On Broadway or in the Board Room - Just Have Fun

I love this piece by Patrick Healy in Monday's NYT:

Hopefuls Sing Out From Afar as Broadway Scouts Go Online

James Lapine, who is also directing the “Annie” revival, said that videos can sometimes help him notice talent that he might not otherwise see at live auditions.

“Actors, especially young actors, can be very nervous when they’re performing live in front of us,” he said. “Video auditions can reveal a level of focus, concentration and confidence.

The piece features a few of the best video auditions. My favorite was Julia Tan. Why? In addition to being quite talented, she has fun - and thus is fun to watch. I hope she makes it!

From the Green Room: Never underestimate the power of having fun during a presentation. Having fun is contagious. If you have fun, the audience will as well.

Focus on the Listener

One of the hardest speaking hurdles to get over is replacing the urge to "impress" with the desire to influence.

In this week's Slate, Will Oremus explains how Salman Khan, the founder of the Khan Academy succeeds because he speaks frankly and directly to his students - without trying to impress them:

There's nothing high-tech about Khan Academy. Nor is the concept entirely novel: Recorded lectures have been around at least as long as VCRs. It's the execution that sets Khan's site apart from the litany of failed ventures in educational technology.

Indeed, Khan Academy's success is unthinkable without Khan himself. Unconstrained by the need for approval from a district office, a teachers' union, or shareholders, he honed his service to meet the needs of the education world's most overlooked constituent: the student. Khan's videos—each shot in a single take—appeal because of, not in spite of, their lack of polish:

He comes across as a smart friend whose goal is to help you learn something, not monetize a product.

From the Green Room: Only you can move your audience to change. Only you can create influence. You will do so not by impressing your audience - but by making a personal connection.

For more on Salman Khan: http://sarahgershman.blogspot.com/2011/04/speak-to-move-not-to-inform.html.

Fois Gras and The Power of Storytelling

Listen to this fascinating food parable told by Chef Dan Barber on Ted.com (2008):



From the Green Room: Great speakers tell great stories.

For an excellent book on how to tell and use stories, read The Story Factor, by Annette Simmons.

Oklahoma! - Breaking Down the Fourth Wall

The "fourth" wall in theater refers to the imaginary wall between the audience and the action on stage.

One of the most thrilling aspects of Arena Stage's revival of Oklahoma! was the way performers broke down the fourth wall. The small theater in the round combined with the actors' incredible energy made the audience feel like they were part of the action.

Here are some highlights:




One of my favorite moments happened during the dancing in "Farmer and Cowman," I almost had to restrain myself from jumping on stage! I wondered if others felt the same way - and even if this had ever happened!

It was one of the most exciting musical numbers I have ever seen.


From the Green Room: Every time you speak, you have an opportunity to tear down the fourth wall and connect directly to your audience.

Here are three ways to do it:

1. Make your audience essential. Develop your content in such a way that your presentation would be impossible to deliver - without the particular audience you are speaking to.

2. Begin you presentation by asking the audience to do something. (answer a question, raise their hand, stand up, etc.)

3. Move to connect. Step away from the podium and move directly towards the people you are speaking to.

How to End: Speaking Lessons from Neil Patrick Harris

Which part of your presentation will people remember most?

The beginning and the end, of course.

Which part do we spend the most time on? That's right, the middle.

And which part do we spend the least time on? Sadly, the end.

In the 2011 Tony Awards, host Neil Patrick Harris reminds us of the power of a great ending:



From the Green Room: When you speak, don't skimp on your ending. Save your best for last.

Don't Rely on Your Speaking GPS

Last week, I got lost driving through a neighborhood in DC I actually knew pretty well.

The problem?

I relied too much on my GPS.

Rather than trust my instincts, I chose to follow exclusively on the advice of my GPS - and as a result, kept getting turned around.

Relying on my GPS prevented me from being able to look around and think,
"I've been here before. I know where I'm going, and I can figure out how to get there." I got lost because I was unable be be fully present in the moment.

From the Green Room: When you speak, turn off your GPS and get in the moment. Don't depend on your script. How?

1. Take the time beforehand to figure out your core message.
2. Based on this message, map out a clear outline.
3. Practice, practice, practice.

Then, when you get up to speak, you can move away from your script and be fully present. When the unexpected happens, you can return to your core message - and you won't get lost.

The Power of the Smile

Watch this fascinating talk on Ted.com by Ron Gutman, entitled "The Hidden Power of the Smile:"




Gutman explains,

It's very difficult to frown when looking at someone who smiles. You ask why? Because is evolutionarily contagious and suppresses the control we usually have over our facial muscles.


From the Green Room: When you speak, your emotions are contagious. If you suffer during your presentation, your audience will suffer with you. But if you smile and your audience will smile in return - and instantly feel more positively towards you.

Drop the "The"

I love this scene from the Social Network:



Sean Parker gives Mark Zuckerberg a critical piece of advice:

Drop the "The." Just Facebook. It's cleaner.

This tiny change made all the difference.

From the Green Room: When you speak, be ruthless about eliminating words that muddle your language and distract from your point.

Keep your language clean and direct.

Make each word count.

Lessons about Stage Fright from the Kentucky Derby Announcer

This year, Tom Durkin, who has called the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown horse races on network TV has decided not to renew his contract on NBC Sports. Why?

Stress and performance anxiety.

Listen to this interview from last Wednesday's All Things Considered on NPR:



When Melissa Block asks Durkin why he quit, he answers:

"For three months a year, I'd be walking around with this pit in my stomach...the stress leads to bad health... I tried everything I could to treat it with hypnosis which I've been doing for 20 years."

The interviewer then brings up the 2009 Kentucky Derby, where a horse comes out of nowhere and wins. She asks whether that was one of his nightmare scenarios.

Turns out, Durkin's nightmares are not the kind that actually happen in real life. He explains:

"I have crazy nightmares. Most of the time, I can't get to the announcer's booth or someone has spray painted my binoculars and I can't see through...One time in my subconscious mind I was calling the Kentucky Derby and a Norwegian cruise liner came down the stretch and I couldn't see the horses! Those are big ships, too. Can't see many horses behind them."

I wonder what would have happened if one of these things had actually happened during a race, and Durkin lived to tell the tale. If someone had actually spray painted his binoculars (or freighted a cruise ship onto the track), perhaps it would take some of the anxiety out.

Perhaps it is the possibility and not the reality of this type of nightmare that makes it so scary and anxiety-producing.

From the Green Room: The next time something unexpected trips you up during a presentation, be grateful. That is one more stressful situation you no longer have to be afraid of!



From the

3 Things I Learned from Ric Elias

Here are three speaking lessons from Ric Elias' speech:

1. Begin and end with power. Elias begins and ends brilliantly by asking us to imagine a life-altering experience.

2. Use concrete detail to reinforce your message. Seat 1D. Smoke filled the airplane. Prepare for impact. Elias' speech is filled with memorable, vivid, and relevant detail.

3. Make each word count.

P.S. Notice I mentioned three lessons. Why? People remember things in threes more than any other number. Elias also masterfully uses the Rule of Three.

Ric Elias: 3 things I Learned While My Plane Crashed

On every level, this is truly a remarkable speech:

Speaking Lesson from Wal-Mart

One of my favorite books is Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip and Dan Heath.

According to the Heaths, “If you attempt to say three things, you end up saying nothing.” In other words, have one message and stick to it.

Apparently, Wal-Mart learned this lesson the hard way. According to Steve Inskeep on NPR's Morning Edition this week:

Wal-Mart has given up on the upscale end of the downscale market.

The retailer suffered a two-year slide in sales. This may be part of the reason: It was trying to promote the style of its products. It was competing with Target, which features famous clothing designers.

But Wal-Mart says it lost customer confidence in having the lowest price, so it's returning to its roots, positioning itself as the place where you can buy lots of stuff really cheap.

From the Green Room: Before you write your presentation, determine the one thing you want people to know. Let the rest of your content flow from that core message.

Speak to Move, Not to Inform

In this TED video, Salman Khan, founder of the Khan Academy, discusses his revolutionary approach to education:



Khan advocates flipping the traditional classroom model. How? Lectures happen at home, and homework happens at school.

At the Khan Academy, students first watch educational videos in order to learn the material at home at their own pace. The "homework" part happens the next day - in the classroom with the teacher there to help.

Khan points out that what is so remarkable about this approach is that technology is actually being used to humanize the experience of learning.

Khan's talk reminded me of the problem with speaking to a group in order to simply give them information. It is far more effective instead to speak to an audience in order to move them.

After all, people remember much more how they felt when they hear a speech, rather than the information they learned. Perhaps this is because people learn as distinct individuals, but they feel things as human beings.

From the Green Room: Speak to move, not to inform. Remember that the power of a live presentation can be fully actualized only when there is an emotional connection between the speaker and the audience.

How to Feed Your PowerPoint Addiction

Who knew there were smartphone apps designed to help people give better presentations?

In this week's "Killer Apps" on Slate.com, Farhad Manjoo shows us a few:

http://www.slate.com/id/2288534/

I was disappointed to see that the main app featured enables further dependency on PowerPoint. The app actually lets you download your PowerPoint presentation right onto your phone.

What a brilliant way to merge two addictions - PowerPoint and Smartphones!

Could someone design a public speaking app that teaches speakers to get away from the screen - and connect with the people in the audience?

But perhaps this is a lesson that's better given in person.

Speaking Advice from SNL

In this week's New Yorker, Tina Fey recounts nine "Lessons from Late Night" - what she learned from working with Lorne Michaels.

Lesson #7 is "Never cut to a closed door." Tina writes:

Lorne said this once in exasperation...the director had cut to a door a moment too soon, before the actor entered, and in that moment Lorne felt we had "lost the audience"...Lorne would have preferred that the camera cut follow the sound of the actor knocking on the door. Which is to say that the sketch should lead the cutting pattern, which is to say that content should dictate style.



From the Green Room: Let your message and your content dictate your speaking style. Most delivery problems stem from a lack of clarity about the content. If you are 100 percent clear on what you are trying to say, your delivery will flow much more naturally and the your audience will stay engaged.