It can be hard work to deliver a presentation that is smooth, insightful and ends right on time. One of the speakers who really seems to get it right is Malcolm Gladwell. If you have ever watched him speak (like here on TED), you may notice that he speaks eloquently, even effortlessly, and ends with precise punctuality.
But when asked about it once, Gladwell replied, “I know it may not look like this. But it’s all scripted. I write down every word and then I learn it off by heart. I do that with all my talks and I’ve got lots of them.”
It’s great to connect with your audience as if you were just having a casual chat with them. And sometimes that’s precisely what you will want to do. Other times, when you want to really nail it, you might be better off going beyond the bullet points to rehearse, refine and distill the most important information that you are there to share. And find yourself on a level where you have that polish that casual (amateur?) speaking just doesn’t allow.
While memorizing isn’t “the answer”, if you want to deliver a professional-standard speech, you might find yourself enjoying an interesting experience if you treat your next presentation as a performance.
At least that what seems to work for the guy who wrote The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and, most recently, What the Dog Saw.
In early 2008, as one of my last speeches before I completed the DTM requirements, I presented a speech at Pudong Toastmasters. This speech explained how you can achieve your DTM, and explored the challenges and steps that you can take. For this speech, I created a document to help us keep track of our speech progress, The Path to DTM. It’s now on the CAT website so please do use this as you can.
When I first joined Toastmasters, I saw the first 10 speeches as my focus. Along the way, I realized that there was much more that I could learn by taking things further.
Yet completing a DTM requires a very significant commitment over an extended period of time – a DTM will have usually delivered more than 50 separate speeches over at least 3 or 4 years. And there are some specific rules that you’ll need to follow – some projects count for some awards, but not for others. And you have to do things in the right way too – not just be a good speaker: I had to redo a component entirely because I didn’t have the records from when I completed one step years earlier… it’s almost like part of becoming a DTM is learning what the rules are, and making sure that you can follow them!
But it’s about setting your own standards. Where would you like to take your skills? It took me 11 years to complete my DTM – but I’m sure that you can do it much faster 
CAT has a number of specific initiatives that can help increase your chances of making it to DTM. And that’s one of the things that we focus upon – how to help you take your skills to the next level. You can find out more about The DTM Track here, on our website, or even better by attending one of our meetings.
I remember meeting Mark Hunter when he was preparing for a speech contest in around 1999. My cousin told me that he “had a voice like chocolate” – apparently in contrast to my own. Ten years have passed, and Mark has gone from being the Champion of District 69 to being World Champion. And we congratulate him.
You can listen to the start of his speech here.
The local newspaper records that, “Mark Hunter is proof positive of what can be achieved with a liberal dose of self-determination and an appreciation of the power of love.” And they have included the text from his speech in this story on his great achievement.
Mark, you probably don’t remember me, but congratulations!
- Daniel Smith, DTM
Below is the text of the speech. There seem to be a few errors amid the wonderful examples of alliteration – can you pick them?
Continue reading ‘Congratulations Mark Hunter – World Champion of Public Speaking 2009′
It’s always a challenge to weed out our distracting mannerisms. Sometimes it’s a gesture. Or a phrase. And sometimes it’s a facial expression.
Last week, I saw an experienced speaker who would poke his tongue out at his audience! It was very natural – he probably didn’t realize that he was even doing it – but after I noticed it, I couldn’t help but chuckle whenever he did it again. And again. And again!!!
Mannerisms come from all sorts of places. Sometimes they are big; sometimes they are small. Sometimes it can be an expression of nervousness. We pick them up from our friends, family and famous figures. I have had some mannerisms that I originally used deliberately, but then they became so habitual that they grew out of control!
Look out for these mannerisms. They allow your audience to focus on your style that they forget what you say.
One of the easiest ways to identify these mannerisms is to watch yourself on video. Preferably with some supportive friends – who can point them out and help you find better ways of expressing yourself.
CAT has our Peer Mentoring sessions – where you get together with a few other experienced speakers and help each other get better. But whatever your level of speaking, look to help your audience get your message better by eliminating your mannerisms.
I’ve been hearing so much of the word “suggestions”. One very senior General Evaluator last week used the word at least every minute during their evaluation.
- “If I could make a suggestion…”
- “One suggestion that I would have…”
- “Now onto some suggestions…”
A well-used signpost becomes a distraction for the audience and a crutch for the speaker.
Let’s stop wasting time talking about it and instead use that time to give relevant, targeted, and useful suggestions.
As an evaluator, emphasise what the speaker did well that audience can learn from, and areas that the speaker could improve that would also help the audience.
Leave your personal comments for a private conversation with the speaker and perhaps in the written evaluation.
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