Art Of Great Speaking

When public speaking a great way to add sparkle and interest is through the use of similes.

Similes may be found in literature, speeches, poetry, in magazines, the news, on radio or TV, in plays, stories, or in almost any source of communication wherein writers or speakers try to be interesting.
Following are a few similes which were created by well-known authors:
Free as mountain winds. — Shakespeare.
Her face was white and colorless as an icicle. — Channing Pollack.
Hairless as an egg. — Robert Herrick.
He felt like the symptom on a medicine bottle. — George Ade.
Hysterical as a tree full of chickens. — Irvin S. Cobb.
Poor and forgotten  like  a cloud upon the field. — Hugo.
He looked like a composite picture of five thousand orphans
too late to catch a picnic steamboat. — O. Henry.
God pardons like a mother who kisses away the repentant tears
of her child. — Henry Ward Beecher.
He is a steam roller in a pair of pants. — Sherwin L. Cook.
The human mind should be like a good hotel, open the year around. — William Lyon Phelps.
He had a hand like a bunch of bananas. — R. F. Outcault.
A person who intends to speak frequently should- jot down for future reference any impressive simile he reads, or hears. It may just fit some idea he wishes to express in a speech.
Similes to avoid are those that do not create an interesting mental picture, and probably those that grandfather smiled at when he was in the third grade — similes such as the following which were actually turned in by college students. Those students, having misinterpreted the meaning of effective similes, of¬fered these trite comparisons as being useful speech material:
He was as sober as a judge.
It was as weak as water.
The meat was as tough as leather.
He turned as white as a sheet.
The girl was as ugly as sin.
His joke went over like a ton of bricks.
He was slow as a snail.
The night was as silent as a grave.
The family was as poor as a church mouse.
She sang like a lark.
It was as welcome as the flowers in May.
Cold as ice.
Slick as a button.
Red as a rose.
Black as the ace of spades.
He behaved like a bull in a china shop.
The moon  was shining bright as day.
As clean as a towel that has just been washed.

As nervous as a June bride.

Hearing a simile like those listed above is somewhat like looking at an ordinary pebble on a beach. It gets, no attention and does nothing to help make a speech interesting.
A helpful mental exercise for a student o£ public speaking is creating original similes for old, worn-out ones. For instance, one student substituted, “Slick as an eel in a barrel of motor oil” for “slick as a button.”
Another student came up with “Happy as a baby with his hands in cool mush,” for “happy as a lark.” Still another said, “Black as a wet skunk,” instead of “Black as the ace of spades.”

My next post on using similes in public speaking starts with a mistake to avoid that Mark Twain made.

How do you make public speaking interesting? It’s how you use words and the pictures you paint with them.

Following on from my previous post here are some more examples of how to paint pictures:-

Using names, dates, and places also make a talk authentic. It impresses audiences with the fact that the speaker is really telling the truth.
Using colorful similes is another way to make speaking vivid and interesting. The word, simile, may be a first cousin to similar It really means word pictures which show how things, people, or ideas are alike or how they differ. These pictures may be exaggerated. This helps make speaking clear, often amusing, and usually interesting.
A speaker might say, “That would be hard to do.” Or he
could say, “That would be as difficult as trying to dam Niagara Falls with cobwebs.” The first statement is foggy. The second is as clear as an August sunbeam.
To say, “His manner was cold,” tells something. But to say “His manner was as cold as a mother-in-law’s kiss,” tells more. A speaker could say, “He walked slowly, and with a swagger,” or he could say, “He walked like a cowboy on vacation.”
One could say, “She was excited.” Or, “She was as excited as an old maid after a bedbug on a hot June night.”
A teacher of speech who encourages his students to create or collect apt similes contributed the following as a few of the hundreds assembled by the students:
Flat as a soup sandwich.
Empty as a gigolo’s promise.
As unplanned as a hiccup.
As popular as prohibition in Milwaukee.
His mouth felt as if a Russian army had walked through it.
Her hat always looked as if it had made a forced landing upon
her head.
She charged into the room with her four children like a bomber
escorted by fighters.
She made as much sense as a tailor in a nudist camp.
Busy as a politician trying to save both his faces.
The ball slipped between his legs, like a pig dipped in lard.
His dull past was like a bucket of ashes.
White and beautiful as the snow looks before you  think of
shoveling it.
Slick” as a buttered bullfrog.
His   head   looked  like   a  white  watermelon   gleaming  in   the
sunlight.
About as fast as a feather sinking in syrup.
Innocent as a girl on her first day at kindergarten.
She looked like warmed-over death.
He shook like a shirt in a hurricane.

I’ve got some more similes to follow in my next post to help you in creating your picture talk for you next public speaking engagement or presentation.

The words used in public speaking make a big difference to the effectiveness of a speech. Painting pictures with words.

Picture talk! Then minds meet minds. There is understand­ing, attention, interest!

Some words create only general pictures, but others etch vivid, concrete images. “I stood open-mouthed,” for instance, paints a picture of surprise, whereas, “I was surprised” paints nothing. Or so much the mind is cluttered.

Listeners can see a fat man waddle or wobble easier than they can see him go to the front door of his cabin.

A speaker should choose and use words that create vivid moving pictures which cause listeners to see and feel clearly
exactly what he means — words that cut, sting, stare, glare, grind, shock, slush, smother, soothe, or cuddle. Words as real as pizza
pie, soft as a maiden’s blush, or seedy as the hairy wart on grand­ pa’s weather-beaten nose.                          .

Never tell about an event, person, or thing. Show the event happening. Relive it. Picture the person as he really is. Make the thing so real listeners can see, feel, touch, taste or smell it. Create graphic colored, moving, mental pictures. And paint them red when necessary! Paint them gay and bright, blue, or as dark as midnight in a cyclone cellar, according to the mood which is suitable for the speech material.

Speaking should be clear and specific. An author, Rudyard Kipling, said his six “serving men” helped him in this respect. The servants he referred to are waiting to serve anyone. They are who, when, where, what, why, and how? When a speaker answers those questions specifically (not in any special order) in his il­lustrations, his speaking leaves the rambling weed fields of gener­alities to become as real and clear-cut as a row of Irish potatoes that has just been hoed by a careful gardener.

What words do you used when you are public speaking to an audience of one or to a larger gathering? Do you use picture talk?

1. Confidence

You have to have a positive sensory orientation towards your speech, learn to have confidence. Unfortunately there is no secrets to this, you have to rehearse over and over again until your confident that you can make it.

Do remember that most people can easily distinguish between the certain speaker and the uncertain one, this is why you should never read your speech directly from a piece of paper. It gives an extremely bad impression.

2. Spice your speech

“Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech”

Make your performance remembered, make it tasty and try your outmost not to bore people. We all dislike hearing a boring professor speak, why commit the same mistake? A good way to spice your speech is by adding quotes to it, the more the merrier.

By the way, young folks are part of this culture where one uses some keywords over and over again which could make your whole presentation contaminated. Watch out for words such as; “like”, “well”, “you know” etc. A good way to counter this is by using alliterations, ie.

A sentence where all the initial letters in every word start by the same letter. For example: Cool! Crusty´s car crushed Carl. The important things is; be innovative when it comes to speeches!

3. Your posture

Your “body language” could turn out to be more crucial than you think, some people even claim that it might be more important than the speech it self!

Make sure you have a firm control over your body and try your out most to diminish the use of unnecessary movements. This might distract the audience and your recital might even be viewed as void.

4. Eye contact

Be cautious concerning your eye movements. You should avoid starring at someone/thing provocative, you do not want to be angered, annoyed or aroused when speaking.

5. Water

I think that this one concerns the guys a bit more; we (male gender) have this thing, we speak louder and less calmer then women. God knows, you might even become thirsty or lose your voice in the middle of the presentation, bad idea!

If your equipped with a bottle of water, your problem is fixed, plus you get a few seconds to fetch your thoughts when drinking.

6. Cards

Ever watched one of those lousy talk shows they air all the time? I am sorry if I brought back bad memories from the days you use to watch this garbage, but in case you paid attention back then you’ve probably noticed how all the talk shows hosts use cards when speaking.

This is an excellent move, you should employ that as well for a number of reasons:

a) Looks professional. b) By using keywords and sentences, you can summarize a long speech. c) You avoid using normal (A4) paper, if your hands shiver when you speak in public, the paper might shiver and produce this awesome sound of embarrassment.

7. Tools

Do you know how to make a power point, flash (or the like) presentation? If the answers yes, then what is stopping you?

In case you do decide to use a sideshow, be sure to avoid weird animations or music, this might distract your audience. Keep it simple, it usually works the best.

8. Your clothing

People don’t usually think of this, but be aware of the clothes you wear that day. You don’t want to wear tight/revealing clothes.

The whole point of the speech is for people to listen to your words, not be aroused by your looks.

9. Speak well

This must be emphasized; speak in a gentle and respectful matter. You have to avoid using bad words or phrases, such as the notorious f word.

10. Your ending

Try to make your ending summarize your whole speech, be innovative and make sure you don’t neglect this part. A good ending compensates a bad introduction

Abderisak Adam is a young study coach who resides in Sweden.

he first advice I give to people who want to improve their speaking or presentation skills is, “Don’t fight the feeling of being nervous!” Feeling nervous is normal. Nearly every speaker, including the professionals, has that feeling before getting up in front of an audience. The difference is that veteran speakers give that feeling a different name: they see it as excitement or “aliveness.” It’s a feeling that lets you know that you’re about to do something exciting and the outcome is important to you.

So the next time you feel nervous before a speech or presentation, welcome that feeling and say to yourself, “thank you for the reminder . . . I’m glad I’m feeling this way!” When I don’t have that feeling, my speech is likely to be flat and I have to work much harder to deliver an engaging presentation.

When planning a talk, people usually ask: What am I going to say? Where do I begin? Do I tell a joke? What if they ask questions I can’t answer? The answers come much more easily if you shift the focus from yourself to your audience: Who are they? What do they need? What are their expectations? What information would be most useful or helpful to them? Why did they invite you to speak? The structure and content of your presentation will flow more naturally from your audience’s needs, and you will find it easier to adjust to your listeners during the speech.

A good way to start a presentation is to involve the audience right away. Capture their imagination with a relevant story. Make a bold or visionary statement. If you are not sure who your audience is or what they are expecting, you can do a quick audience survey. Ask them key questions or get their feedback on the topic.

Often I will do an “attitude check” with an audience. I will ask them to call out words that come to mind when they think about public speaking or talking to reporters. Usually great words and phrases like “terrified” or “deer in the headlights” emerge and I write them down on a flip chart or white board. This simple idea accomplishes two things. It lets me know how the audience feels about the subject. And it also give them permission to feel that way, which puts everyone at ease and opens their minds to what comes next in the presentation.

Using humor can be a terrific icebreaker and a way to gauge your audience’s response. But I don’t recommend starting with a joke or a humorous anecdote unless you’re good at humor and are totally comfortable using it. Also, make sure that any anecdote or humor is relevant and appropriate for your audience, the occasion, and the setting.

If you are using visuals, like overheads or PowerPoint style presentations, don’t let the technology become a crutch or a substitute for your content. There’s nothing more boring than a speaker reading overheads or slides verbatim. Use visuals to communicate complex material graphically or as a jumping off point for discussion. Provide your audience with handouts so they can review the material later.

Remember, you have been asked to speak because people want to hear what you have to say. There’s a built-in reason for the audience to support you and they want you to succeed in your presentation. They are looking for honesty, good information, and enthusiasm for the subject. People will forgive minor flaws in your mechanics if you speak from your heart with passion and authenticity.

And of course, don’t forget to breathe!

Lorraine Howell owns Media Skills Training where she teaches business owners, CEO’s, and management teams to speak with confidence and impact in an enjoyable and down-to-earth way. Sign up for Lorraine’s FREE e-tips and also receive her FREE 5 Steps to Start a New Business Conversation (& Get Results, Too!)” by visiting her website at www.mediaskillstraining.com.