Friday, June 30, 2006
Tricks others have used:
- Winston Churchill would envision the listeners in their underwear.
- See yourself as very tall and big and the listeners as small, little people.
- Step out of character – Act as though you were the best speaker that they’ve ever seen.
- Write your notes in pencil so that others can’t see what you’ve written.
- Write or print out your notes in a large font so you can push them farther in front of you on the table and not have to look so far down to consult them.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Beware of your thinking as you rehearse.
The frequent errors of thinking are:
The frequent errors of thinking are:
- Demanding that things be just the way you want them to be
- Saying that things are AWFUL and TERRIBLE
- A low tolerance for frustrating things
- Thinking that a mistake invalidates you has a person
Monday, June 26, 2006
Rehearsal
Have you ever given the same information to several groups in several talks? Weren’t you better the third and fourth time than the first? That is why rehearsal is a good idea!
Rehearse OUT LOUD. Stand up in your living room or lock yourself in an office or the conference room and start practicing. Speaking aloud is very different from re-reading or whispering. Get used to yourself by rehearsing in virtual reality.
Have you ever given the same information to several groups in several talks? Weren’t you better the third and fourth time than the first? That is why rehearsal is a good idea!
Rehearse OUT LOUD. Stand up in your living room or lock yourself in an office or the conference room and start practicing. Speaking aloud is very different from re-reading or whispering. Get used to yourself by rehearsing in virtual reality.
- Rehearse to the wall, in the empty conference room or to your dog, but rehearse.
- Use your final set of notes in your rehearsal.
- The famous speaker Martin Luther King rehearsed parts of his “I have a dream” speech for months before he finally gave it in front of the Lincoln Monument in Washington DC.
- Winston Churchill was anxious about speaking and rehearsed a great deal.
- Even though you hate to do it and it feels silly, rehearse!
- Do not stop and start over when you make mistakes. Instead, rehearse how you will fix it as you go on.
- Try to get someone to critique the writing and how you present it.
How can I just look quickly at my notes and still remember what to say?
- Practice small parts of your speech when you have a few minutes between regular work. It is hard to find time to rehearse the whole speech.
- This will get you used to your notes and make you see where you might want to add a word or pause.
- Small parts of your speech will be more easily remembered when you have isolated them.
- “Never let your fears become the boundaries of your life.”
