Dahle Communication

Too Busy? Try to set aside some time.

Over the past couple of months, I have been crazy busy! Working on research projects, helping create speeches/presentations and working with the Washington High School debate teams has pretty much filled up my days. Because of this, my blog here has taken the brunt of the hit because I have not updated it since Feb. 9th!

What I've come to realize is that I have to set aside some time each week to put my thoughts on communication down on this website. I find it very valuable and I hope you find the information that I share valuable as well. So, from now on I am setting aside at least an hour each week to make sure I post here.

This is something that you can use to become a better speaker. A lot of us realize the importance of being a better speaker, but we don't take the time to actually work on it! Take some time each week to practice your speeches or speaking style. You can break it up however you want. For example, one week work on your gestures, the next, enunciation, and so on and so forth.

Setting aside time is important. It ensures that we stay focused and don't loose out on something important.

-Travis

Using a video camera can be a painful, but enlightening, way to improve speaking skills

 One of the toughest parts about communication is knowing what you do right and what you do wrong. Working with a speech coach is important and can help you improve - but if you really want to see what you are doing there is a simple step -- use a video camera.

Using a video camera can tell you much more about what you are doing than just listening to a speech coach. However, you want to make sure to know what you are looking for, so here are some tips.

1. Have someone run the video camera instead of having it in a stationary spot. The reason for this is that if you have it in a stationary spot, you need to make sure to have it panned away far enough to catch all of your movements. If you are moving during your speech (which you should) and the video is too close, you might move off of the screen. The problems that might happen include: being off of the screen; the video is so far away that you don't catch everything; the video camera might stop recording or run out of space and you won't know it - and those are just a couple of the problems that might happen if there is no one there to man the camera.

2. Use a "live" performance. While practicing your speeches is very important and video tapping those can be beneficial, using a live performance will provide much better feedback. A practice is exactly that, a practice. When you are performing in front of an audience, your adrenaline is running higher - there is an energy in the room that isn't there during practices - there might be interruptions or distractions that you will have to deal with - and the list can go on and on. Getting that live performance will capture all of it and allow you to see how you handled the situation and how to fix it.

3. Review the video with your speech coach. This is the most painful part - watching yourself on tape. I say painful because you truly see what you need to improve upon. While you will catch some things, if you want to become a great speaker, you should review it with a speech coach. They will be able to not only catch some things you might have missed, they will also be able to tell you HOW to fix those problems, which is the goal of this activity.

4. Repeat. Once you fix those problems - or at least attempt to fix them - record the next speech and review that. Then keep fixing what needs to be fixed - just keep repeating the process. Soon, you will become a great public speaker.

If you can do those four things - you will see a dramatic improvement in your speaking skills and you will see the responses in your audience as well.

Sometimes the most painful experiences can be the most beneficial. While watching yourself on tape might not be what you want to do - it is necessary if you want to become a better speaker.

Picture from Chris Schuepp at Flickr.com

An ambidextrous pitcher? Really - now that is an eye opener

A video from ESPN today baffled me. It showed a minor league pitcher who can pitch both left-handed and right-handed. While there are numerous switch hitters in the major leagues, Pat Venditte is the first ambidextrous pitcher in a hundred years. What is more, he is quite good. He has one of the best strikeout to walk ratios, pitches up to 93 mph on the right and 86 mph on the left - so he is not just a freak show.

What I found interesting about this video is that he is making history. Whether or not he makes it to the MLB is unknown. However, I don't watch any minor league baseball (except for the occassional Sioux Falls Canaries game), which means I don't know any minor league player - except now.

How does this deal with communication? Pat Venditte uses his skill to his advantage. He is able to pitch to the side of the batter that they don't want to face -- every batter. This is giving him a step up against other players, which will help him be successful. Being able to give a great presentation is a great skill that a lot of business professionals do not have. If you can gain that skill, you will get a step up against your competition. Don't think that it is something that you can't learn - you can. Working on a becoming a great presenter is something, that if worked on,  can lead you to great success.

Travis

Blue Angels and Practicing

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to watch an air show held in Sioux Falls, SD. The airshow included paratroopers, stunt pilots and of course the Blue Angels. Each of these performers were fantastic. The stunt pilots were doing things that I am sure would make most of us throw up had we been riding with them. My wife and I were asking ourselves a simple question while watching them "How do you first practice those moves?" I suppose it is something that takes a lot of training, but at a certain point, they are doing things that are not taught - someone had to try it to see if they could do it without crashing to the ground.

If you have never had a chance to see the Blue Angels flying together, you should try to catch a show sometime. The skill it takes to fly that close together and do certain tricks at that speed is nothing short of spectacular. The pilots who fly those planes have to go through extensive training and they have to continually fine-tune their craft by practicing constantly.

All of us can learn something from the performers I watched this past weekend when it comes to our speeches - we can all practice more. If you want to be a great speaker you need to practice. Do you need to practice as much as the Blue Angels or other stunt pilots? No. However, if you want to move beyond just giving a speech and being a great speaker, then practicing will get you on your way there.

Travis

Research if you want to do it right!

Over the past couple of weeks Dahle Communication has been working on a pretty big project for a client. Without getting too deep into the details, we're working on helping them create a core message for their clients. Being fairly intelligent people, we started out by discussing what we thought might be those core messages and had a great brain storming session. However, what we came up with instead is going to be far more effective - we decided to go straight to their clients and ask them.

Over the past week or so, we've tried to talk to as many of their customers and potential customers as possible and get their thoughts and perspectives. This has really increased our knowledge base of what the message can and should become. Because of this, the message itself is going to be stronger and it will impact more people. In the end, our client will be a lot more satisfied with the end results because of it.

Make sure you do this when working on your speeches. Make sure you do your research when you are preparing. Does that mean you have to include all of that information in your speech? No. In fact, I would argue that you shouldn't because people are more likely to follow emotion then logic (which is another post for another time). What it will allow you to do is make sure that you are creating the most effective message that will appeal to more people so you will be more successful.

Can you put together a good speech without a great deal of research? Sure. Would we have done okay without as much research? Probably. However, as I stated last week - don't let good be enough - it is the enemy of great. Do the research and be great.

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