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Monday, June 23, 2008
Public Speaking, a real-world skill
One of my former students, Whitney Watts, forwarded the following link to me about the worst things to say in a job interview. We try to discuss the job interview process and the job hunt process in several classes I teach in the communication major. One place we spend a lot of time on the subject of finding a job being one of the hardest jobs you will ever have is the Senior Seminar. Whitney just graduate and remembers some of those discussion. This CNN link is pretty on target:
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Persuasion is something we do all the time
We get into public speaking courses (and I team a lot of them) and people begin to think that the assignments required are complicated classroom things when in reality they are assignments aimed at helping us become more effective communications in the real world.
Persuasion is one case in point. There are all kinds of courses that teach about persuasion from persuasion in public speaking to persuasion in psychology to advertising. And the thing all have in common are courses to help the student become either more fluent with the skill or more able to resist the persuasion aimed in her/his direction.
Persuasion is taking a point of view and trying to either get others to share that view and often take action on that view or, at a minimum, become more open to the idea that this different point of view exists and may even have some merit. In practical terms, you want to see "Get Smart" your friend wants to city "Sex in the City". The negotiation that results in the movie that you see involves persuasion. For many of us, persuasion is a skill we want to be even better at. For those who are already good, becoming better might allow those persuasion skills to reach more people, maybe to donate to the education of displaced children in Uganda money for some important cause in your community. www.displacedcommunities.org
Persuasion is one case in point. There are all kinds of courses that teach about persuasion from persuasion in public speaking to persuasion in psychology to advertising. And the thing all have in common are courses to help the student become either more fluent with the skill or more able to resist the persuasion aimed in her/his direction.
Persuasion is taking a point of view and trying to either get others to share that view and often take action on that view or, at a minimum, become more open to the idea that this different point of view exists and may even have some merit. In practical terms, you want to see "Get Smart" your friend wants to city "Sex in the City". The negotiation that results in the movie that you see involves persuasion. For many of us, persuasion is a skill we want to be even better at. For those who are already good, becoming better might allow those persuasion skills to reach more people, maybe to donate to the education of displaced children in Uganda money for some important cause in your community. www.displacedcommunities.org
Friday, June 13, 2008
Almost everything you would want to read
A friend of mine provided this link, which aggregates a great deal of discussion about public speaking. You will find it useful!
They have a new Speaking page (http://speaking.alltop.com/). I was reading somewhere else that Guy Kawasuki(sp) is the person responsible for the Alltop aggregate sites. And, another one that I like is http://www. presentationzen.com
They have a new Speaking page (http://speaking.alltop.com/). I was reading somewhere else that Guy Kawasuki(sp) is the person responsible for the Alltop aggregate sites. And, another one that I like is http://www. presentationzen.com
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Importance of research skills in real world
When I teach the public speaking classes at Coker College, I nearly always start out with telling the students the class will be one of the most important they will take in their college career. I make immediate connection to their personal bottom line and how it will be enhanced if they will allow themselves to become comfortable speakers and then work themselves to become competent speakers.
A major element of speaking is your message. A good message comes in several layers and generally those layers are not accessible to the speaker without some pretty in-depth research. It was Cicero who gave us the five arts that compose the great art of Rhetoric and we hear a lot about the layers of speaking in those five arts. A more recent writer and business guru writes a lot about how people develop and use influence. I just read a short article by Mr. Dilenschneider in the quarterly publication of the Public Relations Society of America – THE STRATEGIST. His observation, I think, adds some weight to the argument for developing good public speaking skills, which include excellent message-development skills. If felt like a good idea to share his thoughts.
Here are some words from a man named Robert Dilenschneider, a major figure in the public relations business. He wrote a book recently called "Power and Influence: The Rules Have Changed." In an article in THE STRATEGIST, a public relations publication, he says:
"Specifically, anyone who wishes to be a power player must build certain strengths. One of them is the ability to do exhaustive research. Thanks to search engines, the tools are there to do what used to take days in minutes. It's truly remarkable. But, one should always remember that information, however massive and deep, does not necessarily equate to knowledge. You need to know what to do with the data you glean." Page 25, The Strategist, Spring 2008I shared this with my current public speaking class so they can see that the classroom skills are really life-journey skills. Dilenshcneider’s corporate sited is http://www.dilenschneider.com/ .
A major element of speaking is your message. A good message comes in several layers and generally those layers are not accessible to the speaker without some pretty in-depth research. It was Cicero who gave us the five arts that compose the great art of Rhetoric and we hear a lot about the layers of speaking in those five arts. A more recent writer and business guru writes a lot about how people develop and use influence. I just read a short article by Mr. Dilenschneider in the quarterly publication of the Public Relations Society of America – THE STRATEGIST. His observation, I think, adds some weight to the argument for developing good public speaking skills, which include excellent message-development skills. If felt like a good idea to share his thoughts.
Here are some words from a man named Robert Dilenschneider, a major figure in the public relations business. He wrote a book recently called "Power and Influence: The Rules Have Changed." In an article in THE STRATEGIST, a public relations publication, he says:
"Specifically, anyone who wishes to be a power player must build certain strengths. One of them is the ability to do exhaustive research. Thanks to search engines, the tools are there to do what used to take days in minutes. It's truly remarkable. But, one should always remember that information, however massive and deep, does not necessarily equate to knowledge. You need to know what to do with the data you glean." Page 25, The Strategist, Spring 2008I shared this with my current public speaking class so they can see that the classroom skills are really life-journey skills. Dilenshcneider’s corporate sited is http://www.dilenschneider.com/ .
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