Want to Become a Dynamic and Riveting Public Speaker? Then Watch this 11-second Clip of Someone Whose Public Speaking Skills are Matchless and Unrivalled!

Ted Cruz first entered my consciousness in late 2012, when he was elected a U.S. senator and almost immediately began grabbing the limelight in Washington D.C.  Ever since, I have been stupefied by his public speaking skills. There’s no question that he is one of the best public speakers in the land thanks to a combination of extraordinary articulation and superlative nonverbals, especially the way he uses his voice, hands, and torso. 

Note that I lavish the above praise on Sen. Cruz despite the gulf between his thinking and mine. I can bet that were he and I to meet over coffee at, say, a Starbucks, we wouldn’t even be able to agree on whether it is cloudy or sunny outside. 

Special comment regarding Cruz’s inspiring use of clenched hands in the clip below: As you enjoy the short video clip below, excerpted from his presidential campaign-launching speech at Liberty University last month, note that Cruz’s fists are vertical. Well, as I illustrated in a blog post last year, clenched hands in a horizontal position can be an equally effective gesture when you want to project leadership, determination, vigor, etc.

Good material for my seminars and one-on-one coaching on public speaking. 

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

 

How to Rebut & Disarm Your Critics and Detractors: Exemplary Disarming & Neutralizing by Gen. Michael Hayden in Wake of the “Torture Report”

Over the past few years, few top executives, be they in the private sector or in the government, have impressed me as much as has former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden. In fact, I recently “awarded” him my personal “medal of honor” by including him in the select few Americans named in the welcome paragraph on my website’s homepage as being among the most effective communicators in the land. 

As you can see in the two video clips below, Michael Hayden skillfully uses several communication tactics to disarm or at least reduce the vehemence of those who began denouncing the CIA soon after the release of the “torture report” last week--on Tuesday, December 9.  Specifically, by providing a rich and compelling perspective (within just half a minute in each video clip), Michael Hayden very adroitly reframes the issue and employs cognitive dissonance to put his critics on the defensive.

 

You can bet that these clips will be excellent source material for case study and exercises during (i) future renditions of my popular seminar on “How to Disarm and Neutralize your Critics and Detractors without being Offensive or Disrespectful” and (ii) my executive coaching sessions. [For a sampling of participant comments when this topic was presented to a standing-room-only audience of about 100 project managers at a recent PMI conference, click here and scroll toward the bottom of the Web page.]

© Copyright 2014  V. J. Singal
 

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Visual, Evocative Expression to Emphasize Something: Gov. Jerry Brown Analogizes Today’s California to the 1848 Gold Rush

I’m thrilled to share with you an extraordinarily brilliant analogy used by Gov. Jerry Brown to praise his beloved California during a BBC interview earlier this month (July 1). His metaphorical language, no doubt in reference to brainy Silicon Valley, was so striking, and so original, that my jaw dropped in wonderment; for several seconds after the interview was over, I sat motionless, staring at the TV screen in stupefaction. Here’s what he said and the context.

BBC interviewer: “He (Gov. Brown) supports gay marriage but has vetoed gun control. He is an environmentalist but supports fracking.  What kind of a Democrat are you?”

Brown: “I’m a thinking Democrat, and an independent. California itself is full of opportunities and, one might say, even contradictions. So, to govern that and to lead that takes a certain empathy for different points of view.

“This is the place of the original gold rush back in 1848, and it’s essentially never stopped!  Only now, instead of taking gold out of the ground, we are taking great ideas out of the minds of some of the most brilliant people in the world. That is California!”  

© Copyright 2014  V. J. Singal

One of the Most Articulate In the Land: David Darst of Morgan Stanley

If you are looking for someone to inspire you into becoming a superior communicator, then David Darst, Morgan Stanley’s chief investment strategist, is one such person. Unquestionably, he belongs to the pantheon of the most articulate Americans.

Click on the 3-minute video clip below (taken from a recent edition of “Consuelo Mack WealthTrack,” one of my favorite programs on television) and watch how, using a variety of verbal and nonverbal skills, Mr. Darst makes an impassioned and persuasive case regarding Wall Street--that we should not lose faith in the financial markets, notwithstanding the recent financial crisis. Not in at least the past three or four years have I come across anyone new whose communication style is so extraordinarily effective and gripping, particularly someone who can spontaneously come up with a stream of brilliant analogies to emphasize his point.

Not surprisingly, I’ve decided to give Mr. Darst the equivalent of my personal "medal of honor" by including him in the select few Americans named in the welcome paragraph on my website’s homepage as being “enormously successful communicators.”

P.S. I would urge you to watch the clip more than once: As I say at the beginning of this post, David Darst’s engaging style is bound to inspire you to further invigorate and expand your communication skills. To remind you of the Lee Iacocca quote on my home page, “The ability to communicate is everything.”  

© Copyright 2012  V. J. Singal

Injecting Humor: Conservative George Will’s Memorable Take on Republican Mitt Romney’s Varying Political Stance

Just in case you missed it, here is conservative columnist George Will’s brilliant characterization of Mitt Romney, uttered on “ABC This Week with Christiane Amanpour” two weeks ago (Oct. 16):

“Romney has shown a certain versatility of conviction over the years.”

As you might expect, everyone else seated around the table that morning immediately burst out laughing. You can bet that only someone of Will’s rare intellect can spontaneously conjure up such a compelling and humorously fresh expression.

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

Emphasizing Your Point in Three Sentences: Laudable Example From Neil deGrasse Tyson--Astrophysicist and Communicator Extraordinaire

In my presentations on “Conquering the Pervasive Disease of Rambling: How to Emphasize Your Point in Just Three Sentences” (a workshop that has been attended by several thousand people since its inception in the late ‘90s and which has become one of the three most popular topics in my repertoire), the collection of real-life examples in the handout comprises praiseworthy and highly instructive three-sentence utterances by articulate Americans in business, government, education, and law enforcement. The world of science has been conspicuously absent.

Then, last week, while watching “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” I came across an exemplary three-sentence statement by American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, arguable the most articulate of all the personages who grace “NOVA” and other science programs on television. And this was literally a case of “manna from heaven” because the reason for Mr. deGrasse Tyson’s appearance on that program was the coinciding of a total lunar eclipse with the winter solstice—the first time that has happened in nearly 400 years. Emphasizing why he will be focusing his attention later that night on the shade of red that the moon will take on at the zenith of the eclipse, Mr. deGrasse Tyson said:

“I will look forward to learning what is going on in our atmosphere from that signature of the reflected light on the moon. How much volcanic ash is still up there; what kind of pollutants are there; are there dust storms that kicked up just before the eclipse unfolded? So, there’s some information you can learn about earth’s atmosphere by monitoring the color of the eclipsed moon.”

The above promises to become one of the most prized real-life examples in future renditions of “Conquering the Pervasive Disease….” workshop because of the series of mini, evocative, and staccato questions that Mr. deGrasse Tyson packed into the crucial second sentence.

Susan Desmond-Hellmann: Communicator Extraordinaire and One of the Most Illustrious Female Execs in the Land

I first learned about Sue Desmond-Hellmann in early 2005, when she appeared on "Charlie Rose." At the time, she was a president at Genentech. I was so struck by Dr. Desmond-Hellmann's nonverbal gestures that I remarked to myself "Move over, Carly Fiorina and Ellen Futter. Make way for Susan Desmond-Hellmann," and wrote her an email complimenting her. After a while, Ms. Desmond-Hellmann fell out of my consciousness, sort of, until this past week when she appeared on the PBS News Hour.

This time, she made an even stronger impression on me. And as I watched her respond to the interviewer's questions--see video clip below--words such as the following flashed through my head: crystal clear, crisp, animated, emphatic, persuasive, engaging, well poised, utterly endearing and, ofcourse, extremely articulate.

There is no question that each one of us can advance his or her communication effectiveness by taking cues from her style--a style that is a rare and powerful blend of nonverbal techniques (especially vocal variety and facial gestures) and verbal skills, such as the use of synonymous terms and phrases, and antonyms.

Nonverbal Communication Skills: Purposeful and Exemplary Hand Gestures That Will Knock Your Socks Off

As promised in my previous post (July 31), below is a video clip of an executive using his hands in perhaps the most estimable manner I’ve seen in a very long time. In this 2-year old clip which I pulled from my archives, you see Nasdaq OMX group CEO Robert Greifeld using a variety of hand gestures each of which is extremely effective because it sharply accentuates his words. I am proud to write that most of the gestures he employs--hands folded in a streamlined shape and pointing toward the audience; the two hands, each semi-open, closing in to portray action and dynamism; formation of two fists… are among the range of hand movements I implanted in the acting CEO of a Waste Management subsidiary whom I coached about six years ago and who is the subject of the first “success story” on my website.

Also note that the video clip below is a testimonial to the enormous value that PBS’s Nightly Business Report (NBR) brings to the table. I recommend to all of my coaching clients and workshop participants to make NBR a part of their regular TV watching because, in addition to providing insight behind top business developments, you get to see some of America’s sharpest communicators in action—people like Larry Ellison, Ford Executive Vice President Mark Fields, and, of course, Bob Greifeld.

In a forthcoming post, I will get into the granularity of Mr. Greifeld’s hand gestures. In other words, what is it about his hand movements that make him a standout and add to his gravitas immeasurably.

Video clip illustrating exemplary hand gestures, worthy of emulation by top execs, managers, and other high achieving professionals:

High Impact Communication Techniques: Adopting Metaphorical Language Used by Others; To be the "Mountain Goat" of Something

Reference my blog of yesterday about President Obama using the term “Bolshevik plot” metaphorically during his Q&A session with the Republicans, and the term being widely quoted in the media. That is a perfect example of how all of us can enlarge our vocabulary of stirring and impactful terms by adopting somebody’s imaginative metaphor, simile, or other analogy.

Take for instance the term Bolshevik which is not commonly heard metaphorically, even though the Bolshevik Revolution is pretty common knowledge. Well, Obama’s use of Bolshevik this past Friday, and the resulting laughter among the audience and flutter in the media, reminded me how evocative and how strong a term of opprobrium it is in Western democracies, and immediately suggested to me that it would be a wonderful addition to my arsenal of metaphorical terms, especially when using the technique of exaggeration to create humor.

Specific examples of how I expect to use it in the near future: when referring to someone in the third person who is sort or rebellious or borders on being a bit of a revolutionary as “Oh, that guy is a Bolshevik.” Or, I could tamp down people’s anxieties following some tumultuous happening or political upset by saying “Come on, this is not the Bolshevik Revolution or something. They will recover.”

I am constantly picking up imaginative terms from the few talking heads who are extremely articulate and who regularly grace radio and television, and so can you. I refer to people such as George Will, featured every Sunday on “ABC This Week,” and Mark Shields, who appears on “PBS News Hour” at least once a week. Several months ago, I heard Shields describe a politician as “He is extremely surefooted, never makes a mistake. He is the mountain goat of politics.” Beat that for evocativeness! I have since used the term “mountain goat” metaphorically several times, and always elicited laughter from my audience.

High-Impact Communication Skills: The Extraordinarily Articulate Bruce Hoffman in Action on the BBC This Morning

Bruce Hoffman’s name first entered my consciousness in the early part of this decade, shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, thanks to his unremittingly lucid and penetrating comments on al Qaeda in particular and terrorism in general, and I soon realized that he is perhaps the most articulate American in the field of anti-terrorism. Ever since, I’ve found listening to Mr. Hoffman to be most rewarding: His extraordinary command of the language enables him to give expression to his expertise, deep insights, and views as few specialists can. Thus, whenever he is featured on any of my favorite radio or TV shows, I instantly sharpen my antennas so that I don’t miss a word of what he is about to utter. Not surprisingly, I honor Mr. Hoffman on my website’s home page as well in my book The Articulate Professional – 3rd Edition (on page 4, where I laud some 15 or so Americans whose voices are extremely influential partly because they possess a vigorous vocabulary).

This morning, Mr. Hoffman was on a 3-member panel assembled by The BBC World Service to discuss the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. He did not disappoint, using a stream of fresh, vivid, evocative, and synonymous words and phrases--the defining trait of articulate people--to emphasize his points. For instance, when asked whether it was his view that the 9/11 attacks had indeed shaped this past decade, Mr. Hoffman replied: “This was the end of the halcyon period during the '90s when, supposedly, a new world order was emerging which would be far more peaceful, far less truculent than was the case during the Cold War. (Instead) these attacks led to a dramatic transition from the belligerence but non-violence of the Cold War to an actual hot war that the U.S. was involved in during the last 9 years--this succession of military engagements that would have been unimaginable in the 1990s.”

Powerful Communication Skills: The Late James Lilley—Unquestionably One of America’s Most Articulate

In recent days, there’s been many a commentary on the airwaves lionizing James R. Lilley, former U.S. ambassador to China and South Korea, who died earlier this month. For me, his passing away is a deep personal loss. You see, Mr. Lilley was perhaps the most articulate American public figure, and therefore a source of great inspiration to me. His communication skills were unmatched and unrivaled. His use of simple but powerful verbal and nonverbal techniques--the type I discuss in my seminars and coaching--was exemplary. For instance, note the flow of synonyms--a defining trait of articulate people--in the following example taken from a 2001 interview during which he urged China to publish President Bush’s letter written to the widow of a Chinese pilot in the wake of the famous EP-3 surveillance-plane incident off Hainan Island. "I hope they publish it because their language has been attacking, strident, virulent, whereas Bush looks sympathetic, calm." No surprise that whenever U.S. relations with China or with either of the two Koreas were in the limelight, Mr. Lilley was the preferred guest on radio and TV.

James Lilley was one of my heroes. I seriously doubt that I’ll see the likes of him during the remainder of my life.