Lawyers and Judges and Bailiffs, oh my!

Nope, can't tell you any thing about the case but if you want to talk persuasive speakers - Lawyers are the best! The way that they can paint a picture of a situation and try to sway a jury. The way that they pick their sentences to ask the right questions. It's just amazing. I never had jury duty before, as a single parent, never had to serve. Luckily, I can now, and I mean luckily, it's so interesting!

First let's talk about the Judge. Besides the fact that he is very handsome, he had charisma to the hilt. He never talked down to anyone, he assumed that everyone in the room was intelligent, had common sense and would uphold the law, keep an open mind and deliberate respectfully. He was very nice and even made a few jokes along the way. He clearly explained the why, how, etc. of the responsibility of the jury. He also made sure that everyone understood that if you were not selected it meant only that this was not the correct case for you and it didn't mean that you were not a good person or could be a good juror in another case. Did I mention how handsome he was? ;-)

As I observed the two lawyers and their styles I noted differences in their manners, body language and speech. The first lawyer made his opening statement and he was self assured, calm, matter of fact and looked each and every juror in the eye. He had command of the jury. The second lawyer made his opening speech and he made it a point to give the power to the jury. He was softer spoken than the first and very relaxed in his demeanor, much like he was trying to be relaxed about the verdict - because he was sure it was going his way.

It will be very interesting to watch these professional speakers in action next week.

HUB 420 Human Communication

Well, we're well into the last week and the class is coming to a close. I had so much fun in this class blogging with classmates, bantering on the discussion boards and getting to know all of you in such a short amount of time!

Dr. D. I am amazed at all the work you have done working two classes at once and keeping on top of everyone's questions, blogs, Avatars, MySpace, Discussion board and faculty link! Kudos to you! You made this experience easy and fun. Thank you so much for your support.

I have made some great 'virtual' friends and hope to see you all in a future class again!

Thanks Dr. D and thanks to my classmates! Good luck to all of you in your educational and life endeavors.

Comm - Chapter 16

FEAR!
I have seen people literally sweating, getting flushed, pacing, trembling and even speechless, right before giving a speech or presentation. The fear of speaking in public is #2 after the fear of death. That says a lot about the trepidation of standing in front of your peers or strangers and delivering discourse.

There are various ways to quell your fears but the best way is to face it head on. However, let’s examine why you might fear speaking, according to the book there is:

• inadequacy or not feeling confident about your expertise in the subject matter
• the unknown – not knowing how the audience will relate or accept what you have to say
• Judgment: what will they think of me or my speech?

Whatever the fear you have prior to giving a speech, I find the only way to conquer this fear is to practice and make speeches over and over! It’s much like the first time you tried to ride a bike. You feared falling down, not being able to break in time or just running into things! After you rode your bike for a while, every day in the summer, you were a pro, riding hands-free, kicking your feet out to the side and barreling down those steep hills! Okay, so that last example was kind of silly and falling in the ice plant wasn’t pleasant but you weren’t afraid of that bike any more!

Even after giving so many presentations I still have a bit of trepidation before each presentation. However, once I get started I fall into a comfortable groove. After much practice and organization, you will find your groove as well.

Toastmasters

Okay, I admit that I could not attend a toastmasters meeting this week. However, I know someone, Dan, who is a competent communicator and a former officer of the San Diego chapter. He talked to me about how the meetings worked and the process of giving speeches and networking. It was very interesting! There are different levels of speakers and different types of speeches that you give in order to become more comfortable at speaking. You even do impromptu speaking, which is probably the most nerve wracking of all.

He did a five minute speech for me on the Battle of Thermopylae, 480 B.C. He was eloquent and interesting in his speech and pulled all of the history of pre-battle. He kept his gaze on my eyes and used appropriate hand gestures and body language. He was smooth in his speech, never stammered, said 'ah,' or paused unless it warranted a pause.

He is a very well spoken gentleman and I was pleased to be able to interview him and he was more than happy to comply with his speech!

Comm - Chapter 15

Designing and Organizing a Speech
I believe that I touched upon this a little in an earlier chapter. However, allow me to elaborate on the importance of structuring your speech.

Sally road her bike home from school. Mrs. Williams, Sally’s teacher, gave her a gold star for homework well done. Timmy and Johnny played tether ball during recess. The entire class stood to recite the pledge of allegiance. Sarah’s mom drove her to school and dropped her off.

The above paragraph, albeit very poorly written, doesn’t make sense does it? How about:

Sarah’s mom drove her to school and dropped her off. The entire class stood to recite the pledge of allegiance. Mrs. Williams, Sally’s teacher, gave her a gold star for homework well done. Timmy and Johnny played tether ball during recess. Sally road her bike home from school.

Although it’s still not very well written, at least it makes better sense. Your presentation should appear the same as the second story, in order chronologically and in order of content: Introduction, what you will be presenting, your presentation, your conclusion and summary.

I like to write very simple outlines for my presentations and then start elaborating until I have a complete speech written. Example:

• How to run an affective Meeting
• Venue
• Audio/Video equipment
• Selecting Participants
• Developing Agendas
• Opening the meeting
• Establishing ground rules
• Time management
• Evaluating your meeting
• Closing

From this outline I will start to write a little more on each topic, present a PPT with bullets add notes and prepare a paper to disseminate, if needed. Notice that the presentation also has a chronological timeline as well from beginning of the meeting to closing. Taking these steps to organize thoughts and presentations has provided me the opportunity to find gaps in my presentation.

Organization, structure and communication are all key to providing a good speech.

Comm - Chapter 14

Being an informed speaker
It is critical to conduct research on the topic you speak to. In order to effectively provide a speech that you present yourself as an expert, you should research and know any and all background information. Be prepared to answer questions and know your subject matter.

Although I have been with my company for about 11 years and run large cross-functional teams, I am not typically the expert, nor do I ever present myself to be. However, as the team lead, I present information to the sponsors and stakeholders of the project. I tend to do a lot of research, gather data, information and either bring expertise statements or subject matter experts along to field questions.

The research can be very difficult to gather at times. Sometimes the projects are so technical I find myself poring over information on the Internet, technical books and many interviews.

We also use benchmarking, industry journals, networking and utilize other company system’s information.

As the book states, it can be a tedious, long and arduous process to do the research but if validates your subject/speech matter.

All of the research information is documented, filed either electronically or traditionally. It is noted in the documents appropriately and all of the information is always readily accessible to others.

Presentation – visual aids
My most favorite part of the job is creating a pleasing, professional presentation. The conference venue is important, at times I have placed posters with vital information around the room and, if there is time, I like to create a presentation that’s fun, concise and informative. Remember, a PPT is a series of bullet points with no more that 5 to 8 words each. (and even that, in my opinion is excessive!)

There are some more points to remember, besides research, presentation and speech aids. Always expect the unexpected! I can’t tell you how many times there was technical difficulty and I went a la hardcopy! I am always prepared by having the presentation in hardcopy form, a USB drive to load up on a stationary computer (when my laptop won’t do), and I always copy everything into a folder on the laptop’s desktop. Most folks will tell you that I am well over prepared (on the verge of anal-retentive). However, I’m not delaying my meetings 15 to 20 minutes for techno reasons!

Comm - Chapter 13

The Speech & the Audience
Know your audience. Understand who you are approaching, interview some of the potential audience members, understand what they expect from your speech. Prepare your speech for your audience; you wouldn't share a presentation to the VP of Marketing with your daughter's first grade class!

Know and understand yourself
Think about your subject matter and research your own experiences. Perhaps you can make a personal analogy through your own life or experience. This makes the speech a bit more personal and pulls your audience closer to you.

Know your venue
Prepare your speech effectively by knowing where, when and how long you have to speak. Understand the gender, and education level. Also understand any other context information such as an outdoor venue, noise factor and location.

Understanding your venue, audience, yourself and your subject matter is vital to providing a good speech. Also, practice, practice and more practice!