You probably noticed that I started with an easy one in “Public Speaking: Why do politicians need it?“, but let’s start looking at some more common careers.

How do you feel about educators and public speaking skills?  Did you know that teachers don’t get training in public speaking, need to capture and maintain the attention of their students, and fear speaking to a group of their fellow educators?

Public speaking training in school

I work in a school district of five schools which range from Kindergarten to grade twelve.  I have asked around and I keep getting the same answer.  “Do your receive training in public speaking?”  Always the answer is the same, “No.”

Please, do not get me wrong.  Teachers are highly educated, intelligent, and skilled at instructing our children.  I love to watch them at work and observe their techniques. I always learn something to help me be a better speaker.

But while being highly educated in the art and science of learning modes, technology integration, lesson plan and course preparation, assessment, and data analysis…  they still have to learn some things on the job.  Don’t close repeatedly, don’t over-text your PowerPoint, make the presentation about the audience, and end with your punch line/word/phrase.

Imagine the advantage of learning these skills while you are still in school, earning your degree.

Capturing and maintaining the attention of your students

You are standing in front of your students, in your elementary school classroom, and you say “The next part of a sentence is the verb.  A verb describes an action or a state.”  ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz

That is not going to grab an elementary student’s attention.  How do you think those same students would react if you started the class with, “Today you will learn that verbs are important.  How important?  Without a verb… you wouldn’t be able to play, sleep, eat, or EVEN breathe.   Why do you think that is?”

Public speaking skills teach you to rephrase your words in that way.  It opens with a question that hopes to get them wondering.  Gets them to ask themselves and then want the answer.  Then it uses a powerful statement, the apparent loss of common and important abilities, to shock.  Then ends with the students being compelled to figure it out themselves.  You can then continue with workgroups, interactive discussions, or exercises.

Fear of speaking to your fellow educators

This is one, that if you are like me, will certainly surprise you.  Afraid of speaking to your fellow educators?

Early on in my current position, I was asked to assist a teacher with a PowerPoint presentation.  This teacher was very nervous about speaking in front of the school board and principals of the schools.  I thought to myself, “But every single day you stand in front of a classroom full of students!”

I later found out some teachers suffer from the same affliction as many people who need to speak… fear of embarrassing themselves.  When teachers are in front of students they focus is directly on the idea that their students must learn the material.  That is their goal.  It is also what their minds are focused on.

But then they must present something to the board and share it with the principals or other teachers.  The idea then starts to creep into their mind.  “Will I be good enough?”  It is the worry of ‘Will I embarrass myself’ that many speakers face.  Public speaker training teaches you that every presentation, every location, and every audience must be approached with the same focus… your audience.  As Darren LaCroix likes to say, “What do you want the audience to think, see, or do differently because of your speech?”

Do you remember your teachers?  What could they have done better? Or are you a teacher?  If so, what have you learned over time about the delivery part of your instruction?

The post Public Speaking: Why do educators need it? first appeared on You Can Present.

Are you thinking about the presentation?  Or are you hungry and thinking about lunch?

How about if you’re reaching the end of the presentation and you have another meeting, and you are expected to be there?  When the presenter goes over time, does that mean his or her time is more valuable than yours?

 photo credit: Conanil
If you have experienced the scenarios which I just described than you know that staying on time is important.

As a presenter, you must also hold that opinion tight and respect the time of your audience.  When you are the presenter, be aware of your time.  Be aware of the lunch and break times.  Make sure you do not run overtime.

If the workshop, presentation, or seminar starts to run over there can be many reasons.  You could have planned badly, the audience could be very involved, or you may have been the victim of the presenter before you… which made you start late.  You must remedy every one of those to really connect with your audience and gain their respect.

Wayne Botha, my partner in the Powerful Presentations Alliance, suggests some ways for you to keep yourself on time when you are on the platform.

How do you keep yourself on time?  Would you like to share some ideas?

The post Watch your time as a Speaker and Presenter first appeared on You Can Present.

As Governor of Area 7 in Division B, I will be attending with three other club members from Erie.  Two of our group will be representing Area 7 in this contest of speaking skills.

But when facing these contest events, it always becomes of question of “What is the objective?”  Are contestants shooting for the trophy or is the trophy more than something you can hold in your hands?

Contests are an opportunity for every Toastmaster to work and rework one’s speech and skills.  They are an opportunity to practice in front of an audience then go back and change what might work better the next time.

Contests are an opportunity to grow.

If you are going to be at the contest today, I look forward to seeing you there.  If you are competing… Good Luck!

The post Toastmasters Division Contest Today at PITTSBURGH NATIONAL GOLF CLUB first appeared on You Can Present.

You may wonder if this is really worth the cost.  I completely believe it is.  I have had a digital recorder for the last several years and have seen my speaking improve because of it.  If you practice recording and listening to yourself, you will hear what you don’t get while you are in front of the audience.  Sometimes we are so into our message that we don’t understand how it is coming across.  So what can you use to record yourself?

How about if I tell you what I use and why.  Then you can make a purchase decision based on those thoughts.

The first digital recorder I bought is the RCA RP5030A digital recorder.  I still use it.  This is a mono digital recorder with a mic and ear jack.  I find the jacks important because I like to plug in a lapel mic to record while I am speaking.

I use the Olympus ME-15 Microphone with my RCA recorder.  It is a simple mono lapel microphone.  With a lapel mic plugged into the recorder, you can run the cord in your jacket and put the recorder in the inside breast pocket.  I have recorded many of my speeches, hosting events, and workshops in this way.  I then go back and listen and figure out what I did right and what needed improvement.

Another digital recorder is the Olympus Digital Voice Recorder WS-300M.  I bought this one when I decided to add stereo recordings to my repertoire.  Stereo recordings would allow me to add depth and location dimensions to my recordings.  If I record myself and listen to it later, I can get a feeling for the audience and where they are.  To my right.  To my left.  It adds dimension to live recordings that can be used in audio products and audio lessons later.

It also has a mic jack for a lapel mic to be used.  But, I found that I needed a stereo mic.  This added a little bit of bulk.  The mic was a little bit bigger, but still not big enough to be distracting. I use the Olympus ME-51S Stereo Microphone.  It also includes an extension cord and lapel clip so you can either plug it directly into the recorder or use it as a lapel mic.

I still have both of these.  I tend to go back and forth with them, depending on my mood.  Both will plug into a USB port on your computer, to transfer the audio recordings off your recorder.  The RCA recorder needs a standard USB to mini-USB cable.  However, the Olympus recorder can plug directly into any available USB port.  See the L-shaped piece at the bottom of the recorder?  It is the battery compartment and it slides off to reveal the USB plug.

Now that you have yourself on a digital recording, what can you do with it?  I like to load the MP3 files onto my MP3 player.  With a car cassette adapter, I can listen to them in my car, during the 1 hour round trip to/from work.

I have the SanDisk Sansa c250 2 GB MP3 Player and the SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player and have used both as my main MP3 player.  I always have access, not only to my own recordings but also to recordings that I have bought from other public speaking, business, and success coaches.  (see some of the links to the left and on the “Products which I endorse” page.)

Then there is the added bonus.  Both of these players have built-in voice recorders.  Yes, digital recorders are built-in to the MP3 players.  They are not my first choice, but they do allow me to record myself on the spur of the moment when I have forgotten one of my regular recorders.  Those recordings won’t show up on any audio product I ever make, but in a pinch it still allows me to evaluate myself for self-improvement.

Do you record yourself?  What do you use?

The post Record Yourself and be a Better Public Speaker first appeared on You Can Present.

The Dallas Independent School District had Dalton Sherman, a 10-year-old 5th-grade student, deliver the keynote speech at the back-to-school convocation for all staff.

You may have seen this before.  I did a quick Google search and it is all over the place!  If you have, that’s great.  View it often.

If you haven’t, you have to take a look!  It is an experience you will not regret.  Especially if you are working on your own presentation skills.  Dalton worked the crowd.  Appealed to the individual sub-groups.  He used repetition.  He was natural.  And yes, ladies & gentlemen, he was very likely coached.

You may ask, “Why did you mention coaching?”  One of the first comments I heard, when showing this video to others was, “He must have had an adult coach him.”  I was shocked!

Yes, he probably did.  Don’t the Pittsburgh Steelers get coached?  The Bills, Bengals, or Buccaneers?  Don’t the Pacers, Bulls, or Magic?  Didn’t Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin, or Shawn Johnson get coached?  They all have coaches.  That doesn’t disqualify their ability.  As a matter of fact, it reinforces my own need for a coach.

Let’s face it, we are not going to be a football, basketball, or Olympic star.  At least I’m not, at my age and condition.  Mostly, it’s just not my interest.  Without the passion and dedication to commit all my time to that endeavor, I’m not going to the Olympics in four years.  No matter how much coaching I have.

But what about presenting and public speaking?  Are you trying to be a public speaking Olympian?  Or would you just like an edge up on your competition?  Maybe you would like to be the manager that your boss can count on when he needs to address the media or lead a group discussion.  Maybe you’d like to be the salesperson of the year.  Or maybe when you are asked to address hundreds and try to raise funding and support for your local public library, children s hospital, or Habit for Humanity chapter… You will be the one that can do it better than anyone else.

For that… a coach can help you.  A coach can help you for as long as your desire keeps you improving.  A coach can take you to a certain level and teach you to keep improving on your own.  A coach can move you from your current skill level to a higher one, then match you with the next coach to keep you improving.

A coach can do any of those things.  Which would you like to do?

The post A model of good public speaking skills… Watch this! first appeared on You Can Present.

When I was in the U.S. Marine Corps, from the moment I stepped off the bus at Parris Island Marine Corps recruit depot (that’s “Boot Camp” to most of you) I had to memorize…Marine Corps Leadership Principles and Traits

These same principles and traits were reinforced and tested, yes on written tests, throughout my career as a Marine.  If you look at them, you will find one principle of “Set the example.”

If you had been with me in 1991 when I was a Marine Corporal in charge of waking and gathering my Marine platoon for morning formation, cleanup, and releasing them to prepare for the day at work… you may have asked me the same question that many of my Marines had asked me.

“How are you always in full uniform when you come to knock on my door at 5:30 am?”

The fact was, I would wake at least an hour earlier than they,  just so I could shower and get dressed in order to be ready at 5:30 to wake everyone else.  I was then able to supervise and knock on doors while everyone else was getting ready for the day.

This may not surprise you, but it certainly surprised many of the new Marines.  “You mean being the boss meant you did more work, not less?”

You and I know, that being the leader usually means you work harder to set the example and tempo for the people you lead.  If you wish to maintain the ethos, the credibility, of you and the message you are trying to convey, you can use the most effective method.  You can practice what you preach.  You can “set the example”.

So when I read Harry’s post, it seemed so obvious.  It has always been obvious to me.  A leader does what one asks of one’s followers.  A leader does not bail out with a golden parachute and leave all the employees to suffer without pay, without jobs, and without recourse.

I am still astounded when I see this “protect yourself” mentality from leaders.  Why are the homes, cars, mortgages, yachts, and golf club memberships not being repossessed from those executives who have led companies to ruin?

What if you are a speaker?  Does this apply to you?  It sure does!  As a speaker, you are a leader to your audience.

It all reminds me to go take another look at those same leadership principles and traits… and ask myself if I am living up to them.  Am I being a leader in my everyday actions?  Am I taking care of my followers?  Or am I just packing my golden parachute so I can pull the cord when it’s most convenient?

What are you doing to set an example for those you lead?

The post A Leader Should Lead by Example first appeared on You Can Present.

I have recently switched over to a feedburner.com RSS feed in order to provide you with a better RSS experience.  As I have recently been making domain name changes, I have been using feedburner.com to keep the feeds constant to your readers.

How do you switch?  This is the new link to the RSS feed:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/MichaelCortes

If you don’t know about RSS, you may want to take a look at this instructional video on RSS feeds.  RSS feeds and an RSS reader can really make it easier to stay up to date on your favorite web sites.

The post Are you viewing this post in an RSS reader? first appeared on You Can Present.

Why do I mention this?  I had the honor and the duty to serve as the contest chair for this club’s contest.  Which happens to be a bit of a practice of sorts for me.  As I am also the contest chair for the Area 7 humorous speech and table topics contests, on October 11th at the Blasco Memorial Library in Erie.

What I am finding is that it is certainly a bit of work.  I am reminded of the importance of good project management skills.  Planning, organizing, and executing a good event.

How often have you shown up at a school dance, graduation ceremony, school board meeting, dance/music recital, science fair, or the start of the school year kickoff…  and looked around you and thought about the work that goes into preparing it?

Or did you simply take a seat and enjoy the event, not considering what it took for you to be there

If you had been with me for the preparation, you may have looked at the roles to fill… contest chair, chief judge, tiebreaking judge, 3-5 judges, 2 timers, 2 counters, at least 3 contestants, and a sergeant at arms.  Then you may have scratched at your scalp, bit your lip, wrung  your hands, and wondered “how can 7 people be fit to fill 14 positions?”

We did manage it… finally.  I hunted up some additional help.  Kept the wife from judging the husband/contestant.  Got experienced members to guide the less experienced.  And heard one of the funniest speeches I ever heard, given by one of the newest members in the Area!  You would have laughed, and been amazed & impressed.

Many people know that Toastmasters International is a place to be a better speaker.  But new members and old members sometimes forget that Toastmasters is not a college, school, or store.  It is not a place to pay your entrance fee and take a seat or use the equipment.  It is not a place to pay to be given an education.

Toastmasters International is a CLUB!  A club where you must do your part.  Someone guides you when you act as the timer, counter, or judge.  Someone helps you when you evaluate, speak, organize, or plan.  Someone advises you as you turn to the next newest member and guide, help, and lead them to do the same.

A club cannot operate on its own.  It operates on the backs of its members, on the time of its members, and on the work of its members.  BUT, there is one catch…

You get to learn as you do all the work.  Every time you organize a meeting… every time you evaluate another speaker… every time you plan the agenda…  every time you call someone up and ask them to fill a role, so the meeting will come off…  you become better at it.

You get so you can plan a high school graduation.  You can schedule speakers and plan the order of how they will speak at a fundraising event.  You can call people up and ask them to contribute to the school bake sale.  You can be MC for your daughter’s recital.  You can do all this.  Because you have been volunteering to do and learn these things in the safe and friendly setting of your Toastmasters club.

Did you think that besides learning to speak, you would also learn to be a leader?

The post Fall Contest Season started Thursday, September 25th first appeared on You Can Present.

Why do I mention this?  I had the honor and the duty to serve as the contest chair for this club’s contest.  Which happens to be a bit of a practice of sorts for me.  As I am also the contest chair for the Area 7 humorous speech and table topics contests, on October 11th at the Blasco Memorial Library in Erie.

What I am finding is that it is certainly a bit of work.  I am reminded of the importance of good project management skills.  Planning, organizing, and executing a good event.

How often have you shown up at a school dance, graduation ceremony, school board meeting, dance/music recital, science fair, or the start of the school year kickoff…  and looked around you and thought about the work that goes into preparing it?

Or did you simply take a seat and enjoy the event, not considering what it took for you to be there?

If you had been with me for the preparation, you may have looked at the roles to fill… contest chair, chief judge, tiebreaking judge, 3-5 judges, 2 timers, 2 counters, at least 3 contestants, and a sergeant at arms.  Then you may have scratched at your scalp, bit your lip, wrung  your hands, and wondered “how can 7 people be fit to fill 14 positions?”

We did manage it… finally.  I hunted up some additional help.  Kept the wife from judging the husband/contestant.  Got experienced members to guide the less experienced.  And heard one of the funniest speeches I ever heard, given by one of the newest members in the Area!  You would have laughed, and been amazed & impressed.

Many people know that Toastmasters International is a place to be a better speaker.  But new members and old members sometimes forget that Toastmasters is not a college, school, or store.  It is not a place to pay your entrance fee and take a seat or use the equipment.  It is not a place to pay to be given an education.

Toastmasters International is a CLUB!  A club where you must do your part.  Someone guides you when you act as the timer, counter, or judge.  Someone helps you when you evaluate, speak, organize, or plan.  Someone advises you as you turn to the next newest member and guides, helps, and leads them to do the same.

A club cannot operate on its own.  It operates on the backs of its members, on the time of its members, and on the work of its members.  BUT, there is one catch…

You get to learn as you do all the work.  Every time you organize a meeting… every time you evaluate another speaker… every time you plan the agenda…  every time you call someone up and ask them to fill a role, so the meeting will come off…  you become better at it.

You get so you can plan a high school graduation.  You can schedule speakers and plan the order of how they will speak at a fundraising event.  You can call people up and ask them to contribute to the school bake sale.  You can be MC for your daughter’s recital.  You can do all this.  Because you have been volunteering to do and learn these things in the safe and friendly setting of your Toastmasters club.

Did you think that besides learning to speak, you would also learn to be a leader?

The post Fall Contest Season started Thursday, September 25th first appeared on You Can Present.

Have you ever asked anyone that question?  I have.  I am frequently surprised by how often I am told it is a person with whom one has an official learning relationship.

Official!?!  What’s that?  It is at least a question of, “Will you be my mentor?”  and an acknowledgment of taking on the challenge.  But do you need all that to have a mentor?  I don’t think so!

Mr. Hoffman has been my mentor for a very long time.  Almost 28 years. Has he ever said, “Yes Michael,  I would be happy to be your mentor.”?  Again… Don’t think so!

Jeff Bailey points us to a great article on finding a mentor.  It is written for photography but has some good points for anyone seeking a mentor.  But you should remember something else… you may already have a mentor.

Merriam-Webster defines a mentor as a trusted counselor or guide.  Mr. Hoffman has always been around to lend counsel when I need it.  He has always reinforced my good traits and helped me figure out what I may wish to do next.  Does anyone do that for you?  Your mom, best friend, uncle?  Your mentor is whoever gives you guidance, whoever you regularly go to for advice.

But the question must be asked, “Is having a mentor a big deal?”  Yes!  And so is being a mentor.  Toastmasters finds it important enough to help teach its members to be mentors.  Danny, a reader here, even commented that people should generally be supportive and positive toward each other.

Mentoring even comes into play in ancient learning models.  Americans get their learning model from ancient Greece.  The lecturer, classroom, leader model.  Where the class gathers around the professor and listens then asks questions.  However, In “Mentoring 101“, John Maxwell taught me about the ancient Hebrew model.  You can call it the mentoring model.  John calls it the on-the-job training model.  Where you bring a mentee with you as you do your work, so they can learn to do it.  The beauty of this model is that someone is always learning the next job and can either take over for you allowing you to move on, or they can also do the job allowing you to expand your company’s capacity.  More importantly, mentoring allows you to help make another persons life better, make the world better, and make yourself a better person by giving of yourself.

Mentoring should be a word used more often in common discussions.  Everyone should have people from which they learn.  people from different backgrounds that can advise them from different perspectives.  You can have one person who shows you the ropes and guides you in your career.  Someone ahead of you, who has been there.  Maybe you have another person whose advice you seek when raising your own children. This person can be someone who has raised their own kids.  Often, it is a parent or grandparent.

So now when you think of it, do you have any mentors?  Can you name people who have offered your guidance and advice?  Can you name people you have gone to when you didn’t know the answer?  Can you name people who have helped by being in your life and influencing your decisions and actions?

You probably can.  So here is another question…  can you name people you have influenced, guided, and mentored?

If you have, I would love to hear about it.  You may have heard that I am writing a book.  Your stories could be featured in that book and your experiences in mentoring and being mentored would add greatly to my research on mentoring.  Would you mind answering four easy questions about your experiences?  If so, visit this survey and speak your mind.

What do you think about mentoring?

The post Mentoring… Speakers (and everyone else) need it. first appeared on You Can Present.