Having done executive coaching and corporate storytelling training over the last 23 years, I have seen many common mistakes from folks wishing to use storytelling for business presentations. Here are three of my quick fixes for public speaking issues.

Fix Number One: Take your story seriously.

World stories, myths and legends have endured for many centuries because of their ability to carry powerful messages in the small space of well-selected words. Use this power carefully. When I work with clients, they will often have spent many hours on their appearance, their eye contact and the slides they will project. However, they only spend minutes on story selection and presentation. This is a big mistake. There is no such thing as a simple story.  Stories are powerful tools and, used incorrectly, they will explode back at you. Stories selected with care, crafted with good storytelling techniques and told with an intentional purpose will create a long-lasting impact on your audience. Your listeners will remember your stories long after the memory of your nice tie, fancy dress or overhead slides quickly fades away.

Fix Number Two: Plan the gestures you will use.

Your hands do not always need to be in motion nor held clasped in front of you as if you were carrying a bouquet of flowers. Avoid making choppy hand movements with eve-ry syl-la-ble you speak. Plan your gestures to match your story and move effortlessly and smoothly from one gesture to another. Let you hands rest naturally at your sides in between gestures. Try to avoid the finger pyramids or hand clasping between gestures.

Fix Number Three: Speak in your natural voice.

One of the best time investments you can make as a public speaker is to watch a professional storyteller speak to your target demographic of adults. You will see and hear the differences between how one tells stories to adults and how one practices storytelling for children. You must avoid the “sing song” voice of the unpracticed storyteller, who, like revered hosts of children’s television programming, makes a lilting vocal pattern that sends adult audiences screaming out of the room.

Also, be aware that when you speak personal or “real” stories about your company you do not imitate or mimic the voices of others. Speak in your own voice. In most cases, do not change your voice to reflect your perceptions of the gender, race, regional origin or social status of those of which you are speaking. Mimicking another can quickly backfire on you, causing you to lose goodwill and trust with your audience.

Applying these quick fixes for public speaking will help your audience to be fully immersed in your presentation. Your storytelling, well prepared and well coached, can lower your public speaking anxiety and make you one of the best business speakers your audience has ever heard.

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Sean Buvala (Twitter him @ storyteller) is an award-winning storyteller, experienced business speaker and executive speaking coach who helps businesses grow their bottom line and create employee satisfaction through the power of storytelling. His website is http://www.seantells.net. He offers private training and coaching as a storytelling consultant. Learn about his small group, multi-day workshop at http://www.executivespeakingtraining.com.

Having a good sense of storytelling techniques is important for people involved in any form of communication. Unlike other ways to express a story, storytelling takes place in the moment between the storyteller and listener. It is a unique experience. Here are nine storytelling tips to use when you want to make the most of the story you have chosen.

1. Choose stories you like.
No matter if you are telling stories to children, illustrating a point in a business presentation or telling a sacred story in church or temple, use stories that you like. There are thousands upon thousands of stories in the world. Use the ones you like.

2. Practice your story.
Take the time to learn how to tell a story. Do not look at or hear a story just once and try to repeat it. Break the story into parts and remember the action piece by piece. Practice with a recording device and a gentle-yet-truthful friend who can hear your first attempts.

3. Take out the parts of the story that slow down the action.
Beginning storytellers will hear or read a story and then try to retell every nuance of the story. Storytelling occurs in the moment so not every detail has to be included each time. Ask yourself, “Do I need to tell this piece of the story this time? Is it critical to the story?”

4. Speak clearly.
If you have chosen a story you like, thought about the parts that fit and then practiced telling that story, you will be confident to deliver it to the audience. Smile if the story requires it and then speak with that confidence. Enunciate and project your voice towards the listeners.

5. Keep an appropriate pace.
Again, with confidence in your own story and preparation, you will not be in a hurry to spill out the words of your story. Speak slowly enough to be understood but not so slowly that the minds of the audience go wandering.

6. Use a microphone.
You need to use a microphone to be heard. This shows respect to your audience. For experienced speakers, you will want a microphone if your group is 25 or more people. For those new to public-speaking, use the mic with any group larger than a few gathered around a table.

7. Keep good eye contact.
Look at your audience, linger with one person and move on to the next. It always amazes me how one fleeting moment of eye contact can make an audience member come to me and say, “I felt like you were talking to me personally.”

8. Use natural gestures.
“You looked so confident up there. I never know what to do with my hands.” When people say this to me, I am thankful that I took the time to prepare which gestures I would use and when I would use them. Make gestures that come naturally to you, but plan and prepare them ahead of time.

9. Avoid the “moral of the story” finishes.
Stories are often powerful pieces of Truth and storytelling is one of the most effective ways to convey them. You dilute the power of the story when you are the first to tell an audience what your story means. If you must do the “moral” of a story, ask your audience first to tell you what they think. It will surprise you.

Storytelling techniques like these nine can help you communicate better when you have a story to tell. If you are just starting out, choose one or two of these storytelling tips that you will pay extra attention to in your next presentation.

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Would you like a free 30-lesson storytelling-techniques E-course? Then visit the author’s website at http://www.seantells.com. Sean Buvala has been teaching and training storytelling for business and nonprofit organizations for a quarter of a century. Travelling the nation as a public-speaking coach, Sean has assembled that experience and knowledge into the “Storytelling 101 Workbook and Coaching Kit” available for download at http://www.storytelling101.com.

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

“What do I do with my hands when I speak?” This is a question nervous speakers and presenters regularly ask. The answer is, you don’t do anything with them, at least not consciously. If you prepare and practice your talk, your gestures will be smooth and complement your words.

Have you ever watched a speaker whose presentation appeared natural and effortless? Were you aware of their hand movements? Probably not. On the other hand, have you ever been distracted by a nervous speaker who irritated you by wringing their hands, twisting their ring, waving or flapping their arms? You can probably remember that speaker but not their words.

Get to grips with your hand gestures and transform them into meaningful movements if you want people to remember your words and not your distracting gestures.

Prepare your speech or presentation well before the date of delivery. Write it out and read it silently to yourself several times. Don’t try to memorize the words but focus on internalizing the message you want to get across to your audience. Then practice saying it aloud without using your notes. You may not remember every word, unless you are blessed with a photographic memory, but you will remember the structure and the ideas and many of the words. If you don’t, go back and repeat it silently to yourself again until you do.

If you prepare and practice in this way, when you deliver your speech, your focus will be on your audience where it should be, and not on yourself and your delivery. Internalizing your talk frees you to connect with your listeners, and your gestures will be natural and in tune with your words rather than out of tune.

The best way to notice your gestures is to ask for feedback from someone you trust to be objective or, even better, to record yourself. Watch the recording and note any repeated arm and hand movements that distract you from your words. Then watch it again with the sound off and see how many more you can spot. It’s not pleasant viewing but it’s very effective at ridding speakers of bad habits. It’s amazing what we do when we don’t know we’re doing it.

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Moira Beaton is a Communication and Public Speaking Coach and Trainer guaranteed to help you be yourself and become memorable. Contact her at http://www.MoiraMBeaton.com and http://www.confident-speaker.blogspot.com

What You Know About Body Language Is All Wrong

Did you know that when you are delivering a speech, there is always another conversation going on? No, I’m not talking about your rude audience (although they may be talking also), instead I’m talking about your body – it’s having its own conversation with your audience. Maybe you should know what it’s saying…?

The fact that we are always communicating with our audience through body language should come as no surprise to anyone. However, what might catch your attention is that most of what you think that you know about how to read body language is probably wrong. It’s just urban myths that have been told over and over again.

A quick example might help me to make my point: what’s the best way to make a first impression with someone? If you’re like me, you’ll assume that greeting them with a lot of energy will show spunk and drive – all good things. It turns out that we’d be wrong. Dave Zielinski has been looking into this and he reports that most people believe that people who are low energy and restrained have the most self-confidence.

There is nothing that we can do about preventing our body language from sending messages to our audience. However, the one thing that we can do is learn to read other people’s body language more effectively.

Common Myths

Have you ever had to give a speech early in the morning? The 900 lb gorilla in the room is the fact that everyone is still sleepy – several of them have probably not even woken up yet. What’s the best way to get some energy into the room?

If you are like most speakers, you’ll rely on what we’ve all been told is the best way to wake up an audience: hit them with a high-energy presentation delivered at a loud volume. It turns out that this is exactly the wrong thing to do. Instead, what you need to do is to start out at their energy level (low) and then gradually raise the energy up and allow them to come along with you.

How about when we see people in our audience who have their arms crossed over their chest? They must be resisting our message, right? Probably wrong – check the temperature in the room – they may just be cold!

In the end, once you get comfortable understanding what your audience’s body language is really telling you, you’ve got to adjust your body language so that they can connect with you. What really matters in your speech is not a lot of body language rules, but rather your voice quality & variation, conviction, strong content, and good eye contact.

What All Of This Means For You

Body language is something that every speaker needs to be aware of. However, we also have to understand that we are probably interpreting it incorrectly because it’s so hard to read. Don’t spent too much time trying to follow a set of body language “rules” because it will take away from your speech.

Instead, do what comes naturally to you. This will allow you to more fully focus on giving the best speech possible and you won’t get tripped up trying to remember a long list of dos and don’ts.

In the end, if you can allow you body and mind to deliver the same speech then your audience will get a consistent message and you’ll be successful in connecting with your audience.

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Dr. Jim Anderson http://www.TheAccidentalCommunicator.com

Do you give speeches today, but want to learn how be more effective? Dr. Jim Anderson believes that great business skills are no substitute for poor presentation skills. Dr. Anderson will share with you the knowledge that he has gained while working to improve the speaking ability of both individuals and teams of speakers for over 20 years. Learn the secrets of effective speakers and really connect with your audience during your next speech. If you want to follow Dr. Anderson on Twitter, he can be found at:  http://twitter.com/drjimanderson

Every year, I challenge myself on my birthday by doing consecutive push-ups to match the birthday I’m celebrating. As you can imagine, the task becomes more difficult every year. Last year, I felt fortunate to have eeked out the 38th push-up.

This year, on my 39th birthday, I realized there was a chance I might not be able to meet the challenge, so I decided to pump out 39 of something else. With that in mind, I did some reflecting and compiled a list of 39 things I’ve learned about public speaking.

1. You’re never good enough not to to practice.

2. Public speaking is both a science and an art. Approach it strictly from either point of view and you and you won’t be as successful as you could be.

3. All things being equal, written speeches are better and more successful than extemporaneous speeches.

4. No height of reasoning or depth of wisdom is strong enough to educate a mind that refuses to learn.

5. Every audience and individual is unique. What works for one won’t necessarily work for another.

6. There is no “best way” to start every speech. Each speech is as unique as the audience. Every opening should also be unique.

7. Gestures are overrated. They can’t add substance to a message that lacks substance.

8. Even the right words can lose their effect if they’re not delivered with the right timing.

9. Even if your audience disagrees with your position on a subject, they want your speech to be good. After all, they have to sit through it.

10. When put to the test, most statistics about public speaking are a crock.

11. What our audience remembers most is what resonates with them most.

12. The setup of your room affects the flow of energy in the room.

13. Recording yourself on video is the best way to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses.

14. Memorizing your material and knowing your material are not the same thing.

15. Sometimes public speaking should be treated as a performance. At other times, public speaking should be treated as a conversation. On occasion, it should be treated as both.

16. Always research your audience as thoroughly as possible… always!

17. Reading the book of Proverbs is a great way to train your mind to come up with analogies that easily explain complicated concepts.

18. Age means squat when it comes to your effectiveness as a public speaker. Martin Luther King Jr. was only 34 when he delivered the “I have a dream” speech.

19. It’s okay to say “um” every now and again. People expect it. “Um” becomes a problem when it is used in a pattern the audience begins to anticipate and predict with 99% accuracy.

20. One of the easiest ways to improve your ability to develop a successful speech is to read and listen to successful speeches of the past and present.

21. When you truly connect with your audience, you will be able to feel and experience their energy.

22. Public speaking is not a monarchy and content is not king. Content alone is not enough to persuade people and move them to take action.

23. What you say AND how you say it are of equal importance.

24. Authentic story telling is easy to learn. Just read story books to children.

25. If your presentation relies heavily on technology, be sure to have a plan B.

26. If you’re using PowerPoint or props, rehearse with them.

27. Knowing your subject is important. Explaining your subject in a way that’s easy to understand and memorable is more important.

28. Your speech is successful if your audience remembers, repeats and responds to it… not if you get a standing ovation.

29. The worst times to speak are just before and just after a meal. The audience is too hungry to concentrate just before and too full (or tipsy) to concentrate after.

30. Asking questions is an effective way to engage the minds of the individuals in your audience.

31. When you tell a story, debrief it. Not everyone will interpret your story the same way.

32. Before using a statistic in your speech, research the statistic yourself. There are a lot of myths disguised as statistics.

33. Always put statistics in context. Explain what the statistic means and why the audience should care.

34. If you must tell a joke, use an original one. Few things are as deflating as having people in the audience deliver the punch line before you do.

35. Don’t use a $20 word when a 5 cent word will do the trick. When it comes to word choice, simpler is usually better.

36. Use repetition in your speeches. It will reinforce your main message and make it easier for the audience to follow your train of thought.

37. If you’re going to be introduced, write your own opening. Never trust someone else to do it for you.

38. Even excellent presenters have “off” days. Get over it and move on.

39. Your audience won’t shut you off as quickly as they will a show on television. They can watch the show in their pajamas, but they get dressed up and travel to hear you speak.

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If you would like to take your speeches to another level and learn more public speaking tips, I suggest you download a free copy of my “Successful Speeches Toolkit” so you can make sure your next speech is a successful speech. Visit http://www.wellwrittenwellsaid.com/successfulspeechesblog/?page_id=10 to get your workbook and search tool.

John Watkis is a freelance speechwriter, consultant and keynote speaker who helps his clients give better speeches so they can get better results.

“What do I do with my hands when I’m speaking?” is a common question that I hear when I’m teaching public speaking. Your hands form an important part of your non-verbal communication, or body language, and can help you convey confidence and communicate more effectively to your audience.

Here are 5 tips for what to do with your hands:

1. Be Aware of What Your Hands Are Doing
The first step in preventing your hands from distracting your audience is to become conscious of what your hands are doing. Are you cracking your knuckles, playing with your pen or twisting your note cards? I’ve seen speakers do each of these actions and they usually don’t realize they’re doing it. Focus on your hands while practicing, watch yourself on video or ask for feedback from a trusted colleague.

2. Use the “Neutral Position”
When not gesturing, your hands should be in the neutral position – hanging loosely at your sides. They should not be jammed in your pockets, folded across your chest or clasped behind your back.

3. Keep Your Hands Empty
There is no need to hold a pen, rubber band or paper clip while speaking. It’s easier and less distracting to gesture with empty hands. If you must hold your notes, the PowerPoint remote or a microphone, refer to point #1 and be aware of what your hands are doing with that item.

4. Relax Your Hands
I’ve seen speakers clench their hands into fists or grip the sides of the podium, neither of which conveys a relaxed confidence. Make sure that any nervousness or anxiety you may be feeling is not expressed by your hands.

5. Gesture to Support Your Words
Simple, natural gestures will support and visually illustrate your words. For example, use your hands to show distance traveled or open both arms wide to show that you are welcoming the audience.

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Gilda Bonanno is a speaker, trainer and coach who helps people from all walks of life improve their communication and presentation skills. Receive a FREE Special Report, “Six Mistakes to Avoid in Public Speaking, So Your Presentation Sparkles” by visiting http://gildabonanno.com/newsletter.aspx and entering your email address. You’ll also be subscribed to Gilda’s free twice-monthly e-newsletter containing practical tips you can use immediately to improve your communication and presentation skills.

Copyright (c) 2009

For aspiring and experienced speakers alike, each aspect of credibility is to be closely guarded and continually built upon. This series of articles will focus on 15 facets of credibility that must exist for all speakers to succeed over the long run. “Instant Credibility” must continue to be nurtured for a career to continue. If you are building from the ground up, each point must be examined and properly attended to in order to build deep roots on the speaking circuit.

Facet #2: Gestures

Effective gestures are the hallmark of an experienced speaker. Great pains must be taken to ensure that movements on stage are deliberate, natural, and practiced.

Nervousness is at the heart of most pointless gestures. What should one do with their hands, anyway? When you are not using you hands and arms to actively make a gesture, keep them comfortably at your side, so as not to distract from the presentation, and to add to the impact of the gestures you purposely use at other times.

18 Crutch Gestures to Avoid:

1. Hands in Pockets

2. Hand-wringing

3. Hands behind back

4. Elbows in, hands out

5. Hands on lecturn

6. The Finger Steeple or Hand Purse (interlocked fingers)

7. Pointing in general

8. Number indications palms out – always use palms in – your hand becomes their hand

9. Fiddling with rings or other jewelry

10. Beard/Mustache stroking

11. Head scratching

12. Arm crossing

13. Hair flipping

14. Ear or nose checking (it happens more than you’d think!)

15. Lip smacking

16. Pacing

17. Swinging side to side or back to front

18. Leaning against the lecturn or furniture

The best way to evaluate the gestures you use is to practice on film. Take notes on what motions you make, when you make them, and most importantly, WHY you make them. Once you eliminate these crutch gestures, you can effectively replace them with deliberate motions to enhance a point, gain attention, and illustrate action, often cutting descriptive prose from your speech with a simple but practiced action-gesture.

There are three gesture zones commonly used by speakers.

Mid-Range

When arms stay at your side, or remain relatively close to your body, the gesture does not provide significant impact, and may provide a calming or questioning effect to the statement made.

Over the Top

When arms are over the head or completely outstretched in a quick fashion, a sense of urgency, surprise, or even danger is created, dependent of the speaking accompanying them. Stepping to a different level on stage, perhaps onto a chair or table, creates a stronger image, and draws even greater attention to the speaker when appropriately used.

Below the Belt

Bending down may create a “private” moment even with an audience of thousands. Similar to lowering the tone of your voice, which you would do in conjunction with this move, the audience will lean in to what you have to say, and feel you are speaking to them on a more individual basis.

Action gestures often take place in all three zones, whether we run, pretend to catch a ball/ride a bike/climb a ladder, or indicate height and width. Go over your speeches with a fine-tooth comb to find your opportunities to use an action gesture – they keep your audience involved, and keep you away from crutch gestures. Make sure you incorporate your whole body in action gestures, to avoid making them look mechanical. If your arms seem to move independently of your head and legs, you will appear robotic instead of practiced.

Practice your gestures on film or in the mirror. If they seem too big to you, they are probably just right for your audience. If you are having trouble becoming comfortable with large gestures, practice with Extremely Exaggerated gestures, and when the nervousness hits, your toned down actions will still emphasize your point.

Gestures will separate the pedestrian speaker from the professional. Lack of gestures indicate nervousness, unfamiliarity with the material, and the absence of self-confidence. Gestures that are out of place, robotic, or understated will sap the credibility of the most educated speaker. No matter how interesting your words, exclusively watching lips move will cause even the most dedicated audience to nod off. Your message should be important enough for you to incorporate your whole body while presenting it!

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Rich Hopkins is a speaker, coach, and consultant who aligns his clients with their own potential. He has 20 years of business background in marketing, sales, and customer service. He consults with individuals, student groups, non-profit organizations, and corporations. http://www.richhopkins.net

Below are 10 speech delivery tips you can use to have a deep impact on your audience.

1. Don’t forget about your face.

Your facial expressions are more important than all your arm and hand movements combined. The eyes are indeed the windows to the soul. What you do with them can make or break your entire speech.

2. Use your characters’ gestures.

Keep in mind that speaking involves utilizing captivating stories to make your unforgettable points. Each story has its own characters and each character probably has his or her own way of gesturing. When you take on the role and persona of that character, you should use his or her gestures. While rehearsing your speech, consistently ask yourself, “How would this character say this?”

3. Let the emotions drive.

The emotions in your story and in your point will drive your movements. If you are intoxicated with your emotions while telling your story or making your point, the appropriate gestures will come. It will be effortless. When you’re really angry at someone or something, do you have to think about what gestures to use? No, they come automatically. If you build the emotion, the gestures will come.

4. Gesture 360 Degrees.

Many speakers gesture in front of them and on the side. World Class Speakers realize there is an entire area around them and they utilize it. Feel free to gesture down for the lower dimension. For example, when I speak about a swamp tour my wife and I took, I talk about the alligators that surrounded the boat. At that point I gesture downwards with the open hand. Then I describe the trees that were hanging down as if they were trying to grab onto us. At that point I gesture upwards to the upper dimension using my hands to emulate how the trees hung and swayed. At times I point behind me to the back of the stage or in front of me out into the audience. I might point to my right to signify the past and point to my left to signify the future as I use the stage as a timeline. The key is to go up, down, back, forth, and side to side in order to paint a whole (surround-sense) scene for your audience in order to invite them into it.

5. Don’t use the same gesture over and over again.

This is evidence of a habit and most likely distracts from your presentation.

6. Watch out for your resting position.

This is the position your hands fall to when you’re not using a gesture. For example, my hands used to fall together in front of me with my fingers interlocking. It was distracting.

7. Don’t move all the time.

If you are always moving then no movement will be meaningful. Your audience will never know what’s most important. Move with a purpose. When there is no reason to move, don’t.

8. Use an open hand.

It’s better to point to your audience with an open hand rather than an index finger. It’s less threatening and more inviting. The open hand is also effective when calling back to spots on the floor as you revisit the points, characters, and stories you previously used.

9. Use bigger gestures for bigger audiences.

Don’t mismatch the size of your audience with the size of your gestures.

10. Smile.

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