The following blog post is intended specifically for students in my Applied Business Communication course.
Richard Trumka is an American organized labor leader. Currently, he is President of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the US. At the time of this speech, he was Secretary-Treasurer of the same organization.
Speaking to organized labor is not an easy task. Leaders are essentially politicians, frequently attorneys like Trumka. However, members are more of the blue-collar variety of workers, who want to hear from people who understand their perspective and their lives.
This presentation is against the backdrop of the 2008 Democratic Primary in which Barrack Obama was campaigning against Hillary Clinton. Trumka was endorsing Obama though received some resistance from his supporters, primarily because of the color of Obama's skin. Rather than pretend that racism is not a topic, Trumka decided to directly address the topic.
In this presentation, Trumka starts with a personal narrative, uses an effective hook and proceeds to raise the volume and intensity of his voice in a manner that guarantees that every audience member is following his every word. You don't need to be Richard Trumka when you present but you could use the tools that he demonstrates in this clip.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Obama in New Hampshite
The following blog post is intended specifically for students in my Applied Business Communication course.
Following is the video we viewed at the beginning of class of Barack Obama speaking in New Hampshire during the 2008 Presidential election campaign. You may want to watch it from start to end, taking note of the methods that Obama uses to emphasize his key points.
Following is the video we viewed at the beginning of class of Barack Obama speaking in New Hampshire during the 2008 Presidential election campaign. You may want to watch it from start to end, taking note of the methods that Obama uses to emphasize his key points.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
How to Wow 'Em Like Steve Jobs
The following blog post is intended specifically for students in my Applied Business Communication course.
I have long admired Steve Jobs for his skill in adeptly handling business presentations. When asked for a specific example of a person who combines the various skills required to be successful in this arena, he is usually one of two or three examples that I offer.
However, despite his obvious prowess, several years ago there was little written about his actual technique - likely because Apple was still essentially a niche company that made really good computers but not much else. Now they have a few other products you may have heard of - isomething or other to listen to music and that phone thing.
Nearly five years ago I ran across the this article and still feel that it is a nice summary of presentation skills exemplified by a person like Jobs.
In our class over the next several weeks we will address the best methods to use to "sell benefit", the value of practice, how to keep things visual and what it really means to exude passion, energy, and enthusiasm. In the meantime, you should do a bit of thinking what each of these areas mean to you.
I have long admired Steve Jobs for his skill in adeptly handling business presentations. When asked for a specific example of a person who combines the various skills required to be successful in this arena, he is usually one of two or three examples that I offer.
However, despite his obvious prowess, several years ago there was little written about his actual technique - likely because Apple was still essentially a niche company that made really good computers but not much else. Now they have a few other products you may have heard of - isomething or other to listen to music and that phone thing.
Nearly five years ago I ran across the this article and still feel that it is a nice summary of presentation skills exemplified by a person like Jobs.
In our class over the next several weeks we will address the best methods to use to "sell benefit", the value of practice, how to keep things visual and what it really means to exude passion, energy, and enthusiasm. In the meantime, you should do a bit of thinking what each of these areas mean to you.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Bringing numbers closer to home
The page "If it was my home" is a nice representation of how to bring numbers closer to your audience, making them more meaningful.
In 1989 the Exxon Valdez struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled 40.9 million liters of crude oil. Even though reporting back then consisted of the morning, noon and evening new, coverage of the news dominated the press and the names "Exxon" and the "Valdez" were immediately etched into people's minds, forming negative connotations.
Fast forward to earlier this year when the.......let's see......oh yeah, the Deepwater Horizon suffered a deadly explosion, ripping open a deep sea gusher that has now surpassed the Valdez as the largest spill in US history.
However, for all that has been said, written and blogged, the spill has only recently been labeled a 'disaster' and the media has reported it as being the Gulf Coast Oil Spill, instead of the BP Disaster or the Deep Horizon Catastrophe, both of which I believe are sexier and stick better.
Thus, if rhetoric cannot be used to frame people's impressions, numbers and facts will have to do and the page linked below demonstrates a manner that could be used for audiences throughout the world.
If it was my home.
In 1989 the Exxon Valdez struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled 40.9 million liters of crude oil. Even though reporting back then consisted of the morning, noon and evening new, coverage of the news dominated the press and the names "Exxon" and the "Valdez" were immediately etched into people's minds, forming negative connotations.
Fast forward to earlier this year when the.......let's see......oh yeah, the Deepwater Horizon suffered a deadly explosion, ripping open a deep sea gusher that has now surpassed the Valdez as the largest spill in US history.
However, for all that has been said, written and blogged, the spill has only recently been labeled a 'disaster' and the media has reported it as being the Gulf Coast Oil Spill, instead of the BP Disaster or the Deep Horizon Catastrophe, both of which I believe are sexier and stick better.
Thus, if rhetoric cannot be used to frame people's impressions, numbers and facts will have to do and the page linked below demonstrates a manner that could be used for audiences throughout the world.
If it was my home.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Pictures are worth a thousand, err, really endless number of words.
I recently came across the following video which purports to be world air traffic over a 24-hour period. Although I have no idea where it came from, nor whether it is accurate, and despite the fact that it comes with no commentary, I have already watched it five times, noticing different points each time.
Obviously, visuals like this contain an immense amount of information. Personally, I love graphics like this as they can be recycled for different audiences at various times to tell different stories.
For instance, initially, you can notice that air traffic revolves around North America, Western Europe and East Asia. However, what does this mean? Are we talking about how these are the centers of commerce in the world with air traffic related to international commerce? Are we discussing culture and sharing of ideas and how there appears to be a great deal of interaction between these regions but far less when it comes to areas such as Africa and South America?
Do you want to discuss inequality around the world? Does the fact that you can virtually count the number of flights coming into Africa each day whereas you would do well to track the activity over an hour out of an airport such as London's Heathrow or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the latter which handles nearly 250,000 passengers each day? Do you want to note development in the eastern coast of China compared to that in the central and western regions?
Finally, when thinking of the story you want to tell, as yourself if traditional slides, using titles and bullets and subtitles and bullets and charts and more bullets would have been more effective, more understandable or more memorable.
Obviously, visuals like this contain an immense amount of information. Personally, I love graphics like this as they can be recycled for different audiences at various times to tell different stories.
For instance, initially, you can notice that air traffic revolves around North America, Western Europe and East Asia. However, what does this mean? Are we talking about how these are the centers of commerce in the world with air traffic related to international commerce? Are we discussing culture and sharing of ideas and how there appears to be a great deal of interaction between these regions but far less when it comes to areas such as Africa and South America?
Do you want to discuss inequality around the world? Does the fact that you can virtually count the number of flights coming into Africa each day whereas you would do well to track the activity over an hour out of an airport such as London's Heathrow or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the latter which handles nearly 250,000 passengers each day? Do you want to note development in the eastern coast of China compared to that in the central and western regions?
Finally, when thinking of the story you want to tell, as yourself if traditional slides, using titles and bullets and subtitles and bullets and charts and more bullets would have been more effective, more understandable or more memorable.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Welcome to Eloquent Elocution
Yeah, what the world needs is another blog. After all, how many are there floating around out there already? Last year, Technorati reported that they were tracking over 112.8 million blogs, most of which were in English. This means that the reported 80+ million Chinese language blogs need to be figured in on top of that which means.......well, that there are a lot of blogs already.
So, why this blog?
The primary reason is that I get asked about once a week if there is information online for non-native English speakers who need to present professionally. Also, about once every week or so, somebody mentioned to me that I should put some sort of blog or homepage together to assist people in this situation. Thus......welcome to Eloquent Elocution, a blog to assist non-native speakers of English improve their presentation skills. Certainly, all are welcome but my focus will be primarily on those individuals who I have been working with over the past decade on improving their ability to speak clearly, confidently and, perhaps even a bit eloquently.
So, why this blog?
The primary reason is that I get asked about once a week if there is information online for non-native English speakers who need to present professionally. Also, about once every week or so, somebody mentioned to me that I should put some sort of blog or homepage together to assist people in this situation. Thus......welcome to Eloquent Elocution, a blog to assist non-native speakers of English improve their presentation skills. Certainly, all are welcome but my focus will be primarily on those individuals who I have been working with over the past decade on improving their ability to speak clearly, confidently and, perhaps even a bit eloquently.
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