Dahle Communication

A Good Story Helps Propel Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor

There are many people in the communication field that have talked about the importance of telling a compelling story when giving a speech. Duarte Design, Bert Decker, Garr Reynolds, Guy Kawasaki, and Dr. Simon Raybould of Presentation Skills have all talked about the importance of telling a good story when giving a presentation or a speech.

Beyond that, if you had any doubts as to the importance of having a good story, then all of us were given a great example with President Barack Obama's nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Right away there were various newspaper accounts discussing her story and not her judicial record. A New York Times article summed it up well by starting a major article on Sotomayor with the following:

She was “a child with dreams,” as she once said, the little girl who learned at 8 that she had diabetes, who lost her father when she was 9, who devoured Nancy Drew books and spent Saturday nights playing bingo, marking the cards with chickpeas, in the squat red brick housing projects of the East Bronx. She was the history major and Puerto Rican student activist at Princeton who spent her first year at that bastion of the Ivy League “too intimidated to ask questions.” She was the tough-minded New York City prosecutor, and later the corporate lawyer with the dazzling international clients. She was the federal judge who “saved baseball” by siding with the players’ union during a strike. Now Sonia Sotomayor — a self-described “Nuyorican” whose mother, a nurse, and father, a factory worker, left Puerto Rico during World War II — is President Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court, with a chance to make history as only the third woman and first Hispanic to sit on the highest court in the land. Her up-by-the-bootstraps tale, an only-in-America story that in many ways mirrors Mr. Obama’s own, is one reason for her selection, and it is the animating characteristic of her approach to both life and the law.

Notice how there wasn't anything that dealt with her decisions on certain cases or her stance on certain issues. This was not a coincidence. The Obama administration is using a good story to help them ensure that their candidate gets through the senate confirmation hearings and placed on the Supreme Court.

Don't get me wrong - I am not claiming that Sonia Sotomayor is not qualified for the position or that the Obama administration is trying to fool anyone. I have not researched her qualifications nor have I delved into the debate about if she should be appointed to the Supreme Court or not. My point is simply this: the Obama administration is doing what all great speakers and presenters do. They are using a compelling story to get people on their side. 

In the same way, this can help your speeches and presentations. Knowing how to tell a good story gets people interested in what you have to say. Regardless if you agree with Obama's choice or disagree with it - you should recognize how effective their story is.

Travis

How to become a great speaker? Practice, Practice, Practice

I love to golf. I spend a lot of my time in the summer out on a golf course. I used to be pretty horrible at it when I first started. It wasn't too common for me to take a 'gentleman's 9' which meant I was done with that hole and was taking a 9 on it. However, after doing quite a bit of practicing, getting some lessons, and more practicing, I have become a fairly decent golfer. I am not great, but I am getting better. If I wanted to do really well, I would probably have to practice a lot more. Unfortunately, I am not a professional golfer and don't have the time to commit myself to becoming that good.

What is amazing about golf - and almost anything really - is that if you practice at it, get some good instructions on how to fix things you are doing wrong - and practice some more - you can get very good at it. Most people say that it takes 10,000 hours or 10 years to become an expert at anything. I haven't quite gotten to that 10,000 hours in golf yet, but I know I have gotten there when it comes to public speaking. That is why I am so confident when I speak - I have practiced and practiced at it.

If you are struggling with public speaking or giving a good speech the lesson here is clear - practice! Do you need to practice your speech for 10,000 hours? No. What you do need to do though is actually practice your speech. Don't just throw something together and expect your speech or presentation to go well. I have seen too many people do much worse in their speeches than they could because they didn't practice at it. Presentations are the worst because a lot of people assume that they can just throw together a presentation quickly and it will be just fine. In fact, I see people mention how they have to throw together a ppt on Twitter and I just want to yell at them! I know they are not going to give as good of a speech as they can.

The thing about practicing golf is that you have to do it at the golf course. Practicing a speech however is much easier. You can practice giving your speech anywhere - even the golf course. Don't fall into the trap of 'good enough' when preparing your speeches and presentations. If you want to succeed and really knock people's socks off, practice your speech. If you are not sure you are doing it right, ask someone with experience (you can call me anytime) to help you out - then practice some more!

Travis

Repetition is the Key - Using Twitter as an example

One of the key methods of public speaking that I learned early is the idea of repetition - you have to repeat yourself a lot when speaking because there is a good chance that people either didn't hear you the first time or they weren't paying attention. When speaking, you have to repeat yourself to ensure that the key ideas you want to get across are remembered.

This can apply to Twitter as well. In fact, I am going to use twitter in two ways to describe what I am talking about. First off, lets look at how to use Twitter to promote certain sites or posts of your own and then using Twitter enough times to emphasize how repetition is used to increase web traffic.

First off, lets look at how people use Twitter to promote their sites. If you have ever followed people on Twitter you notice a couple of things. First off, there are those who tweet waaaay too much. I really don't need 40 of your posts on Twitter clogging up my feed. What this has taught me though is that your posts can get lost in the mix on Twitter. Let's say I post something on Twitter early in the morning - if someone isn't on twitter or checking their tweetdeck or other device, they are going to miss that tweet if they are following several people or just a couple of people using Twitter who post 200 tweets a day. Instead of having it get lost there are a couple of things you can do. If you post something on Twitter that people like they will RT it so others can read about it. However, if you know how Twitter works, you know that when someone RT's it, that doesn't mean your followers on Twitter will see it. What you can do is go in and post onto Twitter three or four times that day. You don't want to post the same exact thing though. You want to change things up. Phrase it differently or ask a different compelling question that might trigger some thought. Repetition - that way people will be able to see your post throughout the day and will hopefully click on your links.

The second way to look at repetition and Twitter is SEO and repetition. In doing some looking around the web and getting involved in things like Alltop and Speaking Pro Central, I was interested to see some blogs getting a pretty high ranking for a certain word like Twitter. When checking out their blog, I noticed that they used the word Twitter a lot! This helped with their search engine optimization because they used that word (in this case Twitter) more in their post, so it increased their SEO. If you have noticed, I am using this post as a bit of an experiement. I usually don't use a single word that much, but thought it would be an interesting experiement to see if using the word Twitter that often really would help - my guess is that it will be okay.

Remember some of those web ideas when you are speaking. Most people are passive listeners and will not catch everything that you throw at them. Most of the time you will need to emphasize things a few times for them to latch onto it.

Travis

Speaking Pro Central - All the news on speaking in one location

In the blogging world, I have had the great opportunity to get to know different people throughout the United States and the World that I would not have had any connection if I had not gotten involved on-line. Additionally, I have learned a lot about communication, branding, marketing, etc. from reading the different blogs and engaging in the discussion of those blogs.

Because of some of thsoe contacts, I am excited to be a part of the launch of a great new site called: Speaking Pro Central. This site is dedicated to collecting all of the various blogs, news, and other resources on speaking and communication that are out there. The goal is simple: to have a one-stop place for all things related to communication. 

If you are interested in getting involved, I would contact Tony Karrer. I am sure he would be happy to talk to you about it. I'm excited to see what happens with the site and continue to build upon the knowledge that I have gained by following blogs over the past several months.

As always, you can click on the Speaking Pro Central button on my sidebar to go to the site and check it out. I hope to see you there.

Travis

Be Preparred - Why I am Always Going to Carry a Camera Now

Over the past couple of months I have been genuinely shocked at what I saw going down the street. Both times I wish I would have had a camera to be able to show people what I saw because I knew they wouldn't believe me.

The first time this happened, this is what I saw: A man probably in his 60's or 70's was walking down the street. This in and of itself would not be a big deal, it is what he was wearing that shocked me. He was wearing a black leather jacket, black leather pants, bright white sneakers and white gloves (circa Michael Jackson). The Lego image is about as close to a representation as I could get. What was this person doing? Why were they wearing such an outfit? How old was this guy? I was just baffled.

The second time I saw a person riding a unicycle to work. That's right, a unicycle. He was wearing a helmet, peddling along on a unicycle on his way to work. I tried to get my cell phone out right away and get a picture taken, but at that time he was too far away. I just couldn't believe someone was actually riding a unicylce to work. Why a unicycle? Better exercise than a bike? Where do you even buy something like that?

So both times, I witnessed something that I was just flabbergasted by and wanted to take a picture of for posterity reasons, but was unprepared for it. 

There is an easy lesson here for anyone who is a presenter or speaker: be prepared! In the case of presentations being prepared means a lot of things. First off, you should always plan on the worst case scenario happening. Don't assume that the technology will work and that you will have access to your presentation. You should be able to give your speech without having access to your PowerPoint. The speech might not go as well without the imagery, but if you are prepared for it, you can still give a great speech without it. If you rely on your PowerPoint or presentation of any kind, then when the worst happens you will not do as well as you could.

Beyond that, you should always know what will be available to you when presenting: microphone, podium for notes (please don't stand behind the podium), how large of a space you have, etc. Being overly prepared will ensure that you give a good speech.

From now on, I'm not just going to be prepared for my speeches, but I am going to be prepared for what I see on a day to day basis. I've learned that lesson the hard way.

Travis

Should We Be Communicating With Cuba?

That is the question I have. Is Cuba really that bad of a government that we should continue to impose a sanction on them? Are they any worse than Iran or North Korea? Those two countries are trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran has even said they want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Is Cuba really worse than Iran? Maybe they are, but I think it is debatable.

I think history has a lot to do with it. I have always been interested in the Cuban Missile Crisis and think it is a fascinating moment in history. Michael Dobbs book 'One Minute To Midnight' is an extremely engaging book that goes day by day during the crisis (sometimes minute by minute) and what each side was thinking. How close we came to nuclear war with Russia is amazing and frightening. The Cuban Missile Crisis is a lesson in poor communication. Two sides that were trying to read each others signals and intentions. Both sides could have ended the crisis earlier or avoided the crisis with better communication.

Unfortunately, almost two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall the United States does not communicate with Cuba directly. Recently, President Obama has lifted some travel restrictions and has said he would be willing to talk with the Castro brothers who rule Cuba. Cuba has responded by saying that it is the US who has to make the first step. So it appears that the lack of communication between two countries only 90 miles apart will continue for some time. In addition, there is a strong Anti-Castro coalition in the United States that doesn't want to normalize relations with Cuba until the Castro brothers step down from power.

So why don't we communicate with Cuba? Are there legitimate reasons? I have always felt that communication can solve most problems and that by not communicating, it just makes the problems worse. I don't mean to get too political here, but it is a big question for the United States and the people of Cuba. I would love to get your thoughts on this in the comments section and continue the discussion for a couple of days.

Travis

Fareed Zakaria - Intelligent Communication

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Fareed Zakaria
thedailyshow.com
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In today's world of instant and constant news, it is hard to figure out what is worth listening to, reading about and/or watching. However, whenever I can, I try to listen to and read what Fareed Zakaria has to say. If you don't know who Fareed Zakaria is, check out the clip from the Daily Show and then go to his website for more info. He is considered by many to be a leading figure on world affairs and is one of the most intelligent commentators in the media today. One thing that I really like about Zakaria is that he breaks down the news without using gimmicks or being showy.

What Zakaria has done over the past few years is continued to do what he does best - break down international affairs and discuss them with us intelligently. He has been able to increase his profile not by being flashy or trying to be something he wasn't.

What I think has really made an impact in Zakaria's influence is his communication ability. He is someone who is clearly intelligent, and yet he is able to communicate his thoughts and concerns to us in terms that are understandable, clear, concise and effective. There are a lot of really smart people out there, but unless they can communicate their thoughts to us effectively, their message is going to be lost. Additionally, there are a lot of great communicators out there, but their message doesn't make you think about something on a deeper level. Socrates called them Sophists and thought they were essentially windbags who didn't say anything worth learning. While I don't think the art of Rhetoric should receive that label, there are definitely a few worth giving that title to.

Combining the intelligence of Zakaria with his communication ability is something we should all try to achieve. All of us should strive to be eloquent in our speaking and communicating while still contributing to an intelligent discussion. So work not just on your communication ability, but what your content is as well.

Travis

What Are You Best At?

I am a communication person. I love looking at communication in every field - political, social, business - it doesn't matter. Whenever someone is speaking I am analyzing things and evaluating them to see what they could do to get better (don't worry, I don't do this when I am in a conversation with you, just when you're giving a public speech). I do this even when I'm not being paid to, its just ingrained in me. At the same time, I am not a graphic designer. I have done a lot of reading and studying when it comes to good design and have improved a great deal over the past couple of years. I am good at creating clean effective presentations, but I am still not a graphic designer.

I realized this over the weekend while working with some graphic designers on a new pamphlet for Dahle Communication Group. When working on the pamphlet, I had worked on the design of it, and it looked pretty good. I was quite proud of myself and it would have looked nice. Then two fantastic graphic design artists re-designed it and just crushed me with their design. It is nothing short of fantastic! Would mine have worked? Sure it would have. I would have been happy with it and a few people who helped edit it thought it looked pretty good. But it has nothing on the new version.

This made me realize something: do what you do best and have other people help you who do what they do best. I am great at helping people become better speakers and presenters. I am great at helping create an effective speech, developing a theme and finding those three key topics people should cover during a speech. But if I need some help with design, I know who I need to go to.

Remember this in whatever industry you are in or business that you own. Find something that you do well and become great at that. Trying to be okay at several things usually doesn't wow anyone. However, being great at what you do is something that you can promote and be highly successful at. Don't get me wrong, I am still going to work on improving at design. I don't want to just focus on communication and become inept at everything else. But if I need something done to wow people, I know who it needs to go to.

Travis