2016 World Championship of Public Speaking - A Serial Contestant's Perspective

I mentioned on Facebook that I would 'be writing a blogpost about the World Championship' - even though I haven't blogged, apparently, since April. A few people actually asked me to tell them when I posted it. Therefore, I better write it.

First - a couple of caveats: 
1. I did not coach, nor did I even know, any of the Finalists this year.
2. I did compete, but took 2nd at District. For the first time ever.
3. I have competed in the Semi's eight times, the finals twice, taking third in 2006.

Second - a blanket statement:

All finalists are great speakers. All went through the wringer to get there. All gave excellent presentations, and were worthy of being there.

Now, for the 'Perspective'...

Speech contests, and contest speeches, are curious constructs.

Judged anonymously by relative amateurs of varying experience and personal speaking ability (some world-class, others working-class, and occasionally, other should-go-back-to-class), the contestants face bias and subjectivity, combined with the unknown factors of who their judges are demographically and ideologically, and it can feel like an impossible task.

Populated with mostly amateur speakers of the same varying experience and personal speaking ability, judges are armed with a sheet of objectives the speaker must meet, and then emotionally sort through speeches about dead relatives, terminal diseases, terrible hardship, mixed in with the occasional ego trip followed by the grand victory, occasionally peppered with a nod to mom/grandma/great uncle twice-removed for teaching them right. It also features gimmickry - standing on chairs, props, falling down on stage, and, oh, so much more. Even so, the higher the level, the better the speeches, and for the judges, it can feel like an impossible task.

I know this sounds a bit pejorative and sarcastic, but it's truth. The playing field is pretty even for all - so no unfairness is implied. Themes of the human condition are used because they reach the most people. Tony Robbins often says 'success leaves clues' - and the speech contest is full of detectives picking up on what has worked before, so we, more often than not, get served the same messages, in very similar packages, despite the vast diversity of speakers delivering them.

The 2016 World Championship of Public Speaking surely was an impossible task - to compete in, and to judge. It showed all that is great about the contest and the Toastmasters organization, as well as all that is, occasionally, expected and traditional.

I'm going to stay positive in this review, much as I want to be critical here and there.

Katina Hunter - An Audience of One. Great chess story, excellent use of short young child vs. tall older child, and the ability to make herself the hero of a story without coming off as arrogant.

Donald Crandell - clearly had fun on stage, kept it light, Live With It message was a unique concept. Nice amputee soldier story at the end.  Makes me wish my fake leg with help me climb mountains. I think I need an upgrade.

Elliott Eddie - one of my favorite topics - Give Yourself Permission. Interesting story about wanting to be a filmmaker and his supportive wife.

Kim Kaufman - owned it. Went all in on GPS and the concept of Recalculating - a speech I've almost written myself a few times. Clearly excited about her experience, and her message. Strong close.

Sherwood Jones - as a fellow comic book geek, I definitely connected with his opening. Personal Connection message was important and timely. Good humor, and extra points for working in PokemonGo.

Kaishika Rodrigo - Loved her pacing and vocal variety. Concept of Chiseling Out Your Masterpiece is another message I've almost used in the past. The whole 'the statue is in the marble, waiting for you to release it' is intriguing. She showed real joy as she spoke.

Josephine Lee - 3rd Place - now this young lady knows who she is. She played up the California girl in a way that made it endearing when it easily could have been annoying. Her humor and timing was spot on, and contrasted well with her closing revelation about her friendship.

Aaron Beverly - 2nd Place - forever to be remembered as '57-word-title-man', his message that talking a lot doesn't equate to saying a lot was truly original for this venue. Lots of energy, great 'Bus Lady of Doom' story, and excellent delivery almost launched him into first place.

Darren Tay Wen Jie - 1st Place - Captain Underwear. Literally put tighty-whiteys on over his pants for the majority of his speech. Took the concept of bullying from external to internal, a theme I have used repeatedly over the years. Grabbed our attention, offered a twist ending, tremendous humor. A worthy champion.

Now - here's where I may tick some people off. The person I wish had won:

Thien Trang Nguyen Pah - her theme of subtle domestic abuse was certainly 'out there' for this contest, just as her 'body image' theme in her semi-final broke the mold. She was emotionally open without being manipulative. The speech was crafted well, in structure, word choice, and staging. She even got a huge laugh in the middle of a tough, tough speech. To me, no other speech approached the 'professional speech' level of this offering.

Now, I say this without wanting to take anything away from any other contestant. And with full knowledge that this is my opinion, and will likely be met with opposition.

I understand why she didn't win, or even place:

- first speaker
- heavy theme that made people feel uncomfortable
- theme that may have not been received the same by the diversity of cultures

So, sure, it makes sense. But for my money, she was the best speaker, with the most important message, delivered in the most professional way. She didn't need gimmickry. She didn't need a laugh every 12.5 seconds. She didn't have to ask us 'Have you ever....' a million times. She just had to be authentic, identify the problem, touch our hearts, and offer a solution.

I understand why the Top 3 were the Top 3:

- humor
- memorable gimmicks
- energy
- universal messages

Hey - they were ALL great, and all of them had an argument for the Big Trophy. For what it's worth, my wife had Darren picked all along. In fact, everyone has their favorite, and no champion is ever unanimous.

My takeaway for Toastmasters today, however, is this:

How long are we going to allow the same formulas, the same message types, the gimmicks, to overwhelm true professionalism?

I regularly hear that 'no one would use a speech contest speech in real life', and when I show the championships to outsiders, they laugh at how 'over the top' we are. Is this who we want to be? Is this the type of speaking we want to promote? Darren, all the rest, and even myself must be forgiven for allowing ourselves to fall into this formulaic way of speaking - and even the judges must be forgiven for voting for it - because it IS what it has ALWAYS been for so long. Success leaves clues. Unfortunately, it doesn't always lead to GREATER success. And isn't that what we should be striving for in our crown jewel contest?

Thien, if you ever read this, know you are a champion in this speaker's eyes - and, trophy or not, I hope you Win Anyway as you go out into the world to Speak & Deliver the most important messages of all.

Darren, Aaron, Josephine, and all other contestants, if you ever read this, I mean no disrespect. You were awesome. You did what you were supposed to do, just as I have tried to do for over a decade now. Enjoy your triumphs, and keep inspiring us to grow.

I hope our beloved contest, as well as our organization, continues to grow as well.

Anatomy of a Speaker's Introduction: Part I

We'll spend hours, days, weeks, even a lifetime writing and perfecting our speech, and yet, before we ever get up to present, someone else holds a major key to our success or failure.

That someone else is our Introducer. That major key is our Introduction.

Both tend to be neglected or even forgotten by the beginning speaker, and downright mishandled by all but the best speakers.

Too often a Speaker's Introduction is one of two things - a reading of the biography or description provided for the event program, or an equally long biography either written by the clueless speaker or the wannabe helpful introducer themselves. We KNOW this is both boring and ineffective, and yet we let it happen time and time again.

Don't waste the 30 seconds before your presentation, you know, the one you spent all your time on, on information the audience doesn't need and/or already has. Don't give them a reason before you even open your mouth to shut you out and turn to their smartphone. Instead, use your introduction to draw them in, make them laugh, and prepare them for the main event - YOU.

Your introduction is a mini-speech - and I mean mini. If it goes longer than two minutes, you're doing it wrong. If you can do it in minute or less, all the better.

What exactly IS the Anatomy of a Speaker's Introduction?

1. Attention Grab - just as you might in a speech, start with a question or shocking statistic or statement related to your content, or yourself. This sucks your audience in immediately, and sets an expectation for your subject and your style. EX: If you're giving a leadership speech, start off with a controversial statement about about leadership, a question about how the audience feels about leadership, or perhaps a qualifying statement about your own leadership experience in a concise manner.

2. Humor - yes, humor. If you can get your audience laughing before you ever come up, your connection will already be building, and it will be easier for you to keep their attention, vs. trying to regain it, after your introduction.

EX: Instead of a laundry list of your leadership experience, offer up a combined credibility/humorous triad - 'our speaker today is the CEO of a multi-million dollar tech company, has been married for 20 years, and has three wonderful children who have honed her leadership skills faster than either the corporate world or the bonds of matrimony ever could.' 

3. Tailored Credibility - you're probably loaded with personal and professional credentials. President of this, CEO of that, with multiple BS, BA, PhD, and Master's degrees from the best schools, not to mention organizational certifications like CPS, AS, DTM and WCPS, technical certifications like - well I don't have any so I don't know what they are, but YOU do - along with your amazing spouse, beautiful children, stepchildren, adopted children, and foster children. You've written 5 best-selling books, and appeared on Larry King, Oprah, and Jerry Springer. You make a ton of money, and give most of it away to 15 different charities. In your spare time, you fly, climb mountains, and crochet afghans that you give to your local homeless shelter.

In short, you rock.

This is all great information to share...on your website.

As far as your introduction, remember, we're keeping it short. If your credibility matters to the audience you're in front of it, or is crucial to your message, use some of it - maybe one or two items, at most. Keep in mind, however, that these people already know you're credible, because you're in front of them, and your bio is likely in the program, or at the very least a smartphone away.

4. Product Placement - yes, you can briefly include a mention of your most recent book or product, if it matters to the moment, and is available after the presentation. Briefly. You'll also bring this up in your Outroduction, which I'll talk about in another post.

5. Promise - this may have been part of your Attention Grab, but if not, make a short statement at the end, right before your name, with your promise. What are they going to get? What solution? What feeling? What plan? EX: In his presentation today, you will be armed with three solid way to Speak and Deliver your greatest message - Welcome Rich Hopkins.

6. Title NO, Name YES - in a professional introduction, the title of your talk is entirely irrelevant. As seen in the example above, give the promise, then have them introduce you with your name. If you can stop your name from being used at all before the end, all the better. Why? Because use of your name triggers both applause and your movement towards the stage. Using it throughout the introduction can inadvertently create false starts. Save it til the end, and head up to the stage.

Bonus Tip - Humorous Name or Branding Modifier - if you've used a personal funny description in the intro, or have a branding moniker, call back to it. EX: Welcome the rocker himself...., Welcome, fresh from his latest Game of Thrones binge-watching.... Welcome the Man in the Hat.... Welcome the Win Anyway Guy himself....

In Part II, I'll talk about the hazards involved with your introduction and introducer, and how to navigate all the landmines involved when you are relying on a third party, or several third parties, to launch your presentation. In Part III, I'll discuss, for my Toastmaster friends, a more tailored approach for your TM speeches, and how they can improve your club and member experience.

I'd love to have a Part IV - where I take real introductions YOU send me, and I power them up for you. I'll take four intros - first come, first served - and help you craft them to help you get your next speech off to a powerful start before you ever get on stage. Just leave your request in the comments below.

Until then - look at your current introduction and compare it to the above formula. Is it too long? Too boring? Too filled with non-pertinent information? Is it giving you your best chance to Speak....and Deliver?

Get More Laughs - Darren LaCroix: Book 34 of 52 in 52

Again - not a book, but let's not pick nits as we approach years end.

Even though I've written my own book on humor, which Darren was kind enough to contribute to in interview form, one should never stand pat on their current skill set. Darren has quite the reputation in Toastmasters and NSA alike as a humorist, has spent countless hours on stage as a stand-up comic, and, oh yeah, is the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking, for those who might not know.

So I figured his program on humor, 'Get More Laughs', might be worth my time!

The program is a recording, DVD and audio, of a seminar given a few years back, and offers a lot of interaction between Darren and his audience, with members getting up and trying out his tips, and getting feedback along the way, giving it a 'coach-in-a-box' feel as you go along.

He offers solid content throughout. Formulas to create humor, exercises for us to go through, examples of his own failures and successes, and a wonderful appearance by his humor mentor, Vinnie Favorito. He's a bit raw, but certainly a good source if you're looking to take your humor to the Comedy Club circuit, where Darren focuses a bit more on humor in platform speaking, defining it for us as 'for a comedian, the humor is the message, for a humorist, humor is the medium for the message'.

I will refrain from sharing too much of Darren's material here, though I have some copious notes in my Evernote folder. Still, you'll want to focus in on his '10 to get 2' concept, his excellent live exercises on the 'power of three', his strategies in working with the audience, both as call back material and in dealing with hecklers, and his 'Triangle of Wow'.

There are moments in this set when he absolutely shines as a coach - being extremely positive with people who sometimes just don't understand what he's trying to get them to do, and encouraging even the most unfunny attempts at using his tactics - knowing it is all about trial and error, and, like all good coaches, being willing to meet his participants where they're at in the process.

He also shows tremendous vulnerability in offering up a non-perfected humorous story of his own, and opening himself to critique by his audience - and he get ripped. It was pretty amazing to hear how critical folks were of his story, which I actually thought had a fair amount of potential. Two things stand out about that session - first, the great diversity of those in our audiences, who will hear what they want to hear, no matter how much we try to direct them, and second, Darren's tough skin, to be able to graciously handle the feedback.

Finally, a couple words of Darren's advice that will stand out to me going forward in speaking with humor:

"Your problem should be humorous, your solution serious"

"The effectiveness of a joke is inversely proportional to the words it takes to tell it"

For those who listen to everything Darren puts out, you will find some repetition as you go through the program. It is well-balanced, however, with new material, humor exercises, personal coaching from stage, and Vinnie's appearance in the program.

Overall, for this humor buff, I found my time well spent listening to the 15-CD set, even the 'Laffirmations' disc, which is a hypnotic-type of approach to teaching the lessons in the course.

4 and a half stars out of 5 - the only caveat being some rough production values on portions of the audio - but well worth your investment.

A quick disclaimer on this review: I only had access to the audio portion of this product, borrowed from a friend. I'm sure I missed some of it's effectiveness in missing the DVDs and the 'Giggle Guide'.

Book 9 of 52 in 52: The Message of You - Judy Carter

I named 'The Message of You' as one of my top books of 2013 - and vowed to re-read it this year. Mission Accomplished - and frankly, I'll probably be reading it again before years' end. It's THAT good.

For years, I struggled to find a program that could teach me how to write a great keynote. The best advice I found was 'Have a great opening, make three points with three stories, and have a great close - and be funny'. I built my keynotes based primarily on those concepts - stringing together my best stories, trying to create a 'silver-thread' to connect them - and off I went.

While I received good feedback from my audiences, I was never quite happy with my end results - I always felt more like I was performing a 'Greatest Hits' act, vs. really giving the audience what they needed.

I believe I ended up buying 'The Message of You' after seeing it on Judy Carter's Facebook feed - we're friends, though I bet she doesn't know me from Adam - and that's OK. I picked it up on Audible, then on Kindle, and my eyes were opened to a whole new structure of writing keynotes. Judy reads it herself on the Audio edition, and brings great personality to it over the 10+ hour recording.

Part One does it's best to set the reader up for success, providing Judy's credibility, introducing her premise for writing the book, and walking us through discovering our own message, and its value.

Part Two goes into 'Judy's Seven-Step Method for Writing a Hilarious and Inspiring Speech' - covering all the aspects of writing a keynote, from the promise to the premise to the process to her own special ingredient - 'The Heart Story'. She also throws in a big dose of instruction on how to be funny, a crucial aspect of any speech, at least from the audience's point of view.

Part Three ties up a few loose ends, including instruction on how to book yourself, how to prevent disasters, and delivery ideas, as well as an inspiring close that will put you in the mindset to really get 'The Message of You' out there for the world to hear.

Chock full of exercises to help you discover your message, and links to her websites that will match you up with a buddy and go more in depth on certain subjects, 'The Message of You' has all the information you'll need to discover your message, and will take you far down the road of developing & delivering it as well, if you've got the time and discipline to do so.

I now use her format, and variations of it based on topic, audience, and discipline, to coach my clients - and they've had great results. I've used the format on my own keynotes, and my presentations in Kansas City & Toronto last Fall were improved over anything I'd done in the past.

The risk in letting you know about 'The Message of You', and recommending it so highly, is that you'll all go out and buy the book and decide you don't need a coach. But I think you'll find the book just puts you in that much better a position to HIRE a coach, and channel your energy and enthusiasm into a focused effort to share what you have to tell the world. Hire Judy. Hire me. Hire the Toastmaster in your club you admire most. Hire SOMEBODY - and use the book to take you down the path of writing your ultimate speech, and share with the world your ultimate message.

5 Stars out of 5.

4 Lessons in Self-Deprecating Humor from a 14-year-old

Jack Carroll in Britain's Got Talent shows a wonderful sense of humor, and an understanding in how to connect with the audience.

- Are you addressing any elephants in the room when you speak?

- Do you use his method of using 'The Voice of the Audience', as he does when he starts with 'I know what you're thinking....'

- Do you construct humor in your speech in the form of a story with an unexpected twist at the end, as in his closing joke?

- And finally, are you confident enough in yourself to totally sell out - that is, go ALL IN with your speech?

When you are, you'll be a lot closer to learning how to Speak....& Deliver.

Speaking of Boston

What do you say after a tragedy?

Letterman and Leno wouldn't even do monologues after 9/11. The bombings in the Boston Marathon don't quite compare in scope, but the events are tragic, frightening, and sad nonetheless.

Stephen Colbert offered his own take to open his show this week. It is a wonderful example of respectful humor and satire designed to honor the situation, motivate the city, and provide the much-needed release of laughter. Note his complete avoidance of political posturing, racial profiling, or even commentary about what to do next. Plenty of time for that....later.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

Head to Mouth Disconnect

It sounded SO profound in my HEAD!

It looked SO funny on PAPER!

But...But...it FLOPPED!

Yeah, that'll happen. Head to mouth disconnect. In fact, it happens a lot. When we think or write about what we're going to say, we hear it perfectly in our heads, and the audience reacts exactly as we think they should. Unfortunately, two big things can go wrong:

1. We don't deliver it the way we told ourselves we were going to deliver it. Lack of practice, change in mood, sudden onset of self-consciousness when we see who has actually shown up in the room...plenty of reasons can get in our way if we aren't 100% certain of the quality of our material.

2. The audience hears with their OWN minds, no OURS. Darn them anyway. Don't they know that was funny, profound, sad? Idiots. Even if we ARE 100% certain of the quality of our material, those percentages can drop quickly once the spoken word hits the live audience.

The two areas of your speech most at risk for Head to Mouth Disconnect? Your conclusion, and your humor. What sounds funny isn't always, particularly if you don't know your audience well enough. You conclusion is at risk mostly because it's the last thing you write, instead of the first. If the conclusion isn't fully supported by your speech, no matter how profound, it won't stand up in the end.

Hidden in between - your stories. Those anecdotes that you believe are simply perfect, but aren't. You just can't see it from the trenches. Stories that you have force - the square peg in the round hole - simply because it moves you, so you HAVE to share it.

While Head to Mouth Disconnect is not completely preventable, there are precautions you can take, and prescriptions after it happens.

A. Practice. A lot. At home in your living room is good. Finding a Toastmasters group, hiring a coach, speaking at service clubs, is better. Take your material out for a test-drive where the audience is supportive and/or the consequences are minimized. If you don't practice, what can I say? You get what you deserve.And if you don't practice and everybody loves you anyway, you're probably a celebrity - or their boss.

B. Be Mindful of Your Mindset. You've had a crappy day. You fought with your spouse before you walked out the door. You got a speeding ticket. And sometimes, life is really going wrong - your father died, your daughter has been diagnosed with a tumor, or there's a layoff at work. And here you are, supposed to go deliver a message with humor and hope.

That will throw off anyone's delivery. If you can't or don't want to get out of the speech, you've got to do a different kind of disconnect - your head from your life - just for that event. Focus on the audience and the outcome. Leave everything else out of your head, and go pick it up later. Easier said than done - this I know from personal experience. But if you are aware, you're more likely to deliver the speech you need, and want, to give.

C. Film & Watch yourself. Filming is relatively easy. Watching not so much. In fact, my clients usually refer to it as torture. Still, its essential - watch with the mindset of the audience, feel their response if you have a copy of a public speech, and take notes on what works and what doesn't. If you simply cannot film, at least get an audio recording app on your phone so you can LISTEN to it afterward. No excuses.

D. Be a Merciless Editor. I know it's your favorite story. Your funniest line. Your cleverest of clever wordplay. But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Go in with a strike-through state of mind in your word processor. Then read it without those lines. The universe hates a vacuum, right? Trust in yourself that you'll find something better.

E. Be a Quick Healer. That means both self-healing, such as your ego, and being a healer, by rewriting your speech. Usually your flops are only flesh wounds, and they look worse than they are. They still need attention, but they won't kill us. The more dangerous cuts come when our flops interfere with our message by deadening the audience response, inadvertently contradict our intent or ideas, or tear down our credibility.

Head to Mouth Disconnect. It's only terminal if you ignore it.

What's the worst case you've ever experienced? Share below, even if it just happened to 'a friend'.

Meanwhile - go out and Speak....& Deliver!

Your Real Message is in the Gooey Center

Tootsie Roll Pops. Oreos. Twinkies, may they rest in peace. 

They hold inside of them the secret of your best speech. The gooey center in each completes the experience. Sure, the candy shell, crunchy cookie, and spongecake is good, and some even say it's the favorite, but for most, the chocolate, white frosting, and whipped cream filling are the payoff. And for the sake of today's post, I'm not going to split cookies - or hairs.

Lets face it - some speakers never get past the wrappers. They'll tell you something without any style, dialogue, or humor. They preach, teach, and train you until you decide whatever's inside isn't even worth getting to any more.

Good speakers, use stories, dialogue, humor, changes in pitch, volume & meter, and occasionally even a little acting to keep you involved, and stay memorable. We enjoy listening to them - but if they stop there, it's like biting into a filling-challenged Twinkie - empty and disappointing.

What's the Gooey Center, then?

It's the part of the speech that actually MEANS something. The part of your message that transforms and moves your audience. At first glance, you probably won't even see it. Remember your first Tootsie Roll Pop, before you knew it had a Tootsie Roll in the middle of it? You can't even tell it's there at first glance.

Your message is just as easily missed, by YOU. You're writing that story about fear, and boy, it's funny. You scream and run on the stage and everything.  Your audience howls and loves it. That seems good enough. It Isn't.

You have to break through the surface.

Why are you afraid? Because you might die? Fair enough. Then what? Kids have no father? Then what? You didn't prepare them financially? Then what? You didn't say what you always wanted to say? Go deeper. You don't know if your kids know you love them? That might be it. You never taught them to love themselves? Oooh. You might be there. Or it may lie even deeper. Ask Shrek said - Ogres have layers. Speakers better have them too.

You can't always find your Gooey Center alone. Even the average round of feedback isn't usually enough. Find a coach who's willing to ask you the hard questions, and be willing to answer them. My best speeches all came because I had my coach, Tom Cantrell, and several World Champions of Public Speaking, including Randy Harvey, David Brooks, Jim Key and Darren LaCroix asking me questions at various times.

Now that I'm spending most of my time coaching - I'm the one asking the hard questions, helping my clients find their Gooey Centers, so their audience gets the complete experience of the treats they are sharing. It's not easy. Sometimes it means dealing with issues you don't want to deal with, or sharing stories and ideas you'd forgotten about. Being a speaking coach is the next best thing to being a bartender, or occasionally a psychotherapist. Just ask my coachees :)

Don't stop at the wrapper, or even the crunchy or spongy exterior. Dig deep. Take a big bite. 1 - 2 - 3 - CRUNCH. When you taste the Gooey Center, you're ready to Speak & Deliver!

Clint Eastwood at the RNC: 9 Ways He Made Our Day

Last night, Clint Eastwood gave the world what it wanted. He gave the Republican National Committee a rousing speech that is being talked around the world. He gave people who are not Republicans a performance they could denounce and demean. He gave political pundits and comedians alike bullets of every type for their next offensive, both for and against Mitt Romney.

He also gave speaking coaches around the world a wonderful speech to pick apart on so many levels. I've seen blogs calling Mr. Eastwood out for being disrespectful to our President, for speaking too long, for rambling without a script, and for being 'drunk old Uncle Harry'. All valid commentaries, in certain perspectives.

My only, non-partisan, mind you, question is - did he Speak & Deliver?

1. Self-Deprecation and Focus. He immediately began by disarming the audience with a quick joke about the grand ovation he was given - 'Save a little for Mitt'. Short and sweet, he deflected his recognition back to the main star of the night.

The Lesson - the ovation was long and loud, but Mr. Eastwood knew why he was there. Do you know why you're speaking to your audience? Along the way, he refocused them on the reason THEY were there.

2. Voice of the Audience. He immediately connected with thee minds of the audience ("I know what you're thinking") and assured them that despite their doubt, yes, conservatives live in California. Then he tossed in a zinger for good measure "they just don't go around 'hotdogging' it". Great way to identify with his audience, and soften any concern they might have about this 'movie tradesman' speaking to them.

The Lesson - know your audience, and let them know you know them. Self-deprecation can go a long way, even combined with a sneak attack on the 'enemy'.

3. The Chair, Part I. Wow, has this one become a lightning rod. Was it immature? Disrespectful? Goofy? Maybe it was all those things. It will also be remembered, for better or worse. It is at this point we have to ask from what vantage point Mr. Eastwood is speaking. Is he meant to be a political expert? Or is he there as an entertainer?

His opening background was not a picture of him during his political days, but from The Outlaw Josie Wales, looking all rough and tumble with a beard and a cowboy hat. Not exactly a foreshadowing of a highly intellectual speech. Consider the other rumored speakers for his slot - a hologram of Ronald Reagan or Tim Tebow.

If the speaker had been Jon Stewart, would we look at the chair prop, the Harvey-style conversation, with the same eyes? Or would it have been automatically viewed as a mechanism for sarcasm? Would we care if Conan O'Brien were 'disrespecting' the president?

In what could be viewed as either 'being a good sport' or 'arrogance', the Obama Campaign came back with by retweeting this image. So - either good humor or inappropriateness is certainly a bi-partisan event.

The Lesson - be willing to go all the way, to risk pushback and ridicule, if you truly want to say what you want to say. Mr. Eastwood was nothing if not true to himself during this speech, and at this point in his life and career, knows he has little to lose.

4. The Chair, Part II. Appropriateness aside, Mr. Eastwood's use of the chair was consistent, effective in creating an illusion for the audience, who no doubt had President Obama in their minds sitting right there, in whatever capacity they see him in, respectful or not, and provided well-timed humor moments via imagined interruption. Even Bob Newhart recognized the 'bit' as being borrowed from his own one-sided phone calls on his early albums, dryly threatening to sue Clint on his Twitter account.

The Lesson - creating a character onstage can be very effective, particularly for humor - but know the audience ahead of time.

5. Political Statements. Not much in the way of strong political statements. Straight-forward questioning on campaign promises, from Gitmo to the return of the troops, and a couple of barbs on student loans and the war in Afghanistan, but nothing with meat to it. Pandering, really, to an audience waiting to eagerly lap up anything negative about the POTUS.

The Lesson - don't go out of your depth. He took easy shots, and kept moving.

His strongest statement was delivered through the voice of Mitt Romney and his statement against declaring target dates and simply bringing the troops home. Again, Mr. Eastwood directed the attention to the real star of the night.

6. Profane Humor. Watch the video, and Mr. Eastwood is never all-out profane. He implies profanity from the president, but never quotes him. The combination of  'what do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that - he can't do that to himself' with his callback of Invisible Obama telling HIM to do the same thing was dark slapstick at best, vulgar at worst, but was received with raucous laughter and approval from his audience.

The Lesson - if you're going to be risque, be prepared for people to love you and criticize you with equal power. I think Mr. Eastwood is more than ready for the consequences of his sarcastic approach.

7. Stray Rambling Comments. His speech was supposedly slotted for 5 minutes, and went twelve. Part of this was his halting style as he seemed to be speaking sans prompter or script. Part of it was also rambling, extraneous comments about not wanting lawyers in the white house because they argue too much and suggesting we needed a successful businessman running the country. Neither of these were particularly necessary statements, though they both supported Romney - sort of - Romney has a law degree. Wonder if Mr. Eastwood knew that?

The Lesson - no matter how legendary you are, go in with a plan that fits the plan of those who brought you in to speak. Taking too long is both a discourtesy and an opportunity for you to say more than you need to say.

8. Back to Business. At the 8:30 mark, after the aforementioned dark slapstick callback, Mr. Eastwood changes his tone, and indicates he wants to say something, in such a way as to separate his next comments from everything else. He knows he's been playing the comedian, the entertainer, and now he wants to be taken a bit more seriously.

This is when he regains his gravitas, his strength of character both real and perceived, and gives the audience a sense of pride and a mission to embark upon. "We own this country....politicians are employees of ours" He attacks politicians of every party with his comments about coming around every few years to beg for votes.

The Lesson - know when and how to refocus your audience. You've made them think, you've made them laugh, you've made them uncomfortable - but now, you need to make them act.

Then he goes for the jugular, literally - "When someone does not do the job, we've got to let 'em go" - repeated for emphasis, and accompanied by a slash across the throat gesture that would get him kicked out of an NFL game, and was, for my taste, his most over-the-top moment of the night. It came on the heels of his strongest moment, weakening both the statement and his credibility for many.

The Lesson - gangland gestures will reduce your credibility even more than implied crass comments from an Invisible President in the minds of some.

9. Make My Day - the audience has been waiting for it, calling it out from the cavernous convention floor, and finally he gives them what they want. A classic audience response moment where he tells them to finish it for him. The crowd emphatically closes his speech with a loud 'Make My Day", and he immediately thanks them and departs.

The Lesson - end on a crescendo, and know when to quit. Even if you should have quit five minutes ago, you still want to quit with strength.

From a speaking perspective, I don't believe Mr. Eastwood's speech was the train-wreck I've heard it described as throughout the day. He double-clutched and paused too often and occasionally seemed to be making it up as he went along, sure. But he was also vintage Eastwood. He was exactly who he is, and if the RNC was caught off guard, it's really their fault, not his.

Politics and political correctness aside, I think he provided a great show, and did exactly what they wanted him to do - give his audience reason to cheer, reason to feel good about themselves, and an iconic lead-in for a would-be president who is too often seen as quite the opposite.

Eastwood did indeed Speak....and Deliver!

April is Humor Month in Speak & Deliver

In honor of my FAILED humor on Sunday, April Fool's Day, I am declaring April HUMOR MONTH here in Speak & Deliver!

In case you missed it, my Facebook Status on the 1st announced that my wife was pregnant with our 7th child. This IS not true - but is our annual prank on our family, and I think we've even done it on Facebook in the past. It was meant to be funny, the ultimate Speak but NOT Deliver, but it was an EPIC FAIL, because so many people believed it, and didn't really find it humorous that we lied about it!

Why was it an EPIC FAIL?

1. Too Realistic - we already have six, so what's a seventh, right? If I'd said she was pregnant with triplets, the exaggeration would have tipped people off, perhaps. If you're joking about something that isn't obviously funny, it may just not be received as funny. 

2. Wrong Crowd - with over 2500 friends, most don't know me well enough to tell I was joking. Why would they risk offending me by challenging the joke? Since it was too realistic, and they didn't have enough of a knowledge base about me and my family, they did the logical thing, and congratulated us, leading more and more people in the wrong direction. Lesson - subtle, inside humor doesn't work on the wrong audiences.

3. Distracting - since it succeeded to fool so many, it actually became a distraction, requiring multiple clarifications by both myself and my wife. We didn't attend church that morning, and our study group actually prayed for the pregnancy! Its success made it a failure.

4. Delivery - on the internet, it's tough to determine tone without any verbal or visual cues to accompany the words on the page. I didn't add any emoticons or funny pictures to match the announcement, leaving people with less room to doubt the veracity of my statement. If you want people to laugh, give them clues and cues!

Ironically, Kristi pulled this prank back in 2004 on her father, who did not take kindly to it. I'm not sure who got the last laugh on that one, since it turned out she really WAS pregnant, and didn't know it yet!

So, humor doesn't always work, even when used by a speaker who uses it constantly on stage. Them's the breaks as they say. So I'm doing 'penance' by making all my posts this month relate to using humor properly, one way or another. Practice makes perfect, right?

By the way, my book, Go Ahead and Laugh, is back in print - and tomorrow will be available for purchase directly from me, and then on Amazon later this week. Stay tuned for details! Until then, watch your humor, as you Speak...& Deliver!

Speaking of Sarcasm

In my book, Go Ahead & Laugh, sarcasm is described as "revealing and edgy double-edged commentary" - a slightly redundant, but accurate description, in hindsight. It's also a dangerous device. It's like carrying around an unstable explosive - if you don't know what you're doing, if you haven't planned the path you're going to take - it's liable to explode in your face.

Sarcasm as defined by Dictionary.com is "harsh or bitter derision or irony" - YIKES! Does that sound like something you want in your speech? Is a laugh so important that you have to resort to harsh and bitter sarcasm? Even if you get the laugh, will it end up costing you credibility? Will your audience turn on your over just one phrase in your speech, even if the rest is perfectly acceptable? No, Yes, & Yes.

No - the laugh is not so important that you should risk using sarcasm in a hurtful way.
Yes - if you deride the wrong group, belief, situation, or person, you can lose credibility with your audience.
Yes - one misplaced or misused phrase is all it takes to get an audience focused on the negative, and away from your intent.

So why not get rid of sarcasm altogether? Because even explosives have a purpose, and, used correctly, can be very effective.

1. Plan it Carefully - Sarcasm backfires most often when it's 'Off the Cuff'. We think something is going to be funny in the moment, and its not. This can be fine with regular humor, but sarcasm that flops is like acid that drops - you're creating your own hole to fall into. Write your humor lines ahead of time. Test your sarcasm with your coach and/or some friends. Come back to it a day or two later and see if it still passes the test.

2. Don't Betray Yourself - Sarcasm is often a mask for our true feelings. We say something in a way that can be taken as humor, but in truth, it's how we really feel. We just don't have the guts to come out and say it straight out. This can happen easily in an 'Off the Cuff' remark, but also in a planned speech that hasn't been vetted properly.

3. Exaggerate - This is a technique unto itself, but when combined with sarcasm, it can soften the blow. Exaggeration makes it clearer to the audience you are joking around with your sarcastic remarks.

4. Self-Deprecate - another technique that works on it own, it mixes well with sarcasm. It takes the edge off by pointing the sarcasm back at yourself, so you aren't coming across as aggressive or arrogant to the audience. In one of my speeches, I get sarcastic about my daughter not being competitive enough - but it is softened because I have spent the last several minutes poking fun at myself for being TOO competitive. CAUTION: Don't cut yourself too deep, or your credibility will be cut along the way.


5. Know Your Audience - If you are speaking to a church, don't talk about how the boys in the youth group want to get the girls in the back seat (I actually heard this once!). It may be true, and you may be trying to get a laugh, but unless you quickly follow it up with something to cushion the truth, you'll come across as crass instead of brash.

On the other hand, if you are speaking to Wal-Mart employees, directing sarcasm towards their detractors or competition can build rapport. Just be careful if you're speaking to K-Mart the next weekend, social media may betray you.

If sarcasm is so dangerous, why include it in my book? Why teach it to my clients? Because, when it's used well, it can be very effective. It can build rapport. It can illustrate a point. It can lighten a heavy moment in the audience. It can be convicting and freeing all at once.

A great way to study the art of sarcasm is by watching Stand-Up Comedians. Most of what they do is steeped in sarcasm. Keep in mind, their audiences are more primed for them to be inappropriate - but even they can step over the line. Watch for moments of brilliance and moments of blunder. Take notes on technique and timing. Then apply it to your own speaking, and test, test, test.

Dynamite cleared the way for connecting East and West back in the days of the old railroad. Nuclear power can be an efficient energy choice. Just because something is dangerous doesn't make it useless. Just handle with care - or it'll blow up in your face.

Bonus Exercise: Below are some videos of three diverse comedians all employing sarcasm to different degrees. What works for them, for their audience? What could work for you?

A. Let's start with Don Rickles - otherwise known as Mr. Warmth. He's been leading the charge for sarcastic humor for over half a century. He knows his audience, and even more, his audience knows him. It's a badge of honor to be made fun of by this master.



B. Seinfeld brought sarcasm to a different level - still biting, but just veiled enough to soften the blow. He's typically clean, and is a great example of corporate-appropriate humor.



C. I mentioned a church audience - and Christians (and other religions) have their humorists too. You can find appropriate sarcasm in anything, if you look for it. Brad Stine offers this half comedy routine, half sermon, and does a good job staying in his boundaries. (in my own, subjective, opinion, of course)