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Make Opening Words Count

by Stephen Boyd | February 28, 2011


Speakers should make the first words of their presentations count. Use as a
model Colin Firth's acceptance speech last night for Best Actor in "The Kings
Speech:" "I have a feeling my career's just peaked."
Don't spend opening seconds thanking the group for the opportunity, or talk
about what a beautiful facility you are speaking in, or what a marvelous day
it is. Choose opening words that make the audience want to listen.
Significant speeches in our history illustrate how important the opening
words are. Remember that Abraham Lincoln began his ceremonial speech on
November 19, 1863, to honor the soldiers who lost their lives at Gettysburg
by saying, "Four score and seven years ago...."
Franklin Roosevelt began his Declaration of War speech in 1941 with these
words: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941a date which will live in infamythe
United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval
and air forces of the Empire of Japan."
Ronald Reagan eulogized the Challenger Astronauts on January 28, 1986
when he began with "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you
tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today
have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and
remembering."
Begin with a sentence that makes the audience think. Begin with words that
motivate the audience to listen. My after-dinner speech, "Be Present When
You Are Present" begins with "The greatest single secret to success is paying
attention." Another speech I deliver often is "High Bid." My opening words
are the auctioneer's chant as I introduce my analogy that life is like an
auction. We sell ourselves by what we say and how we say it."
Your opening words need to relate to your topic and show why it is
important to listen to what follows. There are various ways of doing this.
You might open with a startling statement about a product the audience
members produce or a statistic that demonstrates the quality of work of the
people in the room. Perhaps you could open with a provocative question
that stimulates discussion.
Certainly words of appreciation to the audience for your being there are fine,
but not in the opening words. For example, after you speak for a few minutes
and the audience is really staying with you, you might say, "I really
appreciate your careful attention and the way you have received me. Your
reactions energize me as I speak." Or if you have a question and answer
period at the end, you might begin by thanking them for the opportunity.
That also gives the audience more time to think of questions.
Never waste words in speaking, but especially make the opening words
count.


Enhance Your Speech With A Great Introduction
by Stephen Boyd | March 31, 2004
As a speaker, you may get nervous about being at the mercy of your
introducer. If the person tries to tell a joke, has trouble reading the
introduction, or leaves out key parts which you plan to respond to in your
opening, you can have a tough time in the beginning of your speech.
Proper planning of your introduction can eliminate unnecessary anxiety.
You can have confidence that you will start your speech with a high level of
enthusiasm and anticipation because of the effective job the introducer did.
Write out your introduction and include the punctuation you want. When
you want a pause, write [PAUSE]. Double space and type in bold font so that
the person will not have trouble reading the script. Send her or him a copy a
few days before you are to speak. Meet the introducer before the meeting
starts and get acquainted. Say your name distinctly to clarify the correct
pronunciation. Ask if he or she received the introduction and if there are any
questions. Then say, "I would really like it if you would read it as I have
written it because the early part of my speech plays off what you say in the
introduction." Of course that is only if there is a specific connection to the
introduction.
Keep your introduction short. One to two minutes is the length you want.
How well the audience knows you should determine how long the
introduction is. The principle I use is only to put in your introduction what
will qualify you as an expert in the minds of the audience. An audience does
not care where you graduated from high school or where you grew up
unless it is integral to your speech.
One last tip is to look pleasant and eager to speak as you are being
introduced. Audience members will be looking at you and forming
judgments as the introduction is being given. Dont be writing a last
reminder on your notes at this time.
You can never predict what the introducer will say or do, but these
suggestions can help ease anxiety by lowering the risk of the unexpected as
you go to the lectern to speak.

Fourteen Introduction Tips
by Speaking Tips | December 22, 2003
A good introduction should capture the audience's attention, bring them
together as a group and motivate them to listen attentively to the speaker.
Here are fourteen tips to help you do just that.
1. Identify yourself by name and title, unless this has already been earlier.
Remember, the speaker also needs to know who you are.
2. Know the speaker's name and how to pronounce it. If it is an unusual name,
help the audience learn it.
3. Know the speaker's title or position.
4. Be brief. Aim for between one and three minutes. Five minutes is too long.
5. Do not read the introduction. It will sound flat, unenthusiastic and convey
the impression that you are unfamiliar with the subject. It is acceptable to
bring notes to the lectern but keep them inconspicuous.
6. Smile and be enthusiastic in tone, gesture and choice of words.
7. Know enough about the subject to sound knowledgeable.
8. Announce the speech title as given to you by the speaker. If you have any
questions about it, ask the speaker before the introduction. Many speakers
select specific titles for a reason or for a pun. If the speaker is not using a
title, make sure that your description matches the speaker's.
9. Introductions are no place to use slides, overheads or presentation software.
10. Anecdotes are good but should pertain to the subject and be in harmony
with the mood of the presentation. Avoid using canned jokes.
11. If the credentials of the speaker are so outstanding that they must be shared
with the audience or if there are publications the audience will want to
know about, insert them in the program or prepare a separate
commemorative handout.
12. Never use the old cliche that the speaker needs no introduction. If the
introduction ties the speaker to the audience and the topic then each
introduction is unique, plus there is always something new about every
speaker.
13. You are the catalyst, not the performer. Do not try to upstage the speaker
with your knowledge of the subject. Do not dwell on your relationship with
the speaker, even (or perhaps especially) if they are your boss, relative or
significant other.
14. Introduction of a panel of speakers is the same except the introducer needs
to describe the structure and format of the panel (speaking order, length of
time) and the various points of view and perspectives of the panelists. The
introduction of the individual panelists can be done two ways: All at once or
individually as the panel program progresses. Most audiences prefer a
handout with the panelists' credentials so they can refer to it as the panel
progresses.


ow To Organize The Body Of A Speech
by Speaking Tips | November 17, 2003
A speech (or presentation) generally falls into three parts, the
introduction, the main body and the conclusion (beginning, middle and
end). Each of these serves an integral and essential role with it's own
unique function. The body of the speech is the biggest and is where the
majority of information is transferred. Consequently, it requires careful
thought and consideration as well as some imagination to organize the
body of a speech effectively.
To aid in planning the body of your speech it can be helpful to make use of
concepts and themes which run through the body of your speech
providing structure and tying thoughts together in unified manner. This
isn't to say that your delivery must be uniform throughout. For example, a
speaker might use several characters from a popular movie, television
series or play to illustrate how a proposal might impact people in various
roles within an organization. The characters and the attitudes they portray
may differ significantly but their common source provides a unifying
factor that the audience will pick up on and appreciate.
The time to consider the way to organize the body of your speech is after
you have selected and ordered the points you want to make. The best
"organizers" act as a mechanism for the audience to grasp and remember
what you say. Organizers make it easier to provide continuity between
opening, body and ending. They help you connect with the audience
quickly and are an aid to remembering the points you wish to make
allowing you to deliver the speech with minimum use of notes.
Organization Ideas
Here are a few ideas for organizing a speech. Each has its own strengths
and weaknesses and some may work better than others for a given topic
or setting. They can be used individually or in combination. The list is far
from complete and you should feel free to get creative and come up with
your own ideas.
Acronyms: Organize your speech around an acronym with the individual
letters representing a keyword which summarizes a component of your
presentation. If at all possible, choose a word which is related in some way
to your topic.
Color: Color can be used to organize a presentation and then be
coordinated with props, visual aids and handouts. As an added bonus,
many topics have associations with a particular color (environment -
green) or have color as an important component (fine art, interior
decoration). In such cases, using color as an organizational aid is quick and
easy as well as being intuitively clear to your audience.
Issues: Issues can be financial, aesthetic, philosophical or political among
others and can serve to simplify complex topics defuse areas where the
audience has strong opinions or high emotions.
Opinions: Many topics have distinct vantage points depending upon a
number of factors including, but not limited to, factors such as age, gender,
political affiliation, faith, job function, etc. Exploring different view points
can be excellent for political topics or topics related to changes in the
workplace.
People: People can be actual, mythical, historical, political, or stereotypical.
As with the illustration above, don't overlook well-known characters from
literature, movies or television shows. You may also consider using
characters based on stereotypical group behaviors. Examples of each of
these include politicians, police detectives, teenagers and their concerned
parents. Using characters can make for great entertaining speeches which
derive humor from human frailties.
Places: People have a strong sense of place and often make generic
associations with specific types of geography or with specific locations.
Many topics, such as travel or history, are place-specific.
Problems and solutions: This is a good all-purpose organization and an
excellent choice for emerging topics. It is flexible in that you don't
necessarily need the same number of solutions as you have problems.
Shapes and patterns: Use shapes such as circles, squares, or triangles for
identification and to illustrate relationships and how things work.
Storylines: Use a universal plot from literature, mythology, classic movies,
popular novels or nursery rhymes. Alternatively, real stories and life
experiences can make for powerful narratives.
Time: Try using themes from the past, present and future for topics that
change over time. Create a project time line and compare it to significant
calendar units such as the fiscal year.

Pay Attention To The Words
by Stephen Boyd | February 17, 2010
One of the most famous lines in U. S. history was delivered by Franklin
Roosevelt in his Declaration of War speech the day after Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He began the speech with, "This is a date
that will live in infamy." The line originally read, "a day which will live in
world history." Roosevelt crossed out "world history" and replaced it with
"infamy." The changed word made all the difference in making it memorable.
Don't use words carelessly. I admire the wordsmith who can find just the
right word to express an idea. Last summer on an Empire Builder rail
vacation across country, I asked the server how long he had been a waiter on
the train and his response was, "25 yearsa summer job run amuck." What
a great word"amuck."
When someone asked a sales person why an item was so expensive, the
woman replied, "Let me explain the value of this product to you." Rita
Rudner, tongue in cheek, said, "The word aerobics came about when the gym
teachers got together and said, If we're going to charge $10 [probably $35
today] an hour, we can't call it "jumping up and down.'""
Pay attention to the words you speak. Think about words before you speak
them. Is there a better way of saying this? Listen to words others use that
explain an idea better than you could have. Are these words I can use in my
speaking and writing vocabulary? Subscribe to Merriam-Websters online
Word of the Day. ne word recently was "spurious," a word I had not often
heard, but a clever way to say an action is not genuine. Even if you find the
word that day is not of value to you, this discipline will remind you to focus
on the words you use.
Four years ago a movie was made that lasted only briefly in major theatres.
But the title may have been one of the best titles for a movie because in four
words you got the essence of the entire movie: "Snakes on a Plane." Of
course that title told me that this was a movie I did not want to see! As Mark
Twain said, "The difference between the right word and the almost right
word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."
Hand Gestures
by Speaking Tips | December 15, 2003
Experts tell us body language accounts for between 55% and 65% of our
communication. Just what is body language? It is carriage, facial expressions, eye
contact and gestures. All go into establishing your presence and making a connection
with the audience. Gestures can be made with your hands, arms, shoulder, torso, legs,
feet or a combination of these but hand gestures are probably the most common.
When you are preparing a speech, what proportion of time and effort do you give to the
movement and cadence of your hands? If you are like most people, the answer is not
much. Yet appropriate use of your hands canb result in a marked increase in the
understanding and retention of your message. Correctly used, hand gestures can help
you say more in less time, show what you mean without having to resort to visuals,
signal your conviction and confidence and add texture and dimension to your material
and ideas.
Avoid holding your notes in your hands since this effectively immobilizes them. If you
are nervous about your about your presentation, stands with your hands relaxed at
your sides. Stage fright closes down normal muscle coordination. Avoid making the
audience nervous with gestures that reveal anxiety such as gripping the lectern,
clenching your hands together, clutching an object, fiddling with clothing or accessories
or touching a body part (pulling ear, wiping brow, rubbing chin).
Once you have learned to relax in front of an audience, hand gestures can be used to
emphasize the stucture of your presentation. This represents the best use of hand
gestures and you should avoid using gestures as decorations. Begin by using your
hands to illustrate your enthusiasm for being there. You can accentuate your point of
view with a solid, intentional gesture and emphasize main points with deliberate
gestures. Use your hands to indicate a new topic or transition with a forward or open
gesture. Finally, signal the ending with a gesture indicating closure or departure.
You can also use hand gestures to enhance your presentation by using them to respond
to audience input with affirmative or encompassing gestures. Introduce humor by
contradiction between your gestures and your words. Where appropriate look for
opportunites to use your hands to express emotion or attitude, emphasize importance,
demonstrate relationship or contrast, show shape, direction or location and signal
recognition, acceptance, departure, or approval.
Hand Gesture Caveats
Lastly, here are several common "gotchas" that you should be aware of.
Don't forget to add hand gesture notations to your speech notes
Avoid using the same hand gesture over and over in a pumping action
Don't animate or mime your entire speech
Refrain from copying others, the best gestures are unique to you
New gestures feel as strange to your body. Practice them until they are comfortable
One-handed gestures are often more effective than both hands mirroring each other
Avoid finger and fist gestures that may be insulting to other cultures
Gestures are a physical activity, you can not learn to do them by reading
Use a mirror to verify that your gestures reinforce your message




Improving Your Speaking Posture
by Stephen Boyd | March 31, 2004
Slouching as you speak, moving from one foot to the other, or leaning on the lectern are
not ways to engender an audiences confidence in you and your message. You may not
be aware of your bad posture, but since you are the focus of the audiences attention,
poor and uncertain posture will be obvious to your listeners.
There are many aspects of delivering a speech which you as the speaker cannot
control, but proper posture is certainly one variable you can control. Begin your speech
by standing on the balls of your feet with your feet 7 to 12 inches apart. This will give
you balance for the rest of the body and will help you to be erect without looking
robotic.
Treat the lectern as you would a hot stove. Touch gingerly but dont lean on it as
though it were a post. As you introduce a new point, take your hand off the lectern and
gesture to show you are changing direction. Or when you are ready to discuss another
aspect of the topic, take a step away from the lectern and toward your audience.
Purposeful movement of any kind will help insure a natural and confident posture.
Avoid shifting the weight of your body as you speak. This can lead to standing on one
foot or moving back and forth like a porch swing. Start out using the balls of the feet
technique and occasionally take a step to show changes in the direction of your
presentation.
Consider the mental image of "planting your feet" as you begin to speak. This will help
stabilize your posture and keep you from "bouncing" on your feet while speaking.
Planting conjures up the idea that you will stay in one place for a while.
Having your hands in front of you or at your side when you gesture and not in a pocket
or clasped together will also make you have better posture and appear more poised.
With good posture you have a promising foundation for showing confidence and being
in control of your speaking situation.


Dog People vs Cat People
Are there really personality differences?
By Stanley Coren | Illustration by Rachel Gordon
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I was having coffee with a friend of mine who is a professor of psychology.
As we chatted, he brought up the fact that he had broken off his relationship
with a woman he had been seeing. Im a dog person and shes a cat person,
and they dont mix well, he explained. Were really like the animals that we
love. Dogs have families and are grateful for what they get, while cats simply
expect to be taken care of and show no evidence of thankfulness and
loyalty.

My friends comments seem to reflect a common perception, according to a
study conducted at Ball State University. Pet owners were surveyed about
their personalities and their pet ownership. In general, the results showed
that people believe that their own personalities are similar to those of the
pets they keep. Cat owners saw themselves as being more independent
while dog owners described themselves as being friendly.
Virtually any discussion among pet owners is bound to reveal clearly that
there are dog people and there are cat people. In some cases, the depth of
feeling for their chosen species can be quite intense. However, according to
an Associated Press/Petside.com poll, there are a lot more dog people out
there; 74 percent of the test sample like dogs a lot, while only 41 percent like
cats a lot.
It also seems that some people seem to be quite exclusive in their
preferences, liking either dogs or cats and loathing the other species. Cats
appear to be much easier to hate: 15 percent of the adults questioned said
they disliked cats a lot while the number who said they disliked dogs a lot
was only 2 percent.
There are sound reasons to suspect that the preference for dogs or cats
reflects some underlying human personality differences. Certainly the
relationship between cats and humans has always been quite different than
the relationship between dogs and people. This reflects the behaviours that
both species have kept from their heritage prior to domestication.
In the wild, cats are usually solitary hunters and often are active mostly at
night. Juliet Clutton-Brock of the Natural History Museum in London calls
the cat an exploited captive rather than a domesticated animal. Cats are
the least tame of our household pets but are surprisingly successful for a
species that retains so much of its wildness.
In contrast, wild canines are usually sociable pack animals that work in
groups and are active between dawn and dusk. Our domestic dogs retain
this need for social interaction to the degree that without a master and a
family, a dog seems unhappyalmost lost.

Dogs will intrude on a persons ongoing activities if they are feeling lonely
and want some company or play. Cats, on the other hand, are often invisible
during the day, seeming only to appear in the evening, especially if that is
when they are fed. Cats will occasionally engage in social activities or play
with people, but their interest is limited. Usually, after only a few minutes,
cats will abandon the game and wander away. Dogs on the other hand, will
often engage in play, like fetching a thrown ball, for hours at a time, and it is
usually the human that quits the game first.

Recently, Sam Gosling, a psychologist at the University of Texas in Austin
and his graduate student, Carson Sandy, conducted a web-based study in
which 4,565 individuals were asked whether they were dog people, cat
people, neither, or both. The same group was given a 44-item assessment
that measured them on the so-called Big Five personality dimensions
psychologists often use to study personalities.
Just on the basis of the nature of dogs being more sociable than cats, one
might expect that the personalities of dog lovers would also reflect higher
sociability. The results showed that dog people were generally about 15
percent more extroverted and 13 percent more agreeable, both of which
dimensions are associated with social orientation. In addition, dog people
were 11 percent more conscientious than cat people. Conscientiousness is
a tendency to show self-discipline, to complete tasks, and aim for
achievement. The trait shows a preference for planned rather than
spontaneous behavior.
In comparison, cat people were generally about 12 percent more neurotic;
however, they were also 11 percent more open than dog people. The
openness trait involves a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure,
unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience. People high
on openness are more likely to hold unconventional beliefs while people
with low scores on openness (dog people) tend to have more conventional,
traditional interests.
Goslings recent study seems to confirm the findings of research that I did
for my book Why We Love The Dogs We Do (Free Press; 1998). I used a
different personality measure, namely the Interpersonal Adjective Scale,
because I was mainly interested in items reflecting social interactions and
social tendencies. It gives scores on four scales; extroversion, dominance,
trust, and warmth (which is close to agreeableness on Goslings measure).
My study involved 6,149 people, aged 16 to 94. I attempted to get as many
dog owners as I could, so this group included 3,362 dog owners, but also,
1,223 people who only owned cats and 1,564 people that owned neither a
cat nor a dog.
My results showed that people who owned only cats seemed to be
somewhat different than dog owners or people who owned both dogs and
cats in terms of their personalities. People who own both dogs and cats seem
to be much like people who own only dogs. You should keep this in mind,
since from here on, at least for the purposes of this discussion, when I
mention a cat owner I mean someone who lives only with a cat, while, when
I mention dog owners, I mean a person who owns a dog or both a dog and a
cat.
According to my data, cat owners were one third more likely to live alone
than dog owners and twice as likely to live in an apartment or flat. Being
married, living in a house, and having children living in the home, are all
factors that are more likely for dog owners than cat owners. A single woman
was the most likely individual to have a cat. Of the people who grew up in a
house with cats as pets, 47 percent were likely to have cats today, while only
11 percent of people whose childhood years were spent in a house with a
dog have only a cat as a pet.
Turning to the personality profile of the person who owns only cats, we find
a reasonable overlap with Goslings recent findings. To begin with, we find
that people who own only cats tend to be relatively introverted (low on
extroversion) and also reasonably cool (low in warmth or agreeableness)
which is the pattern confirmed by Goslings more recent data.
Looking at the other two measures, we find that cat owners are relatively
low in dominance. People who are high on dominance are generally
described as being forceful, assertive, persistent, selfassured, and self-
confident. They are the people who stand out in social gatherings as opposed
to people who are low in dominance that come across as being more timid,
bashful, shy, and unaggressive. The final dimension that I looked at was
trust, and cat owners appear to be fairly trusting. People high on this
dimension are often described as obliging, modest, straightforward, and
good sports. People low on this dimension can be more suspicious and
manipulative.
The general pattern that comes out of both studies is that dog owners are
more social, interactive and accepting. One dog persons explanation of this
was: You have to have a good sense of humor to successfully own dogs.
Contrast this to cat owners (remember this is people who prefer cats
exclusively) who are more introverted, self-contained, and interact less
socially. A psychologist who is also a dog owner suggested, Maybe the
reason that cat people tend to be more introverted and seem to prefer to be
indoors is because they cant walk their cat.
Perhaps one of the most telling differences between dog and cat owners is
illustrated in a single comparison. I asked people who own only cats, If you
had adequate living space and there were no objections from other people in
your life, and someone gave you a puppy as a gift, would you keep it? More
than two thirds of the cat owners (68 percent) said that they would not
accept a dog as a pet, while almost the same number of dog owners (70
percent), said that they would admit the cat into their household when
asked the same question but about a kitten. This suggests that most people
who own only a dog are potentially dog and cat owners, while most people
who own only a cat are exclusively cat owners.
My friend sipped on his cup of coffee and continued to muse about the
differences between dog people and cat people, and perhaps about his
recently ended relationship.
You know there is some research data that suggests that more cat people
than dog people are atheists. You couldnt tell this based on my experience,
which is that cat people seem to worship their felines like the ancient
Egyptians worshiped their pharaohsas gods. We dog lovers just talk to our
hounds like people.
- See more at: http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/dog-people-vs-cat-
people/10716#sthash.vJeHUvNb.dpuf

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