"We live in a culture that barely acknowledges and rarely celebrates the arts or artists."  Dana Gioia, Chair for the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts

How many writers, artists, scientists can the average American name?

In a speech delivered to the graduating class of Stanford University, Dana Gioia decried the lack of interest in cultural figures (other than pop culture) in America today.

He claims that the cultural entities of today are all for the sake of entertainment. And so ultimately it follows that everything today comes with a price tag. When celebrities appear on radio or TV talk shows, their main, and often only, purpose is to push their book, movie, new TV show, or a new vote.

What has happened to American culture?

More on Communication: Is Our Culture Failing Us?

Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go. Herman Hesse

What are you most afraid of?

For most people, it’s public speaking. And for some, the fear of public speaking is so dramatic that it’s right up there with the fear of death.

People are often terrified that the panic and the anxiety they feel will overwhelm them, render them speechless and weak-kneed.

So what could possibly be the value of all that potential "freaking out?"

Del Jones, in a USA Today article, writes: "To first-time parachuters, the ‘freakout point’ arrives 2 miles above the ground when the plane door opens to a sky of noise, the pressure drops and jumpers are struck with such anxiety that they can hardly breathe."

Jumping out of airplanes, climbing mountains, flying airplanes – what a lot of possibilities for freakout points! Jones goes on to write: "Freakout points don’t require the risk of injury or death, just enough fear to take the breath away, enough that it takes fortitude to keep from backing out. Perhaps the most common freakout point comes with public speaking, and Iron Mountain CEO Richard Reese remembers being drafted early in his career to do a last-minute presentation on a technical subject he knew zero about."

In any risk — in life, in sport, in business — crossing that freakout point will teach us many things, but most importantly it will teach us that we can survive. We also learn to concentrate – a valuable tool in a situation where it seems nearly impossible to focus, a situation where we’d rather scream and run away.

No matter what activity you are engaged in, what can you do to get over your fear, especially of public speaking? What can you do to make yourself cross that freakout point to arrive at self-confidence and strength?  

More on Public Speaking and The Value of Freaking Out

"Everything in life cannot be grasped by the logic-centered left brain." D.T.Suzuki

Sometimes you need more than your own dynamic self to get your message across. Just standing there and talking is not very creative and not much of a strategy. You might be a great speaker or think you’re a great speaker, but don’t take any chances that you might miss reaching your audience. Especially if you’re giving out complex and/or technical information.

To be as effective as possible in your presentation, you will need unique tools to motivate your audience and to implant the desire in them to take the action you desire for them. A highly effective tool in any presentation is the use of SYMBOLS.

A symbol, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is: "Something that represents something else by association, resemblance or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.  You see a red stop sign. What do you do? You know.

The reason humans created symbols in the first place, according to Carl Jung, was to try to understand human nature beyond language. In his investigation of various, unrelated cultures, Jung found a similarity in the images – or symbols – they displayed.  Though fewer and less complex than the plethora of symbols we see in today’s culture, they nonetheless evoked in those ancient people a universal meaning that resonated in each person.

The symbols – or familiar images – of today evoke such a familiar message to most of us, that we all "get" the message as soon as we see them. McDonald’s golden arches, for example. And what about the apple on the phones or laptops you’re using today? Granted, these are both very commercial symbols, but nonetheless are images most of us can instantly relate to.

So what about symbols in your presentation?

More on Using Symbols In Your Presentation

Recently, a freelance speechwriter called me about a post I'd made on his blog.  Colin Moorhouse asked if he could publish my comments on his blog and I agreed.  We talked about the various styles of the candidates: Obama, Clinton and McCain.  After reading his latest post  I googled the videos and was struck by the differences in content, delivery style, settings, and TV analysis of the two candidates. 

Here are some thoughts from a presentation perspective:

• McCain lacked energy in his voice.  How to scale up the energy?  Expand your vocal range for greater emphasis.  Not only will it help to hold audience attention, but also you'll telegraph how you feel about what you are saying.  Scaling up the energy will command more attention and project more confidence and charisma.
• McCain displayed an awkward, phony smile.  His coaches are telling him to smile, but he hasn't figured out how to make a smile sincere.  Smiling is a universal expression of warmth and approachability.  Be sure to keep your non-verbal behavior in alignment with your message.  How to smile sincerely.
• McCain is echoing Obama's theme of change, not publishing his own message/theme.  There is a common phrase at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center: “Point of view is worth 80 IQ points.” 
• McCain demonstrated awkward hand gestures.  Broader gestures draw the eye and project dynamism.  Develop a vocabulary of gestures.  They are both an effective and efficient way to communicate.

In contrast, Obama utilized sustained, driving rhythms.  His campaign seemed to take into account the message communicated by setting: a stadium filled with a big, raucous crowd [Obama] vs. a small anemic crowd for McCain.  The background: an ugly green board for McCain vs. banners shaken by an enthusiastic cheering crowd for Obama.  Candidates' pitches lack punch, experts say…

More on McCain vs. Obama: A Contrast in Presentation Styles

We’ve all heard that less is more, but not when applied to the frenetic, fact-filled culture of today. Today we are constantly bombarded with information, junk, information, junk information. There’s little "free space" left – with advertising embedded on the shopping cart, popping up on the computer screen, scrolling across the TV, you name it.

Feeling like there’s barely any space left in our minds, overburdened with unwanted information, we might feel like screaming, but it’s easier and less noticeable to flip the "off" switch. Not take in any more. So working with today’s overburdened minds, how do you get an audience to turn on the "on" switch and get your own "very important" message across?

"In an ancient Chinese legend, the emperor offers a reward to the man who has just invented the game of chess. The inventor modestly asks for one grain of rice on the chessboard’s first square, two grains on the next square, four grains on the third, and so on, doubling every square.

The emperor, thinking this is a swell bargain, grants his request – only to realize later that the sixty-fourth square would have enough grains of rice to cover the entire earth.  He angrily orders the inventor beheaded." (Business 2.0, July 2001)

 Like the Chinese rice, the amount of data which assaults a person’s mind, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, is more than one mind even begins to need. According to research from the University of California at Berkeley, the amount of digital information produced in the world today is doubling as often as every two years. Since information is so quickly multiplying, when you give a presentation, it’s more important than ever to deliver a lot more than facts and data to your audience.

In Samurai Selling: the Ancient Art of Service in Sales, the authors tell of research which indicates that people tend to ignore all data (yes, ALL) when given more than they can process. Recently, neuroscientists tested people for the effects of information overload and found these symptoms.

1. Irritation
2. Boredom
3. Inability to take decisive action
4. Pervading sense of "So what?"
5. Failure to respond

 Don’t you desperately want to avoid any one of those five symptoms occurring in your audience?

More on Succinct Skills: Communication and Presentation

One way for presidents and world leaders to assure the public is through their body language. The words are important, but how they stand and gesture can add or detract from their message. Click here to see an example >>

Remember the recent debates between presidential candidates? When they addressed each other – did they face each other, then turn to the audience to give the rest of their message? Did they stand up straight? Gesture appropriately? Where did their eyes go?

You may not be running for President, but whatever you do – at work or at play — your body language – the way you stand, sit and "pose" sometimes has more effect on the message you’re trying to get across than what you’re actually saying, especially with the short attention span most people have today. How do you come across?

It may sound crazy, but stand in front of the mirror and observe your body language. Stand up. Sit down. Pretend you’re talking to a client. To a date. Watch your face, your arms. Are you standing up straight? Arms crossed on your chest? Are you smiling? Start with a good attitude, a pleasant expression and a self-confident posture. Don’t cross your arms or legs. Take up space. Face the person you’re talking to; don’t just give them a shoulder or half a back. Work on maintaining eye contact. Can you really trust or believe someone who won’t look you in the eye?

Next time you see someone you respect, or even someone you don’t, but someone who has an air of authenticity and self-confidence, pay attention to their body language. Then go back to the mirror.

Below, see Patti Wood's body language expertise in action on CBS's Inside Edition show, aired on January 22, 2008. In this segment entitled "Democratic Debate Body Language", the topic of discussion is the nasty and heated fireworks debate between democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama the prior evening covered by CNN. Patti's body language analysis reveals the non-verbal bitter battle of symbolic weapons and gestures used by the two presidential hopefuls.

More on Presidential Posture: Presentation

You have thirty seconds to live.

More on Hooks: Presentation Skills

That well-known dramatic fear of public speaking (40% of American adults suffer from it) is also called stage fright.

Your hands shake, your mouth dries up, your heart pounds loud enough (you’re sure) for the audience to hear. You’d like to escape but your knees are shaking or too weak for you to run. You’ve heard of panic attacks and now you’re having one. Join a very large segment of humanity who have this phobia, also called "performance anxiety." You can add your name to a list which includes Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, Carly Simon and more.

Here are the four "A"s of stage fright:

1. Anticipation: Imagining the disaster you’ll be on stage.

2. Avoidance: Not going on stage and thus losing the chance to cope and grow an inner strength.

3. Anxiety: Those panicky physical symptoms which you’re sure will cause you to pass out.

4. Appraisal: The "Whew! I did it!" conclusions after the performance or presentation. 

Should you try to overcome your stage fright, here are some helpful hints:

1. Breathe from the diaphragm. Practice this type of breathing before going on stage.

2. No one can tell you’re a wreck. It’s just your inside self that’s panicking.

3. Realize you will be anxious and use the shot of adrenaline which comes from our "fight or flight" response. Turn it into power. You never know; dealing with anxiety just might improve your presentation.

4. Focus. Know your lines or your material.

If you're enjoying our blog, consider applying for a free seat in our workshop >> 

I recently came across an op-ed article in the New York Times by David Brooks that struck me as significant for the art of presenting. In his piece, Brooks examines "The Mental ABC's of Pitching" by the sport psychologist H.A. Dorfman. While the book is geared towards professional pitchers, I feel that Dorfman's advice can be extended quite naturally to presentations.

As told by Brooks, what Dorfman "offers is to liberate people from what you might call the tyranny of the scattered mind." This sort of tyranny is not closeted to baseball however: any highly demanding activity can be undermined by a lack of focus. The everyday mind is like an out-of-control chariot: without direction and jumping from one thing to the next, it is almost impossible to prepare for anything important. This is where mental discipline comes in.

I had a coach in high-school tell me that "you play the way you practice;" as I've grown older, I continue to see the truth of this statement. Through practice comes mastery. This is consistent with the story I tell in my workshop about Eugen Herrigel from "Zen in the Art of Archery." Herrigel spent 1 year learning how to stand, how to hold the bow and how to breathe before he ever put an arrow to the blow string. That intense practice frees up the mind from other distractions. This is also necessary in presenting. Now while I don't suggest you take a year to learn how to introduce yourself, nonetheless, master presenters must own their material and their technique in a way that they don't even have to think about it. There is simply no substitute for this type of practice. Mark Twain said it best, "It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech."

Returning to Brooks analysis of Dorfman, "by putting the task at the center, Dorfman illuminates the way the body and the mind communicate with each other." This is the essence of the teaching of our workshop: motivation follows action, not vice versa. If you change your behavior then you will change the way you think. As E. Thomas Berr PH.D put it in the The Tao of Sales: "It is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than think yourself into a new way of acting." Indeed, this is the essence of the Zen way: through intense practice of mindfulness (being present right here, right now) the mind can be calmed and focused.

Just like a baseball game, a presentation is a spectacle, with a thousand points of interest. Nonetheless, master presenters reduce it all to a series of simple tasks, and at the center is the task of presenting well, nothing else. By putting the task at the center, the presenter helps to push away their expectations, nerve and ego, and by doing such they can calmly and adeptly connect with the audience, their material, and deliver a masterful presentation every time.

Read More >>

Have you ever noticed that the most charismatic people all share the power of being able to tell a good story?

Nonetheless, storytelling is not a static art: as new media evolves, so does the way in which we tell stories. Recently, with the interconnectivity of media and the power of the Internet a new way of storytelling has emerged: the Alternative Reality Game or ARG.

The ARG is revolutionary in several ways: it is a complex and subtle way of telling a story that utilizes multiple media sources and requires a large and collaborative audience to work together to progress forward in the story; it is through the overlapping of fiction and reality that the ARG gets its name. Thus the ARG is powerful in a different way than the usual story: it is more about the audience than about the storyteller. By breaking down the traditional “fourth wall,” the audience has an active and essential role in the development of the story itself. Anything that includes the audience in such a way cannot help but be thoroughly engaging.

Now what can be gleaned from the new ARG phenomenon? Well, one of the places that the power of the story can be most effective – but is often underused – is during presentations and public speaking.

During your next presentation, try taking a page from ARGs: instead of standing rigid on the stage, try moving into the audience; instead of just using your voice, try using several media sources to get your point across; instead of turning your presentation into a lecture, try getting the audience involved in the story by asking questions and letting their answers help guide the way you tell it.

Once you’ve become an accomplished storyteller, you will have mastered most of the skills necessary to be a charismatic speaker.

Read More >>

If you liked this article, consider applying for a workshop >>  Our work has to be experienced to truly understand its value.  Once a quarter The Henderson Group holds a "By Invitation Only" Art of Presentation workshop in San Francisco, led by our VP of Services, Terry Gault.  With that in mind, we set aside a couple of free seats for the right candidates.