Speaking Season - 10 of 107

Don't Assume.

A lesson I just never seem to tire of learning....

Last night my presentation set-up was a complete breeze thanks to the helpful folks at the Sioux City Convention Center. Everything was in place, my video and audio worked well, and all signs pointed to a great evening.

Unfortunately, the second video was unlistenable - the old house speakers simply couldn't handle the sound, despite repeated attempts to adjust. I punted, and tried to recap the video as best I could. The second video was better, but the sound was still unacceptable by any standard. Tough to know if the meeting was a success or not - only 12 families showed up with students tonight - I should have some more results in coming days.

While I did all I could as a presenter during the hour of presenting, I made a classic mistake of ASSUMING that since the first video worked well, the others all would as well - after all, they always had. If I had checked them all, we could have fixed the problem, whether through soundboard adjustments, changing speaker systems, or even running to best buy for some high powered computer speakers.

Finding out during your presentation that something isn't working just isn't a positive result. Yes, it can happen, but by assuming less, and testing more, we can all set ourselves up for stronger success than I did last night...
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Went to Bev's By The River last night for dinner - supposed to be a great restaurant here in town. I ordered chicken oscar, and was pretty disappointed. Perhaps their other menu items are better, but this one didn't do it for me at all.
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Finding myself really missing my wife and kids while out on the road. So much is happening at home with new schools and doctor's appointments. Kristi's been invited to be interviewed on the radio for an NF Walk in Denver, and Riley, my 9 year old daughter, is trying out for Willy Wonka at the local community theatre. Six kids is a lot of kids to miss, a lot of activities to miss, and a lot of love to miss.

Today's lesson? Don't assume. Don't assume anything will always work, don't assume the chicken oscar will be good, and don't assume that being away from your family will be wholly compensated for by a good job!

Speaking Season - 7, 8, 9 of 107

My day in Lincoln started a bit late - slept in. With just one night in Lincoln, I packed everything up and headed out to the High School I would be speaking at at 1, 3, and 5 pm.

Didn't follow the same dietary plan today - did a McDonalds breakfast on the way, and about 2 o'clock the team went out for some fruit smoothies and returned with one for me - an excellent pick-me-up. I had energy for the day, but I can't say it was derived from the healthiest of choices. Dinner was an excellent Prime Rib at Misty's in downtown Lincoln - not as good as last night, but still an A in my book.

After dinner, I drove for two hours to Sioux City, Iowa, where I'll get to settle in for two days and nights (finally, a chance to dryclean my suit!), and get a bit of a vacation of sorts, with only one presentation on Monday and again on Tuesday, both in the evening.

I tested some new material today, in the wake of mediocre results Saturday. Changed out my open, in favor of a story about going to the National Cemetery at Normandy, and my interaction with a student who refused to feel sad, and instead felt joy and appreciation towards those that sacrificed their lives in the campaign that helped turn the tide in World War II. Seemed to get the audiences attention right off the bat.

For two of the programs, the students would be heading to Rome to see the Colosseum. I likened it to Memorial Stadium, the home of the Nebraska Cornhusker football team, which dominates the scenery as you drive into the city. The parallel of gladiators, and the fact that the roots of stadiums everywhere start in Rome was also well received.

Can you imagine the Roman Public doing "The Wave"?

In addition, I made a joke about it being hard to admit the Nebraska football team were gladiators, since I was an Iowa Hawkeye fan - I followed this by welcoming them to the Big 10, which got a chuckle each time I used it. It was a customization that only works here - where football is king, the big news lately has been the University's defection from the Big 12 to the Big 10, and Iowa is a border rivalry state.

Early results seem to show that my changes were effective, and I certainly felt more energy on stage by changing up my message throughout the otherwise scripted presentation.

The two lessons from today, then, are these:

1. Test, Test, Test! You never know when you're going to find gold, and you need to be ready to jettison the lead that serves as dead weight in your presentations.

2. Customize - letting the audience know you understand them and their lives is an excellent way to connect. In this case, even though I was using a sports example, it fit both the situation of them going to Rome and the University town nature of Lincoln - in fact, the Cornhusker team is the pride of ALL of Nebraska, crossing over age, sex, and financial factors.

What can you do in your next presentation that you didn't do last time? Try something new, give the audience a reason to like you, and track the results. You'll be surprised at the results you'll create.

Speaking Season - 3, 4, 5, 6 of 107

Sometimes you just have to keep going, and going, and going.

Yes, today was what we call a 4-pak - four presentations - 10, 12, 2, & 4. Started off with two high school groups who had identical itineraries for next year, then a middle school group, then an elementary audience.

My supplies showed up at the hotel at 11:00 am, and my team of teachers was able to go pick them up, averting a daylong disaster that I had feared yesterday. The one meeting with limited supplies still went well - I actually used the obviously copied application brochures as an illustration of the kind of flexibility travel builds in individuals, as a benefit to the program they were there to consider.

In a day of meetings, two challenges stick out to me:

A. Energy level - The day tends to start light - a banana is my typical start to the day. For a meeting that starts at 10, I get to the venue at 7:30 to ensure setup is taken care of. Audience members show up up to an hour early most days. I also make sure to have food and water there for the day, even if food simply means a Clif Bar to tide me over. I don't actually get very hungry during the presentation, but to keep my enthusiasm up, a little sugar about halfway through helps push me to the end. Each audience deserves a high energy level, and the feeling that they are the only ones you've talked to all day - because to them, they are.

B. Keeping track of what I've said - by the third presentation, its easy to think you've already said something to the audience that you actually haven't - you instead discussed a particular benefit with a prior group, and its all blending together. Memorizing the tentposts of your script is essential in keeping yourself on track, and in this particular business, repeating oneself is a better option than leaving it out, especially when it comes to safety procedures, dates of departure, and tuition costs.

I'm still gauging what works for me during these marathon weekend days. Almost every weekend for the next three months is filled with 6-7 meetings. I'm sure by the time a few more weekends go by, I'll have a solid personal routine to share with you.

After the day, I headed back to the hotel to pick up the balance of supplies (including an extra suit I asked my wife to FedEx to me). Dinner was at Drover's here in Omaha, where I had perhaps the best steak of my life. At least top 3. The whiskey steak was a 2 inch thick marinated filet, and literally melted in my mouth. If you ever get to Omaha, I highly recommend you check this place out. A bit loud, but the food far outweighs that particular problem. Back on the road, I took the 55 minute drive to Lincoln, to be greeted my Memorial Stadium as the town's centerpiece - the home of the Nebraska Cornhusker football team. I'm actually at a Marriott tonight that calls itself the Cornhusker hotel. Tough for a Hawkeye to take, quite honestly!

More tomorrow....

Flexibility - Lessons From The Road #2

Switched from the silver Nissan Xterra I've been driving in South Dakota to a big 'ol white Yukon today, in Omaha. Coolest part of it is the picture I get of what's behind me when I'm shifted into reverse. This vehicle will get me across Nebraska and up to the northern region of Minnesota between today and Sept. 3rd.

Not much flexibility needed to switch cars, but I nearly pulled a few muscles today when I discovered that the supplies I needed for the next 11 meetings between now and next Thursday were NOT on the way. I could expedite an order to arrive Saturday which would cover my Sun-Thu meetings, but I was out of luck for Saturday. Luckily, I had a few spare applications booklets, and once I made it to Omaha from Sioux Falls and made the vehicle switch, I jetted to the nearest Fedex/Kinko's. Even as I type they are continuing to put together copies of 350 applications for tomorrow.

There's a lot at stake at these meetings, and without applications, a huge investment of money and time would have gone down the tubes. As it is, I'm going into battle with a sword but no shield, shall we say.

Sometimes the world conspires against us, and sometimes we conspire against ourselves. As speakers, with audiences counting on us, we must be ready for anything. I'm fortunate I had a day between meetings - at least I'll go in with SOMETHING.

But....what if I couldn't? The show must go on. Students would still come, and I would still have a presentation to show them. They would still be able to apply onsite and at home. Not the best-case scenario, but certainly better than 350 students coming in throughout the day to a sign that says "Cancelled".

Regardless of what happens around us, we as speakers are the bringers of the message. If all the supplies showed up, and WE didn't, the results would be far more catastrophic.

Remember: The Show Must Go On - Speak and Deliver!

Speaking Season - 2 of 107

Ole the Viking

How many Audiences are in your Audience?

Back at Augustana College tonight, this time speaking to a smaller crowd of about one hundred 5th and 6th graders about the opportunity for them to go to France and the UK next year.

Speaking to a younger audience (and their parents) carries with it unique challenges. First, younger students are excitable - they aren't yet "too cool" to be excited, and that works in my favor as a speaker telling them about the wonderful things they will get to do. Second, parents of younger students have their guard up higher, and need me to go far beyond excitement, and cover value and safety to reassure them they are making a good decision to send their 10, 11 or 12 year old over an ocean to Western Europe.

Balance is crucial - too much energy and the parents turn off, too much seriousness, the kids turn off.

Whether its kids and adults, employees and upper management, or men and women - understanding the needs of the audience is essential when you craft your message. If you don't use language, stories, images, and motivating statements directed at each group in your audience, you'll lose them - and losing part of your audience can affect the whole.

Scour the messages you deliver for audience-specific moments. Are your stories directed more at one group than the other? Are you effectively targeting those who are your potential customers? People who control the purse strings? Are you using logical and emotional strategies? When you tell a story, are you painting the picture with visuals, audio cues, tactile markers, taste examples, and maybe even a smell that anchors the moment?

Every audience member is important - one or two audience members who disconnect from your presentation can infect the entire room with disinterest and distraction.

What parts of your presentations can you tweak to ensure you effectively Speak & Deliver, to ALL parts of your audience?

Speaking Season - 1 of 107

I have 107 presentations scheduled between tonight and November 20th through my employer, People to People Student Ambassador Programs. These "Speaking Season" posts will be a travelogue of sorts, and I'll work to provide some interesting tidbits along the way.

I'm in Sioux Falls, South Dakota this week, giving two presentations in the evening at Augustana College. Tonight I spoke to a crowd of about 250 parents and students (middle school and high school), giving them the lowdown on what it means to be a student ambassador and what they'll be doing on program next year.

I am half motivational speaker, half informational speaker, and all salesman. It presents a unique challenge to motivate these students and their parents to sign up for a program of this type. It's an amazing opportunity, but also a fairly large investment of money and time.

We're all selling something, be it a product, service, idea, or ideology. The first sale is always to yourself, they say, and every time I hear student alumni come up and talk about their experiences I am sold over and over again.

Tonights learning moment: We fill delegations with about 40 students. Overflow can go with a delegation from another state. I suggested they sign up now and avoid going with students from Minnesota, in an attempt to show some humor and state pride. What I failed to do was look at a map - we are just 15 miles from Minnesota, and had a few students at the meeting from across the border. Oops. I played it for humor and asked if anyone was from Florida, and went with that instead, saying I just stuck my Super Deluxe Robot Foot in my mouth...

So - amateur mistake - know thy audience, followed by pro recovery - make fun of thyself.

Learning a Script: Lessons from Road #1

Too...Many...Words!!!!

It's been a long time since I've had to learn a script. At least, someone else's script. In college, I did several plays, memorizing lines from the likes of Oscar Wilde, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Agatha Christie, and in my 20's I played the part of Legion in an Easter Passion Play, reciting a long monologue.

Since then, the only memorization has been internalization of my own writing. It's much easier to 'memorize' your own words, particularly when the only person who knows if you're saying them exactly as you wrote them is YOU. Memorization of someone else's sentences, stories, and syntax takes tremendous effort, because the action is two-fold: remembering the words, and presenting them with emotion.

After I sent my resume into my new employer, I was sent a script on New Years Eve - It was 7-8 minutes of material, which they had recently paid a consultant to put together, and they wanted me to send them a video  - by Monday. As if memorization isn't enough, try it with six kids in the house, your wife leaving for a week-long trip at 4 am Sunday morning, and having to film yourself amongst all the goings on!

No real suspense here - I pulled it off and am working for them right now, as I update this blog from the TownSuites in Brookfield, Wisconsin. How I did it may help you next time you're looking to memorize a script, whether its your own, or your potential employers:

1. Find Alone Time - even if it's sitting in the bathroom. Turn off the TV, and only listen to music if its either unobtrusive or necessary to drown out the kids. Instrumental works well, as it doesn't add any word to the mix of verbiage you'll have in your head. The less cross-chatter you have, the faster you'll soak in the words you'll need.

2. Start at the Beginning - unless the script is chunked into self-contained stories, memorizing it from beginning to end will build a thread of continuity.

3. Map It - whittle it down to keywords, or beginnings of paragraphs, or events - any logical sequence that allows you to see where you are going at any part of your speech by glancing at just a word of two of notes.

4. Notes - sometimes they're welcome, sometimes not - you don't see people reciting Shakespeare from notes much, but in a sales presentation, some 'cribnotes' may serve you well.

5. Creative Repetition - don't just say the line over and over - that leads to boredom, and eventually you don't even remember what you are repeating. Say it with different intonations and meanings.

6. Audio Record Yourself - say the entire script the way you want it to sound into your digital recorder, and listen to it every chance you get.

7. Get a Prompter - before Kristi left, I'd have her start me on a random paragraph with a word or two. As you go through the lines, just point at your prompter to give you a word.

8. Last and First - speak the script aloud (even if you whisper it) right before you go to bed and first thing when you wake up.

9. Linking words - memorize the last and first words between paragraphs, so when you say the last word, the first word of your next statement is at the tip of your tongue

10. Video Tape Yourself - you'll have to anyway, for an audition. Set the camera up (I set it up at 11 pm, after all were asleep, then 9 am, when all but one of the kids were at school, and the youngest was still sleeping - take what you can get) and let it run. Run through your presentation, stop and start as you forget and remember, but just let the tape run. After you make it all the way through, watch it and notate what's working for you - then do it again, until you can get through the entire script in one take.

These worked for me, and helped me with the longer script once I was out on the job, doing my first solo presentation 13 days after hire.

I'm learning a tremendous amount as I work this particular job - about speaking and all the details that surround it. I'll continue to share my Lessons From the Road as the days roll by! In the meantime, I'm heading to Carroll University tonight to Speak...and Deliver!