Today, January 20, 2016, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Hillary Is in Big Trouble.” The article boldly displayed the line, “Clinton increasingly seems stuck in the past, dogged by wilting poll numbers and heavy baggage.” Conservative author, Fred Barnes, clearly not a fan of Hillary, or the Democratic Party, predictably, offered a laundry list of Hillary’s challenges (Benghazi, her husband’s abuse of women, sending top secret e-mails via her unsecured server, lying, etc.,etc.) as being the reason she is struggling against Bernie Sanders, AKA, “the ‘socialist’ from Vermont.” I disagree with Mr. Barnes. I contend that, it is not so much her perceived flaws, as outlined in the article, that are threating her ability to rally her supporters, but more so (weighted less heavily in the article) her inability to rally audiences; that is, her failure as a public speaker.  It is Hillary’s inability to move her audiences that is most compromising her success thus far in her bid for the Whitehouse!

From 1991-1995, I had the privilege of competing in college forensics (speech and debate) as a competitive speaker. From 1996-2015, I had the honor of coaching college forensics. Regardless of the event, be it public speaking, impromptu speaking, debate, or even performance of literature, there are really two universal standards judges desire, and the competitive students celebrate: first, make us say “Wow!” because what you are saying is cool and interesting; and second, teach us something! Tell us something we don’t already know! Speech and debate judges and coaches have heard everything! They spend their lives listening to speeches. So, when we observe a stellar performance, and learn something new, not only do we enjoy the experience, but we are most likely going to vote for said speaker. In my Communication 101 courses, I tell the students that, “If you want to impress me, make me say two things: ‘Wow!’ That was so cool.” And, “I did not know that!”

Something else that is celebrated in college forensics is brevity! Audiences love brevity! Less is more! If you can say something in ten minutes there is no reason to use twenty. When Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address, he was a little known politician at the time. Before he spoke, a much more popular politician at the time (his name is not important) spoke for two hours and fifty minutes. After Mr. Popular finished his two hour and fifty minute presentation, Abraham Lincoln delivered his speech, The Gettysburg Address. Mr. Lincoln spoke for three minutes and twenty seconds, and the country and world would be changed forever. Word economy and time management are so important. Audiences desire brevity, which often promotes a crystal clear message as well. In speech competition prepared speeches last ten minutes. When I work with professionals in the real world, I tell them, “If you have any say in the length of your presentation, ten minutes is the perfect time. It’s long enough to be informative, and short enough to respect the audience’s desire for brevity.”

Now back to the Wall Street Journal article, according to the Journal regarding Hillary the speaker, “The members of her traveling press corps look like they’d rather be anywhere else. So do some of the attendees, who shift in their seats starting around ‘minute ten.’ Even the campaign staffers pace the back of the room or tap inattentively on their iPhones as Clinton drones on.” The emphasis on “minute ten” is added by me. Someone needs to tell Mrs. Clinton, “less is more.” Someone also needs to tell her, that she needs to “tell the audience something they have not heard before.” Also according to the article, “We saw the difference between the two (Hillary and Bernie) in Sunday night’s Democratic Debate. She talked about preserving President Obama’s health-care program and the Dodd-Frank crackdown on Wall Street – in other words, the past. Mr. Sanders spoke of the future.” The article continued, “For months Mr. Sanders has attracted bigger crowds than Mrs. Clinton and stirred more excitement.”

Politics aside, in the Hillary versus Bernie speech contest, Bernie, according to his audiences, appears to be winning. I would argue this is because, 1) He’s using his time wisely, 2) He’s making his audiences say “wow!” and 3) He’s telling the audience things they’ve not already heard!

BMW CEO Speaks and Falls

According to The Blaze, September 15, 2015,

“Harald Krüger made his first major public appearance as BMW’s chief executive officer Tuesday, but he fainted just five minutes into the news conference. Krüger, who is 49-years-old, has been the CEO of the car manufacturer since May, but his presentation at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany was his public debut. Approximately five minutes into his presentation, he began to stumble and then hit the ground.”

Today Health and Wellness, September 15, 2015, offers this,

“Sudden stimulus to the vagus nerve – which controls the heart – is the most common cause of fainting. A sudden fright or shock can lead to a reduction in the heart rate and blood pressure. Stress or nerves can play a role as well. Herald Kruger has only been BMW’s top boss since May and this was reportedly his first time presenting at a major auto show.”

When we consider the fact that public speaking is the number one fear in life, combined with the stress of being a CEO, can you think of a more perfect storm of stress and anxiety? Public speaking creates mental stress, emotional stress, and physical stress. Add to the intense level of stress that accompanies public speaking, something like being a CEO, and you raise the anxiety bar to levels most of us will never understand. Herald Kruger is a perfect example of why it is crucial that speakers go into every public speaking situation physically and mentally at the top of their game.  Three things that must always be a priority for strong – healthy – performances are:

1) A good night’s rest

2) A good healthy meal and staying hydrated (not alcohol)

3) A light cardio workout, followed by a cool shower before speaking

Healthy body, healthy mind!

From 2000-2015, I had the privilege of coaching the Los Angeles Valley College Speech Team.  In 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012, our team claimed team gold medals at the national championship tournament. In 2008, I had the privilege of coaching Marcus Hill, the over all top speaker in nation. A large part of our success, I know Marcus as well as other gold medal speakers would argue, was rigorously managing the physical and mental health of our speakers. We, the coaches, structured their lives during the competition to optimize their performance-health. We imposed on them a good night’s rest, healthy meals, snacks and hydration, and early morning exercise before competition. Today I am privileged to say that I also have a growing list of CEO’s, executives, and vast variety of professionals who would also testify to the value of purposing to manage one’s over all health, as a way to ensure optimal performance each and every time they speak.

Sleeping, eating and staying hydrated, and a light workout and a cool shower before every speech not only promotes health and confidence, but rock star performances.

Duane

The Grit of Erik Sorto

About 10 years ago I had a very unique student in one of my public speaking classes at Los Angels Valley College, named Erik Sorto. Eric was always early, never late. Eric never questioned the demands of class, or any assignment. Eric never failed to submit his work, all of his work, on time! Eric never failed to excel with any of the classroom assignments or demands. Eric Sorto earned one of the highest point total A grades in class. These qualities alone place Eric into a super elite minority within the student body at Los Angeles Valley College. However, when you add to the fact the Erik Sorto is a quadriplegic who can only move his head and fingers, you truly have a student who is amazing!

Are you retarded? Dyslexia!

I recently read an article addressing the challenges associated with dyslexia. The article inspired me to explore more thoughtfully about how my challenges associated with dyslexia have been negotiated and managed with the help of public speaking.

After failing the first grade, I was diagnosed with Dyslexia. I failed English in the 10th grade, and algebra a total of five times. By the grace of God, I graduated high school with a 1.9 G.P.A on probation for bad behavior. Following high school, I failed out of three different community colleges. The first class I failed was public speaking. After my third attempt at college, in as many years, I became a car salesman. Selling cars was one of the best learning experiences of my life, however, at the age of 21, I did not posses the discipline to work sixty-plus hours a week for commission. So I quit. Needing to do something, I applied for the Los Angeles Police Department, only to fail the written exam. My father was an LAPD sergeant. A friend of my father had administered and graded the test. Severely humbled and having no other options, I decided to try college a fourth time.

I figured if I was going to be serious about school, I should start by retaking the courses I had failed. During the summer of 1991, I enrolled in a public speaking course at Los Angeles Valley College with Professor Betty Ballew. Professor Ballew not only inspired me to take the class seriously but encouraged me to join the LAVC public speaking team. To this day, I don’t know why I agreed to do something extracurricular that was academic…but I did! I joined the LAVC public speaking team, and my life was changed forever. Professor Ballew inspired me to celebrate my strengths, and address my challenges.

For two years, I competed on the LAVC speech team traveling around California and the nation winning state and national awards for public speaking. In 1993, I earned an AA in speech and won a scholarship to Northern Arizona University to compete on the NAU speech team. At NAU I enjoyed more state and national successes as well as international. After completing a BS in speech, I was offered a coaching & teaching position and an invitation into the graduate program for communication studies at California State University Los Angeles. In 1996, I was privileged to start coaching competitive speaking and teaching public speaking courses. In 1999 I received my MA in speech communication. As a dyslexic, I feel truly blessed to have experienced the life transforming gift, that is — and can be for anyone — an education fully realized by identifying and celebrating my unique strengths, while at the same time aggressively confronting my unique challenges.

I am now a tenured professor of speech at Los Angeles Valley College, where I serve as the Director of the forensics (public speaking team). I am now privileged to regularly participate with and foster countless success stories as I serve the very program that changed my life. On April 15-19th, 2008 the LAVC speech team competed against 74 other community colleges and over 450 of our nation’s best speakers and won the Phi Rho Pi national public speaking championship tournament held in St. Charles, Illinois. However, the highlight of the year was a very special student named Marcus Hill. Marcus, a former stutterer, became the most successful competitive speaker in California community college history, as well as, the overall top speaker in the country while at nationals in Illinois. Like my Professor Betty Ballew, I am truly blessed with the privilege of helping students discover their individual strengths while actively negotiating their challenges.

In 1991, a college professor asked me if I was “retarded?”. That same year Professor Ballew told me that I had “presence,” and asked me to join the speech team. Professor Ballew focused on my strengths, and helped me to acknowledge and confront my challenges.
“How would dyslexia affect my grandson?” is the title of an article published by the “South Wales Echo,” on July 7, 2010. The question, posed by the author Deborah Boyce, leads into another question many people have, “how many of us actually know what it (dyslexia) is?” Boyce, then proceeds to give us all more insight into what dyslexia is:

“The word “dyslexia” comes from Greek and means “difficulty with words.” “Dyslexia is a difference in the part of the brain which processes language, and it affects skills that are needed for leaning one or more of reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. Wales Dyslexia emphasises that this does not mean that dyslexic people cannot become literate and that with suitable help dyslexic people can succeed, and they often have different and valuable problem-solving abilities. Wales Dyslexia also estimates that between 10% and 20% of the population are affected by dyslexia, with 4% being severely affected.”

So, back to the articles initial question, “How would dyslexia affect my grandson?” As the article states, and this dyslexic professor knows first hand…your grandson (or daughter) would display a consistent challenge with reading, writing, spelling, numeracy — or all of the above! I – fortunately -am challenged with all of the above. I say “fortunately” because – as the article points out – these challenges forced me to develop “different and valuable problem-solving skills.”

I now realize that it has been the consistent practice of public speaking, that has provided me with attributes that I have employed in all areas of my life for success. Public speaking requires a commitment to structure, preparation and repetition.

Public speaking demands clear structure; structure not only employed for smoothly carrying one’s audience, but structure employed for clearly composing and presenting one’s thoughts. Structure is the foundation for communicative clarity. Since a speaker must first compose his/her words prior to speaking (unless you are a politician 🙂 ), this practice unavoidably helped me to become a better writer.

When I joined the Los Angeles Valley College Forensics (speech) team in 1991, one of my coaches after reading my first speech draft asked me if I was “retarded.” He went on to say, “There is not a complete sentence in your speech, and there is absolutely no structure.” He – Marty Tarras – continued, “Kid – you might look good in front of an audience, but if you cant write properly you won’t get very far.” Soon after, I signed up for English composition. I tested so poorly on the placement exam, I had to enrol in English 21.

English 21, is the course that follows English-as-a-second-language within the Los Angeles Community College district. It was being forced, and humbled, to take English 21, combined with what I was learning on the speech team that made me realize how structure could be employed to formulate, write, and then present through public speaking my thoughts clearly. It was very humbling to start at the bottom — but eventually I learned to negotiate my challenges with words well enough to excel in speech competition for four years, while earning a two and four year degree and a university (Northern Arizona) scholarship for public speaking. Following my undergraduate work, I was awarded a graduate position (California State University Los Angeles) which included a paid teaching and coaching position. In 1999, I wrote a masters thesis, and received an MA in Speech Communication. The structure I learned for speech, I was, and continue being able to apply to all of my thinking and communicating – be it written, or spoken.

Public speaking demands preparation! Public speaking competition is the most intense activity I have ever been involved with. In speech competition – on the college level – students are required to compose and present 10 minute long presentations. The speech must be authored by the student. The speeches must have 10-15 current sources documented and spoken in the speech. The speeches must be so perfectly memorized that the words are delivered not just flawlessly, but in such way that the words do not look memorized. If you want to take home a trophy at the end of the weekend…you must look natural! So, if you want to excel in public speaking competition you must be able to: 1) manage your time, 2) focus with commitment. Being dyslexic, I had never focused or committed to anything academic in my life. And time management was something I never really thought about. But I really enjoyed speaking in front of audiences, and competitive success demanded I learn to manage my time, and focus if I wanted to be successful. As an added benefit, I realized that the very structure I was employing to compose my words for speeches, could also be employed to create ways to manage my time and all of my other commitments not just in school, but life! This dyslexic realized that by deliberately planning and organizing my life, I can pretty much achieve anything I want!

Public speaking demands repetition! In public speaking your whole body and mind are your tool. Just like an athlete has to commit to repetitive physical actions to excel with her/his sport of choice, or a musician spends hours learning to work with their instrument or voice, a public speaker works with his/her tools. A competitive public speakers, in order to be successful, must with great repetition work with her/his body, voice, and mind. Practice, practice, practice! The best selling author, Malcom Gladwell suggests “10,000 hours” (see: http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/index.html ) if you want to be great at something. I AGREE! When you are done practicing…practice some more. I now tell my students, perfect practice makes perfect performances. It is the repetition, specifically the practice of memorization that made me realize how truly powerful the human brain is. In college Forensics, in order for students who are participating for truly competitive programs (like the LAVC Speech Team), students are required to have 4-5 competitive speeches ready for the national tournament held annually in April. This means that any student who is doing platform speeches (prepared speeches) must write, research and memorize 4-5 different speeches. Not only does this require a GREAT amount of initial time dedicated to mental repetition, but following each preliminary speech competition prior to the national competition (most teams will go to 8-12 different competitions Sept-March) the successful students are constantly applying the criticisms given to them from judges at each competition. Successful competitors are constantly editing, and often rewriting their speeches and re-memorizing between each preliminary competition. So, not only does the competitive speaker practice with great repetition the performative aspects required for public speaking, but also she/he is constantly writing. As a dyslexic, who failed the first grade because I could not read; who failed English in the 11th grade because I could not write; and who at the community college had to take English 21, before being permitted to take any college level English courses after being called “retarded” by a college professor — I am confident when I say “it was the four years of intense repetition being practiced with my whole body and mind that helped me to learn to not just negotiate my dyslexia, but to also get creative with my own learning style and discover solvency for my problems associated with dyslexia.” Thank you Marty!

While I believe it is structure, preparation, and repetition demanded in public speaking competition that helped this illiterate to become a college professor – none of it would have happened without another key component: praise! It was the initial praise of a very special college professor, and now colleague 🙂 Betty Ballew that inspired me to join the Los Angeles Valley College speech team. And it was the continued and consistent praise of my parents and peers that inspired me to go the distance with public speaking competition, and then continue into and through graduate school, and eventually become a tenured college speech professor.

So, if you do happen to be blessed with a dyslexic child – my advice is to 1) recognize and identify their challenges, 2) help her/him identify creatively his/hers unique strengths, and 3) encourage her/him to develop their unique gifts with consistent praise!

Speech Anxiety and opportunity, the fear of public speaking and the importance of seizing every opportunity are celebrated in Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself”.

Last summer I was driving somewhere with my family, and Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself,” came on the radio. My wife Fleur, after the song concluded said, “That song describes the experience of delivering a speech (the fear of public speaking), and the speech anxiety a speaker experiences before a presentation; and how every time you get to perform (in our case public speaking), it is an opportunity to be seized!”

At Los Angeles Valley College, the center of the San Fernando Valley, and Los Angeles County, the student body is the most diverse to be found anywhere in the world. Not only is the large population full of wonderfully talented people from all over the world, but the community is comprised of individuals that seem to have a larger than most share of challenges to negotiate. Many, if not most of my students come from broken homes, impoverished backgrounds, academic and social challenges, and even have fled from homelands that would never provide them with true opportunity to advance their lives. According to Wikipedia, Eminem’s life narrative is like many of my students, Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born on October 17, 1972, AKA Eminem, came from a fatherless home, he was raised by an abusive mostly absent mom, he was a bullied loner. His mother would move them from home to home, often in African American neighborhoods where he would routinely be beaten up. He spent three years in the ninth grade because of truancy, and finally dropped out of school at the age of 17. His saving grace was story telling. He loved to tell stories. After discovering hip hop, he discovered how to tell his stories with a beat. However, it was a struggle to succeed in a predominantly black industry, but Eminem would eventually earn approval of underground hip hop audiences…. Eminem went onto become the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 83rd on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and declared him The King of Hip Hop.

So, how does this all relate to public speaking, the speech anxiety (AKA the fear of pubic speaking), and the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity that comes your way…? That is what the song, “Lose Yourself,” is about. Consider the very clear and detailed narrative that plays out in Eminem’s Lose Yourself video, and how speech anxiety and opportunity both enter the lives of everyone at some point. Some people step up and do what needs to be done, but most don’t. Speech anxiety, the fear of public speaking, is the number one fear in life; second, is the fear of speaking about death (the doctor, police officer, or firefighter who has to tell someone they have lost a loved one); and third is actually dying. So, most people avoid speech anxiety by avoiding speech! This is a great opportunity lost!

Every time YOU accept the opportunity to speak four things happen:

1) YOU are heard!

2) YOU become a stronger person, because you are combatting the number one fear in life – speech anxiety!

3) YOU become a stronger speaker, because you have embraced the number one fear in life – given a speech! And every time your speak thereafter, you improve.

4) YOU are sharpening YOUR number one skill-set for life. Pubic speaking is intellectually empowering, socially empowering, professionally empowering, financially empowering, and politically empowering.

I hope you find Eminem’s video as encouraging, and inspiring as I do. And don’t let speech anxiety prevent you from seizing any opportunities that you are blessed with.

Duane

On March 26, 2014, the Vatican Insider published the story of Jersey Vargas.   The little Mexican girl traveled from Los Angeles California to the Vatican in Rome to attend Pope Francis’ General Audience. At the end of the Audience, she hopped over one of the barriers and rushed to the front row, and met the Pope. Her purpose, was to speak out on behalf of her father Mario Vargas, currently being held in prison in the state of Tennesse for over a year awaiting deportation. Jersey asked the pope for help.  This resulted in a wave of press attention across the world — and yes, help for her father! Currently Jersey’s sister, Ledyi Vargas is in my COMM 101, public speaking class at Los Angeles Valley College.  The proud big sister, Leydi, brought Jersey to class with her and did a speech about her.  I then asked Jersey if she wanted to give a speech.  She jumped at the opportunity.  And in doing so, inspired the entire class with the power of her words.

Enjoy!

View Michael Bay speaking at the Consume Electronics Show (CES 2014):

“Michael Bay Speaks in Vegas”

If I were given the opportunity to speak with Michael Bay I would ask him two questions. The first question would be, “Who owns the burden of success for your movies?”  According to IMDb.com, Michael Bay has produced 37 movies, and directed 19. Michael Bay is most recognized for the Transformers series.  Box Office Mojo.com, reports that Michael Bay is second only to Steven Spielberg for box office earnings.  Michael Bay’s last 11 films averaged $194.9 million each, and Transformers II, made $402.10 million making the film, the second grossing of all time, first being E.T.  On July 28, 2011, Michael Bay told USA Today, “‘I’ make movies that audiences like, that ‘I’d’ want to see.” With Michael Bay’s words considered, specifically his emphasis on “I,” I think it is safe to assume that Michael Bay would agree that, “he owns the burden for success for his films.” The second question I would ask Michael Bay would be, “Who owns the burden of success for your speeches?”

A speaker must always own the burden of success for their speeches.

Speaker-success must be owned on three levels: level 1, a speaker must own the burden of success before taking the stage, level 2, a speaker must own the burden of success while on stage, and level 3, a speaker must own the burden of success when they exit the stage.

Level 1, Owning the burden of success before taking the stage simply means being prepared on all levels. Following Bay’s presentation the Washington Post, January 20, 2014, responded, “You cannot help but squirm when viewing the video. It is impossible not to feel badly for Bay.  But the teleprompter is not to blame. Bay committed a major communication sin when he took the stage. He was unprepared.” When viewing the video, it is clear Bay was not prepared to manage his anxiety, and he was not prepared to manage his words. He looked physically disheveled and unfamiliar with his stage, his room, and his technology (teleprompter). Speaker-success is all about preparation; and often a speaker’s preparation will be tested while on stage regardless of how prepared they are beforehand.

Level 2, Owning the burden of success while on stage means being prepared for everything including the unexpected. Basic communication theory posits there is a sender and a receiver. The sender is the speaker. The receiver is the audience. The speaker is the one responsible for the success of the communication process because they are the origin of the message! Regardless of what happens during the presentation the speaker is the one whom the audience holds responsible for the success or failure of the message. This truth demands that that the speaker be ready — prepared — for anything and everything that will happen. The speaker must be mentally prepared for people walking in late, people walking out early, phones ringing and vibrating, people texting, computer, audio and visual challenges, and yes teleprompter issues. The speaker must have back up plans, and be ready always to improvise. For Bay it could have been as simple as having note cards in his pocket! If Bay had owned the burden of success while on stage, his exit could have been graceful rather than humbling.

Level 3, Owning the burden of success when you exit the stage means celebrating what worked, and learning from your failures. In college forensics, competition speech, student speakers fully celebrate this crucial truth, the successful speakers that is!  In speech competition each time a speaker delivers a presentation he/she is critically judged. At the end of the tournament all of the participating speakers are presented with ballots to review and learn from. Ballots provide the speaker with all of the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly feedback. The successful competitors — discerning competitors — embrace the criticisms as a way to mature their speeches and improve their performances. The collegiate forensics season spans September-April, and culminates with a hand full of national championship tournaments around the country where thousands of students from around the nation gather to celebrate speech. Speakers will attend, and speak at 10-15 preliminary tournaments through out the year. In between tournaments speakers critically evaluate the judges feedback and apply it to their presentations; often rewriting, or  sometimes even completely scrapping a presentation based on what the judges — the audiences — are saying. Hence, the competitive speakers that go the distance, are the ones that most seriously own their burden when they exit the stage. Following Michael Bay’s presentation in Las Vegas, he was critically evaluated by hundreds of newspaper and journal articles detailing his failure. Hopefully he learned something…?

Owning the burden of success when you exit the stage is perhaps the most important  component of the three levels, because practicing this is the key to learning and improving!   It’s also the most challenging level. While owning success is easy, owning one’s failures demands humility.   Only by owning one’s failures can a speaker step up and do what needs to be done to improve their public speaking.

A speaker must always own the burden of success for their speeches.

Speaker-success is owned on three levels: level 1, a speaker must own the burden of success before taking the stage, level 2, a speaker must own the burden of success while on stage, and level 3, a speaker must own the burden of success when they exit the stage.

And… owning the burden of success not only applies to speech… but also to everything in life.

The King’s Speech II

After I wrote my first speech in Fall of 1991, my speech coach Marty Tarras, after reading what I wrote — or “trying to read it,” I should say — looked at me, and with the harshest of terminology (see Practical Lessons From “The King’s Speech” I) questioned my mental ability.

Thank you Lord for Marty!

Marty knew that I had enough self esteem to bless me with the words I desperately needed to hear! I did not realize it at the time, but Marty was coaching me in both speech, and life! It was clear to Marty that I had some pretty unique, if not severe challenges — and that I was VERY immature! I was in real need of a wake-up-call! If I was going to be a part of the competitive public speaking team at Los Angeles Valley College, Marty was not going to coddle me with candy-coated-words or enable me to continue writing like a 2nd grader (I was 22 years old)! Marty, without pulling any punches, directed me in the art of public speaking, while at the same time forcing me to acknowledge, confront, and overcome any and all challenges that would otherwise prevent me from properly composing and delivering any and all future presentations to the best of my ability.

In the film The King’s Speech, we meet a very challenged individual (The Duke of York, and soon to be King of England), and his speech coach (Lionel Logue). This sensational movie chronicles a very scared man’s journey as he addresses his worst fear, and his greatest challenges…while the whole world is listening! The film also depicts his ultimate triumph, and the great empowerment realized by: 1) submitting to direction, and 2) committing to direction!

SUBMITTING TO DIRECTION

“The King’s Speech,” offers us a tremendous example of an individual submitting to direction, and in doing so, making the seemingly impossible…possible!

Public Speaking is the number one fear in life!

For most people, “There is no greater challenge in life – than public speaking.” When you add to this fact, that often individuals are cursed with – or blessed with depending on how you look at things – other obstacles in life, public speaking can seem like a totally unworkable task. The film artfully, very realistically, and with great accuracy portrays not just the fears and challenges most people face with speaking publicly; but The Duke of York (Oscar winner, Colin Firth best actor) is also burdened with arguably more challenges than most people could ever conceive of. He is haunted by a tortured childhood and as a result he is oppressed with a very sever stutter in his voice. Furthermore, he is suddenly thrust into the position of King of England during a time of war, as a result of his selfish older brother failing to live up to his duties as the King of England following the death of their father.

King George VI had a speech-specific-handicap, and the highest profile public speaking position in the world.

As the King of England he was called to lead and inspire his nation, and the world, against Hitler! With speeches! Thankfully, King George VI was blessed with a loving and discerning wife, Elizabeth, who sought help for her husband. Elizabeth sought direction for her husband from a very eccentric speech coach named “Lionel Logue” (Geoffrey Rush). Lionel was unapologetic in demanding total submission to the direction he gave his students…regardless of who they were!

Early on in the film Lionel makes it very clear that, he is in charge, stating, “My castle – my rules!”, and later,“my game – my rules!” It did not matter that Lionel was working with the Duke of York, what mattered was that his student (who happened to be the future King of England), had to be willing to submit to direction! I always tell my students and clients:

“Public speaking is 5% direction, and 95% doing!”

Truth be said, public speaking, once you understand how to manage your nerves and properly prepare and structure your thoughts and information, is really simple! Lionel even acknowledges the simplicity of his direction in the film twice saying, “I like to keep things simple.” In reality – once an individual embraces and puts into practice the “simple-direction” regarding their public speaking anxiety, and embraces and puts to practice the “simple-direction” regarding foundational mechanics of how to properly compose and deliver a speech, the rest is about the individual doing! SPEAKING! And taking every opportunity to do so!

If an individual truly desires to improve their public speaking ability, the person MUST put into practice the “simple-direction” they have been given! They must SPEAK, and take advantage of every opportunity to do so!

Sadly however, most people do not like to submit to any direction in life – even when it can greatly improve, and often empower their overall wellbeing and position in life (school, work, hobbies, relationships, anything and everything!). The Duke didn’t even look for or find Lionel, it was his wife Elizabeth. And as witnessed in the film, the Duke had to be dramatically humbled before he would submit to the simple-direction Lionel so passionately wanted to bless him with. Twice in the film Lionel stressed to The Duke, who to his dismay Lionel insisted on addressing by his boyhood name “Bertie,” “Trust and total equality – no exceptions!” At their first meeting, it’s clear that the Duke is reluctant to receive the help his wife has secured for him, and thinks himself far superior to Lionel. While Lionel is evaluating The Duke in his own unique way, The Duke as if his time is being wasted says to Lionel – with a very condescending attitude – “Are you going to start treating me…?” To which Lionel responded, “Only if you are interested in being treated!” Lionel knew that if “Bertie” was not willing to submit to his simple-direction, that he could not help him!

If someone truly wants to overcome a challenge, and improve with anything, they must be willing to submit to direction!

At the end of their first meeting, the Duke tells Lionel that he will not be continuing with his services and walks out; but soon after, desperate and realizing he has no other options Bertie humbly returns, and says to Lionel, “I’m willing to work hard!” Once Bertie stopped acting like he was a King with a peasant, and realized that he had to submit to the direction of his speech coach, his training became very effective and ultimately lead the soon-to-be-King-of-England to discover his voice, to lead his nation, and the world! However, the key to Bertie fully realizing and reaching his full potential was not just about submitting to the direction of his speech coach, but also committing to the direction he was being blessed with.

COMMITTING TO DIRECTION

In the film we see Lionel give Bertie a variety of exercises to help prepare him for his speaking engagements. Once Bertie humbly began submitting to and committing to the direction Lionel was giving him, Bertie begins to — with real confidence — negotiate very effectively his challenges (on all levels). Lionel has Bertie sing silly songs, recite nursery rhymes, do breathing exercises with his wife Elizabeth sitting on him, tongue twisters, humming out of open windows, calisthenics, rolling around on the floor, publicly practice in a grocery store, cursing aloud, head clearing walks in the park, dancing, and perhaps most challenging – Lionel insists that the Bertie bare his sole to him through personal narratives (not unlike the cultural narrative assignment in Speech 101, class). At one point in the film, Bertie protests Lionel’s direction to sing, but Lionel boldly responds that, “Rules are Rules…SING!” And to Bertie’s credit, he submitted to the direction of his coach…and he sang!

I always tell my competitive speakers, and professional clients:

“Stay humble, or you will stumble.”

I frequently give my students seemingly silly direction as well. I know certain exercises can very effectively help people overcome their challenges, sharpen their presentation styles, and ultimately secure success every time they speak, IF they are willing to commit to the direction! Every presentation deserves 100% commitment throughout the entire process, on both a preliminary level, and a performance level; because every audience deserves 100% commitment. I recently had a client (CEO of a Fortune 500 Company) call me because, his words, “I had a speech go really poorly.” I immediately asked him, “How did you prepare?” To which he responded, “I knew you were going to say that.” He continued, “I did not prepare like I did for the last one, that went so well,” i.e. he did not fully commit to the direction he had paid me to give him – even though it had served him well in the past…and he knew it! He did not even need to call me.

AGAIN: PUBLIC SPEAKING IS 5% DIRECTION, AND 95% DOING!

Some people celebrate the direction fully…but most do not. Bertie did! In one scene, he proudly, but humbly tells Lionel, “I’ve been practicing an hour a day.” Later in another scene Bertie is seen practicing in the car while on a trip with his wife. He tells his wife, “I have to keep doing this!” I often tell my students “The more you practice, the more prepared you will be; and, the more confident you will be when you speak.” You can’t get rid of the fear of public speaking, but you can manage it. You can’t get rid of the butterflies in your stomach, but you can get them to fly the direction you want them to fly. Practice, and preparation are foundational to managing anxiety. There are also fear-management-specific exercises, which can seem silly, but if a person will commit to employing the direction, they will discover the ability to herd their butterflies with great success! “You needn’t be governed by fear,” Lionel tells Bertie. This is so true.

I always encourage my students to employ internal positive refrain. IPR is basically internalizing positivity by: employing catch phrases, acknowledging your unique and individual strengths, and imposing your will on the audience. Bertie, as encouraged by Lionel committed to practicing IPR. Bertie, as the King of England, when speaking would repeat in his head, “I have a right to be bloody well heard.” And when pausing between lines, he would repeat, “God save the King.” This was witnessed at the end of the movie, when the now King George VI of England is presenting the most important speech of his royal life.

As a result of 1) submitting to direction, and 2) committing to direction, The King’s most important speech was a great success!

It even appeared as though the King enjoyed the experience. Following the King’s speech, Bertie looked at Lionel, with a small but visible grin, and stated, “I suppose I’ll have to do a great deal more of these.” Public speaking is the greatest fear in life; however, more often than not when a person successfully negotiates a great challenge (skydiving, fire walking, swimming with sharks, or public speaking!) the experience becomes enjoyable because of the exhilarating and empowering high, and great sense of achievement that accompanies the success. I often tell my class that, “Speech is the great equalizer!” This means that when an individual is given the stage, no matter what their position or place in life may be (King, or Walmart greeter), when an individual has been given the stage it is their opportunity to be heard; and the opportunity MUST be fully embraced and celebrated.

Are you fully embracing your opportunities to be heard?

My dad (Gene Smith) is one of my biggest fans and helpers. He is always doing things for me, and offering help in all aspects of my life. Specifically for our purpose here, my father is always searching for, and passing to me articles from magazines and newspapers that have to do with public speaking. Recently my dad found a great article in Readers Digest. Discovered in the Work Digest section, dated May 2011 – the article is titled: “Master Your Presentation, Five Lessons from The King’s Speech.”

If you have yet to see the movie “The King’s Speech,” the film is based on the true story of Prince Albert’s struggle to overcome his public speaking challenges. Not only does he have a stammer in his voice, but like most people, he fears public speaking more than death itself! The movie is both an entertaining, and very real depiction of the struggles most people face regarding the challenges of public speaking – not because of the King’s stammer, but because of the fear he experiences, and the steps he takes to overcome.

Prince Albert, be it begrudgingly, seeks help, and embraces the direction of his teacher…his speech coach!

In the article writer Jesse Desjardins offers five public speaking tips she contends are observed in the film: 1) Have faith in your voice. 2) Admit you need help. 3) Put in the hours. 4) Leverage experience. And 5) Be a true version of yourself. I’d like to offer my own thoughts on each of Desjardins five tips.

1) Have faith in your voice.

I always tell me students, “Exploit your gifts.” Everyone…everyone…has unique qualities and strengths that make them special and individual! And more often than not, people often don’t even realize that even special challenges like a stammer in one’s voice can develop into a very enduring quality to be exploited for personal success, rather than to be ashamed of and silenced. While the King did manage to iron out his words for important speeches, the stammer did not completely leave. But it is the stammer that made him so real to his people. Furthermore – the fact that he could stand up and address millions of citizens with a stammer made him appear to be a fearless and great leader.

I myself have dyslexia. For those of you who are unfamiliar with dyslexia – it means my brain misfires! My thinking is scattered, and unfocussed. My spelling and grammar are atrocious, and my mind refuses to calculate any math beyond that needed to balance my check book. However, years ago, when I realized I wanted to be a competitive public speaker in college – I discovered that the only way it was going to happen was that if I was persistent. I even had a speech coach, after reading my first speech, ask me if I was “retarded”! Thankfully, my parents had instilled in me enough self esteem to shrug off the comment, and the work ethic and drive it took to overcome my challenges. Desjardins ends her commentary on having “faith in your voice” with “The secret here is to persist.” I could not agree more. If you are persistent…anyone…can overcome any unique challenges they might have with their voice (specially the fear of public speaking) and be able to stand up and speak with strength and pride.

2) Admit you need help. In the movie, Prince Albert – who would reluctantly become King George VI, which would mean a lot of public speaking – finally “checked his ego,” and took the advice of his wife, Elizabeth, and sought help from a speech coach. If the Prince had not first, listened to the guidance of his wife, and second, embraced the direction of his coach he might have failed as a King. Thankfully for the people of England, their King proved to be both a humble man, and a respected voice for his people.

After my coach (Marty Tarras – thank you!) asked me if I was retarded, he continued, “kid, you might look and sound good in front of an audience, but if you cant write properly you’ll only get so far.” I did not want to get “only so far”! I wanted to excel. So after some soul searching, I decided to enroll in an English class in an effort to improve my writing. I was at Los Angeles Valley College at the time. It was during my 4th attempt at community college. To my surprise I had to take a placement test to establish which English course I would be placed in. I tested to low, I had to begin with English 21. English 21, is the class following ESL (English as a second language), and did not even count for college credit. It was a humbling experience to say the least! Regardless, I submitted (All the while thinking about the “Kid – what are your retarded?” comment) to taking the class. I am fortunate that I did. English 21 combined with my involvement with the speech team, helped me to learn how to properly structure my thoughts. And thank God for spell check! Anyway – had I not submitted to what needed to be done; had I not admitted I needed help, and sought the help…I would not be authoring this blog. I would not be a full time public speaking professor and speech coach! Most likely I would be bartending or selling something! Marty – thank you for calling me “retarded!” You helped me admit I needed help!

3) Put in the hours. Desjardins writes, “It wasn’t until Prince Albert threw himself into the exercises from Logue (his speech coach) that he was able to progress. There is no substitute for preparation.”

Preparation is the key to success. Not only does preparation ensure effective communication via successful presentation, but preparation also gives you the confidence needed to manage the fear of public speaking. Truth be said, there is no getting rid of the fear of pubic speaking, but you can manage it! The fear of public speaking, also called speech anxiety, communication apprehension, or even glossophobia is most effectively managed by being prepared! I tell both my classroom students, and my competitive speakers the three most important things in public speaking are, “preparation, preparation, and preparation.” I really appreciate the words of my church pastor, Jon MacArthur from Grace Community, regarding preparation for effective presentation – Pastor MacArthur says he “practices neglect.” He neglects everything (his wife, kids, eating, the golf course, everything) until his message is properly prepared. There really is not substitute for preparation!

4) Leverage experience. In the King’s Speech, Prince Albert learned that “Nothing improves pubic speaking like doing it.”

Next to “How do I deal with my fear of public speaking,” the most common question I get from my serious students is “How do I become a better speaker.” The answer is “speak!” If you want to improve with your piano playing, you play the piano! If you want to become a fast runner, you run! Whether it’s basket weaving, or brain surgery, or public speaking – if you want to get better at something…you do it! In the 2008 best selling book “Outliers: The Story of Success,” authored by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell contends that anyone can be great at something if they are willing to do the time. Specifically, according to Gladwell’s calculations, 10,000 hours is the rule for greatness. Gladwell offers in his book a wide variety of examples of people who put in 10,000 or more hours developing a variety of skills way before ever being acknowledged for their greatness. In reality most people will not be putting in 10,000 hours of speech practice, regardless however, some experience is much more beneficial than no experience. You should take advantage of any and all opportunities to speak, be it teaching Sunday school, speaking at work, the community center, political rally, or even at a wedding – any and all opportunities mean more time and experience speaking. Every time you speak – you will improve!

5) Be a true version of yourself. Desjardins points out that Prince Albert “spoke to more than 50 countries on live radio. He wasn’t perfect, but he was loved by his people – his stammer humanized him and make him a hero.”

I graduated high school with a 1.9gpa on probation for bad behavior, I flunked the first grade because I could not read, I failed algebra a total of 5 times and never passed it, I failed out of three different community colleges, I even failed the written exam for the LAPD (My father was an LAPD sergeant at the time…). I am clearly not a rocket scientist. However, by the grace of God I have been blessed to realize the value of learning to structure and present my thoughts. By learning and practicing the very basic mechanics of structuring thoughts and information my life have been forever blessed. Furthermore…I own, and make no apologies for who I am – the good, the bad, and even the “retarded!” What you see is what you get. Always be a true version of yourself, while at the same time always striving to improve.

Closing Thoughts

If I had to crystallize a particular theme running throughout Desjardins’ article, it would be that direction, preparation, and commitment are foundational to creating and delivering successful presentations.

Also, I believe Prince Albert is a wonderful example of how people when people focus on their strengths, while at the same time actively acknowledging and confronting their challenges — people can accomplish anything they want to!

Duane