STAGE TIME: One or the Other, Never Both!
By Darren | March 17, 2010
Do you have a lot to say? Do you wish you could say more in less time? Are you aware of one of the most common mistakes speakers make, that they don’t even realize they’re making? It’s one of the many differences between the average speaker, and a World-class speaker.
This past weekend, I enjoyed attending the Lady and the Champs Speakers’ Conference as much as any of our attendees. I learned so much from Craig Valentine, Ed Tate, and Patricia Fripp.
During one of Fripp’s sessions, she pointed out this exact idea.
I realized the brilliance of what she said in an instant! It’s what Mark Brown had to “coach” out of me when I was competing for the World Championship. It still affects my speaking & speaker coaching today. It’s one of the reasons I was able to say so much in a short speech. (Now, I wish I could edit it down even more!)
Have you ever heard a speaker say in a story,
1.) “…and then he asked her a question…”
2.) “He turned to her as he looked down…”
3.) “She was so angry, she yelled…”
These are classic examples of word wasters!
They are all unnecessary. To paraphrase what Patricia Fripp said: “Use Verbal, or Visual - Never both!”
Here would be my coaching:
1.) Just ask!
“Barbara, why are you…”
We can tell by using the recipient’s name (Frippicism) who it is directed towards, and if we phrase it in a question, we know it’s a question!
2.) Just turn and look down!
If we’re with you in the story, we can see you turning, we can see you looking down!
3.) Just yell!
“THOMAS! WHERE ARE YOU!?”
It will be better delivery, and will add vocal variety, and save you words along with precious time!
Every day, I sat at my desk at my day-job while looking at my “Ouch!” speech in progress, trying to find ways to get my point across in fewer words. In that speech, I tell the story of telling my parents I want to be a comedian. In the story, my parents have no dialogue, but in that 17-second story, you know exactly what happened.
I challenge you to transcribe one of your speeches or your signature story. Any time you see action verbs or narration, ask yourself. “Would it be more powerful with just the visual?”
Will you remember, the visual or the verbal, NEVER both?
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Ask Darren: Why are you constantly promoting something?
By Darren | March 17, 2010
Stage time,
Darren LaCroix, Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking
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STAGE TIME: “It’s Not Pointless… It’s Plentiful”
By Darren | February 24, 2010
Have you ever had a funny little “thing” happen, and your first thought was, “That could be a good little story!” So, you add it to your story file… and then you never end up doing anything with it!
In last week’s issue of Stage Time, I talked about stories. Stories are the “life blood” of our speeches. The important part of the story for presenters is the point. We use stories to make our points (lessons) more memorable. But what if you’re not sure what the point is? Perfect! Just because you don’t know what your point is, does not mean it’s pointless.
Most stories make multiple points. I use my “Stitches” story in all four of my keynotes, making different points. Often the points are plentiful, but you’re just looking through the wrong eyes, your own!
Look through the eyes of the audience. Ask them. Sometime we think of the point first, and find a good story to anchor it. Other times, we have the story and search for the point. Can you tell - in my speeches - which came first in the creation process? Honestly, I can’t even remember! It doesn’t matter. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It doesn’t matter! Cook the chicken, or fry the egg, then feed your audience.
I’ve often been surprised when I told a story at my Toastmasters club and solicited feedback from the audience as to what they think the point could be. Most of the time, their ideas were ten times better than I could ever think of! Jay Leno has a team of writers - why not you? You are the producer of the “end result.”
Next week, friend and fellow World Champion, Craig Valentine will be soliciting feedback on new stories at our EDGEnet Members-Only Summit. I’m excited for Craig, and even more excited for our Champions’ EDGE members who will witness the power of the process.
When you do this, don’t give the audience ANY idea what you think the point would be.
Just do two simple things.
#1) Ask: What points do you think this story could make?
#2) Shut up and listen!
Sometimes we are too close. Mark Brown, when coaching me on my winning speech, helped me take a 4-minute story and bring it down to it’s true essence of thirty seconds.
In our Secrets of Storytelling Champ Camp, it’s so exciting to see participants listen to the audience’s perspectives on their stories. Last week when I was coaching Barbara, I was so delighted to show her what her personal story was really about. She had the story, but the point was more powerful than she originally thought.
Often, the audience knows better than you. They are the people we’re trying to impact. Listen to the impact your story already has at the core. Some stories are three minutes, some may be 30 seconds.
Your stories are not pointless, they are plentiful. Will you ask for help finding the powerful points of your so-called, pointless stories?
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Ask Darren LaCroix: Do you offer public speaker coaching?
By Darren | February 24, 2010
People ask this question constantly, here is my response:
Click:
Stage time,
Darren LaCroix, World Champion of Public Speaking
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STAGE TIME: Why Are Stories So Powerful? Especially for Presentations…
By Darren | February 17, 2010
Stories. Hmmm. Why are they so powerful? Why are they such a perfect tool for speakers, trainers, and presenters?
We learn about the importance of the use of stories in presentations from great speaking coaches like Bill Gove, Craig Valentine, and Patricia Fripp. Have you ever asked yourself, “Why?”
As children, we loved to hear stories! In fact, I’ll bet you know one or two kids who quietly demand “Tell me a story!” at bed time, right?
Early in our development, we became accustomed to learning though stories. It was our preferred method of digesting knowledge. As we’ve grown older, that never really changed. While we may enjoy learning the abstract via statistics and a good graph, those methods remain a distant second to a poignant story well-told.
In my article earlier this week, I told you about an “Ah-ha moment” I had while working with my Life Coach, Dawn Nocera. Actually, I had two Ah-ha moments during that conversation. The second one was about the power of stories. Dawn reminded me that:
“Stories open your subconscious mind,
so the lesson can sink in and you
can easily absorb the information.”
Do you know a great teacher? He or she is probably a great storyteller!
I have been reading a lot about the subconscious mind lately, and it’s just making more and more sense. The conscious mind is what we know, or have heard. The subconscious mind is much more powerful. It’s what controls our actions. That being the case, if we speakers are to make lasting change in audience members, we must get our message into their subconscious minds.
Let’s face it, we can all be “thick headed.” We’d all like to think we can hear words of wisdom once, and “get it,” right? I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve had to hear certain messages before it really “sunk in.” Dan Kennedy says that “we are egoistical to think that audience members can hear us once and walk away with permanent change.”
That’s why we need repetitive refrains to get our messages deeper into the subconscious minds of the audience. That’s why infomercials have the same message three times in a half hour, even if it is said a little differently. When Craig Valentine and I created the Own The Stage program, we designed it to contain the same education on DVDs and Audio CDs. First, on DVDs, because advanced speaking techniques must be learned though a visual medium. Second, on Audio CDs, for the convenience of listening in your car so that you can reinforce the message until is sinks in and creates a permanent change. That is why I’m creating my new program Get More Laughs By Next Week® the same way… to help students of humor get a new perspective into their subconscious minds.
Dawn also said:
“Stories create change, without pain!”
Stories occupy our conscious mind, while the real message slips unknowingly into the subconscious mind. That’s also why dialogue is more powerful than narration. Dialogue brings us deeper into the scene, watching it happen. This opens up the subconscious even more. Narration, on the other hand, is “telling us what happened” back then. It’s not nearly as powerful as putting the audience right into the scene.
“Stories open the subconscious mind
of your audience, so your content can easily
be absorbed and real change can occur
within the lives of your audience.”
Do you want to create more lasting change? Do you have a message that matters? What perspective-changing stories do you have that you can use?
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