Humor for the day

Thought you might enjoy this. It gave me a good chuckle.

I am considering applying for a State Pistol Permit. The application form lists the situations that a State Pistol Permit will be refused. As you would expect the form lists the criteria for refusing a Pistol Permit, for example, you have been convicted of "Assault in the Third Degree".

One of the grounds for refusal amuses me. If you have been convicted of "Possession of less than four ounces of marijuana" then you will be refused a pistol permit.

"less than four ounces of marijuana"? Does this mean that Pistol Permit applicants must carry more than four ounces at all times? What if I don't have a use for marijuana?

Learn to pull the trigger

Yesterday I was out on the shooting range with a good friend. We shot rifles in .22 Magnum, 223 Remington (with his delightful Colt AR) and 357 Magnum calibers. The sun shone down while a gentle breeze stirred the warm air. It was perfect weather, perfect companionship and we enjoyed a truly pleasurable day.

What does this have to do with you making presentations? What value do you get from my day on the shooting range? Read on and I will explain, I promise.

Back in South Africa, I was an active member of a full-bore, high power target rifle shooting club. The photo above was taken on this shooting range. The objective of full-bore target shooting is to consistently shoot accurately at long ranges that vary from 300 yards to 1000 meters. Many factors affect your ability to shoot accurately at these ranges, including the wind, your ammunition, your rifle and other equipment.

One Saturday morning, with the African sun showing no mercy, my weathered instructor told me in his gruff voice "Wayne, you have to learn to pull the trigger". I thought he meant that there exists a secret technique to pulling the trigger, but this is not what he meant at all. I came to learn that once a target is in sight, you only have about 2 seconds of opportunity to pull the trigger and take the shot before fatigue sets in or the wind changes.

In other words, you cannot take aim for an extended period before you pull the trigger. When the time is almost right, you must pull the trigger and live with the consequences. To continue aiming after you should have pulled the trigger is dysfunctional and your results show that you missed the window of opportunity.

When you are preparing for your presentations, you also have to learn to pull the trigger. How do you do this so that you take aim pull the trigger and deliver your presentation?

Firstly, when you prepare your presentation, define what the audience needs to know about the message that you are communicating. Then deliver that information. Do not try to communicate all the information that you have about this topic. Take aim at what you want to communicate, and pull the trigger.

Secondly, when you are creating handouts for your audience and your slide show, remember that "Done is better than perfect". You will quickly get to the point where your handouts are very good, your slides are acceptable and your speech structure is good. Now you need to be ready to pull the trigger.

If you continue to improve your presentation at this point, you are in danger of taking aim for too long and starting to waste valuable. time. When your presentation handouts, slides and speech are nearly ready for delivery, then you are probably ready to move on.

Thirdly, while you are getting ready to go on stage before the presentation, go through your normal warm-up routine. Walk around to warm up your muscles and release some tension. Warm up your voice by talking to people in your audience and doing vocal warm-up exercises. Then pull the trigger and go in front of your audience to deliver your message. I have heard presenters use phrases to remind themselves that it is time for the delivery, such as "Here I go, and let the chips fall where they may" and "It's show time baby".

Lastly, while you are in front of your audience, while you are presenting your message, go ahead with your presentation. If you forget a story or don't make a point as strongly as you wanted to, then don't agonize over it. Keep going.

The advice from my weathered instructor under the brutal South African sun, proved valuable to other members of the target shooting club as well. The successful target shooters commented how they each learned to take aim, pull the trigger, and fire. Time and time again, my instructor would point out the less successful shooters taking aim, adjusting the aim, taking aim, adjusting the aim, pulling the trigger, firing and often missing the target.

The results in our shooting competitions proved that you have a higher success rate when you learn to pull the trigger when the short window of opportunity opens, not as the window of opportunity is closing.

Take the lesson from a shooting range in Pretoria, South Africa into your presentation: Take aim at getting your message across to your audience, pull the trigger when you define your message, as you prepare, while you deliver your message.

I believe that you will be far more successful than the presenters who take aim, adjust aim, take aim, adjust aim, pull the trigger and miss the target.

Now, it is time to pull the trigger and publish this blog posting ...

Make Your Point with Pow'R: Withholding information from your audience

Make Your Point with Pow'R: Withholding information from your audience

Withholding information from your audience

Think of a presentation or speech that you attended where you understood the main message and walked out with the message. Perhaps a sermon from your preacher. Perhaps a movie that touched you - ET Phone home, or Lassie.

Presentations that convey the main message to the audience are not crowded with information. Effective and meaningful presentations have one simple theme and manifold supporting images that convey the message for the audience to understand it.

No effective presentation starts off with with PowerPoint slide that says "Let me read to you the 25 top awards that my company has achieved". (Just typing this title puts me to sleep, I couldn't bear to have to sit through such a presentation).

Instead, prepare your presentation using this guideline. Only tell the audience what they need to know, and tell it to them using a variety of communication techniques so that they walk out with the main idea of your presentation.

For example, if your message for your presentation is "Set the example because your leadership actions determines your project's performance", then use a metaphor, a personal story, a data point and metric to communicate this message to your audience.

Don't try to tell your audience everything you know about leadership and project management. Don't provide bucket loads of research results to your audience. (Of course, at this point, you know that you shouldn't be putting this information on your slides).

Focus on what the audience needs to know in order to understand your message, and do everything you can, including using audience activities, to communicate your message. '

Deliberately withhold distracting information from your audience, including additional information that will encourage information overload.

Remember this. "Rather withhold than overload".

Your special dysfunction is your special function in life

Are you sometimes frustrated when you face challenges? Do you struggle to decide which speaking engagements to take, and which ones to turn down?

Think of it this way. Every challenge and problem you face may be a similar problem that someone else is facing as well. When you learn how to overcome this obstacle, you can share your knowledge with someone who is facing the same obstacle, and help them in their journey through life.

This is when your special dysfunction becomes your special function.

Your special dysfunction does not have to be "conquering cancer" magnitude of import. It can be as simple as struggling to choose the best option from a range of similar options.

In this past week, I was given the opportunity to make two important decisions in my life. In both cases, it was hard to choose between the options. I struggled and eventually made the decisions, but I got to thinking "What if there are tools that could have helped me make the decisions, beyond the simplistic method of listing all the pros and cons of each option?"

It turns out that my special dysfunction is also my special function because I found an enviable toolbox to help you make decisions. Go to mindtools.com and you will benefit from these tools when making your next decision.

Lessons from the Classic Chevy car show.

Picture this. July 6, 2008. Sunny Sunday morning in Connecticut. Chevys on display for everyone to appreciate. I find it sobering for 2 reasons.

1. Many of these cars are over 50 years old. So what you say. Well, imagine that you are walking to church in July 1908. What you have given to drive in a Chevy from 1950? Henry Ford debuted his Model T in 1908. Do you see the progress cars design and engineering made in the first 100 years of automobile transportation, and how undramaticly cars have improved since the 1950's? Are your presentations showing revolutionary improvements, or are your presentations merely "improving" each time you speak?

2. Many of these cars are over 50 years old. The steering wheels, body panels, wheels, carpets, transmissions and the remainder of the materials were pressed, machined, formed and painted 50 years ago. Long before blogs, September 11, the internet and when George W. Bush was a toddler. Sobering to think that these vehicles have been transporting families, consuming fossil-fuel and providing pleasure to car lovers for half-a-century. What about your presentations? Will people in your audience remember your message in 50 years? Will anyone remember it next week? Will they remember what you said when they walk out of the meeting room?

If you want to make your messages memorable then ditch the text-laden slides. Use visuals and photographs while you tell stories to support your points.

These Classic Chevys are now well-cared for and they may be preserved for another 200 years or more. I wish I could be around to visit the 2308 Classic Chevy Car Show in Connecticut. Will your presentation be worth anything in 2308?

PS. The top photo is a Right-Hand Drive. I had to look twice before I realized my eyes were not playing tricks on me. It is from Australia. I noticed because cars in South Africa are also Right-Hand Drive and I felt a twinge of longing for my land of birth as I pointed it out to my son.

What obvious answers are you overlooking?

This past Sunday we sailed the good ship Asterix. Sailors were blessed with fabulous weather on Sunday. 15 to 24 knot winds. Ground speed of 4 to 8 knots with the sun at 80 Degrees. If one could order sailing weather on Long Island Sound, then yesterday would have been my first choice on the menu.

We went through the routine as the 27 Horsepower diesel chugged out of the harbor. The captain turned into the wind. The sail covers came off and were stowed, the instruments were powered up. We removed the fenders and stowed them below decks. Everything was going according to plan when the captain shouted "There is something wrong. The helm is all jammed up." The crew gathered around the helm while our captain stated "We must have caught a line. We need to pull ashore and dive underneath to clear the line".

My first thought was "How are we going to steer into the dock with a stuck rudder?". This is not a car where you pull over to the side of the road for repairs. On the sea, you are on the surface and there is no easy way to get on land. With an immovable rudder, I didn't see how we would get ashore safely.

Lobster Pots are flourishing in Long Island Sound at the moment. The markers float on the water like unwanted weeds in a fertilized flower garden. Captains steer boats steer around the markers like a stunt driver dodging road marking cones while driving on a test track. It was very possible that we had not seen a lobster pot while preparing for voyage and a snagged a line in the rudder.

All aboard were in shock - no-one volunteered to dive under and disentangle a rudder in the murky, cold Long Island Sound water.

We watched while the captain struggled with the helm. Sure enough - it was jammed solid. Not moving to port nor starboard. It was stuck tight. It looked like someone was going to be braving the Atlantic ocean.

Then we heard a question - "Is the auto helm engaged?" The captain indignantly said "Of course not. Do you think I am stupid? We are hardly out of the harbor." Then the captain checked and sheepishly disengaged the auto helm which released the rudder. Sighs of relief turned into the joke of the day as we kidded the captain for the rest of our voyage.

Apparently the captain and us crew members are all so well trained that we follow the routine without thinking, including setting the auto helm to keep us facing into the wind while we raise the sails.

The lesson we should all learn from this situation is that our first reaction should be to step back when we encounter something unexpected. Don't assume the worst. As presenters, we get so used to the routine that we overlook the obvious and jump straight into complex solutions for simple problems. When you encounter an unexpected response from your audience, step back and look at an obvious issue, before trying to implement a complex solution.

For example, when you realize that you are regularly reading your slides to your audience, don't jump to a complex solution such as trying to memorize the text on your slides. The obvious solution to reading text on slides is to eliminate the text from your slides. Use your slides only for photos or visuals. Internalize your message so that you don't have to describe your message in text on slides.

When you debrief after your presentation (and I sincerely expect you to debrief after every presentation to see where you can improve), answer this question. "Did I read any text to my audience". If you read slides to your audience, then you lost eye contact and possibly even turned your back to your audience.

Then consider logical solutions to help you improve in this situation. How can you convey your message to your audience without text on slides? Think about using handouts for them to take home while you convey the principles of your message with stories and metaphors.

You may be caught up in the moment and unable to think of logical options to your situation. Just as our captain was convinced that a line was caught up in the rudder, and was not open to consider other options you may not be able to accept alternative options for your presentation.

This is when you need an outsider's opinion. Our captain needed a crew member to question the auto helm engagement. Video tape your presentation and ask an experience presenter for feedback. Otherwise, you may be diving under the stage to inspect your cables when the real issue is that you have too much text on your PowerPoint slides.

I dare you!!

I am now convinced that PowerPoint should only be used when absolutely needed.

Last week I shared the stage with experienced speakers at a District meeting. I was the only one without PowerPoint. Guess who's presentation was the only one without technological hitches?

Imagine me - Mr. PowerPoint, not using slides! You may be saying to yourself "This is stranger than truth". "Are my eyes deceiving me?"

Let me explain. In my presentation I had no need to show visuals and structured my presentation to require a lot of audience interaction. I opted for an extended Q&A session where I provided the questions to the audience and we discussed the questions and answers. There is no justification to use PowerPoint here.

As I saw my peers present on the stage, I realize how much work is still needed to train presenters. It seems so simple to me "Don't read your slides to your audience". You lose eye contact and your audience reads faster than you do, which means that text on your slides is a lose-lose situation.

Your natural tendency is it to glance at the slides, or turn and read the slides to your audience. The only way to make sure that you never read text to your audience is to not have text on your slides. This logic escapes most presenters.

I challenge you to present a slide show with text on the slides and overcome the natural urge to read the text to your audience. If you ever find a way to do it, then post a comment here. I dare you!!

Snake bites

Have you ever heard the saying "If it was a snake, it would have bitten you"? When you are looking for something like a can of beans in the grocery store, and cannot find it then you will probably become frustrated. You may even get hot under the collar while wondering why the store does not keep cans of beans where you are looking. Eventually you will ask a shelf stacker for assistance. When the shelf stacker points out that you are standing in front of the desired can of beans but did not recognize it, your wife may remind you that "if it was a snake, it would have bitten you".

Do you have a gesture or habit while making presentations that you don't see? Do you habitually look at the ceiling while presenting? (I won't even discuss the still-overused habit of reading text-laden slides while you back is turned to the audience).

How do you identify distracting habits and gestures? You are too close to observe these behaviors. You are so close to your habits that if they were snakes, your skin would look like a sieve from the snake bites.

You have options to identify the gestures.

1. Get feedback from trusted audience members. A word of warning -filter feedback that you accept. Some people in your audience want to give you feedback on everything including your choice of your lunch sandwich and their way you raise your children. Ignore these people. Only accept feedback from intelligent beings - preferably other speakers who have more than 3 minutes of experience on the stage.


2. Video tape your speech. There is no better way to review your actual performance than watching an unedited video recording of your speech. Here is where you will see the gestures you used, the length of your pauses and how much you referred to your notes. (I find that a video recording of my presentation is always a sobering experience. For example, it feels as if I glance at my notes while making the presentation, but the video tape shows me spending significant time looking at notes and not paying attention to the audience.)


3. Get an expert evaluation of your video tape. I hire Darren LaCroix (the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking) for eCritiques of my speeches. While I may have thought a performance was exceptional, Darren's feedback always helps me to a higher level. Join Edgenet here so that you can also hire Darren as your personal presentations coach.

There you have it. Don't think that because your audience applauded when you left the stage that you gave the best performance that you can give. Your audience may have applauded in appreciation for you leaving the stage.

How do you avoid snake bites on stage? Use one, two or all three of the above options to identify areas of improvements in your presentations. Good luck because as Monk's theme tune says "It's a jungle out there" (on the stage).

Are you at a verbal disadvantage?

What are you doing to improve your vocabulary? As presenters, our diction (choice of words that we use) is a large part of our performance to our audience. I recently discovered Verbal Advantage and highly recommend that you purchase a copy for your speaking tools library.

Have some fun, do some good.

This afternoon I went for a blood test in Hartford. I have been to this one-person staff facility before.

The nurse is in her fifties and always professional, but not talkative. She said politely "Go to the back". I don't understood where "the back" is, so I wondered through the office into what appeared to be the blood extraction chair and sat down.

Today I decided to be extra nice to her just for the fun of it and to see if I could tease some personality out of her. Why not? It is summer, the birds are singing and the A/C's are humming.

I complimented her with "Your office always smells like wildflowers". She thanked me for the compliment and asked me where I came from.

(I get that a lot - you would think I speak funny or something??)

I said "South Africa". Then out of courtesy I asked where she was from. She said Ohio. (I have heard that people in other parts of the US are more friendly than the cold, unmannered zombie clones in Connecticut that I usually deal with).

As she was taping up my almost invisible wound, I asked "Have you noticed that people in these parts are less friendly than Ohio?"

I watched the nurse's demeanor change. Like ignition under a space shuttle she got all fired up. I thought to myself "You fool. I forgot the golden rule. Never ever upset a stout lady with sharp needles in easy reach while she is blocking your exit from the blood extraction chair".

"Oh yes", she says. Then continued. "I used to work at the local hospital and every day I got into the elevator with a strong "Good Morning"". No one answered me. Then one day she said "I know that you can hear me and it would not kill you to answer". She says that folks were able to mumble under their breath the next morning when she greeted them.

After ms.nurse shared this with me, her mouth got into high gear and we had a wonderful conversation. Suddenly we are good friends and sharing stories about Ohio, South Africa and the lack of manners in Connecticut zombies. As I left her office she enthusiastically proclaimed "Thank you Wayne. You made my day. Hope you will be back again soon". (I'll take a rain check on the last part of that)

There you have it. Showing just a bit of interest in someone else can change your whole relationship and help both of you to have a more pleasant day. Even if you get nothing out of being kind, you are still putting positive energy into the universe. Do it just for fun.

P.S. I don't claim all the credit for my actions today. I listened to Joel Osteen's "Become a better you" Audio CD set for the past few weeks on my commute. His messages are influencing my life to share more kindness, be less critical at home and the office and take the high road more often.

I get personal gratification for taking better actions this week. Pick up a CD set of "Become a better you" to also get the benefits of taking better actions. Oh yeah, and if you run into a Connecticuter - Offer a strong "Good Morning" to experience the cold feeling of talking to an unmannered zombie.

How to write a 5-7 minutes speech in 5 minutes

Picture this. You are settling down to start your Toastmasters club meeting. The toastmaster confirms that the speakers are ready when you hear a voice "Oh Joe, Jill called me 15 minutes ago. Jill cannot attend the meeting today and we don't have a speaker to fill her slot".

What do you do in this situation? Do you offer to fill Jill's slot? Most people immediately become intensely interested in their shoes while the Toastmaster calls for a last-minute speaker. Are you like most people?

If you want to distinguish yourself from most people, then this podcast is for your. In this podcast you will learn how to create a speech with my simple and easy 5 minute speech preparation process.

Right-click to download the mp3 from here.

The Simple Way to Success, Recycle books

Today I just finished the wonderful book by Larry Winget "The Simple Way to Success". His book is packed with practical, real-life advice to reach success as you define it. Call me a sucker, but I prefer real-life advice from authors who have done it over esoteric theories from "Positive Thinking" gurus who make a lot of money dispensing advice that they themselves do not follow.

I love reading because books have made the difference in my life. We are the sum of the books that we read and the people that we hang out with. There is no way that all of us can have direct access to every person that we want to learn from. However, we can often read books by people that we want to learn from. Therefore, I am a huge advocate for making many books available to people all over the world, and I believe that education is the way to cure world hunger.

Back off my soapbox now, the fact is that a book is "one man's heart in another man's hand". I don't claim originality here - I read this quote somewhere in the mid 1980's.

If you are stuck facing a problem then perhaps you need to read a few more books each month for fresh perspectives and refresh your thinking. Perhaps you will even get the answer in the books that you read. Don't be a statistic when it comes to reading.

I am appalled at the statistics of readership in the USA. Being from South Africa where so many people are illiterate I consider myself privileged to be able to read. I treasure my literacy. When I hear statistics quoted such as 58% of US adults never read another non-fiction book after high-school I just shake my head at the missed opportunities.

Enough said. You get my point. I believe that everyone on this planet should be able to read and have affordable and convenient access to readable material that can help them improve themselves.

Anyway, back to the conflict. My voracious appetite for reading conflicts with my desire to continually grow my personal library. I inherited frugality habits from my paternal grandfather. Oupa worked through the 1930's depression and for the next 50 years would not spend two pennies if he only needed to spend one. Frugality should not be confused with penny-pinchers. I abhor penny-pinchers because penny-pinchers usually also have shrivelled attitudes towards life. Frugalists spend wisely when we spend.

Here is the lesson for you. The conflict of my belief in frugality and my appetite for reading led me to sources of books that are sold as used, but are in perfect condition. I use ABEBOOKS.com and recently discovered that Amazon.com also sells used copies alongside new copies. So far, every used book that I have purchased is in perfect condition and I am totally satisfied. The only caution is that you should watch for is extravagant shipping costs.

You should also consider purchasing used books when you want to grow your library with timeless titles. Used books let you read for less and save the environment as you recycle books.

Appreciated recognition

Proud to announce that I was awarded the District 53 Governor's award for June 2008. Out of 2,500 Toastmasters in District 53, my service to Toastmasters was recognized. I am touched by this recognition. I remain thankful for the stage time opportunities that Toastmasters provides for me to test my presentation material while getting the all important Stage Time, Stage Time, Stage Time.

How about you? Are you taking advantage of the opportunities to develop your communication and leadership skills in Toastmasters? We improve by performing our craft and getting feedback to make adjustments for our next performance. This life is experiential, not observational. Get up and accept the speaking and leadership opportunities that are offered to you in Toastmasters. Of course, this is only if you want to be a better you next year.

USA - Independence day on July 4

Happy fourth of July in the USA!! I hope that you enjoy yours.

It is a long weekend for us here. A weekend to enjoy time with our family and friends.

Remember that we came from South Africa in January 2001 to live in the USA. Independence Day has special meaning to us because as first generation immigrants we identify so closely with the spirit of claiming the self-evident truth"... all men are created equal".

For a laugh, read below.

At dinner this evening, the discussion with my son was:

Me: This is 4th of July weekend.
Son: What are we celebrating?
Me: The signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Son: And that started World War II, right?
Me: No
Son: So it was World War I, right?
Me: Uh-uh.
Son: The Civil War?
Me: No
Son: What are they going to call the war in Iraq?
Me: Don't know.
Son: Why are we fighting a war in Iraq?
Me: Don't know (Preferring to enjoy dinner that discuss the Iraq war)

Son: I get confused. Why did we come to America anyway? There are too many wars here.