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This is a 5 and a half minute speech I gave as part of a Toastmasters demonstration at my Rotary Club last week. Here is what you can take away from it…
1. Public speaking can not only be effective for your business, but fun for you. You just need to practice, learn techniques and strategies, and gain “Stage Time” (courtesy of my pal, Darren LaCroix).
2. Humor is powerful if used correctly. Humor makes people laugh and listen. It evokes emotion and caring. And, it reduces anxiety and tension. You can effectively use humor in any business presentation, especially if it’s self-deprecating.
3. Record when you speak and put it on your You Tube channel. Get your message out to a broad audience so you can improve the condition of more people.
I hope you enjoy More…
© 2013 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
The Seinfeld Principle
I often get asked, “How do you find your content to write your blogs and articles?”
The answer is simple. I pay attention and try to stay in the moment. If you’re creating intellectual property (IP for the rest of this article), then you need to find a way to use real-life, every day events that people can relate to as a metaphor for not-so-simple “stuff.”
Take Jerry Seinfeld. The dude made a boatload of money over 9 years making a television show about “nothing.” Add to it, that all of that material came from a highly successful comedy act, which he still uses today. Making money on “nothing.” That nothing, however, is what we deal with in our daily lives. One of my favorite episodes was when the gang lost Kramer’s car in the mall parking lot. An entire episode was dedicated to the goofy search for the car. How many of us have ever lost our car in a parking lot? I have…and recently at a grocery store when I realized that I have a new car and I should stop looking for the old one! That episode, as well as all the others take a real-life situation and engages the audience because we can relate.
If you follow my blog posts, my newsletters, and my speeches, you will hear stories about my dogs, my kids, my wife (although she scares me most so I have to be careful), my parents, my basketball coaching, my cooking, and my professional experiences. You’ve heard about me walking the dogs, moving furniture, burning my hand, hitting poor golf shots, and walking around New York City with $5,000 in cash. Why? Because you can relate to all of these things. They make the “stuff” I talk about – insurance, crisis leadership, risk management, executive leadership, and change management more palatable. I hope that when I draw a metaphor, the light goes on and you say “Ah Ha!”
So when you write your next blog post, article, or executive brief OR present your next speech or video, consider your uniqueness. As my professional mentor, Alan Weiss always says, there is nothing new under the sun. You’re methodology, theories, strategies, and the like are not necessarily new. However, you are unique and your experiences make your IP different from everyone else!
To create great IP, you have to add one key ingredient…YOU! Pay attention to your life. Don’t think nothing happens to you. It does. Be in the moment and find those crazy little things that make you chuckle or shake your head. Most likely, it’s the start of a great new story.
Now, if you only had a neighbor like Kramer…
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Length Doesn’t Matter
On this day, one hundred and forty-seven years ago, Abraham Lincoln gave a 2 and a half-minute speech that has stood the test of time to be considered arguably the greatest American speech of all time. In Gettysburg, PA, President Lincoln followed a 2 hour speech by Edward Everett. Everett later wrote Lincoln and said, “I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in 2 hours as you did in 2 minutes.”
Length doesn’t matter. Words do.
Lincoln understood the moment, gravity, and passion of the situation. Though the war was far from over, Gettysburg was a turning point as the Union repulsed General Lee’s army for the first time. The carnage of the three days of battle was unfathomable. Lincoln’s task was to inspire a country. When he was finished, he sat down thinking the silence around him implied he was a failure. Rather, it was sheer awe.
Lincoln’s legendary speech should be a model for all of us who in business or in life get up to speak. It’s not the length of the speech that matters most. It’s the combination of the right words, at the right time, spoken with great passion that matters most.
Read the “Seven score and seven-year anniversary” blog post with images by the Washington Post.
Note – this is the only known photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg. His speech was so short and he got up and down so fast, that the camera man couldn’t get a better photo! Imagine that happening today.
© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Confidence Case Study #1
Confidence.
Self-esteem.
Self worth.
All these issues come into play when you are competing in business. I like watching athletes and coaches compete in their respective sports. One of the things I take away from a show like HBO’s Hard Knocks, is that when something bad happens, you must shake it off and move on. Sometimes, you even have to laugh.
Last Saturday, I gave a presentation to a non-profit group on fund-raising strategies, confidence, and team building. On every presentation I give, I provide evaluation forms for people to turn in. My reasons are simple. I like to know what they got out of my presentation. I want to know what they liked least. And, most importantly for me, I want to find out if they want more information from me and if they’d like to work together. Overall, the reviews for this program were good. There was one exception.
One person just really hated it. They rated me poor, unprofessional, and irrelevant to their needs in BIG, BOLD letters.
For a lot of people, this would crush them. They might think twice about going back out to speak again. Rejection can be taken personally.
Here’s what I did.
I chuckled and moved on. What I look for is trends. That was the only really negative comment I received. One person’s opinion is not going to impact me. In fact, the person did me a favor because now I have a chance to talk about it on my blog, and actually use the physical piece of paper in a story for another presentation (no name of course – if the person really wanted to send a message they could have put their name on it).
You will not please everyone with your next speech, your next article, or your next big idea. The very best hitters in baseball get out 70% of the time. The reality is that you must be mentally tough enough to get on with what you know you do best. As my mentor Alan Weiss has said, if you’re not failing, you’re not trying.
The next time you receive a bad evaluation, let it slide off. If there is a consistent theme, then learn and improve. But make no mistake, in order not to let one bad evaluation linger and poison your thinking, you’ve got to have a short memory. Confidence is the key to your success. Never quit.
P.S. I’ve got two workshops coming up on learning how to build and enhance your confidence level. If you are too worried about signing up because of what people might think, then it’s just the what you need! To learn more about the classes and to register, click here.
© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Libby and Dan Part 2 – Time Management & Speaking
This is the second of a three-part series with Libby Wagner and Dan Weedin from their presentation at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce last month. This episode focuses on time management techniques from Libby and speaking strategies from Dan.
For some reason, this video is not being embedded. Sometimes technology doesn’t cooperate. To watch the video, click here.
© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
How Leaders Communicate
It’s time to keep a close eye on Jack Zduriencik.
The Seattle Mariners General Manager is near a deal to ship out All-Star left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee to the New York Yankees for three top prospects nobody outside of the depths of the baseball world ever heard about. The Mariners fans and media have been buzzing about this for the last month. There will be plenty of conjecture, speculation, and interest in what Jack has to say.
Being a leader of any organization – sports or otherwise – requires confidence in delivering a message. This year has not gone as planned and with the imminent trade, Zduriencik must now face critics after trading away the best player on the team this year. It will be interesting to watch how he handles the media, the fans, and the players. He may say all the right things, but how he delivers it will be telling. A few things to watch for…
- Does he appear sincere and genuine? Do you believe him?
- Is he still positive? Does he show firm resolve?
- How strong is his eye contact? Is he willing to hold it with questioners?
- Is his voice consistently strong? Does he show any cracks?
- Does he show empathy for the fans?
I will be watching as a Mariners fan and as a professional speaker to see just how skilled an “influencer” Mr. Zduriencik is. So far, I’ve been impressed. This will be his toughest test to date.
© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Becoming Fearless
I’ve spoken several times recently on improving public speaking skills. Here are five quick hitters on ways to become “fearless:”
- Think audience outcome. Stop worrying about how you are viewed; about saying the wrong thing; about being “found out” as not smart; or how your hair looks. Focus on what you want your audience to think, feel, or do when you are finished. What outcome should be achieved by your audience? When you focus on THEM, you worry less about YOU.
- Your personal relaxing techniques. How do you normally calm your nerves? Whatever you like to do will work here, too. Might be music, meditation, or exercise. Everyone is different, so find “your happy place” and relax.
- Talk with your audience before the event. 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking Darren LaCroix calls the “before rapport.” When you make friends of your soon to be audience, it helps your nerves. After all, you’re now just having a conversation with friends, right?
- Memorize your open. If you can fall out of bed at 2 am and recite your open, then you have nothing to fear. You are at your most nervous at the beginning. Take that away by having your opening lines committed to memory.
- Speak early and often. The more you speak, the better you get, and the better you get the less nervous you will be. Period. Never turn down an opportunity to speak no matter what your fears are. The more you do it, the more your confidence will grow and your nerves diminish.
© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Opening a Speech with a Story
Here is a recent speech I gave where I opened with a story about my dog, Captain Jack. Note three important things…
1 – Even though you can’t see it, I used an image of Captain Jack on my slide presentation. That got a laugh. Using the image advanced my story because they now know what he looks like.
2 – I tried a humorous line that didn’t get laughs. Okay, it happens. Don’t despair! See how I made a joke out of it and probably got a better laugh in return.
3 – I used the story as a metaphor to transition into my carry-out message.
Bottom line – use fun, personal stories to open your presentations and you will engage and inspire your audience.
© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
FREE Teleconference Tomorrow
There is still time and room to sign up for my free teleconference tomorrow – “Hello and Goodbye: How to write killer opens and closes for your speeches”
To get in on this event, you must register by clicking here.
I hope you will be able to join us!
