Art of Speaking Business

I thought it would be fun to compare a traditional storyteller a Seanachai (pronounced “shan-a-hee”), an Irish storyteller to a modern day American storyteller Jeff Smith-Luedke, who is an author of two books and runs a popular channel azrinoch on Youtube.  

Watch them both, then we can discuss a bit.  When you watch the clips, try to listen for descriptive details.

Here’s Jeff Smith-Luedke (azrinoch)…

The best thing we can learn from both of these storytellers is their use of very specific adjectives and specific verbs to help us create unique memorable mind images.

• “he put the pony in a makeshift shed that was at the gable of the house”
• “there it twas a beautiful wheel of bread with a cross on it like you see the spokes on a wheel”
• “his teeth were swimming inside of his mouth for a bite of it”
• “bounded to the bathroom with glee” (he just didn’t go to the bathroom)
• “the avatar of my body, the very skin of my face had been mercilessly slaughtered” (he had pimples)
• “vying for a last-minute, well-scripted Hollywood miracle” (looking for skin care product)

I’m sure you heard even more descriptive language that stuck out.  Tons more we can learn. Listen for the unique analogies, listen for the repetition, listen for vocal variety, and listen for the use of pauses.  Thanks to master story tellers for lessons we can incorporate into our own stories.  Use this for the stories you tell at parties, in presentations, in interviews, or even at the dinner table.

Last week on The Public Speaker, I talked about how to create attention getting openings and memorable closes.  I talked about how we can benefit from watching how directors achieve this in movies.

This week on The Public Speaker, I’ll talk about four basic building blocks of any good story. But, that’s just the start!  There is so much more to learn!

Stories are such an important part of presentations and of persuasion, it’s worth investing some time to listen to the experts at telling stories.  John Truby is a professional in the art of screenwriting.  His book, The Anatomy of a Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller describes the specific elements needed for any good story…for a screenplay, for a commercial,  or for a story in a presentation.

I found some clips on YouTube which I think are worthwhile watching of John talking about some of these 22 steps.

Here he talks about plot. There are very specific techniques that can be learned for creating a good plot.

The last clip he’s talking about oppositions when talking about characters.

This week on The Public Speaker I talk about when it makes sense to read, when it’s OK to memorize (never) and when to use notes. I also give tips on how to read and how to use notes.

Interestingly, Bert Decker twittered this link to this article that talks about how our President Barack Obama doesn’t go anywhere without his TelePrompter. I think the article is addressing many of issues I talked about in the podcast.

The article suggests that for our President, it’s OK to use a TelePrompter, AS LONG AS the words in the text are ones that reflect the real ideas, thoughts, and words of our President.

Here’s a quote from the article that I found interesting.  “Whether one uses note cards or a teleprompter, the American people are a lot more concerned about the plans relayed than the method of delivery. This is not always true of the media,” said Bill Burton, deputy press secretary.

I think that we (Americans and non-Americans) are in a very difficult economic environment. And we look to our nations leaders for confidence and strength.   Yes, we want the plans, but much of perception about the plan is communicated via eye contact, smiling, fluidity, vocal power and inflection.

When President Obama speaks without hesitation and disfluencies (ums and ahs) we gain confidence.  Right now, I think we need this President  to communicate in a clear, compelling, and concise manner.

However, as, I have mentioned many times before, President Obama is still working on his delivery with and without the TelePrompter.  When he does not use a telepromoter his speech is full of hesitation and disfluency.

Unfortunately, the only time he speaks with limited disfluencies is when he is using the telepromter.  Even then, his eye contact is lacking because his eyes are glued to the teleprompter. With time, his delivery is improving both on and off teleprompter, but he’s making slow gains and this is not something that can be fixed quickly unless he spends time practicing this skill.

I think it’s a good idea for him to continue to use the TelePrompter, especially for very important speeches, but I also think he should continue to work on his skills for fluid speech and for improved eye contact when his is using the device. Ultimately, the nation wants a leader who can think AND SPEAK on his feet (without a teleprompter).

We want and need a communicator that is clear, compelling, and concise with or without reading. We want and need someone that knows how to read (without sounding or looking like they are reading).  But most importantly we value leaders who are able to speak extemporaneously in an effective manner (without a teleprompter).