Photo credits goes to Angela Radulescu

Today we’re going to talk about something a little more unusual… and potentially more controversial!

No, we won’t be talking about crop circles. However, we are going to talk about a phenomenon that is just as rare but also just as impressive, and most definitely not a hoax:

Female speakers.

Many top public speakers seem to be male – and indeed, they are. If there are any feminists in the audience, hold the rotten eggs – I’m not saying that there aren’t any top female speakers, but it could also be because there are still less women than men in top positions of power or leadership, although the gap is closing.

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Always wondered how these people can get up there and be absolutely in control. Even when things screw up, you never knew it happened until a week has passed?

As an emcee myself, I must say that this isn’t easy. Its surely a lot more challenging than giving prepared speeches. For this entry, I answer some FAQ’s on emceeing and I won’t be alone. With me this time is Gary Guwe and Nina Sabrina, 2 of the founders of Public Speaking International.

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Image by TeeRish

The average attention span of a literate adult is 20 minutes.

Good, you think to yourself. 20 minutes is plenty of time.

But how many speeches have you sat through where you fell asleep within the first two minutes?

And how afraid are you that people are going to do the same for yours?

It seems terribly obvious: unless you’re interesting, no one is going to pay attention. When you watch an episode of the O.C. or Gray’s Anatomy, you’re there to be entertained. You watch because the plot twists and the developing relationships on-screen are interesting. Not interesting? You switch the channel.

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Photo by charlybarley

You step onto the stage.

Your audience stares back at you – a sea of unknown faces. If you’re lucky, they’ll be receptive. If you’re not, they’ll be bored.

And if it’s just not your day, they’ll even be hostile.

There’s a lot of information out there on how to make sure your speech is effective. But what most people don’t realize is that half the battle is won if your audience is awake and eager before you even open your mouth.

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“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward!” - Rocky Balboa

I have never watched a single Rocky movie even though my room mate and dad are huge fans. However after Monday’s presentation by this phenomenal speaker, I will most likely watch ALL 6 of them. (Read on to find out why)

In the previous article, I shared about four best practices that the speaker adopted which got his audience - including myself - mesmerized and inspired almost immediately.

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It has been a while since I was moved to tears by a presentation. Today was one such evening. The speaker is a self-made multi-millionaire who has undergone tremendous adversity before enjoying his current status.

And my training company, AdvantEdge Coaching, had the good fortune of inviting him to share - on an exclusive basis - his secrets of living an extraordinary life.

Not only was I reminded of life’s valuable lessons through his stories, I saw how he applied some of the best speaking practices that made his 2 hours presentation an unforgettable experience. Allow me to give you a low down.

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This is the first installment of articles contributed by my fellow Public Speaking Blogger, Gary Guwe. Former President of the NUS Toastmasters Club, Gary also does extensive research in the area of Body Language. Visit his blog Connexion! Communication Central

Take it away Gary!

Have you ever seen a presenter or speaker speak on stage, and be entirely turned off or irritated by him? Alright, maybe not entirely turned off… but your feeling still borders on the negative side as you struggle with discomfort as you hear the speaker speak?

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Now if you’re still not convinced that one of today’s aggressive forms of marketing comes in the form of Storytelling…you haven’t been paying even the slightest bit of attention to your surroundings.

In Part 1, I introduced one of the biggest Fast Food icons who used such a strategy, KFC. Turns out that many other corporate companies have been telling stories all this while. Though they all preach and stand proudly with the impeccable quality that their products represent, they all illustrate this using different stories from different sources.

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This morning, I was interviewed by the President of Oporto Toastmasters in Portugal. He asked me a fairly interesting question that made me realize why some speakers are so good, while others are only so-so. Here’s the question he asked:

Even the most advanced speaker has challenges and can improve in some area. What is the public speaking challenge you are working at right now?

It’s not the question per say that got me thinking. It’s the first statement he made.

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A creative ad by Mini Cooper placed at the Zurich , Switzerland train station, shows people climbing into or out of the car, when they are actually entering or exiting stairs. That’s persuasion at its best! More examples below.

I just listened to an mp3 interview with Paul Endress, persuasion extraordinaire and found some of his persuasion techniques insightful. He is also the man behind the persuasion article written for The Toastmaster (May 2008 edition). If you want to listen to the full version of the tutorial, click here. If you are in a hurry, you can first check out my notes below.

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