What's It Going to be Like in Malaysia? An Interview with Loghandran Krishnasamy

As I prepare for competing at the 2014 Toastmasters International Convention for the coveted title of World Champion of Public Speaking, I thought I better get the lay of the land a bit. This is the first convention outside of the North American continent, and it's all the way on the other side of the world! (At least, MY world)

In 2008, I competed with Loghandran Krishnasamy, who ended up taking 2nd in the world - and it just so happens he lives in Kuala Lumpur. I figured, hey, why not give him a call and find out what I need to be aware of, from the weather to the food to the culture to the tourist dangers. Then I figured, hey, why not record it and let EVERYONE know? Fair's fair, after all. So below is our phone call - complete with answers to all my questions, and a healthy dose of coaching, to boot.

We hope you enjoy it.

Did Admiral McRaven REALLY Speak & Deliver?

Naval Adm. William H. McRaven, BJ '77, ninth commander of U.S.Special Operations CommandThe commencement speech by Naval Adm. William H. McRaven, BJ '77, ninth commander of U.S.Special Operations Command, has been making both the internet and TV news blurbs today, with the video of his commencement speech at the University of Texas. I happened to see (not hear) it on CNN as I was doing my 20 minutes on the stationary bike at Planet Fitness today.

Now I've seen and heard it - and I'm both impressed by the content and depressed that this speech is all it takes to get the world all a-Twitter about a speaker. Before I break down my thoughts - here's your chance to watch it yourself.



First, let's focus on what Admiral McRaven did well:

A. Strong Start - even though he started with 'thank you's'. If he'd just started with 'It's been almost 37 years to the day...', he would have been fine. Really. But I digress - the power of three started him well as he went to connect: the headache from the party, his girlfriend/now wife, and the humorous twist about his own commencement speaker. He let them know he 'got' them, and gave a promise - that he would be short. 20 minutes? Yeah, it's a TEDtalk - so short enough.

B. Promising Premise - that we can all make a difference, combined with a 'proof' story of soldiers that make decisions that affect not just individuals, but generations. He then promises us that we don't have to be in the military to make the difference, and 'asks permission' to tell us how. An old method, but smoothly done with just a touch of self-deprecation from this 'old sailor'.

C. Point, Story, Point, Story - in the grand tradition of public speaking for the last 100 years and more. It's not just the structure that was effective, but the choice of stories - starting with 'If you want to change the world make your bed' kept the talk from being immediately dismissed as too serious or overly dramatic. Further stories alternated between third-party and personal, and all served to support is overall premise.

D. Dressed the Part - like it or not, the uniform gave him more credibility that a long introduction (which may have actually happened, granted) paired with him in a regular suit. Now, if he had not given a Navy Seal speech, he may not have worn the outfit - but why would he give any other speech?

E. Hired a Speech Writer - ok, I have no way of knowing this, it's a total assumption. It's well-written, concise, filled with strong transitions. If he wrote it, he's definitely got a future when he retires. There's nothing wrong with hiring a speech writer, especially if your main role in life is not speaking, and often, it's a much better alternative than spending all the time and stress of writing one yourself. Just make sure you find a writer that is willing to learn to write in 'your voice', vs. a copywriting propoganda machine.

F. Kept his Promise - through the point/story approach the Admiral provided instruction, and through his closing 'ring the bell' metaphor, and a cursory mention of others who have made a difference, he gave us a call to action, both of which brought the audience to a point of closure and certainty that they could, as he promised, make a difference.

What he could have done better:
A. Eye Contact - perhaps it's the hat, perhaps its the camera angle. But I really think it's simply that he's attached to his script. More practice would help with that, and a bit more trust in himself. Trust that he knows his stories, particularly his personal ones, well enough not to need the notes. After all, what is his audience going to do, call him out on telling them wrong?



B. Vocal Variation - I know, he's in the military, and he used his 'voice of authority'. Constantly. Virtually no variation of range. It's wasn't monotone in a 'Bueller, Bueller, Bueller' sense, but it was extremely even, despite so many opportunities to go loud or quiet, faster or slower, and higher or lower in pitch. Much of his material that could have brought large amounts of laughter (munchkin boat crew, sugar cookies, and jumping down the rope headfirst, in particular) failed to do so because he was so blasted serious the whole time. Vocal cues (and, y'know, an occasional SMILE) let us know it's ok to laugh.

C. Been Shorter - Yes, I said he kept it to a TEDtalk, but he could have shaved off 5 minutes without losing much. Had he leveraged his humor better, I wouldn't have had an issue with the time, though. Laughter make any speech seem shorter.

D. Identified our Bell - 'ring the bell' is a pretty common metaphor in a military speech. What bells will his audience face? A quick round of three examples, even a humorous example in the end, followed by a repeat of the 'ring the bell' concept, would have anchored the thought in the minds of his audience in their own terms, giving them more traction with the idea, and a better chance of retention of the meaning, not just words.

Is this a great speech? No, I don't think so. Is it a strong speech, with an important message, that will be remembered for awhile? Yes, certainly. Is it better than 90 percent of what passes for a great speech these days? Almost without a doubt.

Could it have BEEN a great speech? ABSOLUTELY.

It all comes down to the element of delivery.

That's what I strive for in my speaking, and in my clients speaking - matching strong content with great delivery - so that they work together to create a truly great speech. That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of good speeches out there. Nor am I trying to tell you that this speech is a bad speech. It's a very good speech.

One I wish had been GREAT.

Speaker Leader Champion - Book 13 of 52 in 52 Weeks - A Review

There's been a lot of hoopla around Ryan Avery & Jeremey Donovan's new book, Speaker Leader Champion - Succeed at Work Through the Power of Public Speaking, not in small part to Avery's attempt to set a Guinness World Record of Most Books Signed earlier in April. In fact, I purchased the book as part of the record-setting attempt.

It's also a big deal because most Toastmaster's World Champions don't have their own books, much less books that are published by a 'real' publishing house such as McGraw-Hill, and certainly not this fast. Avery's strategic choice to team with Donovan, who is also the author of How to Deliver a TED Talk, no doubt figured into the success of this book, and is a good lesson for the rest of us looking to break into the publishing world.

As I read through, I have to say I wasn't sure how much of the content was Avery and how much was Donovan. I reviewed Jeremey's book 'How to Win the World Championship of Public Speaking' last July, and Speaker Leader Champion read like an expanded 2nd edition, as they used World Championship Speeches to illustrate most of their 92 Speaking Tips, and interviews with the Champions themselves to add 44 Speaking Insights.

Let me say this straight away - I enjoyed the book, and much of it's content is spot-on, useful, well-illustrated, and will benefit the reader. The book works very well for readers who are Toastmasters, as so much of it is set in the TM competition venue, and if you want to compete, it's filled with gold throughout.

David Brooks, Lashunda Rundles, Mark Brown, & Darren LaCroix
are among the championship speeches in the book.

The 11 Chapters cover 'Selecting a Topic', 'Telling Stories', 'Using Humor', 'Amplifying Emotional Texture', and 'Getting in the Speaking Zone', and, of course, more - all using the Champs trophy-winning speeches as the proof of most of their points. They include the full scripts of several winning speeches, which makes this the first book I know of since I published Win Place & Show to include the entire copy of a WCPS Speech - in this case, three speeches each from the top three winners in 2006, including Ed Hearn's 'Bounce Back', which is mentioned but not reprinted in Avery and Donovan's book.

There is also a chapter on 'Designing Compelling Visual Aids', which, other than a bit of a tip of the hat to David Henderson's flight jacket and goggles, seems thrown in simply to satisfy the non-TM reader, as 'Big Stage' winning speeches rarely use props or visual aids at all, much less PowerPoint, Keynote, or Prezi.

Toastmasters, particularly those who compete, are going to love this book. If you're a non-Toastmaster reader, however, you'll have to filter through the competition-speak and mentally transfer the concepts to your speaking world. That may serve as a bit of an obstacle for 'real-world' readers who have never stepped foot into a Toastmasters club.

The book title offers two promises it fails to keep, in my opinion, as well. While 'Leader' is in the title, the book doesn't really touch on leadership, or how speaking lends to leadership. While both authors may be leaders, I don't leave with any ideas to make ME a leader. The words 'leader' and 'leadership' don't even show up in the Index.

In addition, the subtitle 'Succeed at Work Through the Power of Public Speaking' seems to be merely a way to pander to a corporate audience, as little in the book directly relates to speaking in the workplace, technical presentations, sales presentation, or even CEO speeches, beyond a quick mention of Steve Jobs in the opening chapter. While the tips in the book do transfer over to 'real world' speaking, HOW they transfer is only occasionally explained, and the benefit of becoming a better speaker in the workplace is given short shrift.

The authors do a fantastic job of dissecting the speeches themselves, and highlighting how their methods can become our methods, from Ed Tate's use of humor to Lance Miller's use of story to the stark differences between most of the Champion's speeches and Jock Elliott's 2011 winner, which was more subdued and 'old-style' that the others.

Still, a final disappointment came in their discussion of David Henderson's 2010 Championship speech. The analysis of David's speech is spot-on, discussing his use of emotion and his simplification of Sickle Cell Anemia for the audience - but leaves out an important point - that for all the emotion of his friend dying, that story was a fiction, the friend didn't exist, and therefore was more emotional manipulation, rather than true emotional storytelling.

An argument can be made that this doesn't harm the reader. Perhaps. But I also believe that discussing the issue of honest storytelling would have been extremely helpful to the reader. For more on this case, you can read my own blogpost on the matter here: The Speaker's Trust. Whether they made an active choice not to discuss this aspect of David's speech, which he openly admits, or simply didn't research it, is unknown.

Despite the aspects where I feel Speaker Leader Champion falls short, overall the book offers a great deal of value, and I do recommend it. Strongly, for Toastmasters - 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, a little less so for the regular reader - 3 1/2 stars.


What I hope to see next out of the 2012 champion is a bit of what I had hoped to get out of this book. That is, a book from his perspective, about his life, his experiences before Toastmasters and after, and what he has learned himself as he has launched his career. I want more Ryan, and less Champs. If his past record of producing content is any indication, I have high hopes that his next book, and hopefully more of HIS story, isn't far from being available to those of us who want to see the Real Ravery shine through.

The Most Boring Speaking Advice in the World

If you've been in a speaking class, a training room, a Toastmasters club, or even worked with many speaking coach, you've heard the following advice:

Tell them what you're going to tell them.
Tell them.
Then Tell them what you've told them.

Makes sense, right? Repetition is good, isn't it? Prepare your audience, educate your audience, then make sure they've got it - and got it good. Indeed, this advice is as old as Plato and Socrates, and probably goes back to the age of cavemen.

It's not the worst advice in the world, especially if you're a trainer, teacher, or drill sergeant. In fact, the military uses this method to repeatedly reinforce orders to its ranks. Certainly, if you're a new speaker, it's a competent way to structure your speech, and helps both you and your audience stay on track.

It's also BORING. Predictable. Easy to tune out. Potentially condescending to your audience, for whom the need for repetition has been replaced by the need for new information every 7-10 minutes, thanks to today's steady stream of media and information overload.

Which is why I say you should IGNORE it - at least in it's most rigid sense. Telling them three times is fine, as long as you do it in very different ways each time, and change the way you deliver the goods. What to do instead? Well, there are plenty of options, actually. I'll start with my favorite keynote outline, from Judy Carter's 2013 book The Message of You:

Start with a Hook - something related either to your point, your audiences self-interest, or otherwise builds a connection with the audience. Stories, controversial statements backed up by evidence, or even a question followed by a scenario are three easy bets to bring your audience into your speech without immediately 'telling them what you're going to tell them'.

Then go into a Premise. Their pain, their problem, their situation in need of fixing. The 'why', not 'what' of what you're going to speak about.

Throw in a dose of Credibility - how you can identify with their pain, either personally, or as an interested third party. The more they feel you're one of them, the more ready they'll be to to listen.

Then get into your Promise- the ultimate resolution that you're promising to tell them about. It's as close as you'll come to 'Telling Them What You're Going to Tell Them'. What you're actually doing is telling them three more important things first - why they should pay attention, why they need a solution, and that a solution exists.

Then you head into a Process - steps to solve their problem, followed by a personal story of how this process has worked for your or those around you. Then and only then do you get into 'reinforcement mode' and review what you've told them, before finally telling them the big, over-arcing point one last time.

This isn't your only option, of course. Depending on your situation, your outline can take many forms:

Cam Barber offers his own 'speech outline
generator' at his blog SpeechOutline.com.
Above, he chunks down Steve Jobs
Stanford commencement speech,
where Jobs doesn't fully tell them what
he wants to tell them until the very
end of the address.

Chronological - take the audience from beginning to end in order of events. Just be sure to cap off the ending with your take-home message.

Testimonial - a story that introduces and solves the problem in and of itself, allowing you to get your point across without hitting them over the head. Often, the heroic nature of the resolution in stories of this nature mean you don't wrap up at the end either, you just spin your tale, and let the conclusion sink into your audiences mind.

Anecdotal - perhaps you don't really even have a point to the speech other than to educate the audience or lift up an individual. Re-living stories makes for entertaining and honoring speeches, particularly if you're stuck in a classroom or at the long table of a wedding celebration.

Reverse-Engineered - Start with the ideal scenario, the fulfilled promise, then build the story of getting there.

I'm sure there are more, and if you can think of one, please add it in the comments below.

The right structure is key to your presentation's success, and regardless of which you choose, should always serve the audience's best interest, not your own. Getting them interested is key, which is why I, as a general rule, prefer starting by letting them know not WHAT I'm going to tell them, but WHY.

Each presentation is different, and each audience. I'm not saying NEVER to use the Tell Them What You're Going to Tell Them method, just that it isn't the end-all, may not be the most effective approach in every case, and could potentially be detrimental depending on the occasion.

Be creative, and then go Speak...& Deliver!