(This is the final installment in the series of guest blogs from Starla Eleson, a leader at Cabela’s. I’ve appreciated her perspective as a working manager/leader involved in developing others and hope you’ve benefited from her insights.)

Recently, one of my retail staff members in the field directed my attention to an article in the company newsletter and asked if I had read it. I had so then he asked me what I thought about it. I told him I thought it was well written and then asked him why he requested my thoughts.

He answered, “Because I wrote it.”

The article’s byline did not list Tim’s name. Had he not told me, I never would have known.

 Attribution is one of the easiest ways to motivate and demonstrate appreciation for the value our employees bring to our organizations. In my experience it’s also one of the most common failure points among emerging leaders.

When our “worker employees” – tactical, operations-type folks – are promoted to positions of management, they are often not trained or educated properly on the leadership functions their new roles require. They know there is much work to be completed. They know that they have a team of people available to delegate the work to. They know they will be held responsible for the completion of the work in their bucket, so the delve into it and conduct point-checks to make sure things are running on schedule.

Then, all too often, they show the work of their team to their superiors and it turns into an “I”-fest. “I completed this”, and “I worked on that”.

That approach might work, but only for a time. Eventually the employees of that leader will disengage from their work because they, too, need visible credit for the work they do.

I know because even as a leader, it has happened to me. I thought of an idea to improve operations one weekend, typed it up and emailed it to my boss at the time. He said he’d think about it and I left it at that. Six weeks later, I was copied on an email from an executive that said, “Great idea – make it happen”. It was my idea, copied and pasted verbatim but from my boss. He had presented the idea as his own.

Ouch. Talk about your fast track to disengagement.

Leaders stealing credit for the work of others sounds crazy, but is it happening in your organization? More than likely. Think back to college. Remember the guy or gal who would never show up to the meetings for team projects, and didn’t contribute when there was work to be done outside of class? Then remember the day of the presentation when he or she piped up and contributed to the conversation, as if an active member of the team the whole time?

Those people graduate. And then we hire them. And until someone tells them what leadership is supposed to look like – and what the expectations of the organization are regarding attribution and “giving credit where credit is due” – there is no reason for them to change.

This is where our best leaders have a responsibility to groom and prepare other leaders. As companies and organizations, we need to define our expectations in the soft-skill areas, and then we need to provide the training, education and mentoring to help our people be successful in their leadership roles.

Designing and delivering this type of training program at Cabela’s is one of my key objectives for 2010. I would suspect other companies are finding themselves in the same boat. Our colleges prepare students to crunch numbers and execute strategies. Unfortunately, they do not prepare them to lead others in the way that is crucial to both success and a happy, productive workplace. It leaves us shoring up the gaps in the professional sector.

When putting together the topic list for the program, we knew we’d cover the obvious topic areas: Recognition. Communication. Honesty and Integrity. Change Management.

One of the hidden topics we’ll be adding in is Attribution. Building a culture that supports and rewards attribution IN THE SAME WAY that we support and reward task completion can make all the difference in the world. Until we reward leaders for being exceptional leaders, instead of strictly rewarding them for tactical performance metrics – there is no reason for them to be the “best of the best” at leadership.

I have a prediction as we move into a new decade. The organizations that come out on top will be those that DO have the “best of the best” leaders. That being the case, I need to get cracking on this leadership program. The clock is ticking and I have work to do.

What will YOU be doing?

1. It isn’t enough to have a message. It must be YOUR message. What is it about your topic that is important to you? That is where your uniqueness lies. Don’t give books reports. Bring your unique perspective to the audience. When you discover your message, you also release your passion.
2. The best advice on speaking I ever got was over 20 years ago from David Johnson, then an Ohio legislator. He told me that every audience wants to be entertained. I have found that education is usually best delivered on the wings of entertainment.
3. At the beginning of every speech, your primary challenge is to break preoccupation. Each audience member is preoccupied with their own thoughts and concerns. A powerful, attention-grabbing beginning is critical.
4. People don’t remember your points, they remember your illustrations. If they can remember the story, then they will be able to remember the point or lesson that the story teaches. Stories are like mental coat-pegs: a place for listeners to hang ideas.
5. Demosthenes, when asked about the first, second, and third desiderata of rhetoric, replied, “Action, action, action.” End with a call to action. Make it clear what you would like your audience to do as a result of your presentation. Be clear on what they should do, not just what they should think.
6. The primary reason why speakers fail is lack of preparation. Practice may not make perfect, but it does make one better. Enough practice makes one great. Speaking, like any other worthwhile endeavor, requires much practice and preparation.

How to Get the Most From Your Investment in a Professional Speaker

You’ve reviewed all the promotional materials, you’ve watched all the videos, and you’re confident that you’ve picked the perfect speaker for your upcoming meeting. But you’re not quite ready to sit back and relax. There are still a few things you need to do to ensure that your speaker provides the kind of event that attendees will rave about for a long time to come!

Once you’ve selected that perfect speaker, follow up with these eight tips for getting the most out of your investment:

1. Send your speaker lots of information about your organization and upcoming meeting.

Most professional speakers today provide pre-program questionnaires (PPQ) for you to complete (here’s an example of my PPQ). And while completing a lengthy questionnaire might seem like one more hassle in your day, it will pay off in a highly relevant presentation, tailored to your program’s needs. The more information you provide, the better. Your prospective speaker can always “edit down,” but he or she can’t ever “edit up”!

2. Partner with your speaker for the best results.

The best professional speakers work closely with meeting planners to create an impactful presentation. A busy professional speaker addresses more than 100 audiences each year and is, therefore, a gold mine of ideas for meetings. So be flexible — explain what you have in mind, but also ask your speaker for his or her input. For example, I am a high-energy speaker who likes to move around — and into — the audience as much as possible. I appreciate it when I can work with the meeting planner and/or event coordinator to make that possible. Of course, if I’m asked to stand behind a lectern, I will do so. But rarely would that situation be as effective as one in which I had the freedom to move around (and the audio system to accommodate that).

3. Make sure your speaker receives a good introduction.

Since the introduction creates credibility for the speaker and sets the tone for his or her entire presentation, presenting a good one is vital. A prepared introduction is always better than one that is off the cuff. When speaking, I always use a carefully designed introduction and ask the introducer not to interject things like, “Hey, I didn’t write this — I’m just reading it!” (And, by the way, introducers who think they are comedians are the kiss of death!) Obviously, you would hate to spend lots of time and money on a good speaker only to have his or her presentation diluted by a bad introduction.

4. Make sure the speaker has the opportunity to do a pre-meeting room check.

I know few professional speakers who actually rehearse, or go through their entire presentation without an audience, simply because it is a poor use of the professional’s time and energy. However, speakers should always arrive in time to do a sound check, meet and work with the introducer, and deal with staging logistics. Trying to accomplish these things at the last minute only invites disaster.

5. Provide a good room layout.

Even the best speaker can be handicapped by a poor room layout. Some of the most common layout problems include:

• Chairs placed too closely together, causing audience discomfort.
• The first row placed too far from the stage. I’ve found ten feet to be the maximum tolerable distance — anything farther creates an invisible barrier between the speaker and audience.
• The center row is too wide. This problem creates two different audiences that the speaker must work, one on the left and one on the right. Six to eight feet is the right amount of space.
• Poor lighting. Your speaker must be seen to be heard. Bad stage lighting can kill a presentation.

6. Introduce the speaker to key organization leaders.

Unless your speaker is a celebrity, few people other than you will recognize him or her upon arrival. Therefore, give your speaker the opportunity to meet key corporate or association leaders. If a sponsor is involved, be sure to introduce them so that your speaker has an opportunity to say thank you. Meeting and talking to key people in advance gives a speaker the opportunity to reference those conversations and to reinforce points that are important to your organization’s leadership.

7. Host the speaker at pre-presentation events.

If you would like your speaker to attend a reception before the meeting, keep in mind that his or her ability to do so depends on travel schedule, as well as a need for some pre-presentation rest. Also, be sure that someone is assigned to be the speaker’s host; i.e., to be responsible for introducing him or her to others. It is difficult for a speaker who is unfamiliar with a group to “cold call” people and make self introductions. Even the most gregarious of us do better at such events when hosted.

8. Make sure your speaker has a “good room at the inn.”

Reserve a room for your speaker at the site of the presentation. If the site is a convention center, try to use a hotel close by. One of a speaker’s greatest sources of stress is having to factor in travel arrangements and time between a hotel and a presentation site that are miles apart. Also, don’t wait until the last minute to reserve a room, as primary hotels often sell out quickly. Try to honor the speaker’s room request. For example, I always ask for, but do not demand, a non-smoking room with a king-size bed on the concierge level. Why? Because spending 180 nights a year in hotels is draining! My commitment, as is the commitment of most speakers, is to be as energized and “up” as possible for every client. So I try to create a restful hotel experience for myself. I sleep in a king-size bed at home and try to match my hotel experience with that. Also, the concierge level often offers amenities that save my clients money, like a continental breakfast and assistance from hotel staff in troubleshooting problems or fulfilling special requests. It is a simple task to request a speaker’s room preference. And you might want to explain that a good experience for your speaker will result in great PR for the hotel.

Although these eight steps might seem like minor considerations in your preparation for a speaker’s presentation, let me assure you that they are important to the success of your meeting. If you pay attention to these easy-to-accomplish details, you’re guaranteed to get the most from your investment in a speaker!

Mark Sanborn on Speaking Skills

Michael Rabinovici, LL.B., Founder & President of OccasionalWords.com interviewed Mark on the importance of public speaking skills. Whether you have ambitions to be the keynote speaker at a national convention, present more effectively at your next managers meeting or merely speak persuasively at your local PTA, then you’ll be interested in Mark’s message.

Use the controls below to listen to Mark’s interview. Playing time is approximately 30 minutes.

The original version of this interview can be found at the Occasional Words web site. Michael established Occasional Words in 1999 and it has grown to become one of the Internet’s leading providers of speeches and public speaking products, and resources – such as Mark Sanborn’s interview.

Oh no—you’ve been put in charge of the program for your company’s next out-of-office meeting! Your mind flashes back to the meetings you’ve attended that were a disaster. You remember all too well that monotone speaker who bored everyone to tears, that other speaker who obviously didn’t know the first thing about what your company does, and, worst of all, the speaker who thought the audience would learn a valuable management lesson by standing on their chairs and crowing like roosters!

You know that your boss is counting on you to pull together an interesting and valuable program based on a dynamic speaker. And even though the meeting is still months away, you’re already losing sleep over it. To help ease your anxieties about finding the best speaker possible, consider the following four guidelines. These guidelines are the result of my 23 years as a professional speaker and more than 2,000 paid speeches and seminars. Further, I’ve spent lots of time talking to other speakers about how to work most effectively with meeting planners like you—to ensure that your meeting fulfills attendees’ expectations and gives them the most for their time (and monetary) investment.

1. Begin with a topic.

I’m amazed at how many event planners call to inquire about my speaking services who don’t know what they want me to talk about. Although my areas of expertise are fairly wide—I’m a bestselling author in leadership, change, customer service, team building, and motivation—there are many topics I’m not qualified to address. In fact, I know of no speaker who can be all things to all people.

So identifying a topic for your speaker to address is the beginning point. From there, you can work with the speaker to refine the general topic into more specific areas that will provide listeners the most value. For instance, if a client wants to hire me to speak on customer service, my subsequent research might uncover the fact that getting attendees to utilize new technology is a barrier to providing leading-edge service. So, my resulting program would major in customer service and minor in change management.

2. Choose your objectives before you choose your speaker.

Second, determine what you want the speaker to accomplish. I always ask potential clients to identify their three most important objectives, in rank order.

Objectives are different than topics. Consider, for example, the topic of customer service. Your objectives for a presentation based on this topic might be to:

1. convince audience members of the importance of a customer service strategy,
2. educate them on how to develop and deliver superior service, and
3. motivate them to take action.

A different audience might already be committed to superior customer service and proficient in their ability to deliver it. So, your presentation objectives for that kind of audience might be to:

1. show attendees how to reach the next level of service success,
2. offer examples of leading-edge service providers outside your industry, and
3. provide humor to lighten up an education-intensive meeting.

As you can see, the same topic can generate diverse objectives. Think of your topic as a general direction to take, and then think of objectives as the specific destination to reach. You need to know where you want to end up with a speaker as well as the road to take to get you there.

A valuable question I ask prospective and current clients is: “At the end of my presentation, what do you want the audience to think, feel, and do?” This question helps me pinpoint objectives related to the audience’s intellect, emotions, and behaviors. I’ve found it an excellent way to identify key objectives.

Most professional speakers use a pre-program questionnaire to help them tailor presentations to clients’ needs. The type and amount of information they ask for is a good indication of how well they accomplish that task, so during your selection process, be sure to ask for a copy of the pre-program questionnaire of each speaker under consideration—you can view an example of my questionnaire here.

3. Review promotional material carefully.

When you review a speaker’s promotional materials, look for professionalism and for solid credentials and experience. Be careful of hype and unsubstantiated claims. Flashy marketing materials do not make a speaker great. Sometimes new and inexperienced speakers spend great sums of money on slick, hype-filled marketing materials to compensate for a lack of experience. Also, consider the overall style of the materials, which should reflect that of your group. For example, a buttoned-down, conservative audience will probably not be enthralled with a flamboyant speaker. Often, your first clue to a speaker’s style lies in his or her promotional materials.

Look for any professional credentials that the speaker might hold. The National Speakers Association has a professional credentials program by which a speaker can earn the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation through a specified amount of experience, education, and client endorsement. Of course, a CSP designation doesn’t always mean that a particular speaker is the right fit for your audience, but it does carry with it a reliable indication of experience and professionalism. Likewise, there are many fine speakers in the marketplace who do not have the letters CSP after their names.

Another professional credential to look for is the Council of Peers Award of Excellence (CPAE), also awarded by the National Speakers Association. This designation is an honor bestowed annually on speakers by a committee of peers. Of the 3,600 members of the Association, only three to five members receive this honor each year. Currently, there are fewer than 100 living CPAE recipients.

(Author’s Note: Although I hold both the CSP and CPAE credentials, I do not consider them the primary or most important selection criteria for a client. However, I do consider them exceptional indicators of professionalism and experience. I believed they were important credentials before I obtained them, and I would certainly acknowledge the importance of both if I held neither. For more information about either the CSP or CPAE, contact the National Speakers Association at 480-968-2552.)

Other items to look for in a speaker’s promotional materials include the following:

• Client list: Has the speaker worked for others in your industry or a related industry?
• Client testimonials: What do previous audiences say about him or her? Does their reputation lend credibility to their testimonials?
• Areas of expertise: Does the speaker specialize by topic or industry? Has he or she published anything in your area of interest?

4. Remember, the proof is in the performance.

Areas of expertise, client lists and testimonials, credentials, and background are all important items to consider, but the most critical factor in selecting the right speaker for your group is presentation quality. You must see a speaker in action to make the best decision, because the bottom line is: How good are his or her content and speaking style.

Most often you can determine a potential speaker’s performance quality through a preview video—an example of my video can be found here and we’re happy to send you a preview packet when you call 800-650-3353 or email maritza [AT] marksanborn.com. Arranging to see a speaker live is another option, albeit too time-consuming and expensive for most meeting planners. However, most professional speakers and the bureaus that represent them will help you arrange to see a live presentation if you desire.

When you watch a speaker’s preview video, keep in mind that the most important parts of the video are those times when the speaker is addressing a real audience. Also, look for both short excerpts and longer excerpts. The shorter excerpts are sound bytes that demonstrate a speaker’s ability to quickly summarize or encapsulate important ideas. Longer excerpts show the speaker’s ability to maintain interest and hold an audience’s attention. Cutaway shots of the audience are also good if they demonstrate the audience’s attention level. Keep in mind, however, that cutaways are also the way presentations are edited to eliminate unnecessary and ineffective words, sentences, and sections. Too many cutaways may indicate a heavily edited tape.

While watching any preview video, ask yourself the following five questions:

1. Does this speaker capture and hold the audience’s attention?
2. Will our group find value in the speaker’s ideas?
3. Will our group be comfortable with the speaker’s stage presence and style?
4. Does the speaker demonstrate the ability to meet our objectives?
5. Is there evidence that the speaker tailors his or her material to the audience?

A client recently shared with me the system she once used for selecting a speaker. First, she screened ten speakers’ preview videotapes and selected the top four. Next, she and her boss, who was responsible for the overall meeting, watched those four videos and rank ordered their preferences. (Rank ordering your top two to three choices is a good idea in case the top choice is unavailable for your meeting.) Then they asked someone who would be in the audience to watch the four videos and provide feedback. They found it beneficial to check an audience member’s opinion against their own.

Finally, keep in mind that selecting the right speaker for your next meeting is part science and part art. After going through the above four steps, you should do one more thing: Check your choice against your intuition. Ultimately, the speaker you select should feel like a good fit. It you aren’t comfortable with your choice, take your unease as a clear warning sign that you may not have selected the right person. Don’t underestimate or ignore your intuition.

In summary, professional speaking is a growing industry full of talented and effective speakers. In this field, you’ll find a wide variety of skill levels, experience, and areas of expertise. I doubt that anyone could objectively identify the very best speaker in the world. But it doesn’t matter. What you want to do is identify the best speaker for your group, and to do so, you must go through a stringent selection process. When you do, you can be confident that you’ll be a hero, not only to audience members, but also to those who entrusted you with this task.

Mark Sanborn on Speaking Skills

Michael Rabinovici, LL.B., Founder & President of OccasionalWords.com interviewed Mark on the importance of public speaking skills. Whether you have ambitions to be the keynote speaker at a national convention, present more effectively at your next managers meeting or merely speak persuasively at your local PTA, then you’ll be interested in Mark’s message.

Use the controls below to listen to Mark’s interview. Playing time is approximately 30 minutes.

The original version of this interview can be found at the Occasional Words web site. Michael established Occasional Words in 1999 and it has grown to become one of the Internet’s leading providers of speeches and public speaking products, and resources – such as Mark Sanborn’s interview.

1. A disregard for time.
2. Unclear purpose
3. Inadequate preparation
4. Failure to capture attention.
5. Pomposity
6. Boredom
7. False endings

Few things create a more vivid perception of an executive than his speaking ability. The higher execs rise in an organization, the more frequently they are called upon to address others. Ironically, little or no training is given hapless executives to develop this skill. If they become good at public speaking, it is either a gift of genetics, they get lucky, or a combination of both.

Increasingly leaders are realizing their need for skills development that falls outside of what is typically offered by their organizations. That is one reason why executive coaching has become so popular. Often one of the primary areas coaches focus on is communication, both interpersonal and public.

As a professional who makes his living giving speeches and seminars, I’ve sat through hundreds if not thousands of executive presentations. More often than not, the speeches I’ve heard businesspeople make were less than memorable.

And far too often the presentations were painful, not only for the speaker to give, but for the audience to feign interest through.

The majority of executive presenters, even those who flopped dramatically, were well-intentioned. Nobody sets out to destroy her credibility with a bad presentation. So why do people fail in spite of noble intentions?

Intention requires technique to be successfully communicated. It doesn’t matter how well you want to hit the golf ball. Only good form and practiced skill allow you to consistently do so. Public speaking is no different.

I am puzzled why so many seem to think that speaking well in front of an audience is a natural skill. Public speaking, like all skills, is developed. The more often one speaks, the better one becomes if–and this is a big if–he focuses on eliminating undesirable behaviors and developing needed ones.

The fastest gain that can be made in improving your ability to speak well is to eliminate those things that cause disaster. While I’ve observed great creativity in flopping, there are seven common reasons why executive speakers fail. I’ll explain those reasons and what to do about them.

1. A disregard for time.

History has no record of anyone who gave a speech that was too short, but we’ve all been in audiences when the speaker stopped speaking on what seemed like a different day than he had begun.

This problem–speaking too long or taking more time than allotted–seems to be epidemic among high level business leaders. Most meeting planners value their job too much to be candid with an executive and tell him that he completely destroyed the agenda by speaking for an hour when he was scheduled to speak for 15 minutes. And no employee is going to complain to the executive’s face about talking way too long.

Being self-employed allows me the luxury of being totally honest: speaking longer than planned is rude. It suggests to the audience that the speaker and her presentation are more important than anyone or anything else on the program. The length of a presentation shouldn’t be a function of title or power, but a function of how long the exec agreed to talk. If you say you need ten minutes, quit after 10 minutes. If you need more time, negotiate for it in advance. But don’t take the next three speakers’ time because you either don’t pay attention to your watch or you are too arrogant to realize that the high point of the meeting just might not be listening to you speak twice as long as expected.

Start on time and stop on time. Not only will your audience respect you for it, but it will prove that you respect your audience.

2. Unclear purpose

Here’s the million dollar question of any presentation: what’s the point?

Executives who don’t have clear objectives for their presentation usually achieve little.

Heaven help you if your objective is “to inform.” Duh? Every speech informs, whether by design or by default. Attempting only to inform is aiming too low. Why not use the opportunity to motive, inspire or encourage? Why not take advantage of your chance to share a vision or create camaraderie?

Design your speech the way the pros do. Begin by asking, “At the end of this presentation, what do I want listeners to think, feel and do? Good presenters speak to the head, the heart and the hands. Challenging people with lot of information of limited practical application is more frustrating that inspiring.

If you can’t clearly identify a worthwhile purpose for the presentation, you probably shouldn’t be making it.

And it doesn’t hurt to begin with an overt statement of purpose: “The reason I’m speaking to you today is…” It may not be clever, but it will significantly increase the odds that you’ll fulfill your purpose if you enlist the audience early on.

What about speeches that someone else writes for you? It is critically important that a speech writer have access to you and your ideas. Even the best speech writer isn’t clairvoyant. Your speech will only be written as well as the input you provide. This is not the time for “hands-off” delegation.

3. Inadequate preparation

There is no excuse for “winging it.” The best speakers are always–and I mean it literally–prepared for what they say, even if their demeanor suggests otherwise.

That brilliant toe-in-the-sand presenter you heard that came up with the wonderful analogy and spectacular quotes “on the spot” really didn’t. She planned carefully not only what they were going to say, but how they would appear “off the cuff.”

Here’s how to tell if a speaker hasn’t prepared: he doesn’t say anything important. To make best use of your time and the audience’s time, think through and practice what you’ll say.

If you saw a Broadway show where none of the actors had practiced in advance, you would demand your money back.

Too bad audiences don’t get the same privilege.

And please don’t ever beginning by saying, “I really haven’t thought about what I’m going to say…” There are no bragging rights to that. If you ever find yourself tempted make that statement, at least be honest and say, “I’m a goober and I’m going to waste your time.”

Henri Nouwen, the Catholic mystic of the late twentieth, was once frustrated as he prepared for an important speech. His insight? Live prepared, rather than simply trying to prepare. Maybe this is what Tom Peters was alluding to when he instructed managers to have a “stump speech” with the same three or four most important messages ready to give and give again at every opportunity.

4. Failure to capture attention.

The scarcest resource in the world used to be time; today it is attention.

The average listener is bombarded with messages from many different sources. From email to radio to voicemail to cell phones, everybody is trying to tell us something, and your attempt to give a speech is just one more bombardment

That’s why what you say and how you say it had better grab the audience’s attention right out of the shoot. You don’t have time to “warm up.” (“Thank you for inviting me to be here today. It is indeed my pleasure to address you. What a great meeting it has been so far. Blah blah blah blah blah.”)

As my friend and high-powered speech coach Ron Arden says, “In the theater, you’ll never see an actor warm-up on the audience. They warm-up backstage.”

So forget the hackneyed concept of warming up the audience. Hit them square between the eyes with something that will break their preoccupation with what they need to pick up at the grocery store on the way home from work.

Most importantly, make your remarks relevant. Post moderns are less interested with the question “Is it true?” and more interested in the question “How does it affect me?” Sure, you need to be intellectually honest to prove your points, but never forget to prove that your message matters to the listener.

5. Pomposity

Ego-driven leaders are more concerned with what followers think about them than they are with what followers do because of them.

But you don’t necessarily have to be arrogant to be pompous. Sometimes it happens accidentally when a speaker confuses impressing a listener with influencing her.

Impressing people is, for the most part, a head-game: it changes what they think of us. Influencing people is a behavioral game: it changes what people do because of us.

A preoccupation with self is deadly. Self-absorbed speakers present to get their needs met, rather than meet the needs of the audience. The audience instantly recognizes it.

One of the best kept secrets in speaking is this: the audience wants you to do well. Everyone knows how painful it is to watch a speaker bomb in front of others, so instinctively, the audience is pulling for you. And they’ll cut you a lot of slack–allow for mispronunciations and other mistakes–if you are sincerely interested in them.

If you speak down to them or try to blatantly impress them, they’ ll turn on you like a pack of rabid dogs. It won’t be as obvious as the rabid dogs, but beyond their polite or at least neutral nonverbals, they’ll be mentally dismantling you for being a pompous ass.

You wouldn’t be asked to speak unless someone believed that you have credibility, and something to say. That is enough. Don’t undo that assumption through efforts to prove your status to others.

6. Boredom

“Isn’t life a thousand times too short to bore ourselves?” That wasn’t uttered by a tired audience member, but it could have been. Helen Keller said it.

An audience today contains many people who were raised on MTV. That means they spent formative years watching music videos that often contained 150 images in the course of a minute. Watching a talking head is, for them, about as stimulating as watching software load.

Nobody ever flops who entertains. Don’t get me wrong: to be simply entertaining is not in itself a worthwhile goal for an executive presenter, but is sure beats the alternative, which is to be boring. Sell the sizzle and the steak.

Great restaurants know that the presentation of cuisine is as important as its’ preparation. Presentation and perception go hand-in-hand.

“Amusement” comes from two words meaning “not to ponder.” “Entertainment”, on the other hand, is engaging. The value of entertainment for a speaker is that it mentally engages listeners. I’ve found the best way to educate is to slip good ideas in on the wings of entertainment.

And by the way, telling a joke is risky. When it works, it works well. When it fails, nothing fails worse. The best way to avoid groaners is to use humor in such a way that it illustrates your point. If the audience doesn’t laugh, the illustration is still of value. And if they get a chuckle out of the humor, that’s just icing on the cake.

7. False endings

Remember this variation of a familiar acronym: FEAR is False Endings Appearing Real.

I’ve seen it a hundred times. A speaker starts to conclude, even tells the audience of his intent, and then tells a pithy, witty story. The audience responds favorably. The speaker gets a rush. “Wow, they liked that. I’ve got an even better story,” he thinks to himself. And then he ends again, with another story/quote/challenge/admonition/etc. Like a junkie who has just had a good fix, the speaker keeps ending, until there is no positive response, but rather visible signs of disgust. By then, it is too late.

You can only effectively conclude once, yet I’ve seen executives conclude over and over. Each false ending weakens the message that was in front of it.

The false ending nightmare usually begins with these words, “In conclusion….” That triggers hope in the audience’s mind. “Hey, it’s almost over!” They expect you to wrap up quickly.

In my mind that means either summarizing or making a final point. Several points, or the introduction of new points, is not a conclusion.

A simple rule to remember: a good ending happens only once.

The beginning of excellence is the elimination of foolishness. You can bump up your speaking performance by analyzing your last presentation by asking these seven questions:

1. Did I stick to my allotted time?
2. Did I develop and present purposefully?
3. Was I thoroughly prepared?
4. Did I capture attention at the very beginning?
5. Did I positively influence listeners?
6. Was I appropriately entertaining, or at least not boring?
7. Did I end only once?

An affirmative answer to each of those questions virtually guarantees that the next time you make a presentation, you won’t be a flop. Not only will you be flop-proof, most likely you’ll be perceived as an articulate and effective speaker.

Mark Sanborn on Speaking Skills

Michael Rabinovici, LL.B., Founder & President of OccasionalWords.com interviewed Mark on the importance of public speaking skills. Whether you have ambitions to be the keynote speaker at a national convention, present more effectively at your next managers meeting or merely speak persuasively at your local PTA, then you’ll be interested in Mark’s message.

Use the controls below to listen to Mark’s interview. Playing time is approximately 30 minutes.

The original version of this interview can be found at the Occasional Words web site. Michael established Occasional Words in 1999 and it has grown to become one of the Internet’s leading providers of speeches and public speaking products, and resources – such as Mark Sanborn’s interview.

1. It isn’t enough to have a message. It must be YOUR message. What is it about your topic that is important to you? That is where your uniqueness lies. Don’t give books reports. Bring your unique perspective to the audience. When you discover your message, you also release your passion.
2. The best advice on speaking I ever got was over 20 years ago from David Johnson, then an Ohio legislator. He told me that every audience wants to be entertained. I have found that education is usually best delivered on the wings of entertainment.
3. At the beginning of every speech, your primary challenge is to break preoccupation. Each audience member is preoccupied with their own thoughts and concerns. A powerful, attention-grabbing beginning is critical.
4. People don’t remember your points, they remember your illustrations. If they can remember the story, then they will be able to remember the point or lesson that the story teaches. Stories are like mental coat-pegs: a place for listeners to hang ideas.
5. Demosthenes, when asked about the first, second, and third desiderata of rhetoric, replied, “Action, action, action.” End with a call to action. Make it clear what you would like your audience to do as a result of your presentation. Be clear on what they should do, not just what they should think.
6. The primary reason why speakers fail is lack of preparation. Practice may not make perfect, but it does make one better. Enough practice makes one great. Speaking, like any other worthwhile endeavor, requires much practice and preparation.

Sanborn on Selling

Beware of advice. Most advice applies only to average people. An average person wouldn’t win the big account. An average person wouldn’t be capable of negotiating a raise during a pay freeze. An average person wouldn’t be able to keep going after they’d been knocked down a dozen times.

So don’t be an average person. And don’t listen to people who are accustomed to giving advice to average people. They are a vexation to the spirit.

The Facts of Life

No matter how good the economy is now, it will eventually take a downturn.

No matter how much your company loves you and you love them, you may eventually have a falling out.

Your best customer may end up doing time in the federal penitentiary.

Consumer Reports may blast your product.

If any of those things happen, what will you do?????

Most people would say, “There’s nothing I can do. I’m a victim of circumstance!”

Bunk. No matter how bad things are, the true winners keep on winning. Maybe not quite as big or as much, but they still win. That’s because they’re NOT victims of circumstance. They’re victors of circumstance.

When you can’t control what happens, control how you respond.

UPGRADE: How to Be the Best…And Keep Getting Better!

Presentation Summary Points

More important than achieving your goals: Pursuing Your Potential!

The Seven Keys:

Understand: Practice the New Rules of Learning

Plus: Add Value to Everything You Do

Give: Become a Go-Giver Instead of a Go-Getter

Relate: Go Beyond “Interacting” to “Building Relationships”

Adapt: Future-Proof Yourself by Conquering Change

Discipline: Develop the Skill of Self-Mastery

Execute: Implement Boldly–Practice the Action Imperative

Beyond Goal Setting

The 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Calgary, Canada. I am a rabid downhill skier, so I was watching the televised events with great interest.

Of particular interest to me was Pirmin Zurbriggen, 25, Switzerland’s brilliant all-around champion. The serene and religous young man was also a fierce competitor. Before the Olympics, Zurbirggen had told the media”I like pressure. I like to fight. I like to be at the best level of my talents.”

I was watching the second day of an event called the two-day combined. His run on the downhill portion the day before had put Zurbriggen in first by .48 of a second.

In his first of two runs in the combined slalom he tied for sixth. He did not have to do better than that, because due to the computerized formula that measures winning and losing in the combined events, even an unspectacular finish in the second slalom run would have clinched Zurbriggen’s second gold medal of the Olympics (he had already won a gold medal in the downhill).

I watched as Zurbriggen exploded out of the starting gate. His run was proceeding well until suddenly, approximately two thirds of the way down the course, the tip of his right ski caught a pole and Zurbriggen went down hard. Later he would say, “I skied too close to the gate, and I don’t know why. It probably wasn’t a matter of more than a centimeter or two.”

Why had Zurbriggen crashed and ruined his chances for the gold? Was he being careless? Did he push too hard or take an unnecessary chance? I could only speculate and no one else seemed to know.

Two weeks later I was skiing at Copper Mountain, about an hour and a half from my home. Riding up on the ski lift, I started a conversation with the ski instructor sitting next to me. I learned that he was a friend of Zurbriggen’s. He told me that they had taught skiing together many years earlier. I asked him to speculate on what had happened at the Olympics. I wanted to know if he had any insight into why Zurbriggen went down on the course. I’ll never forget what he said, because it helped change my philosophy of business and of life.

“You know, I haven’t talked to Zurbriggen since the Olympics, so I can’t say for sure,” the ski instructor told me, “But I think I understand him well enough to explain it. See, in my opinion, he probably wasn’t trying just to win a gold medal. He was, as always, trying to ski his best race.”

What I learned that day applies to us all. Most men and women are content to achieve their goals and objectives. Leaders pursue their potential. You and I know how good we’ve become. But the once question none of us can answer is: How good can be? Perhaps we give up a great deal because we place it too safe, too conservatively and don’t take appropriate risks.

I don’t know what motivated Pirmin Zurbriggen that day in Calgary, but I do know this: Champions in any walk of life are committed to the pursuit of their true potential, to answering the question “How good can I be?”

As time goes on and we reflect
On the things we’ve said and done;
The places we’ve been, the people we’ve met
And we think of all the fun.

We realize the marks we leave in life
Aren’t made of stone or steel
But rather of the lives we’ve touched
And how we make folks feel.

For people are far more valuable
Than achievements great and high,
Than cars or planes or space shuttles
Or buildings reaching to the sky.

You and I can leave our mark in life
By doing all we can
To serve and praise and uplift
The lives of children, women and men.

Mark Sanborn