Acronyms gone mad!

Seen in the SCMP yesterday (Sorry; South China Morning Post)this Chinese professor has the following letters after his name: SCPM,HPON,LAS,PHD,DIBA,MBA(I know that one!),SNLP,NLPU,IANLP,ABNLP,INLPA,ABH,FAPN,DSA,PTSL,APG.

It makes you wonder how he has time to actually teach anyone.

Here is a good example of relaxed conversation

John Mack talking at Wharton about leadership. The whole piece is good but start at minute 18.00 and watch how he grabs the imagination with great thoughtful pauses. The link is <"www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9sQtmPAYO0"> or go to Youtube and search for 'Saving Morgan Stanley, John Mack'.

Nice little quote

Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.

Please keep the answers short!

If there is one flaw in the excellence of President Obama's speaking skills it is his tendency to go on and on when answering questions. The golden rule is 35 seconds; MAXIMUM! Once you pass that the audience starts to tune out. It is all to do with attention span. We don't mean to, we just do. Those who get the technique of answering questions well make sure that every answer is short (Not terse), but short enough so that the audience find themselves asking more and more questions. One long answer quickly kills the interest.

For some people being natural is boring

Some friend stopped me in the street the other day. He said he had read the book and taken on board the bit about being yourself. But, he said, many people he knew were rather dull. Would it not be a good idea to try to make them more interesting when they present?
He is half right. Some people are quite boring. But do not measure them only on how they behave in the office. After a couple of drinks with their best friends they are often quite animated and interesting.
However, The most important thing is to realise that 'being natural' covers being angry, sad, excited, enthusiastic, etc. All those attitudes are part of being natural. So, yes, it is OK to say to a speaker "How about showing a bit more happiness or enthusiasm?" But do it your way.

Here is a new article about Power Point

This BBC newsletter had the following article from Max Atkinson. Max has many good ideas and he and I agree on many aspects of speaking skills.

I would go even further than him. Saying that 'too many bullets on a slide can be improved by limiting them to one or two' is like saying that you should not fire lots of bullets from a gun at someone; but firing one is OK!

All bullets on slides are useless. They are just the speaker's notes.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8207849.stm

Engaging with youth and 'troublesome' teenagers

You should check out this website: www.confidentgirlsguys.com Monique Howat has the creativity and a gift to bring out the best in students snd schoolchildren .. in fact, anyone! Her workshops have the kids mesmerised and they leave with all the positive attitudes that are so often ignored by most 'motivational' speakers. She is able to see the positive in even the most rebellious teenager.
Monique also teaches adults how to communicate with youth. A very valuable lesson.