Lutheran World Relief Speakers Bureau Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking 700 LIGHT STREET | BALTIMORE, MD 21230 | LWR.ORG | 1-800-LWR-LWR-2 TO OTHERS, THROUGH OTHERS. Speaking from the Heart for LWR Prepared for and in honor of the fabulous and hard working members of LWR’s Speakers Bureau. LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 2 Thank You! On Behalf of the Lutheran World Relief Speakers Bureau, let me be the first to thank you for taking the time to review these “Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking.” As I’ve taught public speaking to countless college students, activists, church members, CEOs and friends — one thing has remained constant—everyone, no matter how much or how little experience they’ve had with public speaking, is usually looking for two things: 1) the magic formula that will automatically and easily make them a public speaking star; and/or 2) a tip or trick that will wipe out the nerves they feel each time they get ready to speak in public. Unfortunately, there is no “magic formula” for becoming a fabulous public speaker and there certainly isn’t one tip or trick that can erase public speaking anxiety. I can offer you a guaranteed, long-term formula for public speaking success that will help you and LWR: preparation, practice, speaking from the heart, and getting out there to speak as often as you can. In addition to the key—speaking from the heart—the only thing that can make you a great public speaker is giving public speeches—again, and again, and again. And, the great news is this: you can get tons of practice giving speeches because there are literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of audiences out there ready and willing to hear from you about LWR! What you’ll find in the pages that follow are tidbits of public speaking and presentation wis- dom that I’ve collected and found most useful over the years. Use these ideas and informa- tion to inform your preparation, your practice and your delivery. I am so thankful that there are people like you out there — people who are committed to spreading the word about the great work that LWR does on your behalf around the world. Thank you for your time, your energy and thank you for your role in ensuring that “each per- son and every generation lives in justice, dignity, and peace.” A thousand thanks to you, Lisa Baumgartner Bonds VP, External Relations Lutheran World Relief For more specific information and ideas on how to really take your public speaking ability to the next level, take a look at the description of a “Public Speaking Journal” on page 33. LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 3 A Prayer for Speakers: Dear Gracious God, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, because you are my mighty rock and protector. (Psalms 19:14, taken from the RSVP and CEV versions of the Holy Bible) Lutheran World Relief’s Vision: Empowered by God’s unconditional love in Jesus Christ, we envi- sion a world in which each person and every generation lives in justice, dignity and peace. Lutheran World Relief’s Mission: Lutheran World Relief works with partners in 35 countries to help people grow food, improve health, strengthen communities, end conflict, build livelihoods, and recover from disasters. With people in the U.S., we work for justice for those we serve. Lutheran World Relief’s Core Values: • Faith is active in love. • God gives all people dignity. • We serve with partners. • We make good use of God’s gifts. • We work for justice and peace. LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 4 What does it mean to speak from the heart? • You speak because of a call , grounded in faith and mercy and grace; • You speak because it is a vocation, a way to live out your faith; • You speak because you know that your communication about the work LWR does, the people LWR serves, and everything that makes up LWR’s vision is about more than words. • When you speak about LWR, it’s not “just” communication, it’s communion. • To communicate about LWR, you go beyond basic dictionary definitions to use words that are written on the human heart—words that help us to commune with people around the world and with one another; words that help to develop trust, to build pas- sion, to draw out compassion; words that engage our faith, words that draw people to- gether to do good; words that encourage us to feel .to trust .to love. Words that help us get to the truth. The “basics” of communication — technical writing skills, grammar, spelling, photos, for- mat, volume — are all necessary, but they are useless if your heart is in the wrong place when you produce and speak them. Speaking without heart is like playing the piano without feeling. You might be able to read music, play from memory, and put your fingers on the right keys — but, if your heart isn’t in it, voices won’t start singing, feet won’t tap and spirits will not be moved. LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 5 Paul on Speaking from the Heart Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you. Acts 17:22-23 In the four sermons that Luke records in the books of Acts, Peter, Stephen, and Paul all practiced the Law of Connection, which says that you must touch a heart before you ask for a hand. Paul’s sermon recorded in Acts 17 is a masterpiece. Paul connected brilliantly with people from a different culture, showing he understood both Greek society and human needs. Notice how a master communicator connected with his audience. Here are Paul’s “rules” for making connections: • He began with affirmation. • He bridged his subjects with the familiar. • He enlarged their vision of God. • He used inclusive language. • He gave them encouragement and hope. • He identified with some of their own poets. • He gave them specific action steps. Only when Paul had built relational bridges did he issue a clear call to repent. As people speaking on behalf of LWR, we can move from communication to communion, from the basics to the art, from information to truth by following Paul’s teachings to speak from the heart. Enjoy your public speaking transformation and, thank you for putting your faith into action with LWR. LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 6 CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE SPEECH 1. Speaker Commitment. 2. Well-defined/narrowed topic. 3. Clear sense of purpose. 4. Audience involvement. 5. Substantive development. 6. Structure and design. 7. Skillful language usage. 8. Effective presentation. 9. Ethical considerations. LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 7 Message Outline Questions What do you want as an end result? (Communication outcome) With whom do you want to communicate? (Target audience) What are the self-interests of your audience? (Needs/concerns/interests) What do you want to say? (Message) How will you say it? (Communication channel) Who will you use to say it? (Spokesperson or spokespersons) How can you package it (message) with the greatest odds for successful action? (Raising an audience need/concern/interest and offering your message as a solution) LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 8 MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT What is the ONE POINT we want to make to engage the public? What is our over-arching message? You (the audience) should support/denounce/act on _____________ because ______________. Start where THEY (your audience) are, not where you are. You need to begin communicat- ing with the same premise or “location” as your audience. The way to persuade people is to listen first and listen as much as possible, then talk. Who is your target? Remember: You can’t persuade everyone. (Consider levels of priority for audiences.) A GOOD MESSAGE IS: =Clear =Concise =Connected - to where people are emotionally, to the things your target audience cares about, to what is important to them and not important to us. =Contrasting - why is this course of action better than the alternative? Make it con- crete, not abstract. =Credible - your audience must believe what you say in a way that is connected to them. =Consistent In hostile situations or when someone wants to get you “off message” you need to know your ABCs: A cknowledge (their question) Bridge (build a bridge to your key message) Connect (highlight your key message) LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 9 Oral vs. Written Language “A speech is not merely an essay standing on its hind legs…” In comparison with written language, oral language is or uses: More words that refer to human beings and human relationships to help create sustain in- terest and attention. More personal pronouns such as “I,” “you,” “we,” and “our” to aid in connecting to the audi- ence. Shorter thought units, including sentence fragments and interjections to make speeches easier to follow. More repetition of words, phrases, and sentences to help embed the message in the minds of listeners. Shorter words, including more contractions to make the language sound more conversa- tional. More familiar words to increase identification and to make the message easier to under- stand. Less formal. LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 10 Preparing, “Writing” a Great Speech I don’t know what’s worse, preparing the speech or giving it. But what I do know is that behind every great speech, is a great writer. The following steps will guide you to prepar- ing and writing your own "great" speech. 1. Select a Topic - come up with several topics and choose the best one 2. Determine the Specific Purpose and Write a Thesis Statement - What is your purpose? Is it to inform, describe, demonstrate, show, explain, give insight, edu- cate, ease pain, or support a cause? Is it to persuade, convince, prove, petition, change, stress, or motivate? Or is it to merely entertain and make someone laugh? Do you have a power statement? 3. Analyze the Audience and the Occasion - a. Audience: What do they know about the topic? What interest do they have in the topic? What is their attitude towards your chosen topic? b. Occasion - What is the reason for the deliverance of the speech? 4. Find the Material to be spoken - Is it something you already know about? Is it something that you have to research? Do you need to interview anyone? 5. Organize the Speech - a. Attention - you need to find an attention grabber b. Goodwill - you want to leave the audience with a feeling of benevolence c. Motivation - motivate to action 6. Word the Speech - Prepare an outline and then fill in the outline. Try to follow one train of thought. DO NOT WRITE THE SPEECH OUT WORD FOR WORD. Use an out- line that has phrases for each entry. 7. Practice the Delivery - Try to have the speech memorized in your head, but do not speak as though it were memorized. You want to be able to sound as though you are having a conversation with the audience. 8. Deliver the Speech - If you find that talking in front of people without props causes you to hyperventilate, consider preparing props that reflect your speech. [...]... performance; 4 Integrate “lessons learned” into your next preparation and practice cycle; 5 Speak as often as possible; 6 Do it all over again, and again, and again…) LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 33 Public Speaking Journal If you’re really serious about improving your public speaking skills, make yourself a number of copies of the public speaking journal” pages and. .. entries and continually integrate what you’re learning and improving into each and every speaking experience.) Adapt these public speaking journal pages to suit your needs and style If you choose to keep a public speaking journal, remember — it’s all about you! You should change the questions and adapt the content and/ or format to best fit your public speaking goals and activities LWR: Tips, Tools, and General. .. adjust to previous speakers? LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 35 Public Speaking Journal — Before Speaking, continued What information and “tools” do I need to bring with me to this event? -Information on LWR — brochures, posters, newsletters, handouts, chocolate, coffee, etc (list those items here) -Equipment and/ or props for my presentation — speaking notes, poster paper,... Use of arms and hands _ Facial expression: Use of face _ Eye contact: Use of eyes and connection to audience _ Movement: Use of legs and feet _ Presence: Combination of posture, verbal and nonverbal confidence LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 23 The “Golden Rule” for Public Speakers: ENTHUSIASM!! If you take only one piece of advice about public speaking, make... powerful, and persuasive communication LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 26 TEN TIPS: What To Do In Public Speaking 1 When you are speaking informatively, think of how you became interested in your topic, and build your audience’s motivation to listen by recapturing for your listeners your own initial experience 2 Oral rehearsal is especially important in an informative... be a speaker (General rule: 15-20 seconds for slides/overheads/posters; 30-45 seconds for video segments.) 5 Use a pointer or your inside arm for pointing to a visual aid The pointer keeps you from masking the visual, and using your inside arm helps you to avoid closing off your body from the audience LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 19 HANDLING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS... -Equipment and/ or tools for follow-up — sign-up sheets or cards to gather audience names, addresses, emails; giving envelops, etc (list those items here) What would I like this audience to know and do as a result of my speech/ presentation? How can I best make sure I achieve these desired results? LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 36 Public Speaking Journal — Before Speaking, ... jewelry, shoes, style, neatness, degree of formality, and full-self presentation are just some of the things that people consider as they evaluate you before during, and after presentation Know the appropriate style of dress for the speech, yourself, the occasion, the audience, the setting LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 21 HELPFUL HINTS FOR SPEECH DELIVERY 1 Practice your... marked clearly and distinctly Know which ones are essential to the speech, and which ones can be eliminated without disrupting the message and overall continuity LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 18 HINTS FOR USING VISUAL AIDS 1 Do not talk to your visual aids Keep your eyes on the audience as much as possible 2 Display visual aids only when you are using them Before or after... Try starting your work by speaking through your stories rather than writing This will help establish a more conversational style _ A good story has characters and situations to which the reader can relate _ A good story has people who seem real _ A good story has meaning and is relevant to your goals LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 32 PUBLIC SPEAKING MYTHS… Adhering . your public speaking transformation and, thank you for putting your faith into action with LWR. LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, . Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking. ” As I’ve taught public speaking to countless college students, activists, church members, CEOs and