“He is all of them. And he is one of us”. Keating’s eulogy for The Unknown Soldier.

This Armistice Day is the 95th anniversary of the end of the Great War. Great statesmen have  made many great speeches to honour and mourn those dead, but Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating’s  1993 Remembrance Day Speech at the  Funeral  of the Unknown Soldier stands out among the finest. 

Keating’s speechwriter Don Watson wrote in his memoirs that  Keating “painted word pictures, created images and moods at a stroke. He could turn ideas into icons, make phrases that stuck…” And  as Paul Daley  put it recently  in The Guardian:

Keating was best when he…spoke to the nation. The two finest speeches of his prime ministership: at Redfern in 1992, to acknowledge the grotesque injustice to Aborigines at the heart of Australian sovereignty, and on Remembrance Day 1993, to dedicate the tomb of the Australian Unknown Soldier at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra… tapped sleeping national sentiments (of pride, of sorrow, of profound loss, of anger, guilt and burning injustice) about two very different stories critical to the definition of Australian nationhood. That both speeches are equally reprised two decades later by Keating’s legion of ideological foes … and his allies alike, speaks profoundly of the emotional insights he drew upon.

This speech speaks to everyone. The words are simple, the sentiments clear. The man died in  a ‘mad, brutal, awful struggle’, and  ‘his tomb is a reminder of what we have lost in war and what we have gained’.  You can listen to it here, or read the transcript below.

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We do not know this Australian’s name and we never will. We do not know his rank or his battalion. We do not know where he was born, nor precisely how and when he died. We do not know where in Australia he had made his home or when he left it for the battlefields of Europe. We do not know his age or his circumstances – whether he was from the city or the bush; what occupation he left to become a soldier; what religion, if he had a religion; if he was married or single. We do not know who loved him or whom he loved. If he had children we do not know who they are. His family is lost to us as he was lost to them. We will never know who this Australian was.

Yet he has always been among those whom we have honoured. We know that he was one of the 45,000 Australians who died on the Western Front. One of the 416,000 Australians who volunteered for service in the First World War. One of the 324,000 Australians who served overseas in that war and one of the 60,000 Australians who died on foreign soil. One of the 100,000 Australians who have died in wars this century.

He is all of them. And he is one of us.

This Australia and the Australia he knew are like foreign countries. The tide of events since he died has been so dramatic, so vast and all-consuming, a world has been created beyond the reach of his imagination.

He may have been one of those who believed that the Great War would be an adventure too grand to miss. He may have felt that he would never live down the shame of not going. But the chances are he went for no other reason than that he believed it was his duty – the duty he owed his country and his King.

Because the Great War was a mad, brutal, awful struggle, distinguished more often than not by military and political incompetence; because the waste of human life was so terrible that some said victory was scarcely discernible from defeat; and because the war which was supposed to end all wars in fact sowed the seeds of a second, even more terrible, war – we might think this Unknown Soldier died in vain.

But, in honouring our war dead, as we always have and as we do today, we declare that this is not true.

For out of the war came a lesson which transcended the horror and tragedy and the inexcusable folly.

It was a lesson about ordinary people – and the lesson was that they were not ordinary.

On all sides they were the heroes of that war; not the generals and the politicians but the soldiers and sailors and nurses – those who taught us to endure hardship, to show courage, to be bold as well as resilient, to believe in ourselves, to stick together.

The Unknown Australian Soldier we inter today was one of those who by his deeds proved that real nobility and grandeur belong not to empires and nations but to the people on whom they, in the last resort, always depend.

That is surely at the heart of the ANZAC story, the Australian legend which emerged from the war. It is a legend not of sweeping military victories so much as triumphs against the odds, of courage and ingenuity in adversity. It is a legend of free and independent spirits whose discipline derived less from military formalities and customs than from the bonds of mateship and the demands of necessity.

It is a democratic tradition, the tradition in which Australians have gone to war ever since.

This Unknown Australian is not interred here to glorify war over peace; or to assert a soldier’s character above a civilian’s; or one race or one nation or one religion above another; or men above women; or the war in which he fought and died above any other war; or of one generation above any that has or will come later.

The Unknown Soldier honours the memory of all those men and women who laid down their lives for Australia.

His tomb is a reminder of what we have lost in war and what we have gained.

We have lost more than 100,000 lives, and with them all their love of this country and all their hope and energy.

We have gained a legend: a story of bravery and sacrifice and, with it, a deeper faith in ourselves and our democracy, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be Australian.

It is not too much to hope, therefore, that this Unknown Australian Soldier might continue to serve his country – he might enshrine a nation’s love of peace and remind us that in the sacrifice of the men and women whose names are recorded here there is faith enough for all of us.

The Hon. P.J. Keating MP
Prime Minister of Australia

5 fear busters for speaking in public

I have to admit that until I read the article below, in HuffPo, I had never heard of Nikki Stone.  So in case you haven’t either, she is   America’s first-ever Olympic champion in the sport of – wait for it,  aerial skiing, holding a mere 35 World Cup medals, and 11 World Cup titles. What’s more, she got there by overcoming a chronic spinal injury prevented. Now in ‘aerial retirement’ she trains Olympic athletes and business professionals in speaking/media skills.  I think she knows what she’s talking about, so I am sharing the entire thing, which is an excellent, practical approach to boosting your confidence.  You can read the original here.

If you break out in a cold sweat or even feel butterflies when you think about standing in front of others for a presentation or interview, you are not alone. Fear of public speaking is estimated to affect 75 percent of adults. Rethinking the way we perceive stress may actually improve our physical and mental performance. It may be easier to give in to our fears, but you will accomplish much more in life and feel a greater sense of pride for facing them.

For some people, with just a little effort they have the ability to conquer these fears. For others, it takes a lot more work and some tips or tools for masking these mental pressures. I understand the need for these tools all too well because I myself was an honorary member of the latter set of individuals and worked tremendously hard to make it look like I’m a member of the former.

In the past 19 years as a speaker, I’ve found that there are five tools I’ve used to demonstrate the strongest level of confidence when I’m on the stage. Regardless of whether I’m in front of a few business clients or thousands of audience members, these five tips have helped me communicate presentations that I can always be proud of.

1. Get the audience laughing.
In my experience, I’ve found that opening with a joke always starts a speech off in the right direction. It immediately lightens the mood in the room and helps me relax. There is something about looking out in the audience and seeing smiling faces that helps create a bond — particularly if I can get the audience to join me in laughing at myself. Laugh at yourself is incredibly self-deprecating, and if you get others to join you in that laughter, then it creates a level of trust. The laughter allows your attendees to break down the wall that forces them to see themselves as vastly different from you.

2. Focus on people who are nodding.
When you feel like you aren’t connecting with your attendees it can be extremely nerve wracking. And your nerves can be taken to a whole other level if there are people who appear completely disinterested. You can often look out in the audience and find a few people who are nodding along with your story or points. There is a real sense of reassurance when someone is agreeing with you. And the more you focus on these individuals, the more confident you sound. And the more confident you sound, the more people you attract. Part way through your talk, you could likely find a room full of people nodding along with you or sitting on the edge of their seats hanging on your every word. All of a sudden, the nerves are gone.

3. Be expressive with your emotions.
When I first started speaking, I can admit that I was nervous. I watched videos of my speeches and realized that I sounded AND looked nervous. There are times that no matter what you tell yourself to calm your concerns, it just doesn’t work. Anxieties aren’t always the easiest thing to quell. I realized that I was just more prone to tensions when I kicked off my presentations. I often couldn’t stop the tensions, but I found that I could hide them. Playing up my emotions by really getting into the excitement of my story or working to honestly feel the disappointment I had experienced, I was able to mask the jitters. It’s much easier to hide one emotion with another than it is to hide an emotion by suppressing it.

4. Practice, practice, practice.
There are many people that believe that speaking is something you are good at or not. I have learned through personal experience that speaking is something you can build up — but, you have to be willing to put in the time. When I started speaking I realized I needed to work on my skills so I went to 100 different Rotary clubs around the Los Angeles area and offered to speak for free if I could place a video camera in the back of the room. After each engagement, I’d review the videos to see what I could improve. Just as in school, sports and business, the more I practiced, the more confident I was and the better I’d perform. As an aerial skier, I would do my jumps hundreds — if not thousands — of times before I would perform a maneuver in competition. I realized that speaking should be no different. With more and more practice delivering speeches, I could visibly see my performances improving. And you can’t help but gain self-esteem with the more experience you have.

5. Be prepared if you make a mistake.
One of the most important lessons I learned as a speaker actually came from late-night TV. I saw an interview with Johnny Carson and he confessed to preparing a joke that he’d keep on hand if and when he made a blunder. No matter how professional someone is and how long they have spoken, everyone makes mistakes. And the mistakes actually make people appear more human and come across as more relatable. But, when we become uncomfortable with slip-ups and gaffes, then our audience becomes more uncomfortable as well. As I shared in my first tip, laughing at ourselves can put everyone at ease. So try preparing a comment like, “I guess those swan dives off our family loft as a child did have its repercussions.” It helps you suppress some of your speaking fears when you know you have one or two “get out of jail free” cards on hand.

So no matter if speaking is your number one fear or you just want to come across with more confidence, the cold sweats and internal butterflies will soon be a thing of the past.

Motivational Tips and Tools:
As an Olympian, best-seller, inspirational speaker and Biggest Loser motivational expert, I’m often asked for tips, tools, quotes and activities to help people reach their goals. I like to end all of my blogs with short tools that are driven from actual advice I’ve shared.

This week’s tip:

Confidence comes from within and no one can create it for you. You won’t build confidence if you don’t take action. Know that making yourself uncomfortable a couple times will help you feel more comfortable in the same situation forever after. The people who actually look the most awkward are the ones who are afraid to try.

Related articles

• Six Myths about Speaking Anxiety (womensvoicesworldwideblog.wordpress.com)
• Presentations: Dos and Don’ts (reed.co.uk)
• 5 Secrets to Looking Confident While Speaking in Public (freshwaddabrooks.com)

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Situation

Words Like Loaded Pistols by Sam Leith, is an entertaining exploration of how people have taught, practiced and thought about rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama.

Before you let the title of this post put you off, let me explain what it’s doing  here. Lately I have been part of a  discussion about whether we should use Aristotelian concepts and terminology  as a tool for speech study.

Aristotle’s  ‘Rhetorical Triangle‘ (ethos pathos logos)  is  well known to many students. I think it’s great. The triad is  memorable, elegant, and usable.   I update it  to “The Three C’s”: credibility, connection, and content, and for me,  these have proven to be a  robust framework,   a clear and stable set of  principles for people  who are studying speeches, or learning to write and present speeches of their own.

One argument for caution with the Greek terms is that  – like a  2000 year game of chinese whispers,  time  has corrupted their original meaning.   I cannot read Greek, (thanks to the NSW schools system) so can’t judge this for myself, but one translation of  Aristotle’s On Rhetoric puts the basic idea this way:

Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself.

I think we are still doing as Aristotle suggested, but maybe some  nuances are lost, and it’s possible the concepts  have been simplified to the point of inaccuracy.

So how do we check out what Aristotle intended, and decide  how to use it these days?

I’m copying you an article originally published here  by  The Writing Lab at  Purdue University, (which, if you don’t know it, is a fantastic source  of language and writing  resources). Not only does it clarify  the meaning of  Aristotle’s  terms, it explains how they interlock to  make  a framework which supports any writer or speaker in any  ‘rhetorical situation’.

Importantly, as well as the three main ‘…thos’ prongs,  it emphasises the ancient greek attention to the purpose of  communication,  the setting, and  the attitude by which  a message is delivered.  Of course these are all crucial  for getting anything across to anyone.

And that’s the key. We should not focus only on the three  points  of Aristotle’s triangle, but   teach people to attend to  all six dimensions: credibility, content, connection, purpose,  setting, and attitude.

I’ll have to get back to you with a handy  way of remembering them, but meantime, here’s  an edited  version of what Purdue University’s Writing Lab has to say.

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Rhetorical Concepts

Many people have heard of the rhetorical concepts of logos, ethos, and pathos even if they do not necessarily know what they fully mean. These three terms, along with kairos and telos, were used by Aristotle to help explain how rhetoric functions.

In ancient Greece, these terms corresponded with basic components that all rhetorical situations have.

Logos

Logos is frequently translated as some variation of “logic or reasoning,” but it originally referred to the actual content of a speech and how it was organized. Today, many people may discuss the logos qualities of a text to refer to how strong the logic or reasoning of the text is. But logos more closely refers to the structure and content of the text itself. In this resource, logos means “text.”

Ethos

Ethos is frequently translated as some variation of “credibility or trustworthiness,” but it originally referred to the elements of a speech that reflected on the particular character of the speaker or the speech’s author. Today, many people may discuss ethos qualities of a text to refer to how well authors portray themselves. But ethos more closely refers to an author’s perspective more generally. In this resource, ethos means “author.”

Pathos

Pathos is frequently translated as some variation of “emotional appeal,” but it originally referred to the elements of a speech that appealed to any of an audience’s sensibilities. Today, many people may discuss the pathos qualities of a text to refer to how well an author appeals to an audience’s emotions. Pathos as “emotion” is often contrasted with logos as “reason.” But this is a limited understanding of both pathos and logos; pathos more closely refers to an audience’s perspective more generally. In this resource, pathos means “audience.”

Telos

Telos is a term Aristotle used to explain the particular purpose or attitude of a speech. Not many people use this term today in reference to rhetorical situations; nonetheless, it is instructive to know that early rhetorical thinkers like Aristotle actually placed much emphasis on speakers having a clear telos. But audiences can also have purposes of their own that differ from a speaker’s purpose. In this resource, telos means “purpose.”

Kairos

Kairos is a term that refers to the elements of a speech that acknowledge and draw support from the particular setting, time, and place that a speech occurs. Though not as commonly known as logos, ethos, and pathos, the term kairos has been receiving wider renewed attention among teachers of composition since the mid-1980s. Although kairos may be well known among writing instructors, the term “setting” more succinctly and clearly identifies this concept for contemporary readers. In this resource, kairos means “setting.”

Purpose

Authors and audiences both have a wide range of purposes for communicating. An author’s purpose could be to instruct, persuade, inform, entertain, educate, startle, excite, sadden, enlighten, punish, console, or many, many others. LIkewise  audiences may seek to be instructed, persuaded, informed, entertained, educated, startled, excited, saddened, enlightened, punished, consoled, or many, many others.  Multiple purposes can co-exist on both sides of the experience.

Attitude

Attitude is related to purpose and affects how a rhetorical situation unfolds. Consider if an author communicates with a flippant attitude as opposed to a serious attitude, or with drama as opposed to comedy, or calmly as opposed to excitedly. Depending on authors’ purposes, audiences’ specific qualities, the  context, and other factors, any of these attitudes could either help or hinder efforts to communicate.

Setting

Lastly, all rhetorical situations occur in specific settings, or contexts or environments. The  setting include  time, place,  and the community or conversation in which authors and/or audiences engage.

Time: It is fairly common knowledge that  people communicate differently depending on the time in which they live. They have different assumptions about the world and how to communicate based on the era in which they live.

Place:  Specific places affect the nature of the communication. At a rally, the place may be a hall or the steps of a national monument. In a  conference, lecture  or court case, the place is a  formal room. In other rhetorical situations, the place may be in print, in the pages of a publication. The place  shapes  the way communication takes place.

“Community” or “conversation” refers to  social interactions among authors and audiences.   Consider Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech. The immediate community and conversation was the  Civil Rights Movement. But the enduring nature of Dr. King’s speech has broadened the setting to include many countries and many people who have since read or listened to it. Dr. King’s speech is an example of a rhetorical situation that is much bigger than its initial text and audience. Not many rhetorical situations are as far reaching in scope as Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Contributors: Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee Last Edited: 2012-04-27 10:29:16

Related articles

• Backpacks vs. Briefcases and Why Aristotle was Ahead of His Time (seetheworldintheireyes.wordpress.com)

• Three secrets of speaking success

How to read aloud in public

Reading aloud in public  is a distinct skill.   It’s part of most religious ceremonies,  can be needed  in court, or in an educational setting – in class or Assembly. We have all seen it being done badly.  Someone muttering inaudibly behind a lecturn is not doing any good for anyone – especially  their audience.  So how to do it right?

First let’s dispel the idea that the existence of  a script means  most of the work is done.  It isn’t.  If you have to  read aloud in public you should prepare and rehearse  exactly as you would for a speech you wrote yourself.

All the normal rules for  public  speaking apply:  you need to connect to your audience,  speak clearly and audibly, be interesting to listen to and speak well enough for your audience to understand and assimilate what you are saying.

The most common error is that the speaker talks to the  page, not to the  people listening.  We don’t see the reader’s eyes and their voice is flat and monotonous.  Zzzzz, we are gone.

To read aloud properly, you should look at the page briefly and scan ahead, then raise your eyes and look at the audience as you speak the words you just saw.  The idea is that you’re telling the audience something, not proving that you can read.

Eye contact matters.  Sweep through  different parts of the audience.  Look front, rear and at each side during the course of your  reading – note down directions in the script to remind yourself to do this.

Make the most of the difference between reading and speaking:  animate your voice and use variety in expression and tone, pitch and volume to bring your reading to life.  A  person reading silently to themselves cannot do this.

Take time to prepare what you have to read.  Underline the keywords. Notice where you can vary the pace or the volume,  and mark it in.  Are there important words to emphasise?  How will you do this – make them stronger? softer? slower? faster?  Note that down. Where will you breathe?   A well written script  makes that easy for you, but you should know where the breaks in the phrases and the sentences are.  Refill  your lungs to speak confidently to the end of each section. Especially plan  where you  will pause. This creates dramatic effect,  and lets the words sink in.

If you’re reading  a  text that your listeners  are following  it’s one of the few occasions when the audience  will  know  when you make a mistake.  So go through it a few times in advance and get your voice, lips,  teeth  and tongue used to what they have to do.  Rehearse aloud so you are accustomed to  pronouncing everything correctly. Check any unusual words in advance.

A lectern can be a protective barrier for a speaker, making them feel secure and safe.  It’s also good  for holding your notes, your water and your glasses. It  adds dignity to a formal or religious occasion, so can be a great prop.  But, like a suit jacket, it won’t look good if it doesn’t fit right.   Don’t let  the  furniture compromise your  work.  Most lecturns  have a pre-set microphone on them.  If you are tall or short  it  won’t be  at the right height – so adjust it.  Never droop down or crane your neck  – it looks  awkward.  If you are  really  short you may be invisible behind a big structure like a pulpit.    Plan in advance and make sure there’s a stool or a stack of telephone books handy for you to stand on. Climb up gracefully!

I work a lot with young people, and am sorry that reading aloud in class is now regarded as old-fashioned. Kids who have experience at reading  and speaking  take  an important first step in gaining confidence in oral expression.  Using another’s words relieves them  of  the need to create their own, instead they can concentrate  just on presenting.  Reading aloud  gives you a feel for the spoken word. You become used to more formal grammar and vocabulary, and get a chance to practice  vocal pace, dramatic pause, and all the dynamic variations we use to make ourselves interesting to listen to.

Try it. Pick up a newspaper, magazine or novel –   find someone to read a bit of it to. You’ll see instantly what the challenges are, and also the rewards. And when you next have to take the podium you will be better prepared.

More on this subject here.

What to wear for speaking engagements

What to wear???? It’s nearly every presenter’s agony moment. Dressing well for the occasion is part of your presentation. The way the audience responds to what you say will be influenced by how you look.

Clothing builds rapport. It also impresses people. What you wear expresses  who you are. It provides clues to your character and in this way it sends signals to the audience about whether or not they’ll enjoy listening to you. That’s important because it’s the beginning of  a  connection, and you need that for your presentation to work well.

When you choose your wardrobe watch for  three things.

1. you need to feel comfortable,
2. your appearance should enhance your presentation.
3. you must look right for the event.

Think about  the occasion and the audience.  Who are they? What will they consider to be professional and suitable?  What time of day is it? Where is being held? What role do you occupy?  Who is watching you and how will they be dressed?

Coco Chanel is famous for saying  ‘before you go out, look in the mirror and take something off’.  (I’m guessing she meant accessories!) It’s  useful advice, as simplicity is certainly best for public speaking.

As a presenter, you are being ‘read’ from a distance. A  good rule is to keep it sleek and uncluttered. It’s the outline that matters. For women, jewellery, high heels, long glossy hair,  scarves and fancy garments may may look  glam,  but they can  seem  busy or  get lost  entirely  when you are standing on a stage. And don’t expose too much flesh except if you are in evening dress.

Think like an architect. A simple, strong silhouette  always looks best. What is your structure? How can it be  worked  to best effect?  If you are tall and rangy you might  look elegant in pretty well anything. For the rest of us? Tailored garments work for most people, whatever their figure. You can’t look bad in a suit, provided it fits you properly. The short presenter and the well-padded one especially need to think about  creating a clear clean outline.

Plain colours and monochrome tones are better than patterns, and women’s  jackets  and straight skirts usually work.  Be wary of pastels, they can bleach you out and look wishy washy unless you have dark skin.  Women should avoid soft fabrics, frills and flounces, and loose cut styles. Men – make sure your suit fits your frame and is not too big in the shoulders or long in the arms.

Think ‘neat’.  You don’t want to be distracted by ties undone and shirts untucked, or having to wipe your hair out of your eyes. Your shoes matter, especially if you are up on a stage above your audience – ensure they are clean!

Long hair should be tidy – wear it up if  possible.  If the occasion means you must wear a hat, choose one that allows the audience still to see your face.

Keep your face  visible.  The eyes are the main thing, the audience really needs to see them. Glasses, earrings, a fringe, hairbands…they detract from  your face, so simplify  as much  as you can. Remember you may be lit  from  above and that casts shadows.

If you need reading glasses for your notes you should decide whether they are on or off for the whole speech – best not to move them about  while your speech is in progress.

In general, being just a bit better dressed than the audience works well. If they are ‘smart casual’ you’ll be OK in a suit. If they are in jeans and T shirts, you can wear ‘smart casual’. The exception of course is if you decide that dressing exactly like your audience is the way to build rapport. But always make sure you feel comfortable.

There’s excellent advice and a downloadable checklist from The Eloquent Woman here.

Lost your voice? Here’s how to find it.

I am getting over a bout of laryngitis.  Complete laryngitis. I had no voice at all for four days, and after ten days it’s still a bit dodgy.  If you speak for a living, as I do, this is very disabling.  Silently panicking about whether I should cancel my  commitments I put some time into speaking to experts (well – emailing them)  and researching the best way of getting it to come back.

Colds, coughs and laryngitis are common at this time of year.  If you rely heavily on your voice— teaching, talking to clients, singing—even a few days of hoarseness is a professional problem.

The main message from experts is to just KEEP QUIET.  Rest those vocal folds and give the inflammation time to go away.

Go easy the minute you feel the scratchies coming on. Pushing through with talking or singing can make it worse, and it will take much longer to go away. Resist the urge to whisper.  Just shut up.

After that, keep your throat moist. Hydration hydration hydration – there is nothing better. Drink a big tall glass of H2O every hour.  It takes a couple of days to really kick in, and yes – you will pee a lot more then usual, but  keep it up.

Submit yourself to the wonders of steam.  It relaxes inflamed vocal folds and soothes and loosens everything up. You need a cup of boiling water and a towel over your head. Do it often.  No need to menthylate or add anything to the brew – it only dries you out.

Gargle with soluble aspirin in very warm water, and alternate doses with ibruprofen to reduce inflammation. Check with your own doctor, but this  regimen was suggested to me by one.  In the four hours between doses, keep sipping and gargling with hot water with a squeeze of lemon in it.

Honey turns out to be one of those Grandma cures that really does help.  A big gloopy spoonful brings silky smooth  comfort.

A cough suppressant works to reduce the aggravation caused by explosive coughing and clearing your throat.  You can also have a hot whisky toddy before bed,  for a good night’s sleep.  Hot water, whisky, lemon and honey.

Think twice about taking pseudoephedrine (or similar). It dehydrates all mucous membranes and will  make things worse.  The vocal folds need to be soft and pliable to vibrate, not dried out and stiff. It may be a tough call:  clear your nose and lose your voice, or retain some voice and also a runny nose. The choice is yours.

Your voice is susceptible to changes in atmosphere. Keep your throat warm with a scarf, and counteract the drying effects of air conditioning and heating by wearing a rollneck sweater and pulling it up over your nose, Lone Ranger style. Your recycled breath will be moister than the surrounding air. This is a really handy trick if you have to make a plane trip and you want to bypass the dehydrating effects of the cabin air con.  (You can put a hoodie on backwards and pull it over your face if that’s more your style.)

Stay away from the pub, the club or the football. Anywhere that is crowded and noisy will tempt you to speak up or yell  – don’t.

When your voice returns treat it gently.  Warm it up before you get to work.  A low volume ‘ng’ sound up and down through your range is an excellent way to start.  Practice vowel exercises that throw your voice forward into the mask of your face and off your throat (see some exercises here).  Don’t yell or shout or do anything that is going to cause tension. And be patient, it takes a while to go back to normal.

Related articles

• Why You Lose Your Voice With Laryngitis (everydayhealth.com)

Maybe the best leadership speech you’ll see

Staring down an outrageous scandal that’s been brewing for years, Australia’s Head of Army, Chief Lieutenant General David Morrison last night told members of the forces what’s expected of them, and that if it doesn’t suit them, they should “get out”. The hairs on your neck will rise.

Why is it so powerful? There are three reasons.

Leadership. Morrison is in charge. He owns the problem. This is about US, WE’VE got people doing US damage. Weak leaders reach for the ‘bad apple’ defence, or distance themselves from the wrongdoing. Not this one. He’s telling his forces that we all know what’s been happening and every one us is shamed by it. A military leader speaking against the men under his command is startling.

Clarity. He looks straight at us. It’s a minute before he blinks. He is uncompromising, the words and sentences are short, the language blunt.
“I will be ruthless in ridding the army of people who cannot live up to its values…
If you’re not up to it, find something else to do with your life. There is no place for you amongst this band of brothers and sisters.”

Conviction. Morrison is furious, as his tight jaw,  unflinching gaze, and  pressured inflection tell us. Nothing beats authenticity. This is intense, he means what he’s saying.

But there’s more to his genius.  Morrison says directly to  the infractors “If that does not suit you then get out”,  but in a way that allows the good ones to feel they’re with him, on side.

At the same time, he reminds those good people they don’t get away with this either: “Every one of us is responsible for the culture and reputation of our army…If you become aware… show moral courage and take a stand against it… The standard you walk past is the standard you accept”.

Finally, he  connects with what the Army is, what it stands for.  The modern, new, army that includes women who have “proven themselves worthy of the best traditions…. ”

By the time he  closes there’s no place left to hide. He’s talking to everyone, and if you’re not with him, you’re not Army.  “If we care about the legacy left to us… then it is up to US to make a difference. If you’re not up to it … there is no place for you…” .

Truly, an impressive speech.

Here is General Morrison discussing the issue on Lateline last night.

Related articles

• Army shamed by sex videos scandal (theage.com.au)
• Defence Force email scandal: three stood down, around 100 to be investigated (3aw.com.au)
• Show moral courage troops: General (news.theage.com.au)
• The unlikely hero (smh.com.au)

‘Know Thyself’ to be an authentic speaker

This blog has always emphasised the need for speakers to focus on the audience. There is  no point  presenting to anyone unless you’ve tailored it to their needs, interests, and approach to the issue. Countless examples of miscommunication occur every day in all sorts of settings because the person speaking and the person listening are not on the same wavelength.

People will pay attention for their reasons – not yours. That said however  it’s equally important to decide how you want to come across, from their point of view. Your style should suit the occasion but must also be a ‘true you’. You should be real. Authenticity is most important in convincing an audience to go along with you.

People have great bulls***t detectors so don’t bother with it.  Just be aware which of your natural attributes is going to work best in your situation. You may choose to be ‘authoritative’, or ‘appealing’, ‘intelligent’, ‘friendly’, ‘reliable’ – and so on. If you are the life of any party feel free to be amusing and ebullient. If you are thoughtful and introspective, by all means reveal this in what you say and how you speak. If you are everybody’s pal, popular and a team player, let that show.

Introvert/Extrovert – who cares?

It can be very helpful to understand where you sit on the introvert/extrovert scale, as it explains a lot about your preferred operating style, and the way others perceive you.

There is a lot written about this, and you can get a detailed analysis if you do a Myers-Briggs test.  More recently  Susan Cain’s best seller “Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World that Never Stops Talking”  and her hugely popular TED talk has opened this issue up for discussion.

Introverts tend to think before they speak, and  like  solitude. They feel energized when focusing deeply on a subject or activity. They have an active inner life, and are at their best when they tap into its riches. They need time to think, contemplate and deal with ‘stuff’ alone.  They think before they speak. If you own a two seater car and would  unscrew and remove the other  seat  if you could, you are an introvert.

Extroverts love social life, and are ‘up’ when  interacting with friends and strangers. They are assertive, go-getting, and able to seize the day. They’re great at thinking on their feet, and often are relatively comfortable with conflict. They tend to talk in order to think, and are at their best when engaged with the world and tapping into its energy.

Being insensitive to these differences causes a lot of unnecessary conflict,  tension and  miscommunication.

If you are an extravert dealing with introverts you may  be frustrated by their lack of feedback and wonder just how hard you have to tap dance to get a response. They might find you demanding, exhausting, overwhelming, with no ‘off’ switch.  Learn to give them time to process and think, and don’t expect it to be easy to talk things over. Respect their silences. Do not invade their space, and when they do speak up, pay attention.

If you are an introvert dealing with extroverts, you need to recognise their need for interaction, tolerate their need to verbalise, and help them to hear things from you. Ask them things, seek their opinion, talk issues over.

You might need some help to get to know yourself.  Here are two websites that make psychological tests available. They are fun, and  useful.  Spend some time with this: http://www.psychometrictest.org.uk/ or this: http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive

Public speaking for academics – 10 tips

Academics (and experts more widely) are often challenged as public speakers, finding it difficult to release themselves from  imparting information (like a dripfeed), and switching to consciously communicating, by which I mean engaging and interacting with an audience.

This post by Claire Shaw is reblogged from Guardian Professional, where Higher Ed experts on public speaking shared some  tips from vocabulary and technology to handling difficult questions – and  of course,  nerves.

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It’s not a sign of weakness to get nervous before speaking on stage, but what’s the best way to keep them under control?

1) Choose the vocabulary you use carefully. As Orwell argues, we shouldn’t use a phrase that is unusual, never use a longer word when a shorter one has the same meaning, never use a scientific phrase if an everyday example exists, and never include unnecessary words if the meaning of a shorter sentence remains the same. This also applies to writing too. If we are sure of our argument, why bury it in abstract terms? Clarity is vital, as even the most thorough research becomes meaningless if the results can’t be understood.

Avoid giving a presentation as if it is a verbal version of an academic paper . Use international English and cultural references that everyone can relate to.

The best presentations are clear, concise, reasonably jargon free and tell the story of your research. Some people are afraid that ‘easy to understand’ translates into ‘too simple’ and therefore not unique or worthy of them being invited to talk.

2) Nerves are fine, but work out a presentation strategy. Make an effort to locate four to six people at different strategic places in the audience: top-left, top-right, middle, etc, and move between them for the first few minutes, giving them lots of eye contact. It’s also useful to have your first few paragraphs really well rehearsed.

Holding on to the back of a chair or podium can work in opening minutes if your hands shake. Then as you warm up you let go and even move away, out closer to your audience. Nerves are what give you energy by getting the adrenalin flowing. Without them you will not do a good presentation.

Before you start to talk, pause, take a sip of water, look around the audience, smile and say thank you, then share a very short anecdotal story – these will buy you time to settle your nerves.

3) Move beyond using scripts. They can be useful in building confidence and developmental for the early scholar, but as that confidence grows so must the technique. If you do use a script, print it in a larger typeface, double spaced, making it easy for you to return your eye to the podium. Use wide margins to indicate slide changes and highlight points of emphasis so you can see them coming.

Gradually work towards using bullet points or cue cards as you work away from reading your paper. You need to be able to transition seemlessly. Nothing leaves you more flustered and your audience less impressed than not being able to find your place in the text that you’ve just spent three minutes meandering away from.

Don’t even try to read the copy you submitted to the proceedings. A good structure to follow is this: what is your unique and novel perspective/approach/findings? What experiences can you share? What are three take-home points?.

4) Decide whether an icebreaker is appropriate. Ice-breakers work for some and not for others. Unless you’re exceptionally charming, it’s important that any attention-grabbing anecdotes are relevant to the talk. Any offbeat attention-getters need to vary if there’s a chance of audience overlap.

5) Use visuals only if they add something. If you’re using PowerPoint, stand to the left of the slide to make sure you don’t obscure your points, and follow Weismann’s hockey stick principle, that audiences eyes scan the slide rather than read from left to right and top down.

Try to avoid using lots of words on text. Often the best presentations have mainly images/figures or diagrams on slides which the speaker can work the audience through. Think wisely about the images you display. Using photos of cute little pigs may work well in your country, but maybe not as well in Israel and the Muslim world.

Asking if you are being heard clearly instantly endears you to the audience and it’s something to ease you into speaking. You can also use the venue’s wifi, a hotspot from your iPhone, or a Bluetooth connection to remotely control the slide transitions on the iPad. This immediately frees you from the podium, which can give allow you to stand and move around with more comfort and confidence.

6) If you’re travelling, read up on the area. Swot up on geography, politics, culture, and basic facts. When you arrive, read the local press and watch some local TV. Ideally it’s also worth meeting up with the organisers and ask them questions and tips – this is really important if there’s a Q&A. It’s easy to get complacent coming from the UK, where everyone knows about your references, but how much do you know about theirs?

7) Improve by practicing. Make use of the free tutorials, websites and tips on communicating on the web, and do dry runs or warm-up gigs with students in class to practice. It’s also good to have an academic mentor who is willing to give you good and hard feedback when you need it. Peer mentoring can be helpful, but if there’s no provision for this at your institution you can always do it informally.

8) Deal with attacking questions by taking out the venom. It’s important to remember that when somebody ‘attacks’ the speaker or is nasty, the audience is automatically on the speaker’s side. Nobody likes to feel uncomfortable listening to a presentation and this is exactly what happens when the speaker is attacked. This is true whether the speaker has got something wrong or not.

Deal with difficult questions through humour, maintaining your cool, and sidelining (“come and talk to me after the presentation”), bouncing the question back to the questioner. It’s a bit naughty, but sometimes I’ll say, “that’s an excellent question. I wonder whether anyone else in the audience has a view on this?” .

For mischievous questioning, be straightforward and ask people to ‘bottom line’ their question. I think there is a responsibility to keep things on topic while not being afraid of new perspectives on material.

For off-topic questions, a one-sentence answer plus an offer to discuss afterwards is appropriate. Other useful phrases are: “that wasn’t the focus of this study but…”, “that’s a slightly different issue so”. For difficult questions, admit you don’t know the answer and explain why. Alternatively, make an educated guess. Always avoid being negative or defensive because then your ego seems to take over.

9) Take notes from other presenters. Think about what you liked and what could have been improved. (Jonathan Wilson). Play to your strengths, but remember being a great speaker has to be worked at and comes through more preparation and practice than people think. Aim to open people’s mind to something new. Think to yourself, why should my audience want to listen? Never underestimate the audience. This will ensure you are kept on your toes and put the work in to deliver the perfect presentation.

10) Don’t fear it, embrace it. If you’re not passionate about your presentation you have to question why you’re doing it in the first place. Don’t speak as though you wish you could be elsewhere, show some enthusiasm for your work. Even though enthusiasm may not be considered a prerequisite by all academics, adapting to the audience is as fundamental as engaging with them. Confidence is key. An unsure or timid presentation will not capture or engage an audience, and it certainly won’t motivate a tribe.

Related articles

• How You “Sound” Can Make or Break Your Event! (blogs.constantcontact.com)
• Speaking Science: How to reframe your speaker stress (eloquentwoman.blogspot.com)
• The Hook Technique of Powerpoint Presentations (universitywritinghelp.wordpress.com)

Using Listening Techniques to Improve Your Communication

To be an effective communicator, you have to be a good listener first. Take these key concepts on board:

• Attending: This means showing that you’re paying attention. You can do that by ensuring that your body language is open and that you’re facing your  audience, and by giving good eye contact. Also nod your head to show you’re listening, and provide minimal verbal cues such as uttering ‘uh, um’ at key points.

• Restating: If someone has said something particularly important, demonstrate your understanding by repeating it back – ‘So you’re saying you want me to finish this by Tuesday and give you a draft to take to the Executive meeting’

• Clarifying: If you’re not sure that you’ve understood something, ask for clarification – ‘So are you saying you want me to me to finish this by Tuesday and give you a draft to take to the Executive meeting ?’

• Summarising: When you’ve dealt with a lot of information, you can draw together the main threads to show that you’ve got the full story – ‘So we can’t manage the timeline we’d planned on and you’re worried about getting finished on time, so you want me to call the boss and see if we can renegotiate the delivery date.’

• Encouraging: To demonstrate that you want to listen and you want to hear more, use minimal encouragers to keep conversation flowing. For example, say something like ‘And then what happens?’ or ‘In what way?’ or simply ‘Go on.’

• Being quiet: Make sure that you don’t do all the talking. Give plenty of space for other to speak, and allow quiet times so others think about what they want to say next. Extraverts – while this is happening, make sure that you don’t get distracted and start trying to fill the silence up, but continue to attend physically. Introverts – remember to verbalise your views fully.

This is adapted from a Dummmies’ Guide  cheat sheet, and is  an excellent reminder that listening to others is just as important as presenting to them.Related articles

• Active Listening – A Skill That Everyone Should Master (lifehack.org)
• Are you listening? (synapticchange.wordpress.com)
• Active Listening Can Improve Communication In The Parent Child Relationship (momsopinions.wordpress.com)

Sort yourself out: five keys to resolving conflict

What do you do when somebody bugs you?  It’s common enough to feel hurt or put-off by something  someone said. It’s far less common to know how to  come back  from that, in a constructive way. Sorting out  difficult issues is one of  the most challenging of all communications. Not all of us have the skills to do  it, so instead  we avoid the other person, or complain about them, or  pick a fight with them.

The problem is,  this  doesn’t reduce tension, if anything, it escalates it. Issues become bigger, resentment grows, people become hurt, disengaged, angry or  feel powerless to solve their problems.

A reluctance to deal with conflict  constructively  is hugely detrimental to business. Good ideas remain unspoken, people create silos, and leaders don’t get the information they need because everyone is afraid to bring up potentially contentious issues.

Mishandling conflict also wreaks havoc on relationships. Have you ever been around someone who was frustrated or angry, but doesn’t want to talk about it? They ooze resentment.  If they are loud and ‘complainey’ they aren’t very nice to be near either.

In People Skills, a classic text ,  Robert Bolton describes  twelve  common communication barriers. These “roadblocks” include making assumptions about people,  diagnosing, judging and labelling, and finding solutions for them. They  mostly occur because people underestimate the importance of listening.  Bolton  explains how acquiring the ability to listen, assert yourself,  and work out problems with others by using the correct words,  will help you build rapport,  maintain self-esteem and  be able to repair  relationships.

One  of  Bolton’s most important messages is that to defuse a tense situation,  both sides need to have have been heard.  If you imagine two people each have a bucket  and one empties theirs over the other, the person whose bucket is empty feels great, but it’s pretty awful for the person who’s covered in muck.

If you handle a confrontation well, no-one should  be covered in  muck. You can only sort out a misunderstanding  or resolve a disagreement   if  you’re both willing to  hear what the other person has to say.

So here’s how to make it work:

1. LISTEN.  There is often a dislocation between what you said  and what they heard. Set aside your assumptions. Hear the other person out and let them know you’ve done so, before you step in with questions or start defending yourself. Listen for more than facts. Try to determine what the other person is feeling by paying attention to his/her non-verbal messages. Check it out with the other person: “What is really going on here?” “You sound angry. Is it because of something I said?” Repeat back to the person what you think he/she said. Verifying what you meant will prevent misunderstandings and will ensure that you are both clear about the issues.

2. COMMUNICATE assertively. This means stating your wants and needs in a respectful and honest manner, while recognizing that the other person also has legitimate wants and needs too.  Use “I” messages, assuming responsibility for how you feel,  not  blaming or accusing. It is never alright  to say “you always do …”  or  “you make me feel …”,  not if  you genuinely want  to sort the disagreement out.

3. TOLERANCE and respect. Try to wear  the other person’s shoes. Consider his/her viewpoint. Ask yourself: “What does she want?” “What might he be afraid of?” Adopt the position that people aren’t purposefully trying to be mean, hurtful, difficult, etc. Their behavior reflects their way of protecting themselves from getting hurt, feeling anxious, etc. They may not know how to communicate effectively to resolve conflict.

4. FOCUS on the issue. Describe specific behaviour that is creating problems. Do it impartially, don’t label, judge or evaluate people, and don’t focus on personality characteristics or  bring in unrelated matters that will increase the conflict. If you find things  getting worse, agree to come back and discuss the problem at a later time – when you both have had a chance to calm down and get focused.

5. EXPECT  THE POSITIVE. An attitude of “He’s so unreasonable. We won’t be able to settle anything.” is  self-fulfilling. Thinking in this way will almost guarantee that you act and communicate in a way that the conflict won’t be resolved satisfactorily. Instead, tell yourself “We can work this out. We are both rational, mature people.” “She’s not trying to make my life difficult. We can work this out if we really listen to each other.”

Thats a lot to take on board, but the book  itself  gives you detailed scripts  and cues you can use.

How to start?  I suggest you “Ban the BUT”.   Try getting through a  whole day at work saying ‘AND’ instead.  “I appreciate what you’re saying and ….. ” or “I understand what you’re saying and ….. or “That’s a good point and …..”  Rather than negating what the other person said (as the word “but”  does), by using the  “and” you  link to what they have said in order to express your point of view.  You have to really listen to the other person before you can make  your  point. It’s  an effective way to express an opinion without creating resistance or conflict. Try it, it works.

By being more aware of the words that you use, you  can build rapport with the other person, acknowledging their point of view and creating an environment of mutual respect.

Much  of the above is adapted from this pamphlet:Resolving Conflict.

Related articles

• 7 Strategies for Conflict Resolution (projecteve.com)
• Conflict (jsaat.wordpress.com)
• Conflict…Internal versus External…Fight! (neilsehmbhy.wordpress.com)

The rhetorical triangle updated

About 2300 years ago, Aristotle wrote down the secrets to being a powerful speaker. Aristotle said the  three keys are ethos, pathos, and logos. We know these now as ‘the rhetorical triangle’ or the ‘three pillars’ of public speaking.

It was a robust  formula, and  still  today these three are  the foundation skills that pop up in any speaking  or sales trining program.

Let’s think of them as “the three c’s”: Credibility, Connection, Content.

• Ethos is the credibility (or character) of the speaker. You are plausible because of who you are, your position, background, or what you know.
• Pathos is the emotional connection to the audience. Another term for it is rapport. With their emotions engaged people are motivated to follow or agree with you.
• Logos is the logical argument – or content.

One of the issues you need to manage is which of the ‘three Cs’ is best for the job at hand. This varies depending on the occasion and the relationship you have with your audience.

If for example, you are an expert on something, when you speak on that subject you are basing your presentation on ethos. (note however that the presentation itself may be laden with logos – facts and information logically presented). Perhaps you belong to a certain group and by speaking in public you help raise money for this group. That’s ethos. When you tell your kids “Because I say so!” that’s ethos.

Motivational speakers, politicians and sales people depend heavily on pathos. When you leave a presentation feeling inspired, galvanised, changed, ready to act or to buy something, your emotions have been engaged. It’s the key to all successful ‘sales’, whether you’re selling an idea, a product a policy or yourself.

Logos is going to dominate when the primary aim is to transfer information. Professional and business settings, teaching, lectures, conference papers and certain professional interchanges (pilot to cabin crew, surgeon to theatre nurse, client to broker, client to lawyer), require you to convey clear, well structured, logical information without much else.

Every day you are unconsciously shifting gear, changing from one mode to another and blending and adjusting these different approaches according to the situation. Different types of speeches have different types of content, but you will find that you need to have all three types mixed in there somewhere, if you are going to do well.

Looked at a different way, you need to consider whether you want your communication to be primarily informative, persuasive or entertaining. The ‘ingredients’ in the ‘recipe’ will change accordingly. It’s shown here as a venn diagram because in reality a blend of all three qualities is what you almost always need to use.

Inform, clarify

Informative communication reveals or clarifies something.  The aim is to convey the facts – not much more.  Purely informative speaking is quite rare.  If you give procedural instructions,  announce sports or election results, or read a list of names, that’s informative speaking.

In informative speaking it’s important that you are aware of what the audience knows already, and make that your starting point. Your job is to move them through to a new level of awareness by building on the information they already have.

The big danger is the dryness of the material. Facts facts facts ….. It’s easy to find yourself in Dullsville, and then people don’t listen. The challenge is to present your information in a way that is stimulating and engaging. For this you’ll need to include some elements from the other two realms. Numbers need to be given a context, the audience needs to be told what it means and why they should care.

Persuade, motivate

Persuasion means to convince, alter a belief, or get someone do something you want them to do.  Parents and managers speak persuasively almost all the time.  Requests, instructions and directions that get  people  doing what you want are the stuff of your life.  Persuasion is the magic ingredient in any case where you want your listeners to change their thinking and behaviour. To be persuasive you need to provide a compelling reason for people to follow you.  Emotional appeal and logic will be your tools.  You need:

• Facts – the truth of the situation (statistical evidence, costs, timing, data)
• Values  – reasons and a justification as to why this is the best or the right thing to do
• Policy – an idea of what action to take, which solution is best and how it can be justified.

There is a considerable body of research and literature about the art of persuasion.

Entertain, engage

By ‘entertain’ I don’t mean standup comedy. Entertainment in this context means ‘enjoyable’.  You need at least an element of entertainment in a speech to relax the audience, make them feel well disposed to you and  create rapport.

A memorable speaker can be the highlight of a special occasion. These occasions usually honour something or someone, or mark a change in someone’s life, an achievement, or the beginning or end of something.  These occasions emphasise the identities and values that unite the people present and make them part of one group.  The speech is a way of saying ‘there are things that we share’.

These speeches should delight an audience. Use your personality, your life experience and your sense of humour to make everybody in the room feel good. Be sure to use the language that your audience expects and understands. Avoid jargon and in-jokes except if all the members of your audience understand it. Use jokes but only kind ones never make fun of anyone.  Find the human-interest angle.  Tell a story whenever you can.

Related articles

• Three Pillars of Public Speaking 
• Tweak Your Speech: Rhetoric and Star Trek (tweakyourslides.wordpress.com)
• The Five Canons of Cicero (lovemanadeep.wordpress.com)

Speak now or forever hold your peace: five reasons to make a speech today.

Whatever kind of speaker you are, chances are from time to time you’re going to run out of occasions to speak.  School’s out, so high school debaters will rust up.  At Christmas your  calendar of meetings gets thinner. You’ve just had your annual  industry conference so there’s a twelve month breather till the next one.

In the quiet period, don’t let your skills dry up. Here are five reasons to find an excuse – any excuse – to speak in public. Today.

5. Practice

The single most useful thing for you to do as a speaker is stay in practice. Practice keeps your brain in gear and is an opportunity to practice everything you work on. No matter how confident you feel in your own skills, getting out of practice means you risk having to re-learn them.

4. Spontaneity

Speaking today will mean you don’t have a lot of time to prepare. That means what you say will have to be off the cuff and from the heart. There’s no way to get better at spontaneous speaking than speaking spontaneously. It’s not something you can do without doing, regularly. And whether you’re a competitive debater, or speaker facing the impromptu rounds, or a professional who may be called on to introduce a colleague or step in for a presentation, it’s worth feeling comfortable on the spot.

3. Current Affairs knowledge

Making a speech today means you’ll  read  the news or check in on twitter,  just to have something to say, and some  link to make your speech relevant. Knowing what’s happening in the world and  connecting it to what you want to talk about is a skill that all public speakers from all walks of life would do well to hone. You don’t need to be an expert, but just know the headlines. Click on Google News if it’s not already part of your daily routon

2. Getting over the fear

Any fear in public speaking is totally and completely natural. Fear of public speaking is very common, and can affect you even if you’re not somebody who gets stage fright. Many international-standard public speakers can find that by “getting cocky” and falling out of practice, they make their first return-to-stage feel much more daunting than it has to be. Routinely forcing yourself to face an audience means you don’t build them up in your head as a scary hurdle; instead, you face them regularly, and stay practiced at controlling your nerves. Plus, the more positive interactions you can have with an audience, the less likely you are to be afraid of one! It’s the same therapy cognitive therapists use to help people get over a fear of bugs, or heights, or planes. If you encounter the thing a lot of times, and each of those times, nothing goes wrong, you’re not so likely to be afraid!

1. Knowing your voice and your body

“Stage awkwardness” is something you’ll be surprised to encounter if you get rusty. Whereas routine practice keeps your voice and body well-oiled and comfortable on stage, not speaking means when you go back to it, you’ll feel lead-limbed and peculiar on stage. Your hands – which you know perfectly well how to control in daily conversation – will feel like unnatural weights and your voice will be unaccustomed to what you’re asking of it. Feeling like you don’t belong on stage is hard to shake and will make it difficult to get your message across.

What should I make a speech about?

Anything at all! Find an opportunity. Is there a meeting you can open? A lunchtime committee that needs organising? An occasion  that you can make an announcement at? Don’t feel shy about asking – it’s not about hogging the limelight, after all, you want to do the speaking well!

If those aren’t options for you, there’s no reason it has to be that serious: ask your parents or spouse or child to open a dictionary of proverbs and give you a phrase like “the black sheep” or “a stitch in time”, then just riff!

Think of it this way: practice never made anybody worse.

My thanks to EGS for this post.

Related articles

• Turn Up the Volume on Your Brand (personalbrandingblog.com)
• Performance Anxiety (psychologytoday.com)

How to write an ANZAC day speech

I love the Parliamentary Library. It is a goldmine of briefings, information, summaries and analysis of all sorts of public policy issues, freely available online. It is a quiet testament to the  power of  democracy, and  it’s the first of four public institutions that you will meet if you keep reading this post.

My reason for  mentioning this now, is that if you are  saying something official this Thursday, you should start by reading the information kit which the  APL has  compiled. It is balanced, neutral, comprehensive, readable, really interesting, and  gives you an excellent grounding. Look at it for the relevance of ANZAC ,  the (true) Gallipoli  story, discussion about the commemoration,  how the  Anzac story has evolved,  and statistics, links and extensive further reading.

Anzac Day is Australia’s national day of commemoration to remember those of our own who have fallen. Later in the year, on Remembrance Day, 11 November, we pause for a second time, sharing with other countries the tradition of observing a silence on the anniversary of the Great War’s armistice to remember the dead of all wars.

With this under your belt, click over to The Australian War Memorial, another  institution with a commitment to  accessible information. Here you will find: What is ANZAC Day? What does ANZAC stand for? Why is this day special to Australians?  You can  pick up the details of  the Dawn Service – in case you are running one, and get details of what goes into  a commemorative ceremony.

The third indispensable resource  is The Australian Army’s Anzac Day Materials page. Great shortcuts -actual scripts for speeches, which you can amend depending on who your audience is: the general public, ex-service people, school children etc.

Finally, this index to web resources from the Department of Veterans Affairs is a fantastic one-stop-shop for everything from Anzac poetry to Anzac biscuit recipes.

Delivering an ANZAC day speech requires you to reflect on  sad and sombre  matters. Life  and death, grief and mourning, tragedy and loss. These themes are inescapable.   It is common to  talk of  Gallipoli as a sacrifice, and the place where Australia and New Zealand  ‘came of age’,  no longer  just  ‘children’ of the Mother Country, Great Britain, but nations in their own right. More recently it has become customary to  acknowledge  our enemy, the Turks, and to honour and respect them too.

Your speech will work best if you can link it to the people you are speaking to, and make it fit with your setting.  What you say to a school assembly will differ from what you say at  Dawn Service at Gallipoli itself. Consider what ANZAC  represents in your own situation, and make some reference to  what it symbolises  and  means, and what you can learn from it.  Your commemoration needs to lead somewhere.

Here’s a link to three famous speakers  from the  recent  past. Watch their different approaches and see what you think.

And in closing, The Last Post.

Related articles

• They shall not grow old (Ken Inglis, The Age)
• Gallipoli: Second Front in the History Wars (Quadrant Online)
• ANZAC Day 2013: What is ANZAC Day? (cpitlibrary.wordpress.com)
• A hero soldier and a myth busted (oconnoroz.wordpress.com)
• Public urged to send support messages (bigpondnews.com)
• Gallipoli, a touchstone for two nations (SMH)