Ric Elias gives a nearly great speech here, he has a strong attention-getter, a lot of wonderful stories, and a strong call to action, but, unfortunately, that work is undercut by lackluster non-verbal communication; a downward vocal inflection style (especially toward the end of the speech), and uninspired movement.

Ric starts with a rousing attention-getter, he tells the audience about the sensory experience of being on the plane that crashed in the Hudson River.  There are many great details here, the sound of “no sound” as the plane’s engines are cut, the look of terror in the eyes of a stewardess, the thoughts that flashed through his mind as he braces for impact.  There is also an excellent call to action at the end of the speech, a detail that many speakers leave out.  All speeches should strive to create some change in the audience and here Ric challenges the audience to imagine as if they had only moments to live, and to think about what they might change.    This is wonderfully creative.

But, alas, Ric appears a little bit out-of-gas.  He shuffles somewhat listlessly, and gestures without much intention.  He allows his pitch to descend at the end of some sentences.

If you are feeling a little lethargic before a speech, try something simple…like push-ups!  Sound crazy?  It’s not.  Even a few push ups will get the blood flowing, and perhaps enliven your body.  If you have a downward inflection style, work with a coach or colleague on your presentation and make sure to lift the last syllable in each sentence.

Keep in mind 80% of our impression of a speaker is nonverbal!  If you feel your presentation style could use some work, give me a buzz, and let’s set up a free 20 minute consultation.

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Let’s look at the Republican presidential contenders from a public speaking perspective; how did they do as speakers during the debates?

As the video above shows, there was a wide variety of talent on display.  Politics aside, I think Gingrich is far and away the best speaker of the bunch.  Gary Johnson had perhaps the best punch line of the debates (“My next door neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs than the current administration.”), but Gingrich can pull together stories, quotes, statistics, comparisons and contrasts effortlessly, and convey his point with conviction with almost every question he answers.  Herman Cain, on the other hand, was often vague during the debates, offering up platitudes instead of meaningful details.

In the video above, watch the way Gingrich uses the Carter administration as a metaphor for the current administration, and slips in a witty, sly quote from Ronald Reagan to make his point about the need for reform.

Say what you will about him politically (full disclosure, his politics aren’t mine), but Newt Gingrich is perhaps one of the world’s best debaters.

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I’m a big believer in the present moment.  Why not, right?  The present moment is all you got.

This week I had a client who seemed very tense when he walked in for a coaching session with me.  This is not uncommon; public speaking is one of our greatest fears, it’s perfectly natural to feel keyed up before you speak.  But this guy’s energy felt off; he was cutting me off before I could finish my thoughts, staring out vacantly from time to time, and rushing through his presentation.  The problem wasn’t his tension, but, rather, his lack of awareness around his tension.

I put the problem to my client; why are you rushing?  You feel really “not here”…how do you correct that?  He stopped speeding through his presentation, and breathed for a moment.  He looked at me directly, with self-awareness, with presence, for the first time in our session together and said, “I guess I am a little tense today”.  Yes.  And from then on he was fine.  Not because he felt perfectly relaxed, nobody feels perfectly relaxed, but because he became conscious of his tension, and that awareness itself was enough to do the trick.

Don’t bother with trying to feel relaxed while presenting.  Presenting is nerve wracking.  But do try to be conscious, aware of yourself in the moments before, during and while you present.  Try doing this with a non-judgmental attitude, simply noticing what comes up, even if it’s tension.  If you need a point of focus, follow your breath.  You might be happy with the results.

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Pin Pen Exercise PDF.

If you’ve coached with me, you know I’m a big believer in pausing.  Pausing allows the speaker to clarify their thoughts, allow residual anxiety to pass, and possibly avoid an epic Rick Perry-like gaff.  And, as the saying goes, “Silence has more eloquence than words”.

For the ESL executive speaker, pausing holds a secondary gain; it allows you to clarify your English.  If people have trouble understanding you, pausing at the end of each thought group can help your audience understand you better.

Practice saying these sentences, and pause after each thought group:

1) I’d like six oranges, and two wedges of cheese.

2) When you get there, call me, and I’ll come get you.

3)  ”Let’s go for a walk,” I said.  But she replied, “I’m busy”.

Can you find the thought groups?  Are you able to pause after each one?

Practice pausing in your next presentation, and watch your speech come to life!

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David Copperfield PDF

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Ah yes the brain freeze.  What do we do when our most primal public speaking nightmare comes true?  Can it be avoided?  Yes, and no.  I think Rick Perry’s stumble here was rather epic, however, most people tend to forget things all the time, as this quote from the New York Times illustrates:

“Brain researchers note that countless memory lapses like these happen to the rest of us every day, whether it’s walking into a room and forgetting why you are there or being unable to recall a name that’s on the tip of your tongue.”

Public speaking involves risk, and there is the chance that you might forget something, or succumb to stress.  That being said, there are two sure fire ways to reduce the risk of a Rick Perry-like monumental blunder, and that is to prepare yourself thoroughly (my God man you’re running for president, did you think to rehearse a bit more?), and to always, always have notes in front of you with key talking points (put them on your Ipad if you want to be all tech-sexy).  And, yes, eliminating three governmental agencies would certainly be considered “key”.

Of course, if you speak regularly for a living, there is the chance that something like this might happen, as it did for Christina Aguilera when she forgot the lyrics to the National Anthem as she performed at the Superbowl, or when Obama made an embarrassingly politically incorrect slip of the tongue at the Congressional Black Caucus.   How do you recover?  First, breathe, and try to do nothing for a moment.  Just sip your water.  Attempt to accept, and let the anxiety pass.  I don’t buy the notion that anxiety can be “channeled”.  Panic sucks.  It must be accepted, however, because it’s happening, even if it is not terribly useful.  So just breathe, accept the anxiety as it is happening, and allow it to pass.  Then, consider using humor.  ”Oops” is not a terribly witty answer but “I’m not sure what agency I would cut, but I’m pretty sure the oxygen to my brain has been pretty well severed” is slightly better.  Then… “Let me check my notes for the answer, and circle back around to you in a moment.”

I know it’s not an ideal answer.  But it beats “Oops”.

What was your biggest “Oops”?