Life After PowerPoint!

A radio interviewer asked me yesterday what I thought of Obama’s State of the Union Address. “Was it a success?”

How do you decide if a speech – the president’s or your own — was a success or a flop? A hit or a miss?

Do you judge a speech by the applause? Obama was applauded 61 times during his speech (according to those who count these things) and got a standing ovation at the end. Does that mean it was a success?

Do you judge a speech by people’s comments afterwards? The pundits and talking heads seemed to agree it was a successful speech. (Their assessment varied, mind you, depending on their political leanings). Does that mean it was effective? If people tell you they liked what you said, does that mean your speech was effective?

No one passed out a speech evaluation form when Obama finished speaking, but they sometimes do at the end of a conference or seminar. If you score higher than a 4.0 on a 5.0 scale for speech effectiveness, does that prove anything?

How do you decide how effective Obama’s speech was? And, by extension, how do you know if your own speeches and presentations are effective?

I’d like to propose one criterion. It’s not the only one, but it’s the one that matters most. Did the speech achieve the speaker’s goal? Yes or no? Did it produce the results the speaker wanted? Yes or no. That’s it.

When Demosthenes, the greatest of Greek orators, was asked what the three tests of a great speech were, he answered, “Action. Action. Action.” For leaders today, the answer would be, “Results. Results. Results.”

According to a CBS poll, “Eighty percent of speech watchers approve of President Obama’s plans for dealing with the economic crisis. Before the speech, 63 percent approved.” If Obama’s intention was to gain support for his plan, I’d say he gave a very effective speech.

All the rules, principles, and guidelines of speaking are ways of helping you achieve your goal. Don’t get so fixated on them, that you lose sight of what you want to accomplish. And don’t even think of giving a speech without knowing exactly what you want to accomplish.

What did you think of his speech? Do you agree with my criterion? Would you suggest another?

Fletcher Dean, an award-winning speech writer, ran a review of my book, Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint. He calls it the “real deal for leaders” and a “good addition to your bookshelf.” (Thanks, Fletcher.)

I highly recommend his blog Speech 2.0. He offers insightful and thorough critiques of major speeches, both in business and in politics. And he doesn’t just stick with American speeches. (He’s recently analyzed speeches by the premier of China and by the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick.) He also hightlights interesting books.

As an example of what you’ll find in Fletcher’s blog, he just posted a piece about Ted Sorensen (JFK’s counselor and celebrated speechwriter). He compared what Sorensen said in a recent speech where he focused on “the outline; the headline; the frontline; the sidelines; and the bottom line,” to what he wrote in his book, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History. Then he gave a great synopsis of the book’s main ideas about speechwriting.

If you’re interested in gaining an experienced speechwriter’s perspective on what makes a speech work (or not), check out Fletcher’s blog. As my mom would say, “it’ll do you good.”

Publishers Weekly, “an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents,” ran this review of my book, Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint:

In Witt’s succinct and humorous assessment of leadership strategies and the art of the public presentation, the business consultant focuses on the basics and the particulars that often go by the wayside when speakers rely on crutches like PowerPoint. A good speaker and leader knows that the individual is inseparable from his or her message, that ideas must be conveyed simply and powerfully, and that conviction is paramount to get others on board. Witt, founder and president of his own Witt Communications company, goes into great detail illustrating exactly what a successful speaker does and how those skills translate to good leadership. While Witt’s primer doesn’t say anything particularly new, it’s a fine demonstration of his principles at work: well-organized and straightforward, with plenty of concrete take-away techniques. Geared toward those looking to get a leg up at work, shape their ideas and overcome the public speaking jitters, Witt’s quick, witty instructional makes a fine addition to the office arsenal.

I like the review not just because it’s positive, but because it captures the main point of the book.

I wish, of course, that it had substituted the phrase “is brilliantly original” for “doesn’t say anything particularly new.” But since public speaking has been so well studied for more than 2,500 years, it’s next to impossible to come up with something new to say about it. I like to think that I’ve selected and distilled some of the best insights that have been generated over the years, added my own take on them, and given practical tips for making them relevant today.

I’ve printed up the review so I can post it next to my computer. (See photo.) I don’t know if you can make it out, but I’ve highlighted certain phrases that warm my heart and stroke my ego:

• “succinct and humorous”
• “well-organized and straightforward“
• “quick, witty”

Normally, I bristle at being described as witty, because with a last name like Witt I’ve heard just about every pun that can possibly be made on the word. But I’ll make an exception in this case.

Thanks for bearing with me. I’m still enjoying seeing my book in print and hearing nice things said about it.

Billboard designers know that they get about three seconds of people’s attention as they’re driving by at 65 miles an hour, listening to a CD, and drinking a latte. A billboard has to make its point — its one point — unambiguously and quickly.

The same is true with a speech.

Audiences may look like they’re giving you their undivided attention, but in their minds they’re speeding along multiple highways of thought, juggling innumerable tasks. They are not catching everything you’re saying.

So your speech has to make its point — its one point — unambiguously and quickly.

Don’t get me wrong. I love speeches that address complex subjects in a rich, sophisticated, and intellectually challenging way. I don’t want speakers to dumb down their material or to reduce it to a simplistic slogan. But the more complex the issue you’re addressing, the harder you have to work to clarify your message.

Imagine that people are speeding by your speech, not giving it the kind of attention you’d like. What can you do to get your point across?

P.S. The billboard above was designed by a friend of mine, Annika Nelson, whose lovely artwork can be seen in books, galleries, and public spaces. Check out her site here.

Everyone will tell you that to learn how to give a speech, you need to practice. Just get up there and speak. It makes sense. I say it myself. You learn by doing.

But what isn’t often said is this. One of the best ways to improve your speaking is to listen — and pay attention — to good speeches.

Along those lines, I offer this speech by Sir Ken Robinson at Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

It’s long (almost an hour), but it’s worth the time.

His talk is what I consider a hybrid. Half (college-level) lecture. Half speech. It could have been more tightly structured. He could have made his point a little more forcefully. And he could have addressed the question, “So what do we do now?”

But I love his use of stories and images. I love how chatty and personable he was while talking intelligently and passionately about important issues. And I love how thoughtful and thought-provoking he was. I favor speeches that challenge the way I think about issues worth caring about.

Any speeches you’d recommend?

Dale Carnegie started out teaching people how to give speeches. As a result of his teaching, he wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People, which may be the first self-help book ever published. (It’s still selling big time.) I just read a blog by Chris Brogan that made me think of Carnegie’s “Six Ways to Make People Like You.” They are:

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a man’s name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in the terms of the other person’s interest.
6. Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.

I always like Carnegie’s advice, and I highly recommend his book to many of my clients. I just wish it didn’t sound so manipulative to me. “I’ll make you feel important,” it seems to say, “and I’ll do it sincerely so you’ll like me.”

Brogan’s posting echoes Carnegie’s rules 1, 4, and 5. Like Carnegie Brogan makes a point about focusing more on the other person in a conversation than on yourself. But he does it without sounding calculating, which I like.

In situations where you’re talking with others, do your best to talk more about them. Learn about them. Ask questions. The smartest people are those who plumb the depths of the other person, and come away knowing them deeply. We seem to fear, as humans, that the other person in a situation won’t hear us. We get worried that we’ll leave a conversation somehow unequally.

Strangely, the most “important” people (in at least the public business sense) I have ever met in my life have all asked me more about myself, and even with me trying hard to turn it around, they were gracious and interesting and still worked hard to know more about me than themselves.

chrisbrogan.com

The same advice applies to giving a speech. Which sounds strange I know, because a speech seems to be more like a monologue than a conversation.

But here’s what’s important to remember about giving a speech: It isn’t about you. It isn’t even about your expertise. It’s about your audience and how they can benefit from what you say.

As you prepare you speech, you have to listen to your audience, doing as much research as possible about them. Who are they? What do they already know and feel about your topic? What are their problems, concerns, interests, goals? What do they have in common? What makes them different? Why are they gathering? What do they want? It’s hard, in my opinion to find out too much about your audience.

Before your speech begins, talk with individuals in the audience. Don’t just stand off to the side of the room or sit quietly somewhere. Shake people’s hands as they come in. Introduce yourself. Ask them about themselves.

And as you’re speaking, listen to their body language. Invite their questions and really listen to them. (Don’t simply use their questions as a jumping off point for what you what you wanted to say anyway.)

Make your speech as much like a conversation as possible, listening as deeply and authentically as you can to the people you’re addressing, and I guarantee you’ll give a better speech.

The goal of a speech isn’t — or shouldn’t be — to make your audience marvel at what a great speaker you are. The goal of a great speech is to make them marvel at what they’re capable of.

Who are the speakers you admire most? Why?

Here I am showing off my book, Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint: How to Sell Yourself and Your Ideas (Crown Business, 2009). I also sum it up in one sentence and describe some of the features of the book.

By the way, here’s my one sentence summation of the book: Leaders, aspiring leaders, and people who want their words to have more impact speak not to communicate information, but to influence and inspire their audiences, to shape the way they think and feel and act.

A friend of mine, Gertrud Nelson, hosted a book signing party at her place on Saturday. (She’s published several books herself. One of them — To Dance with God – has been in continuous print for more than 20 years.)

Gertrud supplied the place. I bought chocolate — See’s Candy, chocolate chip cookies, and the most decadent brownies I’ve ever tasted — and white wine. (It was Valentine’s Day, after all.) She asked me to “say a few words,” which I hadn’t planned on doing. But I took a lesson from the chapter in my book titled, “Speaking Spontaneously Takes Some Planning,” and did my best.

Here’s what I said:

Leaders — and people who want to have impact when they’re speaking — speak not to communicate information, but to influence and inspire their audiences.

A great speech is made up of four main elements — the person who’s speaking, the event, the message, and the delivery. (The book is divided into four sections, which elaborate on those four elements.)

And, of course, I told a story because I can’t imagine giving a speech without telling at least one story.

If you’ve had the chance to read my book, Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Abraham Lincoln was born 200 years ago today. (So was Charles Darwin.)

In his honor I’d like to cite a few of his lesser known sayings:

Let’s have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.

Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.

You might think that with a book titled Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint I’d be opposed to using it in each and every presentation. But I’m not. At least half of my clients use — and need to use — PowerPoint. And I help them to it.

Here’s my reasoning. PowerPoint (and other slideware like it) can be — isn’t always, but can be — an effective tool in communicating information. It’s an instructional aid. So if your main intention is to teach, instruct, train, or inform, feel free to use it. Use it well, mind you, but use it. (There are other ways, sometimes easier and more effective ways, to communicate information, but that’s another issue.)

When leaders speak, their main intention (most of the time) is not to communicate information. (They don’t want to sound like or to be regarded as a trainer or sales rep.) When leaders present information, they do so in order to support or advance another, more important goal. Leaders primarily give speeches:

1. To establish their group’s identity (“this is who we are”) either internally or externally
2. To shape the way the audience thinks and feels about big issues (i.e., to influence them)
3. To inspire the audience to take action.

To accomplish those goals, leaders — and speakers who have similar goals — have to appeal not just to their audience’s intellect, but also to their emotions, values, and imaginations. PowerPoint doesn’t help speakers do that well. At least not yet.

Many presenters — especially technical experts — need to communicate a significant amount of information about their companies, products, services, procedures, etc. They may be conducting training, for example, or making a sales pitch or an oral proposal, or giving a project update. In those cases they and their audiences may well benefit from using PowerPoint. If it is used well.

Andrew Lightheart at realsmartnow.net has some great advice about how to use PowerPoint. He spells out a rule that I wholeheartedly agree with:

You only need a slide in a presentation if you’d need one in conversation.

Creating slides for technical presentations

Do you agree with his rule? What do you think of my assertion that PowerPoint doesn’t help speakers appeal to people’s emotions, imaginations, and values?

P.S. The picture is of me. And I’m violating one of my own rules: Keep objects (like pens) out of your hands when you’re presenting.