't actually read that part aloud, writing in a letter format encourages you to be fully present with your audience - and they will respond in kind.

From the Green Room: Need to read from a script? Try writing - and reading - a letter written just for your particular audience. Make eye contact with the individual people you are "writing" to. This will enable you to be present with the people in the room - even if you prepare each word in advance.

When Giving a Short Presentation....

Today I gave a 30-minute presention at the Jewish Communal Service Association's annual conference. The topic? Fearless Public Speaking.

Now how in the world can you possibly hope to teach public speaking in 30 minutes?

A colleague, Barry Bainton gave me some invaluable advice:

Barry suggested that the goal of a short training is not to teach a skill, but rather to persuade the audience that the skill is one worth learning.

There is no way to teach public speaking in such a short amount of time. But in under thirty minutes, I was able to make a clear and compelling case for learning how to be present in front of an audience.

I got great feedback. Thank you, Barry.

From the Green Room: Don't attempt too much in a short amount of time. Set a focused and realistic goal, and stick to it.

Avoiding Panel Hell

Why are panel discussions often so dreadfully boring?

After all, isn't it more exciting to listen to four different voices than one?

Potentially.

But most of the time, if it's true that less is more, it's also true that more is less.

Most of the time, the panelists speak for far too long, never engage each other, and (perhaps because they share the spotlight) are not able to engage the audience.

The solution?

Unify.

Suggest that the moderator bring the panelists together during the planning process so that each can prepare his/her presentation knowing fully what the others are talking about.

In other words, see the panel discussion as one presentation - with four different parts. This will help the audience put it all together and stay focused.

From the Green Room: End panel hell. Bring the presenters together to coordinate an exciting, unified program that flows smoothly from start to finish.

For more on conference calls

Check out this great list of conference call tips from the blog Bad Pitch:

http://badpitch.blogspot.com/2009/04/conference-call-primer-bad-pitch.html

Enjoy!

Conference Call 911

Yesterday I gave a presentation to the Washington Area Legal Recruitment Administrators Association. (WALRAA) I asked two volunteers to tell a story to each other - at the same time. The goal for each was to distract the other.

The first time, I had them tell the story only with their voice.

The second time, I encouraged them to use movement.

It was remarkable to see the contast. The ability to move around dramatically increased the power of their voices. Somehow the physical motion set their voices free.

This is a particularly useful point to remember when you are speaking on a conference call. Stand up. Move around the room. Your voice will sound all the more animated and expressive.

From the Green Room: Move around. And set your voice free.

Focus on What Not to Do

Today's NYT Business Section profiles business guru Jim Collins. The article explains that one of his keys to success is his hyper-focused, minimalist approach to his work:

"...a willingness to say no and focus on what not to do as much as what to do...Therefore, in Jim Collins' world, small is beautiful."

This is a critical - and often missed - step of speech preparation. Often we are so busy trying to figure what to say, that we don't spend enough time and energy thinking about what not to say. So many rambling, long-winded presentations are the sad result of forgetting this step.

From the Green Room: When honing your subject, remember that small is beautiful and less is more. So ask yourself - "What is my speech not about?" This process of elimination will help focus your content.