It’s hard to imagine anyone not being touched after seeing this. In their 18-picture, 115-word slide show, Josh and Grace convey a message of love, understanding, openness and respect for others—virtues that are too often lacking nowadays.

There are also several things that we can learn from Josh and Grace when it comes to public speaking and presentation skills.

• Have a clear message.

• Don’t use complicated words when simple ones will do.

• Facial expressions and gestures enhance the effectiveness of your words.

• Eye contact is crucial to forming a bond with the audience.

• Humour is good.

• Humour balanced with a serious message is even better.

• Don’t worry about being perfect. Your audience doesn’t expect to be perfect; it wants you to be present.

• A call to action — “I’ll give you a chance, if you give me one too.” — is a powerful way to end a speech or presentation.

• Speak from the heart.

• Be yourself.

• Smile.

Please leave a comment if you picked up any other lessons, whether they have to do with public speaking or not.

In the meantime, my sincere congratulations to Josh and Grace for making this slideshow and my best wishes for the future. I am happy to be able to help spread the message.

For those of you who would like to support the great organizations that promote the rights, abilities and dignity of people with Down Syndrome, you may make a donation to the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. Alternatively, here is a link to numerous Down Syndrome organizations in North America and around the world.

This post is part of a series on rhetoric and rhetorical devices. For other posts in the series, please click this link.

Origin: From the Greek ὑπόϕορά (ipofora), meaning “carrying under” or “putting under”.

In plain English: Asking a question and immediately answering it.

Effect:

• There is a sense that the speaker is having a dialogue with the audience. The speaker asks a question (usually one that is on the minds of his listeners) and then answers it.
• Asking the question arouses the curiosity of the audience about the answer. Thus, a well-timed pause between the question and answer can heighten the effect.
• The speaker appears confident and in control.

Notes:

• Technically, hypophora is the question; anthyphophora is the answer. However, hypophora is frequently used to mean both question and answer.
• Hyphora is similar to a rhetorical question. The difference is that when a speaker poses a rhetorical question, he does not answer it. The answer to a rhetorical question is implied by the way and context in which the question is asked.
• The question or questions in a hypophora will often be used to set up a long answer, which is point that the speaker wishes to make.

Examples:

“You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be.”

— Winston Churchill, 4 June 1940

———

“There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 August 1963

———

“And how’d you get that [becoming King], eh? By exploiting the workers! By hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society.”

— Monty Python, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1992)

———

“What is George Bush doing about our economic problems? He has raised taxes on the people driving pickup trucks and lowered taxes on the people riding in limousines.”

— Bill Clinton, Democratic National Convention, 16 July 1992

———

“Are they meeting and having discussions on these things? Yes. Have they been meeting for some weeks and months? Yes. Does that imply a certain amount of understanding that that process might be useful? Yes.”

— Donald Rumsfeld, 26 October 2006

“The effectiveness of rhetorical questions in argument comes from their dramatic quality. They suggest dialogue, especially when the speaker both asks and answers them himself, as if he were playing two parts on the stage. They are not always impassioned; they may be mildly ironical or merely argumentative: but they are always to some extent dramatic, and, if used to excess, they tend to give one’s style a theatrical air.”

— John Hays Gardiner and George Lyman Kittredge

1. Practice with a timer. This is the best way to know if your material is suitable (time-wise) for the occasion. If you have 30 minutes but find that you can only cover half of your material within that time, you have a problem and need to rethink the presentation. Better to rethink it before the day of the event rather than find yourself in a difficult situation on stage.

2. Have a plan to cut material. Logistics will not always be within your control and your speaking time might be unexpectedly reduced. If you are told, 20 minutes before you begin speaking, that your scheduled one-hour presentation must now be delivered in 45 or even 30 minutes, can you adjust quickly and calmly? You should know which material to cut. If you have a slide presentation, you should also be able to open Slide Sorter (in PowerPoint) or Light Table (in Keynote) and know exactly which slides to pull.

3. Double down. Prepare two versions of your presentation, one long and one short. This way, a quick switch can be made if the situation calls for it. I especially recommend this approach if you have a speech or presentation that you deliver on a regular basis.

4. Prepare a detailed handout. Having a document (not a copy of your slides) that contains all the necessary information about your subject will allow you to focus on what is most important during the presentation. You will not feel compelled to cover every possible point. Not only will this make for a better presentation, it will make for a shorter one as well. And if, for whatever reason, your speaking time is cut, you can simply state that although you will not be addressing Topics X and Y, they are covered in detail in the handout that you will distribute.

5. Arrive early. Make sure that the room is set up properly and that all necessary equipment is working. Having technical difficulties just before you start is not only stressful, it can also eat into your allotted time.

6. Reconfirm your speaking time. Before starting, it is always a good idea (as well as polite) to reconfirm your speaking time with your host or the event planner.

7. Let the audience know of any time changes. If the previous speakers have run over time and you have to cut your presentation from one hour to 40 minutes, let your audience know that in the interests of time you will keep your remarks to 40 minutes. Doing so will put many members of the audience (who will likely be annoyed at the previous speakers for going over time) at ease, especially if yours is the last presentation before lunch or a break. It will also put you in many people’s good books. But be professional about it. Don’t mention the speakers went over time or the delays that the organizers had in starting the event; the audience will know anyway.

Have you ever attended a presentation that went on so long that your watch started to look like this?

8. Monitor your time during the presentation. You should have a clear idea as to where you should be in the presentation at a couple of key points, especially half time. If you reach the half way point and are behind on time, you will need to think about cutting, which should not be too problematic if you know what to cut (Point 2) and have details on the cut material in your handout (Point 4). For ideas on how to monitor your time, see Point 9.

9. Wear a watch. The room in which you speak might not have a clock on the wall, or the clock might not be easily visible. I recognize that it is not very elegant to be checking your watch on a regular basis while speaking. However, there are a few things that you can do to be more subtle about it.

(a) If you are speaking at a lectern, or have a table to which you will return during the talk (for example, to pick up a prop) place your watch on the lectern or table with the face up so that you can quickly check it.

(b) If there is nowhere to place the watch, wear it with the face on the inside of your wrist. Some of the most natural hand gestures are ones in which the palms face upwards. During those gestures, the face of watch will be towards you. You will not have to turn your wrist the other way around to check the time.

(c) Be sure that the sleeve of your shirt/blouse/suit is loose enough that you don’t have to struggle to slide it over the watch. This tends to be more of an issue for men who typically have bulkier watches than women. If that’s the case, consider buying a simple watch with a thin face for your presentations. Alternatively, you can leave the sleeve of your shirt unbuttoned (provided it does not look out of place).

(d) You can also use a smartphone for which there are all kinds of timing applications. A smartphone has the advantage of having a bigger face that is easier to see from a distance. The disadvantage is that a smartphone is bigger than a watch and cannot be worn. Only use a smartphone as a timer if you can place it on a lectern or table. Taking it out of your pocket in front of the audience is cumbersome, noticeable and might give the impression that you are checking your messages.

(e) Another alternative is to have someone at the back of the room signal you at set times during the presentation (half time, 15 minutes left, 5 minutes left, etc.).

10. Allow time for questions. Some speakers encourage the audience members to interrupt with questions at any point during the presentation. This approach is good for demonstrating confidence, being responsive to the concerns of other and building rapport with the members of the audience. However, it can throw off your timing. If you are going to take this approach, be sure to build in some buffer time. If you prefer taking questions at the end, I recommend that you stop your prepared presentation just before the conclusion and entertain the questions. Then, while there is still time left, stop taking questions and finish on a strong note.

11. Invite people to approach you afterwards. If you are running out of time but there are still questions, invite people to continue the conversation with you during the next break. It’s simple, efficient and shows respect for the next speaker. 

12. Seek permission to go beyond your allotted time. Sometimes, the audience will want to hear more from you about the subject. If you are one speaker among many at special event, you should not go over time. Instead, continue the conversation at the break (Point 11). However, if you are the only speaker, the polite thing is to confirm with the organizer and audience whether continuing would be permissible and, if so, for how long. You can do this while remaining on stage. If you do continue, allow those people who only planned for the originally scheduled talk to leave if they must. Once they have left, continue with those who have remained.

Steve Jobs (1955-2011) American Businessman and Co-Founder of Apple Inc.

“We make progress by eliminating things, by removing the superfluous.”

— Steve Jobs

Photo courtesy of Kazuhiro Shiozawa / Flickr

For some great insights into what we can learn about presentations from the clip, check out this post by my friend and fellow presenter, Jon Thomas.

]]> http://mannerofspeaking.org/2012/01/12/every-presentation-ever/feed/ 12 mannerofspeaking http://mannerofspeaking.org/2012/01/06/quotes-for-public-speakers-no-112/ http://mannerofspeaking.org/2012/01/06/quotes-for-public-speakers-no-112/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:04:46 +0000 John Zimmer http://mannerofspeaking.org/?p=8020 Continue reading →]]>

Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) British Prime Minister, Historian, Author and Orator

“He is one of those orators of whom it is well said, ‘Before they get up, they do not know what they are going to say; when they are speaking, they do not know what they are saying; and when they have sat down, they do not know what they have said.’” — Sir Winston Churchill

Alberto’s story is poignant, hopeful and inspirational. I found it deeply moving. Please do watch. Following the clip is my analysis from the public speaking perspective.

There are profound life lessons that that we can learn from “Mr. Alberto”, as he is known to the thousands of people whom he has help. There are also several things that we can learn from him about about public speaking.

• In a succinct, 45-second opening, Alberto introduces himself and sets the stage for his talk. Introducing oneself can be a tricky proposition. You have to establish your credibility, but you don’t want to sound conceited. Alberto introduces himself with humility. I was particularly intrigued by his comment that his job is to make arms and legs, but in reality, it’s more than that.

• The statement at 0:45 about how the ICRC’s work “wasn’t always like this” is a subtle but effective way to let us know that we will be going back in time to see how the ICRC arrived at its current policy.

• At 1:00 Alberto begins a story (with several sub-stories) that runs through his talk and holds it together. Once again, we see the incredible power that stories have to reinforce our messages. Alberto could have brought out statistic after statistic of the number of people in Afghanistan who have lost limbs. He could have displayed charts and graphs. Instead, he chooses to tell a story that is, for the most part, about a few Afghanis whom he knows. In so doing, he etches his message in our minds.

• Alberto uses high quality photographs to reinforce his message.

• From 2:00 to 2:25, something unexpected happens. Alberto is visibly caught up in the emotion of recalling his experiences in Afghanistan. The great thing is that he acknowledges these emotions. He doesn’t apologize for them. He shows his humanity and willingness to be vulnerable in front of his audience. We can see that this is a man who deeply cares about the work that he is doing. And that makes us care.

• Alberto’s gestures are natural and appropriate. He does not gesture a lot, but for me, this was in keeping with my impression of the kind of man he is – soft-spoken, humble. And yet, he clearly can use demonstrative gestures when the situation calls for it. For example, watch the very expressive gestures that he uses from 3:00 to 3:45 when recounting the incident of the bomb exploding as he returned from the mosque.

• Note the simple but effective description of the young boy trying to push his father in the wheelchair to safety (4:00 to 4:05). We are there with them in the street.

• Alberto uses great facial expressions throughout his talk. I particularly enjoyed the part from 7:10 to 7:25 when he describes how he “lied” to his supervisors about only doing a few repairs on the prostheses every day.

• Immediately after the part described in the point above, Alberto gets his first big, audience-wide laugh. Getting that laugh was very important. Sometimes, we have to give a presentation about a sombre subject. Amputees in Afghanistan certainly falls into this category. And yet, a talk that is “heavy” throughout can be emotionally draining for an audience. That’s why injecting appropriate humour now and then is so important; it gives the audience a break and energizes them for what comes next.

• From 9:05 to 9:35, Alberto recounts the harrowing story of everyone fleeing the rose garden because of sudden fighting. When you hear him draw a deep breath at the end, you realize how frightening the experience must have been. But then Alberto immediately lightens the mood with the anecdote about Rafi saying that his father could run faster than him.

• There is a nice pause at 10:07 to let the image sink in of father and son pushing the empty wheel chair. I would have even liked to see the pause continue a little longer.

• From 10:10 to 10:20, we have, what is for me, one of two take-away lines from this talk: “Dignity cannot wait for better times.” Having a concise, concrete and moving statement is like placing an anchor in the minds of your audience. And the line is followed with a nice pause.

• From 10:30 to 12:20, Alberto tells the story of Mahmoud asking him for a job so that he can better his life and the lives his family members. It is incredibly moving and Alberto tells it so well. And his gesture (starting at 11:10) of standing the way Mahmoud stood—head down and eyes lowered—made it that much more poignant.

• From 12:25 to 14:20, we hear the “debate” between Alberto and his right-hand man, Najmuddin about whether Mahmoud could possibly work in the shop. There are some light-hearted moments during this part of the talk that are again welcome, given the moving story in the point above.

• At 15:05, Alberto talks about the change in policy and how the ICRC now hires as many disabled people as possible. He returns to the point about the change in policy that he made at the outset. In so doing, he brings the talk full circle—an excellent public speaking technique.

• From 15:20 to 16:15, Alberto talks about the benefits of this new policy. He shows how it is producing concrete results.

• At 16:15 is the other take-away statement from this speech: “Scraps of men do not exist.” What a memorable line!

• From 16:50 to 17:00, we see but one example of Alberto’s incredible humility notwithstanding all that he has accomplished.

• From 17:00 to 17:35, he shares his wish that this approach be implemented in other countries because it is possible and not difficult. Basically, he is letting the audience know why it should care. This talk was given in Geneva and the audience likely included several people from international and humanitarian organizations working all around the world, so the topic would have been highly relevant for them.

• From 17:35 to 18:45, Alberto tells a final, humorous story to help bring the talk to a conclusion on a high note. As I have many Italian friends, I particularly appreciated the part about “shouting like an Italian”. And then, to conclude by saying that he doesn’t know what the future holds, but that Najmuddin and his friends probably already have something in mind, was terrific.

This is a fantastic talk on so many levels. Although every speech can always be improved, the ideas that occurred to me as I watched are really just a few minor adjustments around the edges. Here are my thoughts on how the speech could be further polished:

• At 5:07, Alberto shows a great slide of the streets of Kabul. We get a clear sense of the size and also the desolation. But the slide seems out of place here. I think it would be much more effective to show it around 3:30. That is the point at which Alberto begins to recount the story of Mahmoud and his son Rafi who were in the middle of the street, frantically trying get to safety. It would give a sense of the distance he had to cover and the desperation he must have felt.

• Speaking of that slide, it went up at 5:07, but then Alberto goes on to talk about the people coming to the ICRC the next day and doing some repairs. Yet at 7:00, we see that the slide is still up. It didn’t have much to do with what Alberto was saying at the time. It would have been better to turn the screen black (like it was at 1:00) and have the audience completely focused on Alberto. He is a wonderful speaker who can more than hold his own without slides.

• Alberto is standing far back from the audience. You can see his position on the stage at 0:35 to 0:40 (and he even takes a half step backward). Now, to be fair, he might have been told to remain in the centre of the red carpet because of the different camera angles, and I can understand that. However, in cases where you are not similarly constrained, it is always better to “shrink the distance” between you and the audience. So move up to the edge of the stage and, if you can, move with purpose from side to side to connect with the different sides of the room.

• Finally, in one or two places, Alberto could have paused just a bit longer to let the impact of his words linger. An example: From 8:10 to 8:25, he says, “A couple of times I crossed the front line in the very place where Mahmoud and his son were crossing. I tell you, it was something so sinister that I was astonished he could do it every day.” This is such an powerful statement that I would have liked to see him pause for a good two or three seconds to let the image sink in.

But what an impressive talk by an impressive man!