Talkitout Ebook

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations
Become a Commanding
Speaker in One Day
Discover the Secrets 0f

Powerful Presentations
Published by Podium
For more information about executive coaching in media strategies, presentation skills, public
speaking and other communication issues, contact:
Podium Media & Communications Coaching
902-826-1011
or visit our web site
www.podiumcoaching.com
To order more copies of this book, call 902-826 1011.
Copyright 2007, Podium
2 Shepherd's Lane, Tantallon, B3Z 2K6,
Nova Scotia, Canada
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission from
the publisher.
ISBN 0-9732804-2-5
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ...................................................................................3
Preface......................................................................................................6
Introduction .............................................................................................7
PART 1: The Foundation: What Makes Speakers Powerful ...........8
Janes Story........................................................................................8
Johns Story........................................................................................8
The Lesson of Jane and John.....................................................9
Passion ..............................................................................................10
Be Yourself .......................................................................................10
Know & Respect Your Audience....................................................11
PART 2 - The Strategy: Keys for Getting Your Message Across..13
Its not about the message ...........................................................13
The three languages of communication......................................13
Spoken language.............................................................................14
Simple sentences .......................................................................14
Simple words ..............................................................................15
Hi Mom Test ................................................................................17
Avoid the passive voice ............................................................17
Pause............................................................................................18
Pace ..............................................................................................19
Tell a story ..................................................................................19
Emphasis .....................................................................................20
Body language .................................................................................21
Communication Impact ............................................................21
Hands ...........................................................................................22
Relax ............................................................................................22
Position ........................................................................................22
Eyes ..............................................................................................23
Appearance - Women................................................................23
Appearance - Men......................................................................23
Inner Language ...............................................................................24

Tone..............................................................................................24
Energy..........................................................................................25
Back to Passion ..........................................................................26
Communication Mantra ..................................................................26
PART 3 - The Talkitout Technique: How to Become a
Commanding Speaker Now ................................................................28
Step One: Think It Out ..................................................................28
Focus statement.........................................................................28
Hook .............................................................................................28
Context ........................................................................................30
Content ........................................................................................30
Conclusion ...................................................................................31
Step Two: The Talkitout Technique .........................................33
Heres a summary of the Talkitout Technique..................38
Step Three: Write It Out................................................................38
The BFP........................................................................................39
Step Four: Reduce It ......................................................................43
Step Five: Deliver It .......................................................................48
Steps Summary ...............................................................................50
PART 4 - The Secrets: Tips to Make You a Commanding Public
Speaker ..................................................................................................52
Be the Buddha .................................................................................52
Trust and Be Yourself .....................................................................52
Affirmations and Visualizations ....................................................53
Breathe..............................................................................................54
Voice Exercises ................................................................................55
PART 5 - Tips, Technical Stuff and Logistics ...................................58
Making Long Speeches...................................................................58
PowerPoint That Makes an Impact ..............................................62
Some technical tips ...................................................................66
Do Your Homework .........................................................................67
Set the Ground Rules .....................................................................67

Using Humor ....................................................................................68
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Speeches ......................................68
Logistics ............................................................................................69
About the Author: Halina St. James ................................................70
Preface
There was a time I couldnt speak. I hadnt lost the ability to speak; I simply
couldnt put my thoughts or feelings into words effectively.
I was working as a television news producer, covering stories in Canada and
around the world. I did my job well, but sometimes I felt I just couldnt put two words
together intelligently when I was speaking to people. This inability to communicate
made me feel awkward and timid.
It puzzled me, because when I was in school I loved public speaking. I acted in
university. I taught people how to speak English as a second language when I graduated.
I had no problem standing before any audience and speaking. Suddenly it all changed.
Part of it had to do with self-confidence. After a successful career teaching
English, I started as a very junior television news producer. I was in my thirties, working
with young 20 year- olds. I had a lot to learn.
As I became successful, I gained confidence and consequently I spoke better. I
learned self-confidence is an important part of being a powerful speaker. But you also
need the right technique.
I found that technique. After 22 years covering TV news, I started my own
company and became a consultant. I began training broadcasters around the world in
performance skills.
My challenge was to get busy, stressed-out news reporters and anchors to tell
stories powerfully, so people would understand them and - most importantly - not switch
channels.
I developed a technique that was unbelievably simple, but which dramatically
improved everyones performance instantly. I called it Talkitout. I tested Talkitout
around the world. It worked in every newsroom. It worked in non-news television
programs. It worked in different languages and different cultures.
I took Talkitout to the corporate world. Because its easy and fast, it was a
perfect fit for busy CEOs, presidents, managers or sales people. It dramatically improved
their speeches, sales pitches and PowerPoint presentations.
Self-confidence is part of this technique. Ill give you tips on how to boost your
self-confidence and become a riveting speaker - in five simple steps.
Halina St. James
Introduction
Heres the good news. Everyone is a commanding speaker. The bad news is
most people dont know it or believe it. This book will show you how you can be a
powerful and persuasive public speaker fast. Guaranteed.
I understand youre busy. You dont have a lot of time. So this book is easy to
use. You can read it from beginning to end or you can jump right to the five steps that
will transform you into an amazing speaker. You can go to any chapter any time. Keep
this book nearby as a handy reference whenever you are preparing a speech or
presentation.
Life for many of the executives Ive worked with is a seemingly endless round of
meetings. Theres a lot of talking going on in those meetings. So we need to know how
to command an audience and get our points across fast and effectively.
Its all about strategy and knowledge. If youre in business, you have a business
plan or a strategy for your company. Do you have a strategy for speaking? Can you be
successful without one? Frankly the answer is no. So you need knowledge and a strategy
to master public speaking. Thats your key to success in whatever you do.
By the way, speaking well is not just for people in business or professionals.
Every time we open our mouths to speak, were speaking in public. Thats why its
important for everyone to know how to do it well.
Public speaking is not a fate worse that death. Its a skill that I will make sure is
easy for you to learn.
If youre a nervous novice or if youre an accomplished speaker whose
presentations have become a bit flat, my Talkitout technique will make you better.
Guaranteed!
So lets start your transformation now.
PART 1: The Foundation: What Makes Speakers

Powerful
Janes Story
When Jane came to see me she was terrified. She was a living example of that old
saying Id rather die than speak in public. Jane had never given a speech in front of an
audience.
For a minute I wondered if she really would die before she gave her speech. She
couldnt look me in the eyes. She turned bright red. There was sweat on her brow. She
stammered. And all this because she had to give a one-minute presentation. I loved her!
I just knew she would be my greatest success.
Jane was a receptionist for a large company with a strong public profile. She was
sent to me along with four company account managers, to spruce up their presentation
skills. That was a smart move on the part of their boss. He knew the importance of
public speaking. The company wanted everyone to represent it with confidence. And
Jane was important because she was usually the first person people met. She often had to
introduce the company to potential clients.
At the end of my session with Jane, she delivered a passionate, inspiring speech.
We all had tears in our eyes as we applauded her success. Jane was stunned she was so
good. I wasnt. I knew right from the start shed be a success because all of us, given the
right tools, are brilliant speakers. Even polished speakers like John can go to the next
exciting level.
Johns Story
The only thing John had in common with Jane was that he didnt want to see me.
But for a completely different reason.
John was an experienced and confident speaker. He was about to make a very
important presentation to the board of a large corporation. He needed its support and
money for his research project.
I was recommended to help him polish his presentation. He agreed reluctantly
and we settled on a date for a three-hour session.
The day arrived. I was ready - but John was a no-show. Our go-between called
him. John was tied up in meetings. He wasnt sure hed make it to our session. Finally
the go-between convinced John to see me after his last meeting. When John finally
arrived, there was only a half an hour left in our session. He told us he absolutely had to
leave on time.
As I listened to Johns presentation, it became apparent he was very good - but he

wasnt a commanding speaker. He needed to go to the next level, especially if he wanted
that research money.
I started applying my Talkitout technique to his presentation. John saw the
improvement immediately. The technique intrigued him.
After a half an hour, I asked him if he wanted to leave. He said no. We worked
for another hour polishing and improving his presentation. He left satisfied and confident
- just as I knew he would.
The Lesson of Jane and John

It doesnt matter if youre a nervous novice like Jane or a seasoned pro like John presentation skills are critical for everyone.
Poor presentations are costing corporations tens of thousands of dollars in lost
orders, wasted time and mistakes. They eat away at your reputation and confidence.
Every time you open your mouth to speak you have two choices. You can
inspire, make the sale, get your message across, influence others and make a powerful
impact. Or you can bore your audience, lose the sale, and embarrass yourself. The
choice is yours. It all depends on what comes out of your mouth and how it comes out.
There are a few people, a lucky few, who dont have to make any choice. They
were born with the gift of the gab. They can stand up, fearlessly, and delight and
inspire us.
Most of us, though, werent born that lucky. For whatever reason, we are simply
terrified to speak in public. And when we try, nerves get the better of us and our words
lack the impact we had hoped for. Its not our fault. Nobody ever showed us how to do
it properly.
In business, we have a business plan, a strategy for success. It makes sense that if
you want to be a successful speaker, you have a speaking strategy. You need a plan and
you need knowledge.
This book will give you that knowledge and strategy. It will not only help you
write great speeches but it will also make you a great speaker.
I can say this without any qualms because the Talkitout technique has
transformed literally hundreds of speakers around the world. It works regardless of
who you are, where you are or what language you speak.
So lets start with the foundation that makes any speaker powerful.
Passion
Stick to topics you deeply care about and do not keep your passion buttoned
inside your vest. An audiences biggest turn on is the speakers obvious enthusiasm. If
you are lukewarm about the issue, forget it.
Tom Peters
Author
There are two key ingredients to being a great speaker, whether youre speaking
to one person or one thousand. These two ingredients are the foundation upon which
great speeches are made and great speakers are born.
First, be passionate. Passion is not necessarily unbridled emotion. Its not about
speaking loudly and getting all worked up, although it may be - depending on your
personality and your topic.
By passion I mean you must believe in and care about what youre saying. You
should never talk about something that leaves you cold. At the very least, you must be
interested in your topic.
You need to connect to it. When youre connected, the audience will know it and
you will make a connection with them. Its in that connection that understanding and real
communication happens. The foundation is passion.
Some people in the audience may disagree with you. But theyll respect you
because youre passionate. Youll never convince everyone anyway - so figure out
whats important to you and speak from the heart.
Be Yourself
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of
somebody else.
Judy Garland
Actor
The second key ingredient to being a great speaker is to be yourself. Dont try to
sound like someone else by imitating him or her. You need to speak the way you always
do. Dont try to use words that you would never use on a regular basis.
Many people think they have to use big words, in complex sentences when they
speak in public to convince the audience of their intelligence.
Some people even change their voice. Men suddenly get deep, booming voices.
Womens voices become higher and softer. Unless thats you in real life, dont do this to
yourself.
Be authentic. Your audience will know immediately if youre not. Youll lose
their trust. Why would you want to be anyone else? Its such hard work. Isnt it easier to
10
just be who you are? You are a wonderful gifted speaker if you just trust yourself and
speak in your own true voice.
Being passionate and being yourself is the foundation that you build on as a
speaker. Now you need to look beyond yourself to your audience.
Know & Respect Your Audience

Most audience members listening to a speaker for the first time have their
arms folded, waiting for proof as to who that speaker is. Most speakers bumble along
in the opening, thanking people ad nauseum, and lose the audience in one manner or
another.
Jeffery Gitomer
Author, Speaker
You dont want to lose your audience. They are the only reason youre speaking.
Without them, youre nothing. The audience is your key to success. If they like you, the
word will go out and you will prosper. So you had better treat them right - and that starts
with your attitude.
Understand it is a privilege to speak to an audience, whether theyre strangers,
business associates, peers, enemies, friends, or family. They are giving you their
precious time and attention. But they want something in return. Theyll know in the
blink of an eye whether youre going to give it to them - or whether theyre wasting their
time.
Understand as well, your audience is not dumb. You may be up before them
because youre the expert in X, Y or Z. But they have their own bank of knowledge and
experience, too. A smart speaker will do some research about whos in the room and
why theyre there.
What you say has to be relevant for them. It cant be all about you. The minute
you open your mouth, the audience will know whether youre worth their time or not. So
your first few words are critical. Ill talk more about how to open a speech in Part 3.
Right now, I want you to focus on understanding and respecting your audience.
Dont lecture them. Dont lose your temper with them. Dont try to buy them off
with cheap flattery. Getting and keeping an audience takes hard work.
Through researching your audience, finds ways to connect with them and
establish relevance for them. Give them your expertise in an entertaining, lively manner
that engages them. Customize and personalize your message for them. Always bring any
point you make back to them. Find the common ground between you and your audience.
As youre speaking, keep scanning the audience with your eyes and your gut. Are
they with you? Are you losing them? A good speaker will know this intuitively.
11
Finally, remember interest is contagious. If youre truly interested and passionate

about your topic, your audience will be, too.
12
PART 2 - The Strategy: Keys for Getting Your

Message Across
Its not about the message
Its about you.
You can have the best message in the world, but if you cant deliver it, its
worthless.
Whether youre speaking to a small group in a boardroom, a large audience in an
auditorium, or just one potential client - you must deliver your message successfully.
Ive seen top CEOs who run huge corporations make lackluster speeches - even
though what they had to say was of great relevance and importance to the audience.
These were not stupid men and women. They simply lacked the right strategy and
technique for being a commanding speaker. Or maybe they were in the hands of
speechwriters who were equally ignorant.
So they make mediocre speeches with minimal impact. Sure the audience
applauds at the end - but are they just politely applauding the speakers title, or is it
because theyre grateful the ordeal is over. What you want every time is strong heart-felt
applause because you inspired your audience, motivated them - and made a difference.
That means being well prepared, well rehearsed and confident. This will put you
in control so you can deliver your message effectively and make that message
memorable.
Now this doesnt mean the audience is not important. Of course it is, as we
discussed in Part 1. This section is about the strategy you need to deliver your message
in the best way for the audience.
The first step is to understand what happens every time you open your mouth and
speak.
The three languages of communication

Every time you speak, you actually use three languages simultaneously the
spoken language, body language and an inner language.
To be a commanding speaker, you must understand the effect each language has
on your message and your audience. Once you know this, you can use the three
languages strategically to achieve success.
Lets look at the three languages and examine three revelations that - I believe will change the way you think about planning and making presentations.
13
Spoken language
The spoken word now rules, in all its informality and occasional vulgarity.
The effects are felt in politics, public taste and even in our writing.
Jack Rosenthal, President,
New York Times Foundation
Halinas Revelation #1: You are not a reader
You are a speaker, a storyteller. Youve been asked to give a speech, to make a
presentation, not to read a speech or read a presentation. Yet so often we read at our
audiences. When we read aloud the written word, we speak a language designed for the
eyes, not the ears.
The problem starts at the very moment when we begin to prepare our speeches
and presentations. We use the same technique we would use when we write an essay or a
letter. This is most definitely the wrong technique. I will show you the technique that
will make you a commanding speaker. Thats coming up in Part 3.
For now, its important that you remember that you are a speaker, that your most
important tool is the spoken language. Lets examine some guidelines that will help you
develop a strategy for the spoken language.
Simple sentences
If you cant explain it simply, you dont understand it well enough.
Albert Einstein, Physicist
You want to be conversational when you speak. To do that, speak in simple
sentences. This is critical. Generally, when we speak we dont begin with adverbial
clauses, or prepositional phrases.
Dont say:
Wearing a blue jacket and black pants, Jane came into the room.
Say:
Jane came into the room. She was wearing a blue jacket and black pants.
Dont say:
Having made a profit this quarter, we can give everybody a bonus.
Say:
We made a profit this quarter - so everyones getting a bonus.
14
Dont say,
With the proposal in his hand, John went to meet the board.
Say,
John went to meet the board. He had the proposal in his hand.
When were speaking we dont load up our sentences with subordinate clauses.
Theyre too hard to follow. Every time you want to use which, who, that stop yourself.
Youre heading into a subordinate clause. Itll make your sentence longer and more
difficult for the listener to understand.
Dont say,
The challenge that faces us today, just before the reorganization which is
going to make our company more profitable, is to find the right director who will lead
us through these difficult times.
Say,
We are about to reorganize our company. This will make us more profitable.
We need the right director to lead us.
Dont make your sentences longer by stringing them all together with and,
especially when its followed by uh as in and uh. Its the universal mark of an
unprepared speaker. Its also the subliminal signal for the audience to go to sleep.
Limit your sentences to one thought. People will be able to follow a complex
concept if its delivered in understandable chunks. Use a simple sentence structure:
subject, verb, and object.
A good check is to count your words. If youve written more than 20 words in
one sentence, youre too long. Start cutting. Simple sentences are easier to say. And
easier to understand.
Simple words
Use simple, powerful words. Dont use jargon, business babble or clichs. Here
are a few overworked words and phrases you should avoid:
Actionable
Centers of excellence
Customer-centric
Core competencies
Deliverables
Empowered
Enable
Functionality
Guesstimate
Industry leading
Impacting
Leading
Leverage
Maximize
Mission critical
Mutually beneficial
Negative growth
Optimize
Out of the loop

Proactive
Quick win
Repurpose
Synergistic/synergy
Takeaway
Value-add
World class
Win-win
15
Dont use an inflated phrase when one good hard-working word will do.
Dont say:
Made the decision
Reach an agreement
Give approval to
Issued a warning
Conduct a survey
Will be able to
In order to
Say:
Decided
Agree
Approve
Warned
Survey
Can
To
Speaking simply does not mean being simplistic: it means taking complex ideas
and communicating them in a way that people understand.
Former United States President Ronald Reagan was a master communicator. He
once said
Our government is too big and it spends too much money.
You cant mistake his meaning. His sentence and words are simple and clear.
Simple means powerful. It means the audience will hear and get your message.
One of my clients sent this example of a jargon-laden memo she got from her
superiors.
As you are all aware two projects are currently underway to re-engineer the
transactional purchasing process and the materials management inventory and
logistics model. The purpose objectives are to improve process efficiency, leverage the
supply chain, optimize inventory investment, set the stage for enabling detailed life
cycle costing and to increase productivity in the work place. The transactional
purchasing design is nearing completion with the materials management design
scheduled to be completed mid Sept. Decisions on implementation approach and
timing will be determined at that time of the close out of the two design projects. In the
short term expect communication on the implementation of several quick hit benefits
planned for the transactional purchasing process.
She had no idea what this meant.
In the corporate world, clarity and impact are constantly being sacrificed. People
believe if they use big words in long convoluted sentences, theyll make a good
impression.
Its often just the opposite. They make no impression - because they obscure their
message. I once heard a CEO from a large multi-national corporation say:
Now maximizing value drives us to invest in our assets and move our
resources to opportunities that generate the greatest returns and position us for
continued growth.
16
What does this really mean in plain English? Imagine this as part of a twentyminute speech laden with the same corporate jargon and long sentence structure? How
much would you remember?
When you applaud at the end of this kind of speech, is it because the speaker
inspired you and gave you a new way of looking at his subject or because the ordeal is
over?
I often tell my clients they have to become word warriors. They need a strategy
for their content and simple language with which to deliver it.
Dont get me wrong; Im not advocating never using a subordinate clause or a
good meaty word. What Im saying is, be strategic about the way you speak - so that
your audience believes and understands you.
Hi Mom Test
I have a sure-fire test you can use to determine if youre being conversational.
Put Hi Mom in front of anything you think, say or write. Now speak it out loud.
Imagine saying it to your mom.
If your sentence still makes sense, then use it. But if you cant imagine ever
saying something like this to your mom, you know its not conversational.
Try it on the speech above. Say this out loud.
Hi Mom now maximizing value drives us to invest in our assets and move
our resources to opportunities that generate the greatest returns and position us for
continued growth.
It doesnt work. It will never work because we dont speak this way. The Hi
Mom Test will guarantee that youre conversational.
Avoid the passive voice

When you speak, stay away from the passive voice. I call it the Im-notresponsible-voice. People use the passive voice to evade responsibility. Thats why its
a favourite with politicians.
Dont say,
It is thought that profits will rise this quarter.
A new manager will be announced tomorrow.
Our new product line will be launched in May.
Say,
17
We think profits will rise this quarter.

We will announce a new manager tomorrow.
Were launching our new product line in May.
Speak in the active voice. We do it all the time when were speaking to friends.
Its only when we stand up in front of an audience that we start using the passive voice.
Maybe we think itll make us somehow sound more intelligent. It doesnt. There is
nothing more powerful than the active voice.
Pause
When you are speaking, timing is not so much knowing when to speak, but
knowing when to pause.
Jack Benny, Comedian
Never miss a good chance to shut up.
Will Rogers, Actor
The pause is one of the most important tools a speaker has. Ironically, your
ability to shut up will determine how good a speaker you are.
Most of us enter babble-land when we speak. Its usually because were nervous.
We think we must fill every second with sound. In fact we need to do just the opposite.
We need to pause for the audience to understand what weve just said. We need to pause
for dramatic effect. And we need to pause for emphasis.
Say this sentence out loud without any pauses.
The winner of a trip to Paris is John Stewart.
Now try it with the following pauses:
The winner (PAUSE) of a trip to Paris is John Stewart.
The winner of a trip to (PAUSE) Paris is John Stewart.
The winner of a trip to Paris is (PAUSE) John Stewart.
The winner of a trip to Paris is John (PAUSE) Stewart.
The placement of the pause subtlety changes the meaning and feel of the sentence.
Which is the right one? It all depends on what you want your audience to understand.
Look at your text strategically. Where should you pause? What would the effect
be?
18
Theres another important role for a pause. We need to pause to draw breath and
to think. If you suddenly lose your train of thought during your speech, use a pause to
recover.
Pace
The basic rule of human nature is that powerful people speak slowly and
subservient people quickly because if they dont speak fast, nobody will listen to them
Michael Caine, Actor
When you start pausing, you will automatically vary your pace. You wont speak
in a rhythmic reading tempo.
People naturally speed up or slow down when theyre speaking. It all depends on
what theyre saying. You can deliberately slow down or speed up, depending on the
effect you want.
Tell a story
Mix stories with data. Business audiences understand and are convinced by
numbers. The strength of speeches is stories but the power is numbers.
Tom Peters, Author
Most speeches overflow with facts, figures and information. Were bombarded
with information everyday in every way, from our cereal boxes to our t-shirts. How can
we possibly remember everything? We cant. But we do remember stories.
Can you convert your facts and figures into a story people will remember? Is
there an interesting anecdote or detail you can use that will help people remember your
information?
In the art of storytelling there are three important elements: the protagonist, the
antagonist and the quest. Usually the protagonist (a person or your company) is on a
quest to get something. The antagonist (somebody or something) tries to stop him or her.
They duke it out to the climax. Somebody wins. Somebody loses. Thats real
storytelling because thats what happens in life. Theres always tension or conflict.
Thats what makes a story fascinating.
Whats not real is trying to paint a picture of your company as perfect an
organization that has never had a problem. This will not ring true. Everything has some
good and some bad qualities. So tell the story honestly.
Which story would you believe and remember?
A) Our company has invented a new computer circuit that will revolutionize your
office systems. It will outlast and outperform any other system in the market. Weve
tested it and it works. Duckworth International has been using it successfully for 2 years.
19
B) We started working on our new computer circuit. We believed it would really

change the way office systems worked. We worked on it for two years. Then we tested
it in our computer. It blew up the first computer. So we went back to the drawing board.
When we were ready to test it again, it blew the monitor. Well that was an improvement
on the last time. It took us 3 years but finally we got it to work. We sold it to Duckworth
International. Theyve been using it for 2 years now and are amazed with what its done.
Theres nothing like it anywhere in the world. We know because we worked out all the
problems. We can guarantee our product is the best.
When you tell your story, be realistic. Include the good, the bad and the ugly because its honest. When your story is honest and real, people will believe it.
Most companies and executives sweep the dirty laundry, the difficulties, the
antagonists and the struggle under the carpet. They prefer to present a rosy and
boring picture to the world But as a storyteller, you want to position the problems
in the foreground and then show how youve overcome them. I know the storytelling
method works. Because after Ive consulted with a dozen corporations whose
principals told exciting stories to Wall Street, they all got their money.
Robert McKee, Writing Coach
Emphasis
When you tell your story, decide whats important and make sure you emphasize
it. You add emphasis by saying it a bit louder, or very softly, or by pausing before you
say it.
Emphasis directs the listeners attention to whats important. Emphasis subtly
changes the meaning of sentences.
Say this sentence out loud and emphasize the words in bold.
I never stole the money.
With each emphasis the meaning changes subtly. Whats the right meaning? You
decide and emphasize what you want the audience to remember.
Now lets outline the strategy for Body Language.
20
Body language
Halinas Revelation #2: You are an animal.
Youre not an inanimate object. Youre a living breathing being, an animal. The
people listening to you are animals. Theyll pick up signals from your body, because
your body is always saying something - even when youre saying nothing. According to
various studies, your body actually says more than your words. Your body language can
also contradict your words.
Communication Impact
This is the impact you have when you are face to face with your audience in
person or on television. The Communication impact consists of three elements
appearance, tone, content.
Heres how they break down:
55% Look
Your appearance will have the strongest impact on your audience. Its your face,
clothes and hair. Surprised by this percentage? Dont be. We all love to people watch.
Your body language is also part of your look. The audience will note the way you
walk into a room, sit or stand. Theyll even be aware of the way you breathe. All of this
can support - or detract from - your message.
38% Sound
The way you sound has the second strongest impact on your audience. Do you
speak too quickly? Too slowly? Too loudly? Do you mumble, speak with a heavy
accent? Do you pause when you speak? Do you vary your tone and pace?
Sound also includes the acoustics in the room. Is your microphone working
properly? Can people in the back of the room hear you? Are there any background noises
that might distract the audience? Are staff making noise clearing away dishes while
youre speaking? All of these sounds can detract from your message.
7% Your Words
This is what you say. Its your important message. It has the weakest impact on
your listeners, if the audience cant get past your look or sound.
In other words, 93% of your impact is the way you look and sound. So, if you
dont manage the way you look or sound, chances are the audience wont get your
message.
21
The less they focus on your appearance and voice, the more theyll focus on what
youre saying. So manage your appearance. And a big part of appearance is body
language. Here are some tips:
Hands
Use your hands naturally when you speak. If you always use your hands when
you speak, use them during your presentation. You dont have to wave your arms about
like a windmill. Just do what you always do naturally.
Standing perfectly still without moving your hands at all is unnatural. It will
affect the way you speak. Use your hands and be yourself.
Often people ask me what they should do with their hands. I always tell them not
to focus on their hands - but to focus on their heart. If you speak from the heart, the
hands will follow naturally.
Dont clutch the lectern. Use it as a prop. Stand beside it if you can. Dont lean
on it. Keep your body straight, but not rigid.
Relax
Keep your body relaxed. Before you speak, go to the washroom or somewhere
private and give your body a good shake. Make faces to loosen the facial muscles. Roll
your shoulders. Shake out your hands. Wiggle your hips.
Your body is your instrument. If its tight, you will sound tense. The more
relaxed you are physically the more natural youll sound.
Do some deep breathing to relax and to focus. Theres more on how to relax
later.
Position
Use the appropriate body position that matches your content. If youre talking
about something serious, dont stand casually leaning on one foot with one hand in your
pocket. It wont look right. The audience will be confused by the casual body language
and the serious content.
When the audience gets confused, they dont follow what you say. By the time
they re-focus on your words, they may have missed a relevant point. And if that happens,
the rest of the speech becomes meaningless. Thats when they tune out.
Dont cross your arms or look down at the audience. It makes you look superior.
Make sure your body language matches your content.
Always stand, even if you are addressing a very small group. Your voice will be
stronger and more positive.
22
If youre using PowerPoint, dont turn your back on the audience to look at the
screen.
Eyes
Look at the audience, not at your PowerPoint or your speaking notes. If you have
a small group, try to make eye contact with every person in the room.
If you have a large group, divide the room into quarters and speak to each quarter.
Stay away from bored or negative faces near the front. Their state of mind may have
nothing to do with you. Focus a lot on attentive listeners, but not to the exclusion of
others. Keep looking at everyone.
Appearance - Women
Dress comfortably. Tight clothes for both men and women are distracting - not to
mention uncomfortable. Wear clothes appropriate to the occasion.
If you were speaking to a rural community in a farmers barn, it would not be a
good idea to wear 4-inch stiletto heels.
Here are some tips for women:
Avoid gaudy jewelry or too much makeup. It will distract from your
message.
Avoid dangling earrings, which sway with every movement of your head.
Avoid chunky necklaces. Theyre distracting.
Avoid low necklines. They are even more distracting.
If you wear glasses, make sure theyre non-reflective
Wear color. People will be able to see you better than if you wear black.
Appearance - Men
Here are some tips for men:
Shave twice if you have a heavy beard
Dont wear black suits. One media consultant says they project a lack of
trustworthiness. Generally theyre not flattering.
The same consultant says that three-piece suits will make you look stuffy
and too formal.
Loosen your belt one notch so you can breathe easily.
Make sure youre zippered up.
If you wear glasses, make sure theyre non-reflective.
23
Inner Language
Halinas Revelation #3: Its not all about you.
Understand, first and foremost, that youre the messenger but its the message
that matters.
So stop obsessing about how you look or what people will think of you. Thats
emphasizing the messenger. Focus instead on the message and the audience.
The Inner Language is the language of your soul. It comes through in your words
and gestures. It will send very specific messages to the audience.
An audience wants to know whats in this for me? See your presentation from
their point of view. What do they want to know? What are they going to take away from
your presentation? Whats the best strategy for giving them your wisdom? By focusing
on them and giving to them, you will win over any audience.
It helps if you remember these points about your Inner Language:
Tone
This is the mood of your words, the feeling they convey. Its important that your
tone matches the content. Smile if the story is happy. Youd be surprised to learn how
many people deliver wonderful news with the tone of the voice of doom.
Tone will vary in speeches. Perhaps youre talking about a really bad period in
the companys history. You wont be smiling when you do. But when you talk about
how the company overcame the difficulties, start lightening up and build to a full smile.
We all do this naturally when we speak. We only tend to slip into a monotone
when we read aloud.
Heres something to watch out for. If youre talking about a happy incident but
need to describe a really bad one immediately afterwards, you need to change your tone
dramatically to match each part. It would be too harsh and unfeeling from the audiences
perspective to go from a big beaming smile to a furrowed brow full of concern.
So you need to take a dip into neutral territory first. Give the audience a second
or two to get ready for the new information. You can do this effectively with a pause or a
neutral phrase such as, Now, Id like to talk about.
The audience will see you as a caring, thoughtful individual. You will come
across as being in control of your presentation.
Sometimes people are so nervous when they speak, they only see the words and
not the feelings behind them. To make your words come alive and be believable, you
need to hit the appropriate tone when you speak.
24
So look at your copy for tone traps - areas where you go from one extreme tone
to another. Understand which tone you will use and where.
Energy
Always speak with power and conviction. Project your voice. But dont be
strident. Being a little nervous is good. It will give you some adrenalin energy.
When we read, our energy is even and often low key. When we speak naturally,
we vary our energy depending on what were saying. Try saying, Honey we just won
$20 million without being excited.
Energy is important in another way. Humans have an energy component to their
bodies. In acupuncture, the Chinese insert needles into energy meridians in the body to
promote healing. They call this energy chi.
Indian medicine talks about prana energy. Yoga has energy centres called
chakras. Western medicine is now exploring the mind-body connection, how the
energy of our thoughts can change our lives.
We exude energy. As the song goes, when youre smiling, the whole world
smiles with you. As animals we sense each others feelings. Some people are better at
this than others, but generally we can read our fellow beings.
What does this have to do with public speaking? A lot actually. If youre
nervous, depressed or distracted when you speak, the audience will sense it. And you can
sense when the audience is not really listening to you, even when they appear to be
attentive.
When you go before any audience, you have to go with the right motive in your
heart. You have to be confident and focused on your presentation. Then your energy
field will send out the right message to the audience. The audience will be more
receptive to you.
Sometimes the energy from the audience can be unnerving. Have you ever seen a
seemingly-confident person step up to the podium and lose it for the first few minutes?
He shuffles his paper, makes some inane comments, perhaps offers a lame joke. He has
trouble looking at the audience. A few uncomfortable minutes pass before he settles
down and begins to speak.
What happened is that suddenly, when he stepped up to the podium, dozens or
hundreds of pairs of eyes were focused on him. All the energy behind those eyes hit him
at once. He was the complete centre of their attention. In that moment all these strangers
were evaluating him. If youre not used to this kind of intense energy, it can put you off
your stride.
So what do you do? You walk up to the lectern. Put your papers down, if you
have any. Take a moment and look at the audience. Dont say a word. Let yourself feel
25
that energy coming from them. Settle your own energy field. Then you can begin to
speak. Better to have a few seconds of silence than a painful start to your presentation
that you, and your audience, will never forget.
As you speak, keep your energy field tuned into the audience. Youll be able to
sense when theyre with you and when their attention is slipping. Adjust your
presentation as you go along to make sure they get your message.
Back to Passion
Passion is the single most important ingredient of any speech or presentation.
Thats why were speaking about it again. You must be passionate when you speak. You
must believe in what you say - or the audience wont believe it.
Connect with your message. When you feel it in every pore of your being, then
the audience will feel it too. Thats when youll make a connection to them. They will
get your message. They will remember it.
Communication Mantra
The Communication Mantra sums up the strategy for the Three Languages of
Communication. Its a handy way to remember the strategy to become a powerful and
persuasive public speaker.
Have something to say
Decide on your content. Dont try to deliver absolutely everything. Pick 2 or 3
key areas to talk about. Less is more.
Ask yourself what you want the audience to take away from this speech. When
theyre listening to you, they want to know Whats in it for me? Figure that out and
your speech will be a success.
Believe it
Be passionate about your speech. Connect to it. If you dont care about it, neither
will the audience. Speak from the heart. When you do, you will have the right tone,
emphasis, pace and body language. Everything will work. Then you will connect to the
audience, and they will get your message.
Remember, realistically you cant convince everyone. But even those who
disagree will respect your point of view when you deliver it with honest passion.
Say it simply
Stick with simple sentences. Avoid subordinate clauses or long convoluted
constructions. Use strong sturdy words. No jargon, business babble or clichs please.
26
Being simple doesnt mean being simplistic. It means clarity, which leads to
understanding. Youll win over your audience with simplicity. Youll lose them with
complexity.
Shut up
Avoid the temptation to keep babbling. Say what you have to say. Say it in the
most compelling way possible. Then shut up. Ironically the sign of a confident speaker
is his or her ability to shut up at the appropriate time.
Now that were talked about the strategy for winning presentations, lets look at
the proper technique to deliver our strategy. That technique is called Talkitout. It will
transform you into a commanding speaker. Right now.
27
PART 3 - The Talkitout Technique: How to

Become a Commanding Speaker Now
Step One: Think It Out
The key is preparation and planning. The more you organize at the beginning, the
less work youll have to do putting your presentation together.
Focus statement
Begin by deciding what the main message is for your speech or presentation.
This is the key idea you want to make sure the audience goes away with at the end.
Condense your message into one clear focus statement. Write it down.
Everything you say or do will support this focus statement. The focus statement will
guide your whole presentation or speech. It will be what the audience takes away at the
end.
Lets say you are explaining what your company is doing to support a clean
environment. You want to tell the audience all the good things youve done and why
theyre important. That is what your speech is about. Its not a focus statement.
The focus statement has to be one clear simple sentence that expresses what you
want the audiences to understand. Your focus statement should be something as clear
and simple as We strongly support a clean environment because its good for
business.
Once you decide on your focus statement, keep coming back to it throughout your
talk. Its like background music, always there. Let it guide all your arguments and all the
points you want to make. You can even say it out loud at an appropriate place in your
speech. The simpler the focus statement, the easier it will be to do this.
It may take a bit of time to think the focus through, but it will save you a lot of
time in the long run. It will be the glue that holds your whole speech or presentation
together, helping it make sense for the audience.
Hook
This is the opening of your talk. The hook grabs the audiences attention. It
holds them. It piques their interest. It makes them want to listen to you. The hook can
be one word, one sentence or a short story.
Please, no forced jokes. Please, dont recite everything you intend to tell them as
in, My objectives today are blah blah blah or I would like to talk to you about blah
blah blah.
28
Please, dont start with how happy you are to be here today - unless theres a
compelling reason to say this.
If someone introduces you, you can thank them quietly as the audience is
applauding. You dont have to publicly thank them for your introduction. And please,
no lame Gee is that really me? remarks after the introduction.
Please dont do the old good morning routine. You know the one where the
speaker comes on and says, Good Morning Everyone. The audience mumbles back,
Good Morning. The speaker then says What? I didnt hear you. Good morning! The
audience is forced to scream back Good Morning. All this routine accomplishes is to
irritate the audience so you now have to work harder to win them over.
All these openers are the tired old way of doing things. You can do better - and
your audience deserves better. Be creative. People remember the hook.
There are studies now that show we can evaluate a person in about two seconds.
You want to make sure that you not only pass that two-second inspection, but you also
have the audience begging for more. You want them to know what theyre about to hear
will be worth their time. You want to hook em and hold em. If you dont do that right
at the beginning, youre going to have to work a whole lot harder to win them over.
One very successful banking executive I coached was speaking to the annual
meeting of senior executives and managers. She was introducing a new program aimed
at getting very young customers acquainted with the bank. She looked around the room
and said, Lets talk about babies. She looked around the room and paused and then
said, You heard me right. I want to talk about babies. With that hook, she had
everybodys attention. Her presentation was a great success.
One executive started one speech by whipping out a pair of novelty glasses with
bushy eyebrows and a huge nose. He put them on and said, Now that Ive got your
attention.
Your hook can be a bit of theatrics, a story, a question, a shocking statement whatever you want it to be. Do whats right for you and for the type of talk youre
giving. But whatever you do, make the hook memorable.
Understand the purpose of your hook. Is it to:
Introduce yourself and your topic
Make a connection with the audience
Put both the audience and yourself at ease
Present yourself as an authority on your topic.
All of the above?
29
Figure out what you want your hook to do and find the most creative way of
doing it.
Context
This is the need-to-know-information. Without it, what you say makes no sense.
Its also very tricky territory. If you have too much context, youll lose your audience. If
you dont have enough, youll confuse your audience.
So pay attention to your context and where you place it in your talk. It might
work at the very beginning after the hook or later on. It all depends on your content.
There are no hard and fast rules as to what should come first - content or context.
It depends on the purpose of your presentation and what youre saying.
Perhaps the audience needs to understand a point of context before you give them
the content. It could also be the other way around. You decide.
Lets go back to the banking executive with the babies hook. The context of
her presentation was that the bank was implementing a new customer service program
starting on a certain day. The content was how it would work, why they were doing it,
what each manager would be responsible for and other details. Without the context, none
of those details would make sense. Context is important.
Dont assume the audience knows the context or will remember everything. Give
them the information in manageable, logical, bite-size pieces and they will get it
Content
This is the bulk of your presentation, where you develop your arguments, where
you convince, inspire and teach. Figure out how many subject areas you want to talk
about. Then jot down a few points for each area.
Say what you need to say and no more. Less is more. Craft your content
carefully and pepper it with stories, anecdotes and details.
You dont want to build your audiences expectation with a great hook, only to let
them down with a long boring recitation of facts and figures.
Were bombarded with information today. If you want people to listen and
remember what you said, dont just give them facts and figures, give them knowledge.
Give them wisdom. And, most importantly, give them a good story.
Understand the purpose of your context and content. Is it to:
30
Develop your arguments so you can persuade.
Build a connection with the audience
Get them to understand
Stimulate dialogue, feedback and questions
All of the above?
Conclusion
Wrap up your talk either by recapitulating some main points or signaling the next
stage. A good technique is to start an interesting story in your hook. Then finish it in
your conclusion.
What you do depends on two things - what your focus is and what the audience
wants. A conclusion is not simply a restatement of what you have already said.
Your conclusion should support your focus statement. If it doesnt, your key
points or main focus will probably get lost.
Understand the purpose of your conclusion. Is it to:
Get the audience to do something
Inspire them
Leave them thinking
Have them speak
All of the above?
Think about what you want people to do after youve finished your presentation.
Develop your conclusion accordingly. People will remember what is said in the
conclusion. Use the form below to think it out.
31
Think It Out Form

Focus Statement: Describe in a simple sentence what the audience will
get:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Hook: Jot down ideas on how to grab the audience.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Context: Jot down the need to know information
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Content: Jot down the main areas of your speech
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Conclusion: Jot down the point(s) you want to make at the end.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
32
Step Two: The Talkitout Technique

You can type this shit, George, but you sure cant say it.
Harrison Ford, Actor
On George Lucas dialogue in Star Wars
The biggest problem with speeches is that people cant say what theyve written.
Sometimes, they cant even read what theyve written.
When you begin preparing your presentation or speech, what do you do? If you
are like most people I work with, you sit at your computer or grab pen and paper and
stare at the blank screen or page. You think.
Then the thoughts come pouring out of the brain, race down the arms to the
fingers, get tap-tap-tapped into the keyboard, and pop up on the screen as sentences to be
evaluated by the eyes.
Your eyes move the words around and your fingers follow through. You carry on
like this until finally - hours, days, or weeks later - you finish.
Or maybe you dont prepare this way. Maybe you just do your PowerPoint slides
and then speak, using each slide as a guide. Again, youre relying on your eyes to
prepare your presentation. Either way, I believe this is a waste of your precious time.
You are doing things backwards.
This process bypasses two vital organs. The words are never tested on the lips.
And the content is judged purely on how it looks to the eye, rather than how it will sound
to the listener.
Dont get me wrong, theres nothing wrong with this method - if people are going
to read what you wrote.
This is the way we all learned to write essays and letters. It works if youre
writing a book. But it doesnt work when youre preparing a speech or presentation.
Unfortunately, too many would-be speakers use this writing style when they are
preparing for a speech. And it doesnt work.
You cant write something thats going to be heard the same way you write
something thats going to be read. It makes no sense to use a method for reading
when youre preparing something thats going to be spoken.
Have you ever tried to bake a chocolate cake using a lemon pie recipe? No matter
how fresh your eggs and juicy your lemons, youre not going to make a chocolate cake.
You have the wrong recipe.
33
If you want people to really listen, to be inspired and to learn when you present,
you need to prepare your material using the right recipe. That recipe is the Talkitout
Technique. Talkitout works because its an oral technique.
Before the computer, before the typewriter, before the pen, we talked. We told
great epic stories without writing them out first. Thats the way the Greeks and Romans
did it. We need to go back and learn from the ancient teachers. The Talkitout
technique takes the essence of the oral tradition and makes it work for us today.
The technique itself is unbelievably simple. The results are

amazing. Talkitout will dramatically improve the way you speak or make a
presentation. But you have to follow the technique exactly, or you wont get the
optimum results.
Im going to ask you to do something youve never done before. I promise if you
do it, you will dramatically improve any presentation you make. But its up to you.
Heres why you should at least try Talkitout.
If you do what youve always done,
youre going to get what youve always got.
If youre happy with what youve always got, fine. But if you want to be a great
speaker, you should try Talkitout.
The first step is to forget the way you usually write your speeches or prepare your
presentations.
Talkitout is like no other technique. As you do it, youll see why it makes
sense. Try it, and I promise it will make you a powerful and persuasive speaker.
Begin by sketching out your thoughts or subject matter using the Think It Out
Form on page 32.
Next, sit on your hands. Yes, sit on your hands. Dont touch your keyboard or
pen.
Start with your hook. Look at the idea you jotted down on the Think It Out Form.
Imagine your audience in the room in front of you. Now say your first idea out loud to
your imaginary audience. Dont write it. Whether its one word, one sentence or a story,
talk it out loud. Speak the way you always do. Listen to yourself as you do.
Dont be shy. Close your office door if you have to. Dont whisper. Talk in your
normal speaking voice.
34
Get used to speaking out loud and listening to yourself. If you cant bear to listen
to yourself, how can you ask an audience to listen to you?
As you speak out loud, remember to keep to one thought per sentence. Keep the
sentence short and simple. Stay away from clichs and jargon.
Say the first sentence or thought of the hook in as many different ways as you
can. Experiment. Be outrageous. Be creative.
If you cant think of a way to start, say anything that relates to your idea for a
hook. Just keep talking it out, out loud. Its like priming a pump. Eventually all the
talking will produce some wonderful thoughts.
Then, when one phrase or sentence sounds right (not looks right), when the words
are easy to pronounce, when its really conversationally you, then and only then write it
down quickly before you forget it. Youll know this moment because your gut will tell
you.
Write it down EXACTLY the way you said it. Dont worry about spelling. You
can correct mistakes later.
Now you have one sentence written down. Say this sentence out loud and add a
second sentence. Again, try saying the second sentence in as many creative ways as
possible.
When you hear that one absolutely right way of expressing this thought, write it
down exactly the way you said it. Write it down as quickly as possible before you forget
it.
Now you have two sentences written down. Say the first one. Then the second
one. Now add the third thought. Say it in as many different ways as possible. Again,
once you hear the absolutely best way to express this thought, write it down exactly the
way you said it. Now you have three sentences.
Keep working this way until youve written your hook. If your hook is one
sentence, then just continue talking out the context or content.
If your hook is a story, dont say it all at once and then try to write it down.
Rather, speak your story, sentence by sentence. Write it one sentence at a time after
youve said it.
By now youve written down a lot of thoughts or sentences. They dont live in a
vacuum. You need to check to make sure everything flows and makes sense.
So every time you add a new sentence or thought, go back to the first sentence or
a few sentences before and speak out loud until the end of the new sentence. Listen to
yourself.
35
Its very important to listen to yourself telling the story out loud from the
beginning, every time you add a new thought.
Thats the way the audience will receive your information. The audience has only
one chance to understand what youve said. If they were reading your speech, they could
always go back a few lines and reread a section that confused them. They cant do this
when youre speaking.
So you have to make sure that you make sense every step of the way. The only
way to do this is to speak out loud and listen to yourself every time you add a new
sentence. That way, youll know if that new thought fits with whats been said before.
Does it flow logically out of the last thought? If it doesnt flow or make sense, youll hear
it.
The last thing you want is an audience that is confused or bored because they
cant follow your train of thought. As soon as an audience starts questioning what youve
just said, they miss the next point. If they miss too many points, the big danger is that
they give up and check out.
After youve finished your hook, go on to your content or context, then your
conclusion. Keep talking it out, one sentence at a time. Only write what sounds really
good to you.
Write it exactly the way you said it the first time. You can always go back and
change it later. But usually the first way you say something is the best way. Its you speaking in your authentic voice. Remember from Part One of this book - you must be
true to yourself.
Every time you write a new thought or sentence, go back to the beginning of a
section and say it out loud, adding the new sentence. Check it for flow and logic. Keep
working out loud until you finish.
If you get stuck and cant speak the next thought, go back to an earlier section.
Talk it out. Focus. Really listen to what youre saying.
When you get to the place where you were stuck, just keep talking it out. Dont
over-analyze the process. Dont try writing it in your head. Just trust the words to fall
out of your mouth.
I know this sounds strange. But it really works. The next thought will come
automatically most of the time. Just let go. Trust. Be present in the moment. Talk it out
and the right words will come.
Remember to keep the sentences short and simple. Dont be afraid to speak in
fragments. We do this naturally.
As you work, think of what you want to emphasize. Are you sticking to your
focus? Use the Hi Mom test to make sure youre speaking naturally.
36
When youve finished your presentation, step away from it for a few minutes to
clear your head. Get a coffee. Take a short walk. Call someone. Check your email.
After a few minutes, go back to your presentation. Now speak the whole thing
out loud. Connect to it. Imagine the audience as you speak out loud. Really listen to
yourself.
Does the whole thing make sense? Does it flow? Can you say all the words? If it
does, great, youre done.
Heres the best part of the Talkitout Technique. It has a built-in rehearsal
system. By talking it out, you are rehearsing your material.
Youre learning your speech or presentation as youre preparing it. Talkitout
actually saves you time. You wont need to rehearse much after youve finished. If you
have no time to rehearse, no problem. You know your stuff already - because youve
talked it out.
Talking it out gets your tongue and mouth working. Youll be able to say your
words. If you stumble during preparation, then you know you cant say that word or
phrase. So you change it. Better to stumble at the preparation stage than embarrass
yourself when youre presenting.
Youll become very comfortable with your material. Youll get connected to it.
By the time you deliver your speech or presentation, youll know the material inside out.
Most important of all, Talkitout lets you be you. Its your voice. Youre
speaking the way you speak, not the way someone else speaks. Youre not speaking the
way you write. Because its truly you, its a hundred times easier to perform.
If youre a speechwriter, Talkitout will help you impress your clients. Get your
clients voice in your head. Talk it out the way they would. Then when the client gets
the speech, they can deliver it with almost no rehearsals because it will sound like them.
The speech will be conversational. If they need to make changes, its easy.
But you have to remember this: the Talkitout technique does NOT work
UNLESS YOU ACTUALLY TALK OUT LOUD.
You cant whisper the words. Or think the words. You must speak the words out
loud. This is really difficult for some people. Were not trained or accustomed to do this.
Weve all been taught to write in silence and then speak what weve written. This is
doing things backwards. Its illogical.
Talkitout is a revolutionary way of approaching a speech or presentation. It
really makes sense. It really is easy. But we do have to be willing to unlearn the old
way. Dont be afraid to change the way you work.
37
Once you see how amazing your public speaking will be with Talkitout, youll
never go back to the old method. Only Talkitout can transform you immediately
into a powerful and commanding speaker.
Ive tested it around the world. The results were the same every time. All
speakers - regardless of their experience - improved dramatically and instantly. You can
too, I promise. You just need to TALK IT OUT LOUD.
Heres a summary of the Talkitout Technique

1. Say the first thought out loud in as many different ways as possible.
2. When you hear the best way, write it down exactly they way you said it.
3. Say the first sentence out loud again. Add the second thought. Talk it out.
When you hear the best way of saying it, write it out exactly the way you said
it.
4. Say the two written sentences out loud and add the third thought.
5. Keep going this way until youre finished.
Step Three: Write It Out

As youre talking out loud, you still need to get your speech or presentation on
paper or into the computer. But with the Talkitout technique, you write it differently.
Neat sentences and paragraphs are great - if your audience is going to read them.
But neat sentences and paragraphs make you read the text rather than perform it.
Thats because in a conventional written format like this book, your eyes move
horizontally left to right across the page. This is the way we read.
If your eyes are moving horizontally across the page and you speak whats
written, youre going to sound like your reading.
You need to fool the eye so that when you look at the speech, its so different, it
will force you to speak differently. You will perform it - not read it. Heres how you do
it.
Use a large
font so you can read it in poor light if necessary.
Talk out the first thought. Write it up to the point where you pause. Then
double-space it so the continuation of the thought moves vertically down the page.
Double space again.
Talk out the next thought, double-spacing and moving down vertically each
time you pause or stop. Double space for the next thought. Keep doing this as you talk
out your speech or presentation.
38
The BFP
When you finish the hook and are ready to talk out the content or context, go
down three spaces. This is your BFP or BIG FAT PAUSE.
Use the BFP (three spaces) when youre changing direction in logic or if you want
to have a longer pause for emphasis or effect. BFPs help you slow down and bring a
change of pace and mood to your performance.
You can use CAPS for words you want to emphasize. Or you can bold them or
underline them.
Below is a corporate speech I found on the website of a major multinational
company. Its written in the traditional style. Ive included the typos as they appeared on
the website. But Ive removed the name of the company.
Try reading the speech out loud. Can you do it without stumbling? Do you
understand what youve just read? Do you have to re-read certain sections to get their
meaning?
Imagine the impact this speech will have on an audience. Imagine how much
theyll understand after hearing it just once.
The facts are clear our industry already is green; the challenge for us all is
to tell the story better and more widely.
One way to tell that story better is as and industry to seize the opportunity for
leadership on the critical issue to the global society and to our industry of the reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol has become the focal point for the worlds attempt to manage
green house gas emissions and other aspects of climate change, in spite of debates that
exist in some quarters about Kyotos appropriateness and effectiveness.
We believe that our industry has the science and the critical mass to establish
global targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We also believe that if we work with
governments and other stakeholders to establish worldwide sector-specific targets, that
we can manage better the business impact of Kyoto and subsequent regulatory
frameworks.
This is just a small section of a very long speech. It is a struggle to understand,
even when you can look at the printed words over and over again.
This speech was written for the eye. Its filled with jargon and long convoluted
sentences. Its not written for you to understand easily if you have only one chance to
hear it.
39
Ive taken this same speech and applied the Talkitout technique. I havent
changed the content. Ive talked it out and made it understandable to the ear. And Ive
written it in my Talkitout writing technique.
Now read it out loud. Put in tiny pauses after each line. Emphasize the words in
bold. Take a good pause when you see a BFP Big Fat Pause.
The facts are clear.
Our industry IS green already.
Our challenge
is to make sure people EVERYWHERE know this.
One way we can do it

is by telling OUR STORY better.
We can tell a better story
if we become LEADERS in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This is a CRITICAL ISSUE for our industry

and for the world.
Thats why theres so much attention on the Kyoto Protocol.
Countries are trying to manage greenhouse gas emissions
and other aspects of climate change
through Kyoto.
Theyre doing it even though
theres a debate about
how effective and appropriate the Kyoto Protocol really is.
We believe OUR INDUSTRY
40
CAN REDUCE greenhouse gas emissions.

because
WE HAVE THE SCIENCE.
Our industry is also
BIG ENOUGH to establish global targets.
We believe
we CAN WORK with governments
and other stakeholders
to create specific targets around the world.
Once we do that
we can do a better job managing
the BUSINESS IMPACT of Kyoto.
Did you find this easier to read? Did you understand what you just read? All of
my clients are amazed at how easy it is to read their speeches after theyve been
transformed by the Talkitout technique.
Heres an excerpt of a speech delivered by a CEO who was coached in my
Talkitout technique.
One persons crisis is another persons opportunity.
Theres lots of talk today about a crisis in the energy industry.
But really its just another way of acknowledging conditions are constantly
changing and we have to respond to them.
Where some see a crisis
we see opportunity.
Heres one example.
In June of 2003, a company in Tennessee had a record anyone would be proud of.
41
PCS Nitrogen makes fertilizers. They had 130 employees. Most employees had at
least 16 years of service. They had worked for almost two years without any injuries.
They were community partners with the local elementary School.
Sounds like a company anyone of us might want to work for, or have in your
community.
But in June of 2003 the plant shut its doors for good. Its not likely that PCS
Nitrogen will ever reopen.
It wont reopen because it depends on natural gas for a feedstock.
Depending on natural gas and not having enough is a trend thats here to stay.
The US cannot supply its own demands for natural gas.
manufacturers like PCS have disappeared in recent years.
Dozens of US
We dont believe they will ever return.

The price of natural gas rose to around six dollars US per mmbtu this year.
Theres no sign of that price coming down anytime soon.
Some people think the high price of natural gas is a crisis. But we think its an
opportunity.
The high cost natural gas makes many more things possible in our world.
Notice the clear simple language, the simple sentence structure. Theres a good
hook. Theres a story early in the speech. It wasnt written totally in the Talkitout
style. But because it was talked out in the preparation stage, its very easy to deliver.
By the way, you can see actual transformations of two of my clients on video on
my website www.podiumcoaching.com.
Talkitout - written as I recommend - is like a musical score for your words.
The eyes move down the page because of the double spacing and the large font.
Important points are in CAPS or bold so you know to emphasize them.
Every time you come to a BFP, you know you have to stop for a good long pause.
The eyes dont have a mass of print to follow horizontally. As your eyes move
down the page vertically, its easier to see whats coming next.
Because you talked it out in the first place, the material is conversational. If a
speechwriter talked it out for you, its easy to personalize the presentation because its
conversational in the first place.
42
If you time one page as you speak it out loud, youll know how long it takes you
deliver it. Lets say it takes you 30 seconds to deliver one page. If you write 10 pages,
then youll have five minutes. So you can keep track of how much material youve
prepared.
Step Four: Reduce It

I call the paper your speech is written on or the teleprompter you use to deliver it,
the tool of the devil. Thats because it forces you to read the written word and not speak
conversationally. So I encourage people to reduce the words and eventually lose the
paper.
If youre giving a PowerPoint presentation or a speech thats about 15 to 20
minutes long, you should be able to do it without reading anything.
If youre delivering a more formal and longer speech, you can just stop at Step
Three: Write It Out. Simply read your speech. Because youve talked it out first and
written it out in the special format, youll be able to simply glance down at a page once
and deliver it almost perfectly without having to read it word for word.
In the Talkitout technique, you read but you do it very naturally. You
transcend the limits of simply reciting the words on the page. It works because youve
talked it out in your own voice. You are using words your tongue can get around in
simple sentences. Talkitout is great for longer speeches.
But for shorter presentations, lose the tool of the devil. The first step is to plan
your material a little differently. Were still working with the hook, context, content and
conclusion.
Heres how they look now:
Reduce It
Memorize
Bullets
3-4 words
Know
Hook
1. Most Important
2.
3.
4.
5. Least important
Conclusion
Always
Flexizone
Always
43
The Reduce the Words format is great for short speeches and PowerPoint.
You begin by doing Step One to Step Three. In the Reduce It format, organize
the content and context from most important point to least important.
Memorize the HOOK. Know your opening line(s) or story cold. This will give
you a good clean start. That will give you confidence to continue. Once you know the
hook cold, throw away the paper.
Put the CONTENT/CONTEXT into bullet points of 3 to 4 words or less. Use
small recipe cards or one sheet of paper. Dont go over 4 words. If you can use just one
word, great. The more words you have, the more temptation there will be to read.
Remember people didnt ask you to read to them. They asked you to speak!
This is the bulk of your presentation. Its your guide, your road map. So the
fewer words you have in this section, the better it will be. The object here is to
understand what youre saying - not to memorize it. Remember to organize this section
with the most important point first. Ill explain in a minute why.
Know your CONCLUSION. Dont memorize it. Just understand the points you
want to make at the end. If you memorize them, then youre locking yourself into a
format that might not work.
Rehearse your presentation a few times. Then put it away until youre ready to
present. Then rehearse one more time just before you are due to deliver it. If you want,
you can keep your paper with the bullet points with you, to keep you on track when
youre speaking.
Lets reduce the words on the sample speech on page 39. Heres the speech again
after its been talked out.
The facts are clear.
Our industry IS green already.
Our challenge
is to make sure people EVERYWHERE know this.
One way we can do it
is by telling OUR STORY better.
We can tell a better story
if we become LEADERS in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
44
This is a CRITICAL ISSUE for our industry

and for the world.
Thats why theres so much attention on the Kyoto Protocol.
Countries are trying to manage greenhouse gas emissions
and other aspects of climate change
through Kyoto.
Theyre doing it even though
theres a debate about
how effective and appropriate the Kyoto Protocol really is.
We believe OUR INDUSTRY

CAN REDUCE greenhouse gas emissions.
because
WE HAVE THE SCIENCE.
Our industry is also
BIG ENOUGH to establish global targets.
We believe
we CAN WORK with governments
and other stakeholders
to create specific targets around the world.
Once we do that
we can do a better job managing
the BUSINESS IMPACT of Kyoto.
45
This sample speech doesnt start from the beginning or hook. Its part of the body
of the speech. In the reduced format, this is what would be on your paper after youve
reduced the words:
facts clear.
industry IS green.
Challenge people know
telling STORY better.

better story
LEADERS reducing emissions.
CRITICAL ISSUE
Why attention on Kyoto

Manage emissions climate change
through Kyoto.
even though debate
INDUSTRY CAN REDUCE missions.

HAVE THE SCIENCE.
BIG ENOUGH
WORK create targets
manage BUSINESS IMPACT
46
There are still a lot of words. You can probably reduce this further. Heres
another version.
industry IS green.
Challenge
STORY
LEADERS
CRITICAL ISSUE
Why attention on Kyoto

Manage emissions climate change
INDUSTRY missions.
HAVE THE SCIENCE.
Create targets
BUSINESS IMPACT
Its up to you as to how many words you need to leave on your paper. The ideal
is to get rid of the words altogether.
Remember the object is not to memorize your presentation. Its to understand it.
When you understand what youre saying, it means you are truly awake and focused on
your words. Then you never need fear about making a mistake. It doesnt matter if you
dont use the exact words, as long as you follow the logical progression of your
presentation.
Mistakes happen when people speak from memory like robots. Then when they
lose their place, they wake up in terror because they dont understand where to go next.
The only thing you memorize is the hook. You will always have a hook and
conclusion. Generally people remember beginnings and endings, so you want these to be
perfect. Memorizing the hook gives you a great start. It gives you confidence.
47
Knowing your conclusion rather than memorizing it gives you flexibility. It

means your conclusion doesnt depend on saying one particular thing first. You can
jump down to the conclusion anytime you want.
The Flexi-zone means you organize your content and context in descending
order of importance. This means you can adapt to whatever happens. And when youre
performing live, anything can happen - and usually does. Here are two common things
that happen.
Lets say youre speaking and suddenly you realize youre too long. Youve
got to quickly bring your speech to an end. Lets use the Reduce It format on p.78.
You delivered your hook, points 1, 2 and 3 of your content and context. At this stage you
notice that youve really gone over time. The rest of the information (points 4 and 5) is
really not that important.
So instead of speeding up and trying to jam everything in, you jump down from
point 3 to the conclusion. Nobody will know the difference. All they will know is that
you gave a great presentation.
Lets say you set out with the intention of keeping your speech short. Youre
interested in presenting only the first three points in your content and context section.
But youre smart. You know that anything can happen. So you add a couple of extra
speaking points just in case.
Suddenly you find that your presentation is too short, and you have to fill some
time. Its not a problem because you have a couple of extra points that youre familiar
with. You deliver them. Then move on to the conclusion and nobody will know the
difference.
Thats the beauty of the Flexi-zone. It will expand and contract depending on
the situation. Remember, when youre presenting, anything can happen. You want to be
prepared.
So start with Steps One to Three. Then reduce the words. This format will
prepare you for anything. No matter what happens, you finish a winner.
Step Five: Deliver It

Jobs was the best showman in American business and he worked hard at his
art, preparing maniacally for weeks before an appearance. He got ready for a keynote
much the way Oscar Wilde prepared for a dinner party. He spent countless hours
rehearsing the succinct lines he would throw off as if they were improvisations.
Alan Deutschman, Author
The Second Coming of Stephen Jobs
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. The more you rehearse, the better youll be.
Rehearse out loud. Rehearse in front of your colleagues, family, friends or the bathroom
mirror. Video yourself. Rehearsing makes you confident and comfortable.
48
Rehearse, but dont memorize. Understand what youre talking about. If you
happen to change a word or the order of a thought when youre delivering, just go with it.
As long as youre not leaving our some crucial information, you can make small changes
in the heat of the moment. You want to leave room for that kind of spontaneity.
If you cant rehearse - but youve used the Talkitout technique - you will still
sound much better than if you had prepared the old fashioned way by writing everything
out silently, then trying to read it.
The best speeches or presentations are paperless. In other words, theyre not read.
No paper, no Teleprompter and no reading PowerPoint slides.
Remember, papers, teleprompter, PowerPoint slides, overhead slides, are the tools
of the devil. They suck the juice out of your performance, tempting you to read rather
than perform. Theyre a crutch. They put your brain into neutral. You dont have to
think, just parrot what you see.
To be really effective, you need to lose the paper. Its simple if youve followed
Steps One to Four. You will have reduced the pages of notes to a few cue cards or one
sheet of paper.
Now you rehearse until you can say it without any paper. Remember the point is
not to memorize your presentation or speech but to understand what youre saying, how
youre saying it and why.
When you feel comfortable with your material, stop rehearsing. You can do one
more rehearsal the day of your presentation to refresh your memory.
Here are a few more tips to make your delivery powerful and persuasive.
Dont be afraid to let the audience see some of your personality when you
perform your speech. Dont be over-dramatic just enough to be interesting.
When you deliver, use your hands. Dont hold your pages if youre reading
your speech. And dont clutch the lectern.
If you need a microphone, get a wireless one so you can move around. Dont use
hand held microphones unless youre really comfortable with them. Many speakers
actually forget to put the microphone close enough to their lips so the sound can be
picked up.
Watch your movement on stage. Resist the temptation to pace wildly up and
down. It can be very distracting for the audience. The best rule is to move for a reason.
Some speakers go right into an audience. Be careful doing this. If you jump off a
stage into the audience, most people wont see you - unless you are being projected on
screens around the room.
49
If you walk down an aisle while speaking, the people behind you only see your
back. My advice is make sure that every move you make is made for a good reason.
It is generally believed that centre stage is the most powerful position. If you
have an important point to make, take a few steps to the centre of the stage. The weaker
positions are on the left and right towards the back. Limit your movements to three steps.
If youre using PowerPoint or video, make sure you have remote controls. If you
dont, then position the equipment to one side near you so you can press buttons easily
and quickly.
If youre speaking to a really big group, make your movements slower and longer.
Finally, go to the toilet before you speak. Check your teeth before you leave the
bathroom.
Steps Summary
Plan using the Think It Out Form on page 32.
Use the Three Languages of Communication to deliver your message with

full impact.
If youre making a long speech of 30 minutes or more, use the Long

Speech Preparation Form on page 61.
Actually talk each thought out loud BEFORE you write it down.
Say the thought in as many different and creative ways as possible.
When you hear one way that is just perfect, write it down exactly the way
you said it.
Keep going back a few sentences and saying them out loud each time you
add a new thought.
Write it vertically using double spaces and the BFP (Big Fat Pause).
Use CAPS or bold on words you want to emphasize.
Instead of inserting a comma, move your phrase down to the next line.
Stop here if its a long speech of 30 minutes or more. Youll use your
paper to skim read your speech after a few rehearsals.
50
Reduce the words to cue cards or one page of paper.
You can use the paper to guide you when you speak.
Rehearse till you understand it.
Dont memorize anything but the hook.
Step Five: Deliver It
Try to lose the paper completely. Its a crutch.
Rehearse one more time without any paper.
Use your hands naturally
Focus on your speech and nothing else
Stay in centre stage
Walk for a reason
Dont turn your back on the audience
51
PART 4 - The Secrets: Tips to Make You a

Commanding Public Speaker
Be the Buddha
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on
the present moment.
Buddha
When the Buddha said this, he was talking about a state of wakefulness, of total
awareness focused on the present moment. Thats the state you need to be in for
successful presentations.
You should not be thinking about what you ate for dinner. Nor speculating about
how you will be received. Instead, your mind should be firmly anchored on the
presentation and the audience.
You must be so aware you can feel every heartbeat in the room, see every
movement and sense the effect your words are having on everyone. In this state of
wakefulness, you are in complete control of your actions and words. You exude power
and confidence.
Speaking is a powerful act because our words are sounds created through
vibration. Sound is powerful. Just crank up the volume on a heavy metal song or try
standing next to a 747 about to take off. You need to respect the power of your words because their sound can inspire or devastate.
Make sure every word means something. Dont waste the audiences time - or
yours. The best way to do this is to be awake, like the Buddha.
In this state of wakefulness, let your ego go. Dont focus on having a certain
outcome. The outcome will always be perfect because you are fully awake and
connected to the present moment. It means youre speaking from the heart and your
words will inspire. You will say and do the right thing. There is no failure in this state.
Trust and Be Yourself

Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without a humble but
reasonable confidence in your powers you cannot be successful or happy. But with
sound self-confidence you can succeed.
Norman Vincent Peale, author
The Power of Positive Thinking
The wonderful thing about the Talkitout technique is that its authentically you.
When you try to be someone else, your presentations wont ring true. The audience will
sense that somethings not right. Youll be making more work for yourself.
52
The key to being a persuasive dynamic speaker is to be yourself. But what do you
do if youre afraid to be who you are, or youre extremely nervous?
Take your cue from the movies. You must have seen this in a movie. The main
character has to read a prepared text. She doesnt believe in it. Or perhaps shes terrified
of speaking.
She stands up in front of the crowd, looks around, glances at the prepared text and
then tosses it away. She lifts her head, takes a deep breath and speaks passionately from
the heart. The audience goes wild.
This is the point where the character risked all by being true to herself. And this
is the moment where she gained all because she was true to herself. The character has
taken a risk. And in movie after movie that risk pays off. It will for you too, if you are
true to yourself and speak from your heart. To be a great communicator means you have
to have confidence. You have to trust yourself.
The Talkitout technique forces you to be yourself because when you say each
thought out loud, its you speaking.
You can cheat and pretend youre someone else, and try speaking in their voice.
But the result will be a lousy presentation. The audience will sense that youre not being
truly who you really are. They wont like you or trust you.
To be yourself, you have to have faith and guts. Faith that you are as good as
anyone else. Faith that the audience will love you for who you are, not because you can
imitate someone else. Guts to speak in your own authentic voice. If you believe in
yourself, others will too.
Affirmations and Visualizations

Remember, affirmations are like planting seeds in the ground... you dont get
a full grown plant the next day. As you continue to say the affirmation, either you will
be ready to release whatever you dont want, and the affirmation will become true; or it
will open a new avenue to you.
Louise Hay, author
The Power is Within You
A good way to become more confident is by using visualizations and
affirmations. Many professional athletes and successful business people do these all the
time. They visualize themselves in a winning situation. They affirm it. It happens.
An affirmation is a short, simple, positive sentence in the present tense; for
example - I am a powerful speaker. You repeat the affirmation silently, or out loud, as
often as possible, especially when youre on the in-breath. You can write the affirmation.
Paste it up where you can see it everyday to remind and inspire you.
53
Visualization is imagining yourself in an ideal winning situation. See yourself

giving a dynamite presentation where youre energized and in control. See the audience
listening attentively, leaning forward and totally engaged.
Affirmations and visualizations are not new. People have been using them for a
long time. Its using the conscious mind to program the subconscious mind. Its all
about The Power of Positive Thinking that Norman Vincent Peale wrote about. As
Louise Hay points out in the quote above, affirmations and visualizations take time - but
over time they will change you.
Dr. Wayne Dyer in his book The Power of Intention speaks about visualizations.
He calls them imagination. He says we can use our imagination to think from the end.
In other words, imagine or visualize the end result you as a powerful speaker. Then let
it happen. Dyer goes on to say, Theres no stopping anyone who can think from the
end.
You can think from the end in your professional or personal life. Visualize your
success just before you speak. It will give you confidence.
If you combine the visualization and affirmation with the breath, you have a tool
for self-growth. It will help you become confident. This simple technique has worked
for many people. Theres no reason it shouldnt work for you.
Breathe
Breathing in I calm my mind and body. Breathing out I smile. Breathing in I
dwell in the moment. This is the only moment.
Thich Nhat Hahn,
Vietnamese Buddhist Monk
Public speaking is nerve wracking. Thats why so many people say theyd rather
die than speak in public. The good news is you can get used to it. And you can use it.
You can take that nervous energy and channel it into an energized performance.
There are a lot of good pressure-releasing techniques around. You can learn to
meditate, do yoga or jog. These are good because they involve the breath.
When we focus on the breath, we are helping ourselves in two ways. First,
physiologically. We are filling our bodies with oxygen. This will energize us.
Second, were helping ourselves psychologically. We are taking our attention
away from being nervous and putting it on the breath.
By concentrating on our breathing, were focusing our mind away from our fear
of speaking. Were relaxing.
Heres a simple technique that will take you 90 seconds or less to do.
54
Whether youre sitting or standing, make sure your spine is straight.
Most people suck in their stomach when they inhale. Youre going to do
the opposite. Relax your stomach muscles and expand your stomach.
Inhale as slowly as you can. Focus totally on your breath.
Dont hold the breath at the top of the inhalation. Dont hunch your
shoulders. Keep your head level.
Slowly exhale. As youre exhaling, push your stomach towards the small
of your back.
When youve exhaled, dont hold the breath. Release the stomach and
inhale slowly.
Do this six times or more.
Keep your attention on slowing the breath and moving your stomach in
and out.
If you take six slow breaths it should take you around 90 seconds. If you cant do
six, do five, four, three, two or one, which will take about ten seconds.
The point is to totally focus on your breath. Use it to clear the mind and energize
the body. As you breathe deeply, youre taking in oxygen. As you exhale strongly,
youre releasing toxins.
Add your affirmation and visualization to your breath. When you breathe in,
say your affirmation silently or out loud.
When you exhale, visualize yourself speaking successfully. Do this as often as
you can, and especially just before you speak.
When youve finished your breathing exercise with affirmations and
visualizations, your body and mind will be ready to focus on your presentation.
In summary, keep your mind focused on the present moment. Nothing exists but
you, your presentation and the audience.
Combine affirmations and visualizations with your breath to see the end result
you as a successful and powerful communicator.
Voice Exercises
The voice reflects your soul. Who you are will come through in the way you
sound.
Elvira Gonnella
Assistant Professor, Music (Retd)
Dalhousie University, Halifax
55
Your voice is your instrument. You can ignore it. It will still do an adequate job
for you. But if you dedicate a few minutes a day to some simple exercises, you can
dramatically improve its sound, power and consequently its effect. Then the voice will
empower you to speak with confidence. Remember from the Communication Impact, the
way you sound accounts for 38% of your impact on the audience.
The voice needs exercise because we use so many muscles when we speak. The
lips, tongue, jaw, soft palette, (the soft fleshy area above the back of your throat), and
larynx all need to be warmed up for clear effective speech. So do your voice exercises in
the shower, while preparing breakfast or in the car driving to work.
A good tip from singer Elvira Gonnella is to speak with a smile in your eyes, not
on your lips. This lifts all kinds of facial muscles so the sound is elevated and bright. It
also widens the passages on either side of the nose so more air can get in.
Another good tip is to drink room temperature water when you speak. Ice-cold
water will constrict your vocal muscles. No coffee with lots of cream either. It will clog
up your voice. Stick with luke-warm herbal tea.
Before you exercise, here are a few things to remember:
keep your jaw and shoulders relaxed
keep the ribcage elevated
dont force anything.
dont tense up the inside of the mouth
strengthen the abdominal and back muscles to support the muscles of the
larynx
Here are a few exercises that Elvira uses in her music classes:
56
Loosen up your face by scrunching it up and releasing. Stick the tongue

out and try to touch your nose. Move it from side to side outside the
mouth. Shake the face gently.
Yawn politely as if you dont want anyone to see. This will help elevate
the roof of the mouth.
Chew like a cow to loosen up the muscles.
Blow air through the lips and trill them as a warm-up exercise. Do the
same with your tongue by trilling RRRRRRR behind your teeth.
Greet someone with an AHHHH as if its the first time youre seeing
them. Let the AHHH start high and get lower. Keep the jaw hanging
normally in place. Dont pull the corners of the mouth. Keep a smile in
the eyes.
Hum first thing in the morning. Its a good way to wake up the voice.
Hum through your range without stopping at the high notes or low notes.
Also direct your hum by increasing your energy, to a point a few meters in
front of you and then bring the sound back.
Now say Elviras tongue twisters three times each as quickly as possible. Each
tongue twister is designed to work a different set of muscles. If youre breathing properly
and the tongue is free, youll have no trouble. Practice the ones you cant say and build
up those muscles:
1. Break brown bread briskly.
2. Motionless blue sloths blissfully sleep.
3. Strive, struggle, strain for strength.
4. Queens quickly quell quivering quarks.
5. Shriveled shreds shed shards of sick sharks.
6. Clear the clutter of crass clotted cream
7. Glowing gleams of graceful glittering grass.
8. Trumpets triumphant strike terror in strumpets.
9. White whorls of whipped cream.
10. Fluttering spherical flies float freely frantically.
11. Nuclear nebulous niggling galaxies nibbling nectar.
12. Catch tsetse insects chewing nuts cheerfully.
13. Dwarves dwell in drains drilled in Twillingate.
14. Ming mangoes manage to mangle many.
15. Miss Maze, Major Mosher.
16. Playful praying priests plead for pleasure.
17. Shocking stocking stalkers shake socks stiffly.
18. Thrust thirsty thoughts through thick throats.
19. Kept crofts creep covertly carpeted.
20. Bulbous bubbles below black rubber.
57
PART 5 - Tips, Technical Stuff and Logistics

Making Long Speeches
If youre writing a speech thats thirty minutes or longer, or is quite complex, use
steps one to three. Youll need to read your speech. The Talkitout technique will
allow you to do it without sounding or looking as if youre reading.
Thats because youre so familiar with the material, you can see where you are
and where you need to go with just one glance.
The built-in rehearsal in the Talkitout technique really pays off here. So does
writing it differently. Having the words flow vertically down the page in a large font
makes it easy to glance down and absorb almost a whole page.
Remember the Talkitout technique also has a built-in timer. After youve
written one full page, say it out loud and time yourself. Youll probably have the same
time for every page. I average a minute a page. So if Ive written 30 pages, I know my
speech is about 30 minutes long.
The Talkitout technique can save you time, if you plan first. Writing a speech
from beginning to end without a plan is where time gets wasted.
Use the tips below, in conjunction with the Long Speech Preparation Form on
page 61, for longer speeches:
Think through your main focus statement and write it out in one sentence. Its
what the audience will take away from your speech.
Jot down the main subject areas you want to talk about. Lets say there are three.
There could be more or less but for this example, well say three. Put them in the order
you want to deliver them.
Jot down ideas for all parts of the Long Speech Preparation Form. Start with
the Big Hook. Then go to the first subject area. Jot down ideas for the hook,
content/context and conclusion. Go to the next subject area and then the next one.
Finally put down a few ideas for the Big Wrap. Remember dont write any sentences,
just jot down ideas.
Look at every section and decide how long they should be. Assign the amount of
time you want to spend talking on each subject area. The amount of time depends on
how important the subject area is and how long your presentation is.
Lets say youve been asked to deliver a 30-minute speech. Youve divided your
speech into three main subject areas. You decide the Big Hook is really important and
you need to tell a story. So you give yourself 5 minutes to tell it.
58
That leaves 25 minutes for the rest of the speech. You decide that subject area #1
is not critical but must come first because it really sets up the rest of the speech. You
give it 5 minutes. Now you have 20 minutes left to fill.
You decide to assign 10 minutes to subject area #2 because its the most
important. That leaves 10 minutes.
You decide subject area #3 deserves 6 minutes and the big wrap only needs 4
minutes.
So your timing goes like this:
Big Hook
5 minutes
Subject Area #1
Subject Area #2
10
Subject Area #3
Big Wrap
Total
30 minutes
Now youre ready to start writing. Do it using Steps Two and Three.
However, you can do something different because its a long speech. You dont
need to start at the hook. Start talking out your speech from any section you want.
Maybe you want to do subject area #2 first because its the easiest. You know it
has to be around 10 minutes long, so work on it until its about the right length. When it
is finished, put it aside and work on another section. Keep working until all sections are
done.
Then talk out the finished work from beginning to end. Make any adjustments
you need. You might need some transitional thoughts between sections. This is the time
to add them in.
This method works because its well thought out in advance. You have all your
important points. You know how much time to give each one. Its easier to work on one
small section at a time than to face the whole speech in one go.
When people try to write a speech from beginning to end, they often run out of
time before they get to the end. They tend to ramble. They dont get all their important
points in. Using the advance preparation form makes sure you get everything in.
By the way, you can use this method for writing long reports that will be read.
Just convert the minutes to number of words.
For example if youre writing a 3,000-word report, the Big Hook would be 500
words, subject area #1 would be 500 words, subject area #2 would be 1000 words, etc.
59
The Long Speech Preparation Form is on the next page. Use it to help you
prepare for speeches or presentations that are thirty minutes or longer. It will help you
save a lot of time when you plan your presentation first.
The Long Speech Preparation Form is only slightly different from the Think It
Out Form on page 32. That one is best for short speeches or presentations up to 20
minutes long.
60
Long Speech Preparation Form

Focus statement: Describe what the audience will take away from your
speech in one clear sentence.
___________________________________________________________
The Big Hook: Find a creative way to hook your audience. It could be a
story, an anecdote, one sentence or one word. Just make it memorable.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Subject #1
Hook ______________________________________________________
Context ____________________________________________________
Content ____________________________________________________
Conclusion _________________________________________________
Subject #2
Hook ______________________________________________________
Context ____________________________________________________
Content ____________________________________________________
Conclusion _________________________________________________
Subject #3
Hook ______________________________________________________
Context ____________________________________________________
Content ____________________________________________________
Conclusion _________________________________________________
The Big Wrap
Bring your speech to a conclusion. You could refer to what you said in
your hook or the focus statement.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
61
PowerPoint That Makes an Impact

PowerPoint is a competent slide manager and projector. But rather than
supplementing a presentation, it has become a substitute for it. Such misuse ignores
the most important rule of speaking: Respect your audience.
Edward R. Tufte,
Yale University
Edward Tufte, a professor emeritus of political science, computer science and
graphic design, wrote a provocative article about presentations for Wired magazine in
September 2003. He titled the article PowerPoint is Evil. In it, he wrote Power
corrupts. PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.
Cant say I disagree with him. PowerPoint can corrupt us by turning us into lazy
communicators. It can be a crutch, an excuse not to create the best we can. However,
PowerPoint can enhance a presentation - if we use it intelligently.
The Talkitout technique is perfect for PowerPoint. Its the right recipe. Most
people use the wrong recipe when they prepare their PowerPoint.
Most people create their PowerPoint slides first. They figure out the look for their
slides - then think about the content.
Then they write the rest of their presentation based on these slides. Or they find
theyve put so much information on the slides, their speech is a ponderous repetition of
what the audience has already read on the screen.
The problem with this is that youre focused on the form - not the content. Pretty
pictures, great colors and dancing graphics will not make you a great speaker. Those
devices may amuse, briefly. But they wont hold the audiences attention. Sooner or
later you have to give your audience something to sink their teeth into.
Some people commit an even bigger sin. After they prepare slides from a visual
perspective, they get up and deliver by actually reading whats on the slide. They turn
their back to the audience and read to them. Ive seen executives do this. Ive seen
professional speakers do it.
The most important rule for any PowerPoint presentation is this: never,
never turn your back to your audience and read.
That is guaranteed to
62
put them to sleep
antagonise them
bore them
insult them
If your slide has a graphic table and you want to point out something on it, you
can turn your back slightly to the audience for a few seconds. But as a rule of thumb,
always try to face and engage the audience. Theyre there to see and hear you. You are
infinitely more exciting than any slide.
If you want your PowerPoint to make an impact, you must focus on the
content first, not the look.
PowerPoint is no different than any other presentation. It deserves the same
loving attention. So begin by following the first four steps as outlined in this book:
At Step Four when youve reduced the words to 3 or 4 bullets, youll have a
natural ready-made guide for your PowerPoint slides. All you have to do now is chose
which bullets will become slides.
The beauty of this method is, first, its driven by content. And second, it prevents
you from putting too many words on the slides. Generally, you should only have one or
two words per line and 6 lines maximum.
For example lets say youre talking about the perils of PowerPoint presentations.
You want to begin with the following information on your slide.
PowerPoint is Evil
Lousy content
Confusing look
Too many words
Too detailed
Speaker reads
No audience benefit
But dont put the slide up with everything on it as shown above and then start
talking about each point. The audience will be reading all your points and not listening to
what you have to say.
Understand that you are always much more interesting and informative than any
PowerPoint slide. The audience wants to hear and see you.
63
PowerPoint is Evil
Start by showing just the picture and the title - PowerPoint is Evil.
Introduce your subject - why PowerPoint is evil. Talk about it briefly.
Hook the audience with your introductory remarks.
PowerPoint is Evil
Lousy content
When youre ready, reveal the first bullet Lousy content.

Just use the appear effect. Dont have it whirling, zooming or spinning in.
Talk about lousy content.
64
PowerPoint is Evil
Lousy content
Confusing look
When youre ready, reveal the next bullet Confusing look.

Speak about that.
Keep going until youve gone through all your bullet points.
By revealing your points one at a time, youre in control of the information.
Youre giving it to the audience in understandable chunks. Youre not confusing them by
putting up too much information too soon.
Always keep it simple. Only reveal one bullet at a time and speak about it. When
youre done then go on to the next bullet. The bullets are there as a headline to your
spoken content. You are the star, not your PowerPoint. If people came only to see your
PowerPoint, you could have saved them the time and effort by simply emailing them
your presentation. Theyre there to see you.
Theres a great power in words, if you dont hitch too many of them together.
Josh Billings alias Henry Wheeler Shaw
American humorist 1818-85
Less is more. This is the second most important rule for PowerPoint. The fewer
words on the slide, the more powerful and effective the presentation.
The more words you have, the more confusing it will be for the audience to listen
to you and read at the same time. PowerPoint should clarify, not confuse. It should
enhance, not detract. It should never be the main attraction. Remember, thats your role.
Check each slide first for the number of words. Can you get rid of any in the
name of clarity?
Slides with bullet points should have a maximum of six bullets, with no more that
3 words in each one. Avoid sentences at all costs, unless youre using a quote.
I love using quotes, especially with PowerPoint. Often a good quote can support
a point perfectly.
65
However, when I have the quote, I divided it into readable chunks on two or three
slides. If possible Ill have the authors picture as well as name.
When I present the quote, I put up the first slide and shut up. I read it slowly and
silently to myself. I look at my audience to see if theyve finished reading. Then I click
to the next slide and read it silently until the end of the quote.
This way the audience can read it for themselves. You get a break from talking.
And youve varied the pace of your presentation, so its more interesting.
Some technical tips

1. Go blank. If you want to temporarily blank the screen, hit B on the
computer keyboard and youll get a black screen. Hit B again and your
PowerPoint will reappear. If you prefer a white screen, hit W instead.
2. Draw on your slide. If you hit Ctrl-P, youll get a pen on the screen. Then
use your mouse (left click button) to draw anywhere on your screen. To
erase what youve drawn, hit the E key. To get rid of the pen, hit A or
Ctrl-L.
3. Select a slide. If you want to skip some slides, you can do this easily if
you know the number of your slides. You can find the number of your
slides by going to the OUTLINE VIEW and printing it. Then type the
number of the slide and press ENTER. This will take you directly to the
desired slide.
4. Stop moving. Having your slides dance, zoom, spin or spiral in can be
very distracting. Use the APPEAR effect. Its clean and simple and
doesnt detract from you.
5. Reveal, dont overwhelm. Show only the idea youre discussing. If you
reveal everything, especially a complete list of bullet points, the audience
will be reading while youre talking.
6. Be consistent. Use the same format, especially when youre using bullets.
Have them all start with either a verb or a noun. If its a verb, make sure
its the same tense for every bullet. You can capitalize the first word.
7. Reduce charts. If you have to use charts, tables or graphs, minimize the
amount of information. If you must include absolutely everything, then
leave the slide up long enough for everyone to look at it thoroughly before
you launch into an explanation.
8. Use proper font sizes. Titles are usually between 36 and 44 point size,
main text is 28 to 32 and the rest is 24 to 26. Dont go smaller than 24
point for your font. Itll be too hard to read.
66
Do Your Homework
Research your audience and use the information to bond with them. If youre
speaking to one company, read their annual report, newsletters, web sites, talk to
employees, find out whats working, whats not, whats their biggest accomplishment and
their current struggle.
People generally feel flattered to be asked to contribute to your speech. Get some
good stories about the company that will support the points you need to make.
Visit the organization youre speaking to. You can learn al lot about them by
seeing them at work in their natural habitat.
The more research you do the better your speech will be. But taking the time to
visit or do research also signals that you care.
If there are other speakers, listen to the ones before you and familiarize yourself
with the material of the ones following you. You may be able to refer to the points they
are making. If the speaker before you dealt with something youre going to speak about,
you have a chance to adjust your presentation
Set the Ground Rules

This is important if youre doing a workshop type of presentation. Set the ground
rules at the beginning of your presentation. Let the audience know when and if there will
be a question and answer session.
If you have a question and answer session, have a second ending. Usually people
have a great ending to their main presentation. Then come the questions. After the last
question, the speaker kind of fades away. Use the end of the question session as an
opportunity to give the audience one more brief point, thank them and then leave.
Ask the group what they want to do about cell phones and Blackberries.
Encourage them to turn them off. Tell them you will continue even if someone has to
leave the room for a call.
Tell them you will give them bathroom breaks. Tell them where the bathrooms
are. Let them decide how long they want for lunch.
Tell them when youre starting and that you expect people to respect start times.
You should start on time. And you should end on time. If you said the workshop was
going to end at four oclock, then it should end at four oclock.
Dont outstay your welcome. Give the audience enough of your best so theyre
hungry for more. No matter how good your material was, if you go on and on, all the
audience will remember is the duration not the content. Some people lose all track of
time when they speak. Take off your watch, put it on the lectern, and check it regularly.
The human attention span is about 20 minutes. Remember that.
67
Look at your speech and compare the number of times you said I and the
number of times you said you. You should be saying you more often.
Prepare your own introduction and give it to the person whos introducing you.
Use the Talkitout technique to make it interesting. People can read about your
academic accomplishments somewhere else. Give them a good passionate story to prime
them to listen to you.
Using Humor
You can use jokes, but make sure you know the punch line. Dont use humor at
someones expense - unless its your own. If appropriate, use funny examples to drive
home a point.
You dont need to open with a funny story unless it really is the best opening.
Dont make fun of controversial subjects, religion or race.
Humor is a good tool that gives the audience a chance to relax. Always wait for
them to finish laughing before you go on. Never repeat a punch line. Dont signal its
coming either. If they dont laugh, move on or use a comeback line: Thats the last time
I buy a joke from X (someone in the company).
The best jokes poke gentle fun at yourself or are about looking at the ordinary
things in life from a slightly different perspective. You can find all kinds of jokes on line
these days.
If youre starting your presentation with a joke and you are scheduled to speak
second, pay close attention to what the first speaker says - especially at the end. If he or
she ends on a very heavy note, dont start with a joke. Move your joke deeper into your
presentation.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Speeches

The time of day youre speaking is important. People will be struggling to wake
up for a breakfast speech, more alert at lunch and ready to relax after dinner.
Your content and style should take this into account. Complicated PowerPoint
presentations with complex charts after a huge evening meal while staff are serving
dessert will kill your presentation.
Early morning speeches arent great for big hearty laughs. Try humor, but dont
be upset if the laughter is only a chuckle.
In the afternoon, people are getting tired. They may not be listening as carefully
as they would in the morning or evening.
68
If youre speaking in the evening and youre the last one in a series of speakers,
keep your speech short. People will really appreciate that. Best to leave the audience
happy at the end.
Some politicians deliver their speeches before the meal to make sure they get their
message across. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney rarely spoke after a
meal.
Logistics
Check out the room youre speaking in before the event. Make sure its set up the
way you want.
Go to the front and get comfortable with the location. Make sure everyone
can see you.
Make sure all the technical bells and whistles work microphones,
PowerPoint, video, overheads etc. Test them.
Check the lighting. Keep it bright unless youve got video or PowerPoint.
Then you want a soft light on you.
Locate the emergency exits.
Make sure theres cool, but not ice-cold, water for you.
Locate the restrooms. Go there just before your speech and do some
breathing exercises and shoulder rolls to relax.
Check the temperature in the room. Keep it slightly cooler than normal.
An audience will heat it up. Theyll zone out in a warm room.
Most important of all - enjoy yourself.

Have fun.
If youre well prepared, if youve used Talkitout, you will be a commanding
speaker - every time.
Good luck
Halina St. James
January 2007
69
About the Author: Halina St. James

Halina St. James is a full time trainer and speaker.
She has successfully coached broadcasters and business
leaders around the globe in her Talkitout technique.
She inspires people to be fully and authentically
themselves - right here, right now. She gives people the
tools to live and work productively. She shows them
how to be mindful, how to communicate powerfully and
how to be confident.
She draws on her own experiences as a
globetrotting producer and reporter for CBC and CTV.
She was in Baghdad, Kuwait and Jordan for the first Gulf
War, under fire in the Romanian revolution, and at three
Olympics.
Shes covered kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, revolutionaries and
saints. Shes documented their successes and failures.
Halina has studied meditation for more than 30 years with teachers in India,
California and Halifax. Her studies and experiences have taught her invaluable lessons:
the importance of being yourself, handling pressure, communicating clearly - and having
balance in your life.
Halina has been a teacher, actor and author. Shes written a book on broadcast
performance, Performing the CBC News, which was published by Canadas publicservice broadcaster. She has also written Dealing with the Media, a pocket guide packed
with advice for executives and politicians on handling television, radio and newspaper
interviews.
She delivers workshops in communication skills and media management to
corporations, governments and broadcasters around the world.
Her company, Podium, is based in Nova Scotia, Canada.
You can contact her to arrange your own private or group coaching session. You
can get her tips and buy her books, CDs, MP3 downloads and videos by subscribing to
www.talkitoutnow.com
2 Shepherds Lane
Tantallon, NS, B3Z 2K6
Canada
902 826 1011
www.podiumcoaching.com
70

Talkitout Ebook

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Talkitout Ebook

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Discover the Secrets 0f

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Inner Language ...............................................................................24

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Set the Ground Rules .....................................................................67

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

PART 1: The Foundation: What Makes Speakers

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

As I listened to Johns presentation, it became apparent he was very good - but he

The Lesson of Jane and John

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Know & Respect Your Audience

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Finally, remember interest is contagious. If youre truly interested and passionate

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

PART 2 - The Strategy: Keys for Getting Your

The three languages of communication

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Out of the loop

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Avoid the passive voice

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

We think profits will rise this quarter.

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

B) We started working on our new computer circuit. We believed it would really

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Avoid chunky necklaces. Theyre distracting.

Avoid low necklines. They are even more distracting.

If you wear glasses, make sure theyre non-reflective

Shave twice if you have a heavy beard

Loosen your belt one notch so you can breathe easily.

Make sure youre zippered up.

If you wear glasses, make sure theyre non-reflective.

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

PART 3 - The Talkitout Technique: How to

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Introduce yourself and your topic

Make a connection with the audience

Put both the audience and yourself at ease

Present yourself as an authority on your topic.

All of the above?

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Develop your arguments so you can persuade.

Build a connection with the audience

Talkitout: Discover the Secrets of Powerful Presentations

Get them to understand

Stimulate dialogue, feedback and questions

All of the above?

Get the audience to do something