Communicator

Uncredible vs. Incredible - How credible is your communication?

Bobby Fisher, Executive Pastor of Big Valley Grace Community Church and one of our Dynamic Communicators Workshop faculty, offers these tips for communication credibility.

Sitting in our board room for our monthly time of joy (also referred to as the Elder Board Meeting), I looked at the one page presentation and started to count. One, two, three. I rambled through thirty and stopped before I got to fifty. That was the number of spelling and grammatical errors on one page. As much as I wanted to embrace and support the presentation, my mind instead was asking, “How could you bring something like this for consideration?”

Our presentations will reflect the amount of credibility they are given by our listeners. Whether written or oral, a one-page strategy paper or full blown sermon, we must be clear and correct to be credible. If poorly presented, it’s not communication; it’s a distraction. If presented well, it can be incredible.

Here are three tips to make the un into an in:

1. Survey it. Look over your document and make sure it says what you want to say. Make sure it is the message you want your audience to hear. Sometimes our stream of consciousness takes us places we never intended to go. Prune the unnecessary. Rarely do people complain about a message (of any kind) being too short.

2. Spell it. Do not trust spell check. Make sure you have used good grammar throughout. If you are not skilled at spelling, grammar or punctuation, find someone who is and ask them to edit. I happen to be pretty good at it, and I still ask for an edit on almost everything I send or present.

3. Say it. Read everything out loud. It may look good on paper, but when you say it out loud, it may not sound right. A helpful practice is to read the document sentence by sentence, beginning with the last sentence in a paragraph and progressing to the first. If a sentence doesn’t make sense on its own, it won’t make sense in the middle of a larger presentation.

Take the time to be credible, and your listeners will take the time to consider what you have to say.  After all, uncredible isn’t even a word.

Making Your Point

Dr. James McGuire (Jimmy) a friend and colleague in Dynamic Communicators Workshops, presents this helpful template for developing - not finding - the rationale (points) of your speech.

Proclaim it. This means you introduce with clarity and precision the separate point you are going to develop that will support your major premise. This is not the whole message. It is one point of the message. For example, in a message on why we must strive to keep our hearts full of grace toward others, you might say: The first reason is because bitterness of spirit will make you withhold grace from others. This is clear, concise, and tells exactly what I must now proceed to develop: proof that bitterness causes its possessor to withhold grace from others.

Explain it. This means that the statement you just made, “Bitterness of spirit will make you withhold grace from others” will now be fully and clearly explained. Here you pull together evidence to support your statement. You may quote the Bible, or psychological studies from Universities, or some other source. But the single task is to give proof that bitterness of spirit will make you withhold grace from others.

Illustrate it. You have clearly stated your point, and explained the evidence that supports it, and now you are ready to illustrate it. You might say, “Saul heard the cries of the people as he rode through the towns with David at his side: “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands.” He became inflamed in his heart with bitterness of spirit. His nights became filled with brooding about David’s popularity, so much so that eventually he wanted only one thing: the death of David. Incredibly, here was a man selected by God to be the first King of Israel, representing God’s gracious rule over his chosen people, and through bitterness of heart he wanted only to kill David, not give him grace.” You might give other illustrations, some of them contemporary: “On the news I saw a story of a man who….” You might want to give a personal story.

Apply it. Now you make it personal to the listener. You might ask what is going on at work: is there a boss who has passed you over? Is there someone who is taking credit for your work? Maybe you talk to the students: is there someone who is mean to you at school, and you find you are starting to hate that person? You might talk to couples or those involved in divorces or lawsuits. Your point is to get them to consider that opportunities to be bitter face us every day, but if we want to be people who give grace to others, we must not seize the opportunities for bitterness.

Now you are ready to apply this grid to your next point. 

Storytelling is an Art

My friend Bob Stromberg is a truly funny, unique and gifted entertainer. Perhaps his greatest asset is his ability to tell a story. I had the opportunity to be with Bob several times recently, and after all the years I've known him, I'm still amazed.

Bob taught a session at our Dynamic Communicators Workshop in Colorado Springs on Story Telling for speakers. He did an excellent job of demonstrating the skill, giving options as to how a story might fit in various settings and giving practical steps that any speaker can take to become a better story teller.

One step he highlighted was to, "Give the story generous rehearsal." Sadly, many speakers don't rehearse at all - and it shows. You might get away with no rehearsal if you're just giving a basic speech, but if you're going to tell a story, you've got to rehearse it. More than once. Preferably in front of people.

Storytelling is an art and all art requires diligent rehearsal. A story is about timing and the turning of a phrase. Done correctly, it is an amazing vehicle for powerful communication. Done poorly, it is an amazing opportunity to crash and burn.

If story telling is your thing, find an opportunity to see Bob Stromberg perform, get one of his videos, read his books. Then rehearse, practice and rehearse some more!

The King Of Public Speaking Workshops

What a great week we had! Combine a 100 year old castle, 89 students from all walks of life and 11 of the best speaking coaches anywhere, and you get another fantastic Dynamic Communicators Workshop!

If you were there, we'd love to have your comments here. If you missed it, check out our upcoming workshops at www.DynamicCommunicators.com.

Six Deadly Sins

A recent blog post by David Sanborn was right on. In it, he identified the mistakes he saw a speaker make in a recent presentation. I've paraphrased them as six deadly sins for a communicator.

1. Telling them what you're going to tell them. I know this is an old speaking cliche (tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them) that many communicators live by, but it is wrong. If your audience is intelligent and you tell them what you're going to tell them, they're done. They get it. Why should they continue to listen?
2. Too much PowerPoint. Too many slides, not enough time to explain them all. See "PowerPoint Isn't The Point," for more.
3. Trapped by Technology. If you're presentation relies too heavily on technology, you're asking for trouble. Technology fails more often than not. Make your content the focus, not the bells and whistles.
4. Dressed to Kill. What you wear matters. My friend McNair Wilson says, "If your clothing is more interesting (read distracting) than your presentation, you're in trouble before you begin."
5. Repetition & Redundancy. Sanborn gets it exactly right. If you find you are repeating yourself, you're probably not prepared.
6. Kill the Clock. Taking more than your allotted time is just wrong. Don't do it. If you can't say it in 5 minutes, you can't say it in any amount of time. Enough time is not the problem. Lack of focus is. See Clear As Crystal for more on the importance of focus.

Read David Sanborn's post hear.

A Great Talk!

We held a GreaTalk! 1-day communications seminar in Denver yesterday. It was an excellent event with a great turnout of almost 100 participants from all walks of life. We had 11 students come from an area writers group, 13 members of Compassion International staff, (my friend Spence Smith gets credit for them - Thanks Spence) ministry professionals, business professionals and even a couple of folks from the Arapahoe/Douglas County court system. There was even a guy who came all the way from New Hampshire for the seminar!

Certified Master Instructor, Jeff VanKooten did an outstanding job of teaching on the importance of FOCUS in communication and I think everyone left challanged and hopefully, changed for the better in their ability to present a focused, clear, powerful message!

If you attended the seminar yesterday, thanks for coming! We'd love to hear your feedback!

Here are som more pictures from the event...

Look Your Audience In The Eye

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who wouldn't look you in the eye? It's difficult isn't it? You get that nagging feeling that something isn't quite right.

One of the most common problems we find in public speakers is the inability for the speaker to "look the audience in the eye." Many people make the mistake of trying to look at the whole audience at once and end up sweeping; a constant back and forth turning of the head. The end result is that the whole audience misses the power of good eye contact.

Another mistake many speakers make is bird watching. This is the misinformed idea that you should look over the tops of people's heads to try and include everyone. The effect is the opposite, you end up including no one.

Here's a great suggestion. Speak to individuals! Not the same person the whole time, rather focus on individuals in different sections of the audience throughout your speech. An amazing thing happens. The people sitting near the individual you are looking at think you are looking at them. And they are engaged in what you are saying! Look at someone just long enough to finish a thought. If they start shifting uncomfortably in their seat, you've looked too long. Move on to another individual in another section of the audience. You will see the difference good eye contact makes.

FYItis

FYItis: How American Business is Drowning Itself in Information

Written by Curtis Fletcher

The information super-highway has done a lot to change the way we behave. We shop online, we do business online, our kids to homework online…if someone has a question that they don’t know the answer to…they look it up online. The trouble is, we’ve become addicted to all this information.

Every day thousands of pieces of email speed through the servers of American businesses with the subject heading "FYI." We’ve gotten so used to simply “exchanging information” that it effects how we communicate. Meetings are held, presentations given and memos written that contain a LOT of information but little explicit purpose. Of course our human brains LIKE purpose and DISLIKE a vacuum so anytime we’re given bulk information sans purpose…we fill in our own, even if subconsciously. This, in turn, spawns multiple rabbit trails of understanding which often have to be undone with yet another meeting, presentation or memo.

Even in what should be the clearest, most purposeful endeavor…selling…the infection of FYItis is evident. Most efforts to sell boil down to trying to get as much information as possible into the hands of a prospect so that they can make an “informed” decision. This results in more rabbit trails of understanding and objection, resulting in longer sales cycles and higher cost of sales.

Effective communication happens not when we’ve given the MOST information but when we’ve given the RIGHT information. How do we know which bits are the RIGHT information?  The right bits are the bits that can be connected by a clearly focused, clearly articulated purpose, a purpose that is understood and shared by informer and informee alike.

Clear as Crystal

I just picked up a book called The Shape of Preaching: Theory and Practice in Sermon Design by Dennis M. Cahill. As I leafed through the pages in the local bookstore, I was immediately encouraged by the title of one of the chapters. It is "Identifying the Sermon Focus." If the book has nothing else of value, this chapter alone will be worth the price. Focus is THE KEY to great communication. Unfortunately it also the missing ingredient in most sermons and speeches being given today.

At the beginning of chapter 7, on page 91, Cahill quotes one of the heroes of Ken Davis & The Dynamic Communicators Workshops. J.H. Jowett who lived form 1864-1923 and wrote prolifically on theology and preaching, wrote the most succinct key to FOCUSED COMMUNICATION I've ever come across.

Jowett says, "I have a conviction that no sermon is ready for preaching, not ready for writing out, until we can express its theme in a short, pregnant sentence as clear as crystal. I find the getting of that sentence is the hardest, the most exacting, and the most fruitful labour in my study.

One sentence, "as clear as crystal." That's focus! If you can't express the theme, or purpose, or objective of your speech in one sentence, you are not ready to deliver your speech and, Jowett maintains not even ready to write it out!

If we're honest, many of us would admit that our sermons, speeches or presentations are about as clear as mud. But there is help. The Dynamic Communicators Workshops has over 30 years of experience helping communicators become as CLEAR AS CRYSTAL! Find out more here.

More on The Shape of Preaching: Theory and Practice in Sermon Design when I finish the book...

Lighten Up!

Remember the old saw, "children should be seen and not heard?" A new saw has made its way into the world of communication. It goes something like this: "Speakers should be heard but not seen." Nothing could be further from the truth!

Proper lighting is critical to a communicator. If the audience cannot see your face, they will not listen. My friend McNair Wilson tells me that, in the theater, actors must speak more slowly and enunciate more purposefully, in correlation to the amount that the light has been dimmed for a particular scene.

In most venues, the lighting is woefully insufficient for good communication. You must make sure that you have proper lighting. In his book, Secrets of Dynamic Communication, Ken Davis gives us the key to proper lighting. It is called "The Rule of 45." Simply stated, your lighting should be no more than 45 degrees above you and no less than 45 degrees to either side of you for optimal lighting (click here to see diagrams).

Whether you're speaking in a corporate situation or a church service, at a banquet or any other gathering, you have something to say. The audience needs to hear it. So let them see you. Lighten Up!