Author proposed a PUNCH to open speech

In another post I mentioned being able to talk to a couple of classes of seventh graders at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville, SC about how to produce a dynamic speech introduction. I think they might have liked the advice that a well known presentation guru gives in his newest book, THE NAKED PRESENTER. Garr Reynolds suggests the PUNCH idea for an attention-grabbing speech introduction.

Books and blogs are one way of trying to stay abreast of new information and Reynolds, in addition to this book, maintains a blog called Presentation Zen. If you look at much about presentations in today's search engines, you are bound to find a lot of references to the Reynolds ideas.

What does the acronym P U N C H stand for? Reynolds says you can punch up your introduction if you find a relevant PERSONAL STORY that will get immediate reaction from your audience. He notes that the UNEXPECTED is another great way and his ideas about engaging the audience through challenging their preconceptions is interesting. NOVELTY is also something that can command that attention. Most of us will give a second thought to something we may not have heard previously. If you CHALLENGE an audience in an attempt to move them from their comfort zone it is very likely you will be crafting an attention getting opening. Finally, the H is for HUMOR. Reynolds is quick to caution the potential speaker (presenter) that you are not telling jokes, you are finding humor in situations that related directly and specifically to what you are discussing.

Start your next presentation with a PUNCH and see if you don't get some warmer applause. I am looking forward to fitting in some of Reynolds' ideas into my Coker College speech classes following this semester sabbatical.

Professional Speakers have their own networks

Steve Siebold is a speaker, a marketer and a blogger. He blogs about ways of breaking into the professional public speaking business and while I have not been able to take advantage of his seminars, I think he may be a strong resource for those wanting to become highly paid speakers. The blog he distributed most recently has several short videos that give potential professionals or professionals some idea of the resources that he is making available. For those who are not aspiring to the professional level, these blog posts can be a source of inspiration for your own speaking ventures at whatever level you are speaking from the classroom to the meeting room.

From the perspective of a my role as a college professor of public speaking, I find Siebold's approaches interesting and I do share when I get the opportunity for teaching an advanced public speaking class at Coker College.

Presentation God is interesting read

Scott Schwertly is an expert in presentations and you get more than an inkling of how much he knows as you go through his newest book, HOW TO BE A PRESENTATION GOD by Wiley and Sons with a copyright of 2011. He crams a lot of information into the book but I found the underlying philosophy of presenting to be the most valuable content. There are several sentences that might summarize his philosophy but I am going to chooose this one: "Our worst enemy is our own low expectations. What if the opportunity at hand is far, far bigger than anything you could have imagined? What would you do? Don't just make a living, Change the world."

He points out in this book that on a daily basis more than 30 million face to face presentations are made. He calls this about the oldest form of mass communication and he seems to have a point. After all, we are still using the principles espoused by Aristotle ON RHETORIC as the foundation for our rhetorical skills training today.

Schwertly brings the reader up to date with presentation software ideas and with a detailed description of several key audiences, which in themselves make the book worth its price.

Students who have had me for public speaking at Coker College know my three major rules of being successful on the platform: Know your audience; Know you are prepared; Know your subject. Schwertly does a good job of explaining the whys and hows of these three principles, which may be why I enjoyed the book so much.