200 Bricks.

Will Smith tells a story about his father tearing down a wall in front of his business, and telling his two young boys they had to rebuild it. The young kids thought it was an impossible task, but in about a year and a half, they succeeded. The former Fresh Prince said the key was focusing not on the wall they had to build, but laying the perfect brick, one brick at a time.

When I set out to start Speak & Deliver, I had this simple goal in mind, as seen in my first post, Sept. 15, 2009:

"Speak & Deliver will cover both sides of the issue, as we strive to marry the best of Method and Message in order to create the best possible speakers for today's audiences."

Have I succeeded?

Speak & Deliver has certainly been built slowly over the last 28 months, though 2011 was a bit of a breakout year as I dedicated more and more time to posting. I'm honored by the many follows I can see on the right side of this blog, the RSS followers, and those that help me average 300 or so views a day. It either means I'm writing what you want to read, or I'm using enough Glee images that people are hitting my blog just to grab the graphics. Probably some combination of both!

What can I do to make the next 200 posts useful to you? To push you along your speaking journey, one post at a time? Tell me in the comments below, facebook me, or email me with your thoughts. This blog, after all, is for the "Speaking Public", not me.

Thank you for reading Speak & Deliver. Now go out and give a speech. Every speech is a brick. Your wall of success is waiting to be built!

Speaking of Testimonials

It's one thing when you spend your life writing marketing copy designed to tell people how brilliant you are as a speaker. It's another when you can get someone else to say it, too!

Testimonials rank high when it comes to credibility for a buyer, whether you're selling dishwashers, toothpaste, or keynote speeches. They come in many shapes, sizes, and levels of effectiveness, but most testimonials will still outweigh anything we write about ourselves.

Testimonial Types:

A. First Name Only. These are the lowest form of testimonial. A written sentence or two, no matter how glowing, loses steam when followed by "- Anthony H." No accountability there, for the recommender or the speaker. Whose to say it isn't all made up?

B. First & Last. Finding out Anthony H. is really Anthony Hopkins can be priceless!

C. First, Last, & Position. Finding out it's the Anthony Hopkins that is the CEO of SomeBigComputer Company who hired you? Even better.


[Rich is] "a speaker with strong themes and an entertaining style... Any audience could benefit from his experiences, ideas and enthusiasm."
                                                                                    Barb Bunkers 
                                                                                    Human Resources
                                                                                    Principal Financial Group

D. Add a photo. Seeing it's a real person adds weight and added verifiability to the quote.

E. Audio. These were more popular 10 years ago, when digital recorders first hit the scene. A voice is more convincing than disembodied words on a page. But, if you can do Audio, you can just as easily do...

F. Video. These are today's gold standard, especially if you are able to get them at the event itself. The enthusiasm is high, the atmosphere of the convention center floor adds impact, even the crowd noise screams legitimacy. With today's digital HD cameras at an all time low, and software free or virtually free (I used a $50 copy of Corel VideoPro), it's easier than ever.



The best testimonials don't just talk about how well you did, they talk about what the person got out of what you said, or what the company took home from the event. Ask people to speak about something specific in your presentation, and they'll usually be able to write or say something more specific than "I really enjoyed hearing you speak."

Written testimonials are still a tough animal to corral. People say they'll do them, and forget, or just get too busy. It's not unusual for speakers to write their own testimonials for a meeting planner or company big-wig, and ask that person to sign-off on it, pending their own corrections and additions. Believe it or not, book recommendations are often done in the same way. How else would Jack Canfield have time to endorse every book in the Self-Help section?

Getting those written testimonials on company letterhead is nice, but not as necessary in today's digital world. When you do get them, scan them for posterity, and send them if a meeting planner actually asks. Otherwise, just add them to your website in a short soundbyte. Get permission to use people's company logos, and add it along with a picture of the individual. This can build a nice visual resume of corporate clients, once you begin to pile them up.

Video testimonials are interesting as well, from beginning to end. I knew I wanted to get some at my last big event, but I admit, I was hesitant to ask people. My friend Theresa Frasch had no such hesitation, took my FlipCam and started going around the conference, getting me every testimonial. She definitely saved the day! Getting a third party involved can be very helpful, and you'll know the testimonials are authentic (for your own peace of mind) when you aren't right there pressuring them to be nice.



Finding the time to actually put them together and post 'em on YouTube was another challenge, but it was easier than I expected. Once I had my template together, each one took about 10 minutes, not counting compile and upload time. One's uploading as I type, so multi-tasking is always an option! A quick shout out to Darren LaCroix and his CD program "YouTube It" for being an encouraging and educational nagging voice on my computer.

However you get them, testimonials are a crucial piece of your marketing puzzle. No one else can give your speech, but most everyone who hears it can give a 20-30 second speech about how you've enlightened, educated, and inspired them. Go out today and Speak...and Deliver. Then get someone to tell the world how you did!




Just for Toastmasters: Many clubs record speeches, but how many record testimonials for the speakers after the meeting? This can be good practice for the speakers, and provide some great promo material for members of the club, and even the club itself! Don't force anyone to do it of course, but once they see how much fun it is to get a testimonial from others, they'll be lining up to get on camera.

Speaking Perfection is a Myth

It may be an odd thing to hear coming from a coach dedicated to improving his clients content and delivery, but it is true, nonetheless. Speaking Perfection is overrated. In fact, Speaking Perfection may be the biggest enemy for speakers wanting to get out into the 'real world'.

So many beginning speakers worry that they just aren't good enough yet, even after going to Toastmasters, even after hiring a coach. They won't schedule themselves for even the smallest Rotary group, even if their coach tells them it's time to jump into the deep end.

They want to reach Speaking Perfection before ever going out to speak. Unfortunately, Speaking Perfection is a Myth. An unreachable mountaintop. Even Jesus didn't convert everyone who ever heard his words. Zig Ziglar doesn't convince every audience member to 'Stop their Stinkin' Thinkin''. There's always someone who thinks the Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking should have been someone other than who it was in any given year.

Beyond influence, technical perfection isn't even necessary. We're not doing ballet on stage, folks. In some cases, technically proficient speakers are further away from perfection than those that stutter every now and again, because they are too slick!

Don't fall victim to the Speaking Perfection Myth. You are ready to speak to a live audience if:

A. You have a message they want/need to hear - a message based on your experience and expertise.

B. You have an outline - a real beginning, middle, and end, just like that paper in high school.

C. You have practiced more than once - at minimum in front of your dog.

D. You have spoken previously - in front of live people without fainting, freezing or vomiting. This is a big reason I recommend Toastmasters. Doesn't have to be this speech, though that would certainly be beneficial. Just know you can do it.

E. You have a point - an actionable point to leave your audience with at the close of your presentation. We don't care about your life, about twitter, about global warming, unless we can learn something and do something after hearing about it.

The setting is important, of course. An individual watching you at a breakfast networking group will be far more understanding and open to your imperfect message than the same individual who has paid a ton of money for a conference. That's why most coaches encourage their charges to start with 'free speaking' at service clubs. It gets your feet wet without putting you in front of an audience with incredibly high expectations. If the last person they heard was the average town councilman, or the Rotary President's sister who loves talking about quilting, you're most likely already ahead of the game.

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." - Zig Ziglar

What's important is not how Perfect you are, but that you are able to get through the speech and make an impact. Audiences appreciate authenticity. They'll look past a stutter or stop to look at notes. Real life audience are more forgiving than you might think, as long as you give them something that impacts their heart, mind, or pocketbook.

Don't get me wrong, I don't believe any speaker should stop there. There's plenty more to learn, more ways to improve your level of connection, communication of ideas, and ultimate impact. It is a lifelong process, even for the best of the best. It's always preferable to reach 7 people out of 10 than 3. But 3 is a good start.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to get better, unless getting better gets in the way of getting started.

Don't wait for perfection. Don't wait til you've won enough contests. Don't wait until you're totally sure you're ready. If you haven't started yet, find a Toastmasters club, find a coach, or, at the very least, find your dog, and SPEAK.

Someone out there needs to hear what you have to say.

*after writing this, I realized I'd written something similar last September. I considered not posting this one, or delaying it, but then I thought again. If it's on my mind it may be on some of yours, especially as you look toward Speaking and Delivering in the New Year.

A Public Speaker Is Also A Teacher!

A good public speaker is also a good teacher. Teaching involves first acquiring information, then organizing it in a logical, easy to understand manner, and finally presenting it clearly and convincingly to others. That is what a good speaker does, too.

Build on Prior Learning

Effective teaching builds on prior learning, using it as a foundation. Likewise, a good speaker endeavors to ascertain what his audience already knows, and uses that as his starting point. He then adds information which enlarges on and adds to what the audience knows and accepts already.

Logical Flow

Starting with the foundation, essential information is added in a progressive manner. The sequential manner in which concepts are introduced is critical, since acceptance of each concept depends on how well information presented previously was understood. One point should therefore lead directly to the next.

A good speaker, like an effective teacher, allows no gaps in understanding, because he loses part of his audience with each gap. To illustrate the need for continuity: Suppose you were in business attire, and needed to cross a small stream to get to a meeting. How delighted you would be to find large, flat stones rising from the stream bed, perfectly positioned to allow you to cross from one side to the other! Proper sequencing of points has a similar effect on an interested audience.

Comparison of Ideas

Effective speaking, like teaching, involves associating one idea with other, showing the relationship between them. Known concepts are used to introduce the unknown.

If the ideas are similar, comparisons are used. Since no two ideas are exactly alike, the ways in which they parallel each other are highlighted, and if there is a significant difference between these two similar ideas, this distinction is made for the sake of clarity.

If the ideas are primarily dissimilar, contrasts are made. Stress is laid on the ways in which the new idea is markedly different from the old, familiar idea.

By these means, ideas which are already familiar to the audience are employed to define new ideas. The new idea is easily understood when familiar ideas are used for comparison or contrast.

Use Word Pictures

Word pictures, such as illustrations, are usually used to make comparisons vivid and colorful. While a verbal comparison requires searching for words which fill the bill precisely, a good, appropriate illustration cuts to the chase and makes the connection crystal clear.

A good illustration can also stir emotions at the same time, which makes the illustration and the point it illustrates easy to remember, and hard to forget. After all, the best teaching is worthless if no one remembers it afterwards! The same is true of a good speech.