Break the Rules, Have More Fun

When I first started leading presentation skills workshops in 1997, I had this notion that there must be a list somewhere of 20 rules for public speaking.  I imagined there had to be 10 rules for "Things You Must Always Do" and 10 rules for "Things You Must Never Do." 

For example, here are a couple "rules" that I've seen broken very effectively.

1) Moving all the time doesn't work.

I once had a client that finally blurted out in frustration, "Listen, Terry, I simply CANNOT be still.  It drives me nuts.  I have to be moving."  I thought about this clients situation and made a suggestion.  "What if you moved constantly but the rate of movement was very slow and deliberate?"  We tried it and indeed found that it could be a very effective style.

2) The speaker should never admit to having made a mistake.  After all, most of the time, the audience doesn't know.

During one workshop, a participant made an obvious mistake with something they had written on the flip chart.  Typically, I would coach them to simply fix the mistake without referring to it or commenting.  Instead, the participant said in an energetic voice, "Oh, my God, that is pathetic!"  His willingness to poke fun at himself charmed us all and the audience burst into raucous laughter.  He left a strong and very positive impression.

So, finally I have come to the conclusion that there is ONE rule which is incontrovertable: Nothing is absolute.

What follows is a delightful video from Darren Flemming, Australian Toastmasters Champion.  Darren is asked to speak spontaneously on the topic, "If you obey all the rules, you miss half the fun."