Public Speaking Tips from 997 Ways To Be A Great Speaker » emotions

Emotional Public Speaking – Just Squeeze Your Toes

Guest Blogger — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:12:15 +0000

Have you ever spoken in public and found that between the anxieties of public speaking, the nature of the topic and the importance of getting a message to an audience you got a little emotional? A little choked up? Were you worried about your voice cracking, your words disjointed or even breaking down in tears? Anybody who gives an emotional speech is often sharing deep feelings with the audience and is at risk of any of the above symptoms.

Years ago I had the honour of working with a brilliant speaker named Helene. Helene was the Chairperson of an important community fundraising venture working towards building the hospital services out her back door. This event raised more than $133,000 for the Foundation and is supported by many local businesses and radio stations in her community. When Helene and I met for the first time, she stood up in front of me and gave one of the most compelling and emotional speeches I’d ever heard. It was the speech used to campaign the event, rally support and build a community of understanding.

Helene’s speech was about her son Don who was diagnosed on May 26th, 1993 with Sarcoma in his leg and needed to prepare for amputation. Four days later, on May 30th the family received the news that a 10 cm (4 inch) tumour had been discovered on his heart and lung as well. They said “take him home there is nothing we can do”. Due to the miracles of research and an attentive doctor who insisted on taking his case, Don not only won the battle against this disease but he was married 6 days after his diagnosis and now has 5 beautiful children. He is living proof of the importance of medical research and the need for strong alliances in the community.

Helene’s beautiful speech is filled with sorrow, laughter and most importantly hope and belief. I felt privileged to listen and enlightened to know that she was about to share this message with the world. Helene’s only challenge for this speech was to be able to share her story without losing control of her emotions on the stage. The most simple strategy for this is… squeeze your toes. It may sound silly but it works! For whatever reason, if you are trying to speak during an angered, emotional, or giddy moment, the one way to keep your voice on track and hold back the tears is to squeeze your toes really hard.

The reason I recommended this tip is because first and foremost, when one is in full tears and starting to all out cry, it is extremely difficult to actually get the words out to your audience and to share your message. Second, the speaker should not be using the stage as their own personal space to resolve their own issues or find closure. The speaker’s responsibility is to enlighten or inspire or entertain. If the speaker is crying, then the audience’s concern becomes focused on the speaker as opposed to how the speaker’s message impacts them.

Does this mean that you should never share emotion when on stage? No. But there are effective ways to share that emotion and ways that can leave your audience with the wrong message.

Remember the campaign between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama? Do you remember January 2008 in New Hampshire? As you may or may not be aware, Hillary Clinton gave a speech and she got choked up. No, tears were not streaming down her face, snot was not running out of her nose and by definition she was in no way “sobbing.” There is a big difference between sobbing and choked up. But since this event, Hillary Clinton has been criticized in many regards. Some say this “outburst of emotion” could have potentially lost her the election. Some say it was very calculated and that it was an attempt to tug at the heartstrings of America. Some say that it actually HELPED her in the campaign. Quite honestly, WHO KNOWS?!

All that aside, does it hurt to get “choked up?” Hillary was able to continue with her speech and share a message and yet we still see the clip of her watery eyes running on a constant loop. Personally, I was able to hear her words and understand her position. In my eyes and ears, she did her job. Were the tears a sign of a downhill electoral race? Were they a sign of a well calculated campaign? I don’t know. But I do know she did something that most people fear doing. She spoke.

Whether you agree with the politics of Clinton, Obama or even Bush, what one can’t deny is that it takes inner strength and passion to speak well in public. If you speak often enough, yes, times of watery eyes, blunders or even saying the wrong thing WILL happen. I can guarantee it! But as long as you do your very best to respect your audience and be true to yourself, plus a little toe-squeezing, I can promise you that the emotional speaking experience will be a great learning opportunity for you and your audience.

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To find out more about how the coaching process can help YOU, please email me at heather@artfulspeaking.com.

Heather Racano
Artful Speaking
heather@artfulspeaking.com
http://www.artfulspeaking.com

As a dynamic and inspirational leader in the field of public speaking and networking, Heather Racano can help make your next speaking opportunity COUNT! Heather is an award winning speaker and public speaking coach presenting programs North America wide on Artful Speaking and Artful Networking. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Racano

Public Speaking – Your State of Being Determines Your Results – Passionate Power Presentations #3

Guest Blogger — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:00:02 +0000

Everything begins with and flows from your state. Your results in public speaking or any other activity you engage in will only be as effective as your personal state.

Your state manifests from your thoughts, beliefs and emotions; in particular those you choose in the moment.

When you drill down further, what are beliefs? Your beliefs are just particularly strong thoughts; ones with which you have attached strong, personal meaning.

Your emotions manifest from your thoughts; and from the meanings, emotions and beliefs you connect to your thoughts. So, it is all about your thoughts and how well you manage them so as to serve your purpose.

There is one other element. It’s also about your connection and congruence with your physical/physiological being. You must feel your energy, your state flow freely through and emanate out of your physical being for optimal, dynamic communication. There should be no emotional, intellectual or physical holding back or blockage.

At all stages of the process- homework, speech-writing, rehearsal and, of course, during your presentation-your final product will depend upon your state. You are the pilot; you must assume control. For our purposes, your state will be most affected by the following perceptions you choose:

- Your self-perceptions and beliefs – Speaking capability, expressiveness, confidence, personality, intelligence, self-worth, presence, charisma, etc. – Your beliefs and perceptions of the audience – Who are they and what do they mean to you? What do you want from them? What do they want from you? What do you want to give them? – Your beliefs and perceptions of the subject matter you discuss or present. Your message and its importance to you and the audience.

The good news is that we get to choose our perceptions and states. The bad news is, very few of us do this in a consistently empowering way. In fact, most people never actively choose and manage their perceptions or states, they simply accept whatever perceptions and resulting states have been handed down to them by their families, friends and other influencing people in their life.

In my next article, we will begin to discuss how you can take charge of your perceptions and your state.

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It’s all about you. Chris’ goal is to help you grow and actualize as a public speaker and in all other areas of your life. Chris is an accomplished motivational speaker and public speaking coach. In addition to his public speaking experience, his diverse resume also includes 7 years as a professional actor in NYC, LA & Paris (stage, film, TV & print), after which he returned to school for an MBA and became a Fortune-50 corporate banker 12 years. Prior to founding Breakout Presentations, he founded, grew and sold another company.

He turned full-time to his greatest passion & gift (motivational speaking and public speaking coaching) after a serious medical setback caused him to re-evaluate his life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Babson

The Fastest Way to Connect… The Emotional Tap

Guest Blogger — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:15:14 +0000

When you get advice from someone who’s a true “master” at their craft, does it make sense to follow it, even if the advice is inconvenient?

One of the most profound bits of advice I got early-on was from one of my comedy mentors, Vinnie Favorito. He told said, “Darren, you must always show up early and watch the whole show. You need to know what everyone in front of you is doing on stage.”

There are several reasons for this. If the presenter (or comedian) before us talks about the same subject, it’s our responsibility to “know” what happens before we go on stage.

It’s also a huge opportunity to set ourselves apart and connect. If we can “tap into” what others said before us, audience members will know that our presentation isn’t ‘canned.’ It separates us from other speakers (especially if you are a competitive speaker). One word of caution… don’t stretch to include something if it’s not a direct tie-in. It must be a sincere connection to what you’re talking about.

If a presenter before me has a profound thought, or a funny line that audience loves, it becomes an “emotionally charged” line or phrase. I always look to see if there is a way for me to “tap into” the emotion… something that’s only good that day, with that audience. Being in that moment with them is what makes it so special. When we can tap into an emotionally charged phrase, it allows us to create a quick and powerful connection with the audience.

I believe in this so much that I’ve changed my travel plans to go to arrive at a Washington DC convention a day early. Ed Tate is doing the opening keynote, and I’m scheduled to speak the next day. Although I have to leave our EDGE Summit early (and still not get to DC ’til 1 am), I’m going to do it. Ed’s keynote is the only general session that will be seen by the entire audience. Hence, it is the only “speaker” they will all have in common before I take the stage. It is definitely worth it!

Here’s an example from this past Saturday: People are always asking me if I still do stand-up comedy. The answer over the past year has been “nope.” Well, that changed this past weekend. I was offered a guest spot at the LA Comedy Club in Las Vegas on the Strip. I couldn’t turn down the “stage time.”

I was nervous, because that is a very different world from what I’m now used to. I took Vinnie’s advice and watched intently the first comic to take the stage. He did a series of “bald” jokes that worked very well. (If the jokes had bombed, I would’ve taken a different approach.)

I had laughs within seconds of taking the stage by tying into that concept. You should look at everything that happens on the stage before you as a “set up” for what you’re going to do. If you would like to see the video clip of that night just click here.

Want to connect fast? Will you show up early, watch the other speakers and see if you can “emotionally” tap into their good moments? Take Vinnie’s advice!

Darren has TONS of fantastic resources for public speakers. Click here to learn more!