[Fredslist] The Passionate Speaker #77 - The Value of a Speaker's Coach

Fri Nov 4 12:55:55 EST 2005

eNewsletter

      The Passionate Speaker 

      A Monthly Newsletter for Speakers

      by 

      Mike Landrum

      November, 2005 - Number 77

      The Value of a Speaker's Coach

      "When you doubt yourself that only means you have forgotten who you are."

      - Tara Wernsing
      Coach, Author 

            Contents
            Something to Ponder
            Speaker's Workshops 
            Toastmasters!
            SpeechMaven Blog

            Contact Info

            Speaker's Workshops 
            [contact-first_name], the next Platformance workshops will be conducted in January. There will be two - one in Manhattan, on Saturday, Jan 21; the other in the Hudson Valley, on Saturday, Jan 28. The cost, as before, will be $399 with discounts available to Toastmasters, Gotham network members, NSA members and previous clients. Contact me to reserve a spot. For more info on the workshop, click here

            SpeechMaven Blog
            Visit my new blog, The SpeechMaven at http://speechmaven.blogspot.com/ a new forum for speakers, writers and coaches. 

            Toastmasters!
            I'm very pleased to be speaking this month to my friends at Toastmasters District 46 Fall Conference. We will be examining some of the tools and techniques for handling fear, change and possibility. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

            * * *

            Exactly what does a coach do for a business speaker? Well, giving a speech can be the most vulnerable moment in any leader's career. A poor presentation can cost a contract, an election, a top position or a ton of money. It's a task filled with questions, some of which only an experienced performer can answer. Here are a few samples*:

            . Which foot leads when stepping onto a stage? 
            . How can a speaker regain dominance over PowerPoint? 
            . What's the best exercise to relax the voice before speaking? 
            . When is a hand-held mike a better choice than a lavalier? 
            . What's the ideal mind-set when addressing a television camera?

            Many consider speech coaches merely cheerleaders. This notion probably arises from bringing one in too late. With only a week or so to go, all the major decisions have been made and encouragement is about the only tool that's left. And, that is a vital tool - after all, this is a game where confidence counts most. Public speaking is frightening, even for big shots. The first task of a coach is to deal with that fear, to encourage the client that they have what it takes. 

            The best coaches like to be there early, working with the writers on the plan of attack. In many cases there are no professional speechwriters - the copy emerges from various corporate departments such as marketing, finance and always, legal. Then the coach becomes a necessity to bring the text back into something resembling simple spoken English. Once the copy is settled on, work on the performance begins. 

            A great performance depends on three things: presence, purpose and practice. Presence means grasping the nettle and being willing to step forward to deliver the speech personally and directly. The components of presence are: good posture, a strong, pleasant voice, confident gestures, and above all, eye contact. Hiding behind a lectern, burying the head in a stack of pages or slides is more like absence. Unfortunately, hiding has become the rule for business speakers these days. 

            Purpose has to do with the desired outcome, of course. During the last Presidential campaign, George W. Bush was kept "on task" by strong coaching - always focused on the purpose of the speech. I might quibble with some of his 'presence' choices, however . . . Senator Kerry had excellent presence - but tended to wander from his purpose too much. 

            Practice is probably where coaching proves most valuable. A good coach can direct a tight, productive practice session to make sure the speaker solves the problems of performance economically, one at a time. Reading from a page or teleprompter is an acquired skill - much more difficult in practice than in concept. Timing, pauses, emphatic gestures and the crucial opening and closing lines all take repetition and incisive coaching to correct mistakes without undermining the speaker's confidence. 

            "The eye sees not itself but by reflection," wrote Shakespeare. The performers' problem is always the same - they are stuck inside the performance and need an outside observer to guide them. Video helps, of course, and I often use video with my clients. But finally, it comes down to a trustworthy director, exercising the good judgement born of experience, to bring out the best in any performance. That's the speech coach's job.

            *Answers to these questions depend on the specifics of circumstance 

            * * *
            To Read Previous Issues of The Passionate Speaker, Click here

            Something to Ponder

            "Humanity also needs dreamers, for whom the disinterested development of an enterprise is so captivating that it becomes impossible for them to devote their care to their own material profit. Without doubt, these dreamers do not deserve wealth, because they do not desire it. Even so, a well-organized society should assure to such workers the efficient means of accomplishing their task, in a life freed from material care and freely consecrated to research."

            -Marie Curie 
            scientist, Nobel laureate
            (1867-1934)

            * * *

            Contact Info

            Mike Landrum
            32 Hardscrabble Road - Suite 112
            Blooming Grove, NY 10914

            http://www.CoachMike.com 

            Mike at CoachMike.com

            917-647-7893

            The Passionate Speaker is a free email publication written and published by Michael F. Landrum. Feel free to distribute to friends, associates and organizations - provided you include this paragraph and the copyright and attribution. Further information on Mike Landrum, as well as previous issues of The Passionate Speaker can be found at the web site http://www.CoachMike.com. Do you have any questions, comments, complaints or praise? I welcome all feedback! You may reply to this email or directly to: Mike at CoachMike.com Thanks!

            Click here to subscribe

            CoachMike.com

             © 2005 Michael F. Landrum

You are subscribed as %%contact-email%%. To unsubscribe please click here.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.gothamnetworking.com/pipermail/fredslist/attachments/20051104/f5d18904/attachment.html