“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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TO ALL MOTHERS WHO ARE READING THIS: HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! *HUGZ*

If you have not wish your mum a happy mothers’ day, please do so right now. No no, this entry can wait. Go on.. wish her. Make sure you give her a big hug and tell her how much you love her. In fact, you should do it everyday because they deserve it.

Clockwise from left: Eileen (my sister), Dad, really beautiful Mum and my girlfriend, Yiting.

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After one week plus of dry spell, it is time to turn this blog up a few notches.

And I shall start off by sharing with you a video taken by my friend Bo from Massachusetts, USA. (I was interviewed by him on podcast last year for The FAQ Book on Public Speaking - scroll down to interview #11) Possibly one of the funniest table topic speech ever! For the newly initiated, table topic is a speech delivered by a speaker on the spot, so this trains you in your quick thinking skills and organizational ability. However, this table topic session was slightly different. The audience are told that the speaker will be given a particular topic while the speaker was given another. As you can see from the video, the mis-match causes the audience to break up in fits of laughter. This, by the way, is a comedy technique.

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“Would you have quitted drinking?!”

Yes, I know it is the weekend and I am NOT suppose to be blogging. Or at least that was my promise to my mum who thinks I work too hard. In my defense, blogging isn’t work… it’s something I enjoy doing, especially since I know I have an audience. YOU! (grins)

Anyhow, I think you would love this entry! So read on.

Why is humor so important?

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Eric, this is a reminder of why you are doing what you are doing.

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As I was surfing the web the other day, I chanced upon a video of Randy Pausch’s inspiring yet bitter-sweet public lecture (on 18th Sept 2007). He’s a Carnegie Mellon computer professor (and founder of Virtual Reality) who was diagnosed with an incurable pancreatic cancer. This was probably his last public speech as the doctors have only given him a few months to live.

Yet, standing at the podium in McConomy Auditorium on the campus, Randy Pausch did not focus on impending death. Instead, he celebrated the chance he had been given to live the life he had always dreamed of.

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The video clip that you are going to see below is the late Mr Rogers (creator of children’s TV programming) speaking before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications and Chair, the late John Pastore (D-RI) in 1969. At stake was a $20 million grant for the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. Although the chairperson was initially hostile, Mr Rogers was able to win him over by being authentic and sincere. Watch the video carefully - Mr Rogers’ style of speaking is worth studying and emulating!

Inspired by John Kinde’s Post - The Power Of Authenticity

Cheers,
Eric Feng
Your Public Speaking Coach

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Contrary to the popular belief that your audience wants you to succeed, I believe it comes with a condition — you have to deserve it. I have seen many speakers who interpret the reassurance as an excuse to be sloppy in their presentation. They abuse the kindness of their audience and end up wasting their time. Hence I usually take the tougher route and demand the speaker to be vigilant in their preparation whether the audience wants them to succeed or not.

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Over the years, we have heard our fair share of public speaking advice that ranges from “Lame” to “Spongebob Square Pants kind-of Lame”. Isn’t it time we bring them out in the open and set them on fire? At least that was what Andrew and I thought. Riding on the wave of ingenuity, we came up with five spoof videos to ridicule the sucky speaking advice that you have frequently receive. We have also included bite-size tips to help you sharpen your speaking skills. All in just 3 to 5 minutes. It’s really easy to watch, especially when you are skiving at work… (grins)

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