Seminar at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Yesterday I delivered a talk at the Hong Kong Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The theme was SILENCE. We measured the ammount of talking compared to silence in a normal two way conversation. There is a very excellent tool to do this. It is called Dexster. It measures noise as spikes and silence is 'flat lines'. The audience was amazed that, in a normal two way conversation, there is about 30% silence. We then measured a very good speech. There was almost 60% silence!

The evidence is conclusive. When we get it right we allow the listener one third of the time to speak and between us there is a further one third of silence while we think about what each of us has said.

Interview on Radio three, RTHK in Hong Kong

I had a fun interview on the radio yesterday, primarily promoting the book but also trying to raise awareness of the nonsense we are told about speaking skills.

The link is: http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/radio3/morning_brew/20090608.html.

Women as public speakers

My company, Black Isle, is embarking on a training programme with the women managing directors of a very large investment bank. We are asked to help them become better business speakers. The interesting challenge is to convince the women that the worst thing they can do is try to be like or be 'better' than the men.
Women are brilliant communicators and listeners. They deserve the reputation of being able to sense what sort of person they are dealing with from the very outset. Men are usually hopeless at spotting a fraud, until it is too late.
But, hisorically, I can hardly think of any great women public speakers.
Much of the problem is that they have traditionaly tried to be 'like' good men speakers.
By the end of July we will have much data on how our advice worked. Watch this space.

I would welcome any advice from any source that will help us structure the workshop. Also, if anyone can point out good examples of women speakers, I would be most grateful.

Hit Me Again!... I can Still Hear Him! - NOW ON SALE

I am pleased to report that my book, twenty years in the writing, is now on sale. It can be bought via the website at:

www.hitmeagain.com.hk

We have tried to make the buying process as simple as possible - a few clicks and a copy will be on its way to you.

The book dispels most of the conventional wisdom on public speaking and is an ideal tool for anyone who needs to communicate to large or small groups on a regular basis. I have done all possible to keep it jargon free and make it a fun, accessable, and informative read for all.

Stocks are limited so please go online and order your copy now - only US$18.99 plus postage.

You Tube Link! - Obama at Notre Dame

OK, I have been critical of Obama recently as I believe that a lot of his White House speeches have been too smooth, and even rushed. I compared him to his original speeches where he was so natural and relaxed.

But look at this clip of his recent talk at Notre Dame university. Hi is back to his best. Everyone was won over because he came across as so believable and honest, whilst talking about what is a very delicate and controversial issue.

Great control of silence. He does not try to talk when they are cheering, He enjoys it and welcomes it.

By way of contrast, see here how Michael Martin, speaker of the House of Commons in the UK, delivers a key statement to the House. The contrast could not be starker - the lack of eye contact, the defensive body language, and the "dead" delivery only serve to emphasise the distance between the speaker and his audience.

Here is an interesting article about charisma.

A lot of this article makes sense but it is a cop out to say that some people can mesmerise audiences and others can't. Just like anyone who has some form of hand/eye co-ordination can be coached to do a really successful golf shot, so most humans can be 'taught' some of the principles of mesmerising an audience.

The first concept that has to be accepted is that 'smooth' and 'polished' are disasters. Humans listen because the person talking displays, with confidence, all the human frailties that endear us to a real person talking. It is a weakness to learn to follow rules as laid down by some committee so that you avoid being different but look like everyone else.

More soon.