Example of a Poor First Impression: Much of a Speaker’s Face Being Blocked from View by his Coffee Cup as he enters the room

Take a look at the video clip below. As White House Press Secretary Jay Carney enters the press briefing room, much of his face is blocked from view because, for some reason, he wants to take in some few precious sips just before taking control of the lectern. Not a good idea. To me, this sort of body language smacks of perfunctoriness. It suggests the presenter is much too casual, that he takes the audience for granted. And no, my criticism is not at all ideological: I am not one of those rabid, mindless critics who find fault with Obama and his administration on every issue. Yes, some of my readers might disagree with my stance, pointing out that because the audience in the White House Press Room is extremely familiar with Carney, this is not a case of a poor first impression. What they (the people who do not find fault with Carney’s body language in the clip below) are not realizing is that Carney must surely be aware that on days when he has something important to say, TV news channels typically broadcast images of his entering the room, and several viewers across the nation are probably not familiar with Carney’s personality.

© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal

Public Speaking Tips: Strong, Evocative Words Are Often Wasted If Not Accompanied By Appropriate Nonverbals

When trying to influence an audience, the use of two or three fresh, strong, evocative, and out-of-the-ordinary words uttered back-to-back can be extremely effective (especially if the audience is familiar with the terms). Why? Because such an expression works like a one-two or a one-two-three punch. But much too often, public speakers fail to get the full mileage from their well chosen words because they are uttered blandly or very rapidly, unaccompanied by appropriate nonverbals. This is something I emphasize again and again while coaching executives, managers, and other professionals who have to make important presentations.

Take a look at the video clip below, featuring former Missouri Republican Party Chair Ann Wagner lambasting the then-party leader Michael Steele. Imagine how much more powerful, and searing, and impactful her remarks would have been had she uttered her carefully chosen words “steeped in mismanagement, distractions, and drama” (you can tell she is glancing at her notes as she utters them) with some pizzazz. For instance, a split-second pause after each of the three nouns (mismanagement, distractions, drama) would have allowed those words to sink in fully. And the injection of vocal variety as well as some facial and/or hand gestures would have endowed her words with much additional weight. Summing up, she could have easily accentuated that key sentence immeasurably.

An excellent example of a well crafted and potentially indelible expression coming to naught thanks to too rapid-fire an utterance. © Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

The Consequences of Grossly Abusing Grammar During a Job interview or While Talking to a Client or Customer

This morning, I was interviewed by award-winning journalist David Solano for his upcoming story on how extremely poor language skills can sharply diminish one’s chances of success during a jon interview or sales call. [The story is to be aired early next week on Solana’s station KIAH-TV -- Houston’s Channel 39.]

Here is what I said with regard to the severe consequences stemming from egregious grammar errors:

During a job interview or while making a sales call, murdering grammar can be lethal! [Some examples of outrageous grammatical errors: subject-verb disagreement; using first person subject pronoun “I” when it should be object pronoun “me” and the vice versa; wrong tense or wrong verb form; uttering "aks" instead of "ask."] Among the many reasons why such gross abuses of grammar can sharply diminish your prospects of being hired or of consummating a sale:

1. Unless the listener is intimately familiar with your educational background and the many college degrees you have amassed, he or she will conclude that you are poorly educated.

2. You will give the impression of being a slow, unenthusiastic learner--someone who will have difficulty quickly adapting to a potential employer's workplace culture or way of doing things.

3. As a potential employee, you will be viewed as more of a liability than an asset because:
(i) Your conspicuous grammar missteps are likely to be such a serious distraction--even an annoyance--that listeners will be unable to stay focused on your message, and
(ii) You could even end up becoming a laughing stock among not only your would-be peers but also among clients, thus severely tarnishing the company's image.

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

How NOT to Make a Presentation: Using a Mnemonic As The Foundation Can Render a Presentation Hollow!

Last week, while I was in Dehra Dun, an Indian city located in the Himalayan foothills, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of my high school, The Doon School, I listened to a one-hour presentation on leadership by a Dr. Sanjiv Chopra of Harvard Medical School. What a disappointment! The only positive comment I can make about that presentation is the speaker’s delivery: a strong voice with excellent enunciation. But the content? An overwhelming, rapid-fire barrage of slides that lasted more then twice the allotted time and created severe listener indigestion.

I believe my analysis of why the presentation was completely ineffective, and why it did not leave any long-term impact on the numerous members of the audience I have spoken to since, will give you specific ideas on how to make your next presentation really worthwhile for the listener, especially if it's going to be on some abstract issue such as leadership.

So, where did the speaker go wrong? First, he made the common mistake of bundling his content into a mnemonic—in this case the word “L E A D E R S H I P” itself. Thus, he had L stand for “listening” as a key skill, E for “empathy,” A for attitude, and so on. Invariably, when speakers try to fit a complex subject into a mnemonic, they end up oversimplifying the matter and leaving the audience with a distorted takeaway. Let me elaborate.

Take for instance “communication” and “vision”—unquestionably two of the most important ingredients of leadership. Because the letters C and V do not appear in the word LEADERSHIP, what does a speaker do, if he is trying to force fit everything into the letters L E A D…..? Either he will crudely and feebly tie these two qualities to other letters in the mnemonic or just make a passing reference to them. Result: the audience does not get a sharp, crystalline view of what it takes to be a strong and highly successful leader. And when the mnemonic happens to be a relatively long word, as is the 10-character “LEADERSHIP,” it will invariably end up exaggerating some minor qualities or aspects.

The second big mistake Dr. Chopra made was that for each quality represented by one of the characters in the word LEADERSHIP, he had a fusillade of slides, with each such slide featuring a comment by or about a famous leader. Thus, the presentation turned into an onslaught of several dozen such slides, producing severe overload and listener indigestion. At the end of the long, insufferable peroration, all that was left in our minds was a blur.

Since “leadership” is a particularly sexy subject for a presentation, thanks to its universal appeal, my next post offers an approach for making a cogent and indelible presentation on that topic.