The Lectern

The Lectern has Moved!

2011-11-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

Let's continue the conversation...

Come on over to Fusion's new Blog site!

View all of our Editorial blogs!

Follow us on Twitter!

Follow us on Facebook!

Thank you,
The Fusion Group

Master Class

2011-09-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

"The Only difference between a groove and a grave; is the depth."

-Lena Horne
American Singer
(1917 - 2010)

You're good! You're in the groove and you know it! You may also sense that your groove is growing deeper. Have you been wondering if it's time to get out of your comfort zone? This may be the time to "push it" instead of relaxing and "coasting out" your career.

Now - What?
So how is a seasoned, experienced, well-traveled professional supposed to move further ahead with their skills? There's a paucity of ways to grow beyond "gross professionalism." The University system isn't designed to offer short term coaching; consultancies for the most part focus on research and prescription, not individual development. You're already among the best in your field - but it's a big field. Experience is an awesome teacher, but it takes forever. Creating genuine growth usually requires live, objective counsel, real-time coaching and behavior modeling. Where to get that?

Three Days with Bernstein
In the arts, certain elder practitioners are recognized as "Treasures" because their combination of skill, experience, repertoire and reputation place them in the rare class by themselves: "Master." Most masters teach, but basics classes are for beginners. For both young prodigies and more experienced performers there's something special: "The Master Class." Conducted privately or in intimate groups, Master Classes are an opportunity for the old pro to watch, listen and advise younger players outside the realm of the formal course. (*See Dessert, below.) The benefit? It's personal! And, you go until the desired result is achieved. It's not a lecture, it's real coaching and learning for real major league players, on a true one-to-one basis.

So, is there such a thing for business professionals? As a matter of fact, yes!
The Master Class from Fusion.

How it Works
You bring what you're working on, the business problem at hand; and we work on it together. Maybe it's a problem of how you see yourself. Perhaps it's a problem with focus. Maybe you need to push into using props or visual aids. Maybe you can solve your issue by learning to use the room effectively rather than being stuck behind the lectern. In many cases, a client discovers that what worked for them as a young comer, doesn't sit so well on the senior professional they've become - perhaps "relaxing into seniority" is a solution. The Master Class is not so much "being taught," as much as it's about allowing the Master to help you see your challenge in an objective light, and discover your own unique solution.

Before your groove becomes grave, consider the Master Class at Fusion. We also offer a Master Class exclusively for Chief Executives, called The Executive Speaker...

So, what's your next step? Find out more - give us a call at 800-866-2228.

*Dessert:

Enjoy this 15 minute video of Leonard Bernstein "conducting" a Master Class in Conducting at Tanglewood Music Center. A straight-forward and easy to understand teacher, Bernstein was certainly nothing less than a stellar talent in composing, conducting, performing and teaching: indeed a 20th Century Modern Master. Here he teaches Conductors how to conduct...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q38ZLodjvwg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The Circle Game

2011-09-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

"We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and 'round and 'round
In the Circle Game."

-"The Circle Game"
Joni Mitchell
Canadian Singer and Songwriter
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award - 2002
(1943 - )

(The Rotunda at The Fusion Group's offices in Weston, FL.
A physical demonstration that communication is a cycle.)

Think about it.

* Planets orbit the sun in this solar system - and the Milky Way. There's something natural about it.

* Comic Mark Twain did it in his day, with the last joke of the lecture gaining strength from its reference to those that went before. The last line bringing down the house as it re-used the introduction again as a concluding punch line.

* Music - well that's where this circle thing really lives - three verses, each separated by a repeated chorus which then concludes the piece with a last reprise.

* Airplanes launch from a runway, then return to land - right spot on the same piece of tarmac - all to the greater comfort of the passengers.

* Storytellers take comfort in the time-honored tradition of the hero riding up Main Street into town at the beginning, then riding off down Main Street at the end into the final western sunset. It's not a bad thing if a story ends with a bad guy in jail, and a happy hero; but it's more satisfying if all the cycles are complete and the music rises as Shane rides off shadowed against the final western sunset...

It may have occurred to you that speakers may take instruction from these other specialties by incorporating the circle technique as well. Great speakers use the circle by telling an opening story, then a splitting of aspects of the story to introduce each agenda item, then circle around through the summary and finish the conclusion by referencing that opening statement - now as the close. We have nothing against a straightforward ABC argument, but there's a moment when an artful speaker makes a solid argument, then clinches it by referring back to his opening - and the listeners feel a sense of more-perfect completion as the presentation circles around and lands right spot on the place from which it launched, 20 minutes earlier. Around our shop, we judge a presentation to be a real winner when it does that "all around the argument and back to starting point thing" in the most artful way. And it's better yet if the listeners don't see it coming. A little restraint let's them catch on slowly - and prolongs their excitement and appreciation. So you could say that when the circle technique works, the beginning and the end "Rhyme" and the audience goes "Ahhh!"

OK, you say; "So how do I build in that circular thing after I've already written the darned presentation?" Do I go back and re-write the opening after all that work?" Well actually, No! The thing is - the technique appears really hard - but isn't.

The natural tendency is to start at the beginning. We think, however, that it might be more effective to start at the end and work backward. It sounds peculiar, but you actually begin by composing the next step - the end - then the main idea. Then the agenda, etc., until the very last thing you're working on is the opening. So you don't write the opening while wondering about the end. You write the ending, and work backwards up the structure until your final task is to carefully fashion the opening so that it points unerringly to the end - right down Main Street into the final western sunset.

The short answer: "Begin by composing the end. End by composing the beginning."

"The whole universe is based on rhythms. Everything happens in circles, in spirals."
-John Hartford

Well he's a musician of course - one of the great country banjo pickers - and he's got a point. The universe is constructed in concentric circles and its got rhythm. So why not "relax into bliss" and go with it? If the circle thing works in the physical universe, why not then in the realm of speaking as well? We find that it's one thing to end a presentation, but it's better to give it a "sense of completion." If your presentation is not merely logical, but lyrical as well; you and your audience can win on all levels - and it rhymes.

Applications:

1. Personally
There may be more to this circle thing than initial inspection might suggest. What if it's not just circles, but cycles as well? What if your day is composed of circular cycles of action? Stay with me here... Have you ended a job, without returning a tool to its proper place? Finished a meal without clearing the dishes? Put down a book without getting to the end and storing it on the shelf? All broken circles - incomplete cycles. No sense of completion. Get the idea that incomplete cycles may not kill you, but they take up mental real estate, and get in the way of clear thinking - too much mental clutter. It's hard enough to compose a presentation. We suggest clearing away the unfinished cycles and start fresh.

2. At Home
The kids and the family are a built in audience - not dying for a story perhaps, but open to a pleasant surprise. Imagine the fun and the emotional dividend involved in telling a great story - especially one that goes full circle and touches down where it lifted off. Get extra credit for pulling some of the colorful details from the lives of your own family... Thanksgiving is on the way. Get started now...

3. At Work
Use the Circle to your team's advantage next time you pitch. Relating your next step back to the opening in a lyrical way may be the distinction that sets you apart from all your competitors.

Going in circles can be sheer frustration. But coming round full circle brings with it that sense of more perfect completion. Days full of meetings with logical, workmanlike presentations may seem more like going round and round and round. When you get the opportunity, take your chance to stand out by moving your presentation, your team, your family or your clients from merely logical all the way round to lyrical! You can all Win the Circle Game!

Dessert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0762RAFDz4

"Here and Now" (Meditations on Procrastination)
Ellen DeGeneres
*Lebanese Comic and Talk Show Host

(Grant yourself an hour vacation and watch a master at work. In this four segment routine she goes off and comes back - full circle - with a slow and steady build which concludes right spot on, where it began. She doesn't bring the house down, as much as she takes the house with her - no swearing, no darkness, no anger, no venom - a soft comic who simply romances everyone into a gentle good time. She also demonstrates a powerful point about today's concept: "Circularity...")

(*Ms. DeGeneres might not actually be Lebanese...)

One Discipline

2011-02-10T15:08:00.000-08:00

“Once you start thinking this way, it’s really hard to switch it off.”

-Fusion Participant

What if there was a discipline, simple really, that would direct our communication practice?

It has three parts;
1. Establish an Objective
2. Analyze the Audience
3. Organize your Remarks

Call it a "Preparation Discipline."

Give it a name, "Ready, Set, Go!®"

This discipline involves a certain amount of Creative Restraint. Before writing anything down, we must first put our attention on the outcome we hope to achieve – the action we want our audience to take. Then we lavish a lot of thought, research and care on discovering why our listeners might take that action.

Only then do we begin putting the presentation together. Since we’ve determined the outcome and the reason our audience will do what we’re asking, putting the work into a retell-able structure is comparatively simple. It's easier to compose something if you know where it ends and how it has to get there... Since we use the same format for every presentation, we begin to build the habits which evolve into the discipline of a lifetime – a "template" for communication. Why a template? Because people are hard-wired for stories and parts – usually three parts. Why fight it? (Consider Goldilocks and the --- Bears.) Some may think a template is rigid…actually it’s a visual roadmap for your listeners to follow that allows you the flexibility to engage with the audience – and stay on track.

Of course, not all communication is outcome focused. So this approach doesn't apply to sonnets or love notes – unless... But business is about getting results, through a listener, who needs to be convinced and will recall and repeat your message.

The deep truth is it’s not about what you want to say, it’s really about what the listener, the sales force, management, the customer or the jury needs to hear and conclude in order to decide in your favor. It’s about results, not self-expression. If they only remember you and not your presentation, it wasn’t a success.

Many people are so married to the importance of their own worldview, that they go an entire career, still telling and talking – and wondering why they didn't get the big promotion or the landslide victory...Perhaps if they had adopted a process…?

Now, the point.

Some of the questions we've received over the years...

Hey. "Ready, Set, Go!" is wonderful, but how should I prepare to run a meeting?

Hello. "Ready, Set, Go!" is great for presentations. Now help me plan a National Sales event.

Hi. "Ready, Set, Go!" works great. What do you suggest for setting up a conference call?

Greetings! "Ready, Set, Go!" is terrific. I'm working on a resume and a cover letter. Any ideas?

We don't wish to oversimplify, but to our mind each of these applications is a perfect venue for the basic discipline of "Ready, Set, Go!"

The National Sales Meeting is a local or regional meeting writ LARGE. Often, these meetings lack a focused outcome. We believe the meeting planning should begin by asking these questions: “What do you want the guys to do when they are back in the territory?” “What information do they need, what training is required, what team building do they need – and what marching orders – in order to get started Monday morning?” There’s your agenda... Three days, three hours or thirty minutes, the presentation still breaks into chunks, and still needs tailoring to the audience. It's still "Ready, Set, Go!"

Let’s not belabor the point. The Conference Call, the Resume, the Voicemail Message, the Letter and the White Paper are all examples of communication that yield to the one discipline of "Ready, Set, Go!" In each case, you’re either making a clear concise argument for a specific outcome – or – not. Perhaps we don't need to look so far afield for a new and different set of tools. Maybe we simply need to look at the tools we already have and put them to work.

In your personal life: Are you getting the intended results from your communication? Does the auto mechanic have a clear understanding when you expect the car to be ready? Is there agreement on what “ready” really means?

In your family: How is your communication with your family? Could it be better? Before having an important conversation with a family member, first consider the intended outcome. Then analyze your audience to tailor the conversation to aging parents, teens or a significant other.

At the office: Are you using “Ready, Set, Go!” in all communications? Meetings, emails, voicemails? If not, dust off the pad and create your next communication in “Ready, Set, Go!”

“Ready, Set, Go!” is a tool. Using it is a discipline.

“Once you start thinking this way, it’s really hard to switch it off.”

“Ready, Set, Go!®” and the Box Diagram are registered trademarks of The Fusion Group, Ltd.

Pain is Temporary

2010-11-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

"Pain is temporary. Pride is forever!"

- Bystander sign at Mile 21 of the NYC Marathon

While we might legitimately spend this column celebrating our President’s weekend accomplishment in finishing the NYC Marathon; we've decided instead to honor all the runners, their families and support teams, and the rest of you reading this by directing our focus to the "Power of Intention."

Intention: Desire Made Manifest
Two girls; one job. One sends a xeroxed resume in a plain envelope with a generic cover letter. The other analyzes the prospect company, Googles the executives doing the hiring and checks backgrounds on LinkedIn. She writes a tailored letter, outlining her desires and qualifications, but only after talking about how she sees the needs of the company and how she'd like to help. She puts it down on carefully selected paper in a custom font, putting her style, desire and analytical skills out there on the line. Who wins? Not sure, but one of them earned a greater share of our attention. Intention is Desire Made Manifest. Speaker or sales person, you'll find that the extra time spent rehearsing your delivery, polishing your signature, finishing out an extra special opening are all ways of demonstrating the degree of desire to be heard and understood. Content is one thing, but the intention to really engage and penetrate the listener's mind separates the ones who win from those who are merely smart.

Intention: Senior to Sensation
A marathon is not an everyday event. Even for those exceptionally trained and experienced runners, there comes a point where the body says No!, the mind starts fabricating believable explanations about how stopping is the right thing to do, and how humoring the muscle pains working their way up from the tarmac, through the legs into the mind might make sense. But then, the spirit checks in and says, "Hold on, we're not here to humor the whining muscles, but to finish what we started!” Somewhere in the last third of the race, we discover that while physical sensations and strategies are important, it is pure unadulterated desire made manifest – Intention – that hurls the body through the last miles and across the finish line. The intention to perform is senior to and can outweigh any momentary sensation of fatigue, fear, or doubt. So you're a speaker. What do you want to achieve with this presentation or sales call? How badly do you want it? Can you take it beyond the message all the way into the outcome?

Teams: Fired Up From The Center
Finishing a marathon requires that families awaken with the runner, who leaves the household in the outrageous early morning, finishes ever longer training runs, and gets to work after a quick shower. It's a team thing – and it all starts with the deep intention of the runner at the center of the sphere of committed energy which grows for a year or more in advance of the event, builds to the climax, and ends with the success of a single runner, crossing the line. At the finish is one runner; in the wings are entire families, office supporters and sponsors. It begins with you, but your excitement, desire and intention are required to put the fire in the belly of the team. As a leader or manager, it’s not enough to have the big idea; or even to sign the check to cover a training program for the masses. The fire won't ignite without your week in/week out demonstration of the intention that you’re still interested, committed and holding yourself accountable – along with everyone on the team.

A lot of people express an interest in running a marathon. Few enter. Fewer finish. It's about intention.

A lot of businesses express interest in creating winning sales teams, and integrating story, product and service. Intention is the difference.

Sustained Intention is what distinguishes mere desire from manifest accomplishment.

Pain is Temporary. Pride is Forever!

Last weekend, Lucy Lanzar, tireless President of The Fusion Group, finished the NYC Marathon with a time of 4:56:00. Congratulations to Lucy, and to her community of dedicated supporters.

Active Awareness

2010-10-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

"I was on the subway on my way to work, was sitting on the express same as every morning looking out the window watching the local stops go by in the dark with an empty head and my arms folded, not feeling great, not feeling rotten, just not feeling. And for a minute I couldn't remember, I didn't know, unless I really concentrated, whether it was a Tuesday or a Thursday or a... for a minute it could have been any day.

Arnie, I gotta know what day it is! I gotta know what's the name of the game and what the rules are without anyone else telling me. You gotta own your own days and name 'em, each one of 'em, every one of 'em, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you. And that ain't just for weekends, kiddo."

Murray Burns (played by Jason Robards)

"A Thousand Clowns"

Oscar Nominated Movie and Tony Award Winning Broadway Play

by Herb Gardner

1962

When people enter a room these days so enraptured with their Blackberry; they don't really notice or connect with the moment, the meeting in which they are barely engaged, the building, the business housed in it, the room in which they are sitting, the walls which hold the art they are not noticing, or the people with whom they aren't sharing the space...

Much of life is conducted with the body in one location, the mind somewhere else; and the spirit experiencing a deep malaise. "Zoning Out" is not a bad thing necessarily, but it can rob us of the opportunity to be fully connected to life, the present, the moment, the place and our immediate feelings and responses.

People in airports walk around heads down... not noticing or participating in the shared space, but communing with the Gods of Cyberspace. It's a cool place, cyberspace. But have we gone so far in search of constant and instant entertainment, that we have lost touch with "The Now?"

The universe of which I constitute a small part is one big interconnected living system. Wherever I find myself, there's an opportunity for a "happenstance event." I meet someone by accident that turns out to be a big influence on my life. I overhear a conversation that changes my perspective on an event. I encounter a humorous server – or a cranky one that needs a big tip... A fellow traveler helps me hoist a bag into the overhead – but only if I'm paying attention... These "random occurrences" might not lodge if I'm not "firmly enough seated" in the moment. If my mind is somewhere else, it's difficult for the universe to manifest a meaningful happenstance.

See? Right there – two rows over, that's the girl! Your one true love! Pull out the ear buds! Reach for her! Nope you missed her! She was sending an e-mail...

Moral of the story: There may be more for you in the universe than you've come to know; but you have to be more completely present with body, mind and spirit aligned, engaged and poised to pick up on it when the magic moment arrives. People who are otherwise engaged – are not engaged...

Suggestions about becoming fully present in the space and time in which you find yourself:

1. Start by Noticing Yourself!

Breathe! “Breathe in a circle” as opposed to in/out. Allow the body to relax into a cycle of calm as you open up to the moment. Slow down and connect... Push your awareness out to the corners of the room. Turn off and stow the Blackberry/phone/computer. The meeting is about to begin.

2. Notice: What's happening...

What's this seminar/meeting about? Is it gonna work? Should I be here – or get back on the road? Is there any wisdom here? Is there any fun lurking around the corner? Is the facilitator sharp or can they use some help? Is the speaker a pro, or something less? Is there any meaning to be discovered in the content? Walk around the office, and get a sense of what the place is about. So is this experience going to succeed on its own, or should you jump in and make it better through your presence and commitment? What can you do to make this gathering (and the next one) better?

3. Notice: Who's in the room!?

Is there anyone in the room who can help your career? Who has seen something you'd like to know about? Who knows someone you should meet? Who can teach you something? Who knows something you should know? Who has any insight into how life works? Who can you help? Who can you serve? How can you make their day better through your presence?

4. Notice: What's in the room!? Notice the Room!

Is there anything in the room of any interest to you? Is there anything there worth owning, acquiring, finding out about? Is there any art? Why? What does it mean? Where's it from? How'd they acquire it? How’s the Feng Shui? Is there a particular seat or part of the room in which you feel more comfortable? Or not? What would you change? Why? How?

5. Finish: by forming the mental question, “Why am I here?” What’s the cosmic event that I am here to witness? How can I play my role in this moment?

Active Awareness means Being Fully Present in the moment, ready to accept or contribute something meaningful.

If you "show up" like this (Body, Mind and Spirit) in your daily life, you'll not only see that girl when she appears, you'll have the big smile she's been looking for all her life!

And that ain't just for weekends, kiddo!

The Authentic Guest

2010-07-29T14:37:00.000-07:00

Visiting a professor of Tai Chi, hoping not to break some ancient Taiwanese taboo, I decided to apologize in advance for any "ugly American" idiocy over lunch. "Excuse me Master, I want to be a good guest, and I'm very aware of just how foreign I might seem - all white hair, blue eyes and Yankee-ness. Aside from being from Mars, would you please tell me if I'm doing something off base and impolite?"

He lingered for a moment, contemplating his soup bowl, and then said, "Jennifer, a Taoist prefers an authentic guest.”

Wow. Forgiveness, permission and a lesson in one sentence.

Perhaps there's a connection between the way I was thinking in Taiwan and the way many view the world of training. At issue, the desire to avoid embarrassment by not doing anything wrong. It appears that traditional training is founded on the desire to make people “look like good speakers by correcting bad habits" – a core intention – which we believe to be misguided, wasteful and destructive. At the risk of redundancy, it’s one thing to “look like” a good speaker; quite another to actually be a good speaker.

Most training, with its concern about grinding away all the preexisting bad habits and producing a smooth, inoffensive exterior; manufactures a product that isn't bad. Yet enforcing all the rules and backing people into a safe mold, produces an outcome that is not yet good and absolutely isn't genuine. Such training yields a person without any obvious bad habits, who can talk for a while on a business subject while behaving in a bland, safe and normal manner. They will not offend anyone. So if your definition of good is "the Absence of Bad" then this is your ticket. But in reality, the absence of bad simply equates to ordinary. Attempting to become ordinary, average or safe doesn't strike us as a great accomplishment. Such an individual, while safe and inoffensive, is still a loser.

We look at it this way: the combination of habits and behaviors someone brings to the platform are an expression of who they are, what they know, and how they see the world and their contribution to it. Telling them to stand differently only addresses the physical part of the equation. If you ask them what they intend to express – or accomplish – by speaking; you engage the whole being. As they start engaging fully, their posture improves, along with their language and eye contact. The bad stuff falls away as they connect body and spirit through mind. Fusion. Sure, we can contribute helpful learnings about structure, argumentation and the artful use of visual aids and props. But the real magic is when we get someone to be authentic. And authenticity (even without polish) wins! Winners are not known for their lack of badness, but for putting you in touch with their special, unusual and authentic worldview. Their goal – and ours – is not safety, but greatness.

So why "force" everyone into a three-box template? Fair question. (Of course, we suggest two, three or four...) But remember, we're not saying you must, but that audiences seem to prefer lists of two, three or four... after that, they zone out. So what do you intend for them to do, what's the best way to accomplish that with the audience of human beings at hand? Short, sweet, well structured and delivered with every ounce of creativity and desire you can muster! Don't worry about offending! Concentrate on being an authentic guest, and you'll win the day!

“Fear Is Not Solved By Facts!”

2010-06-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

J. R. St. John
Speaker, Consultant, Business Woman
Founder of The Fusion Group
(1952 - )

In this environment, where the news constantly brings word of another confusing or polarizing development, it’s not surprising that audiences can many times be characterized as “frozen by fear and indecision.”

A sad by-product of our mentally bifurcated culture is that we often find speakers and sales associates attempting to erase or address our fears by citing facts. Why? Well because it’s what they’re good at.

As any mother can tell you; when the children are afraid is not the time to prove that there’s no monster in the closet. What is called for is some old fashioned comfort and genuine interested listening!

You say you’re a wholesaler and you’re not being paid to stop and listen or empathize – but simply to talk; then get on the road to the next appointment. Really?

Because the fact is: Your clients can get your information just about anywhere. The mail. The Web. The Media. But the single thing they can’t get anywhere else is a genuinely interested partner – listening full tilt.

Give a little thought to this: What’s in the boxes is important – it’s the main reason for speaking. But what you put in between the boxes (the “empty space” between the facts…) is what can set you apart from the competition; and allow the client to see you as the only person out there willing to connect with and resolve their fears.

“Attention must be paid.”

2010-06-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

– Excerpted from "Death of a Salesman"
by Arthur Miller
American Playwright
(October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005)

"Pay Attention!" You hear it from Childhood.

“Look at me when I talk to you!”

The phrases don’t do the concept justice.

Attention is a little bit like money. It comes in the form of particles…which are very valuable. You can spend them. Withhold them. Make a gift of them. Keep them for important occasions. Or waste them – much like money. There are limits though, to how many attention particles you might generate at any moment…So they are rare – special!

Catch someone unaware and send a particle at them – look! And they’ll feel it and look back, startled. They might react, smile, blush, flinch, duck, bristle…the opportunities are endless. They feel the weight of the particle and respond/react to it. And their reaction tells the tale of their character and their immediate state of mind.

Attention particles have flavors – as many as you can conceive. Interest. Curiosity. Desire. Distaste. Fear. Anger. Lust. Disinterest. Appreciation. Trust. You get the idea.

Ever spoken to a group? Get keyed up? It’s all those particles – takes a while to absorb them and then calm down. It’s a "high" that all performers acknowledge. The power of group attention (and we hope, adulation) can change your physical state and raise your metabolism.

It’s just that strong.

So. What?

Notice how you are spending your rare attention particles.

Are your children getting their share? How about your mate? How about your office or patrol partner? People in your platoon, on your floor, on your team?

People who are “attentive” are “attending” to the human need and desire for attention among families, friends and communities. “Paying Attention” is a powerful way of saying that the person you are looking at is important.

Spend it wisely.

As a speaker, manager, sales professional or leader, your attention signature will be an immediate indicator as to your power and charisma – or lack thereof. The ability to focus and direct the flow of attention particles anywhere, anytime, for any duration is one feature that distinguishes the most formidable speakers and people.

Attention must be paid.

Invest it wisely.

It will be repaid – with interest.

“I’m having a conversation with my audience, and we’ll both be dead by the time we’re done.”

2010-06-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

– Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen “The Boss”
American Songwriter, Performer, Rock & Roll Star
(September 23, 1949 - )

"Speeches" are a bit more declarative. Plays more dominated by the script. Presentations more work and outcome focused. But all are at their best when they become conversations.

But it’s not really about call and response – we’ve all sat through rote unison reading and responsive hoo-hah. This is the real thing: When a speaker says something and looks out into the audience and divines the direction and emotion of the last row…it’s not about the verbal response but about the connection.

The real skill a great presenter brings to the arena is the speed with which they can take the conversation to depth.

In our judgment, that skill is comprised of a solid connection, a clear intention and a lofty purpose. It’s a Fusion of body, mind and spirit.

Bring this skill into your life by breaking your paragraphs down and delivering the sentences one at a time – taking a breath in between. See what happens. If you garner some interest, continue. If you get a question, that’s a win! You gain points in this exercise by stimulating the interchange. As your skill improves, you’ll discover that you become interesting to the degree you manifest interest in the listener.

Stop presenting, acting, declaiming and airing your point of view and start a few more conversations!

The Tie Break

2010-06-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

“Well we all have a face that we hide away forever. And we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone. Some are satin some are steel. Some are silk and some are leather. They're the faces of the stranger but we love to try them on.”

“The Stranger”
– Billy Joel
American musician and pianist
(1949-

Two Equally Qualified Firms...

Pitching for the same business. The matrix scores are dead even. The pitch docs are three inches deep and equally unread. Two teams with scholarly, thoughtful men and women. Impressive client lists, billions under management. Nice scarves, serious suits. Sharp brief cases. DETAILED presentations, intensely reasoned, covering the multitude of issues. Everyone’s donned their costume for the occasion…

Then, approaching a climactic summit, the speaker drops his pen and the spell is broken – THIS is a turning point.

That single unscripted accident gives us a momentary glimpse behind the mask and into the mind and character of the man – how will he react to this "intrusion on the plan?"

He stops, smiles a little and fixes you with a direct glance and says, off script; "You know, the real test of a Portfolio Team is how they handle the unforeseen event." He bends, picks up his pen and goes back to the material. He's got your full attention and later over coffee, that is the moment which everyone recalls – the tie break. The masterful improvisation under pressure.

It's ironic. We work so hard to create the perfect team pitches that bring us merely dead even with the competition. But that scripted perfection tends to obscure, rather than reveal the true character of the people on the team. In the arena, it is actually the unforeseen events and small mistakes which can bore through our layers of arranged intellectual camouflage to reveal who we really are. Our style in handling the accidents and challenges in the pitch room, or in life, are the tiny windows into character that allow us to determine who we trust, respect and sometimes hire. The accidents strip away the mask and leave the person revealed – and we can then choose to like them or not…

Some suggestions:

When Pitching:
The script earns you the right to be in the room. Yet the questions and accidents will often break the tie. Practice improvising! Develop your poise and reflexes for handling the unforeseen event. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!

When Receiving a Pitch:
Surely the content – the text – is important, but find a way to force the occasional improvisational moment on the team. The way the individual and their colleagues handle it will give you ample additional information about who these people are, and whether you want them on your business.

Less is More

2010-05-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

– Mies van der Rohe
American-German Architect
(1886-1969)

The "Discipline of Improvisation"

2010-05-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

"Improvisation is too good to leave to chance."

– Paul Simon
American Singer and Songwriter
(1941

It's an oxymoron of course, because everyone who's seen Improv on stage knows there's no earthly form of discipline in that uncontrolled, free-form combination of humor, self-examination and public excoriation. Or is there?

We like Improv because it implies that somewhere, somehow we might all be able to get up there and "wing it" successfully, leaving the stage with applause ringing in our ears. But wait! Is there more to it? Do you suppose that first "Where you from?" joke was a plant? Do they pay a guy to offer up a known question? Of course not, but in order for “the process” to work, the comic has to memorize fifty jokes about specific cities and twenty generics with insert-able names. That's for the first riff. And that is some serious discipline.

Each artist has a series of riffs, usually with a specific order and a choice of directions each riff can go, depending on the answers the crowd offers up. Often these riffs adhere to an organizational structure. It's like playing an entire winning game of chess in advance with all the options allowed for. Then there's the delivery: fast, slow, studied; all to give the impression that it just occurred to the speaker. If he's doing it right, he listens to the other performers, the audience and the unique shared reality they are creating together and honors the First Rule of Improv: “Yes, and Go!” (When you are given a piece of information you must run with it and trust that your training and practice will kick in.) The audience can't tell that it was largely prepared in advance. It appears magically – just for you! It appears unique. It appears spontaneous. And it is – but not, completely.

And the second show starts in an hour – with the same material. It's the most disciplined form of theater. It only looks raw. Underneath the surface are three things: a mountain of prepared material, a structure which allows for riffs to be snapped in or out, and endless rehearsal and practice; which makes each riff appear fresh – as if it was conceived in the moment. It's the "as if" that makes Improv so seductive, so apparently new. The magic works because the unchanging structure allows the comic to relax and become totally focused on the interaction with the audience, while picking the most appropriate next riff. The comic just relaxes and "places the punch line." While the audience is digesting and applauding, the comic is selecting the next riff and serving it up, at just the right "unplanned" moment.

Bringing the material, the underlying structure and the soft delivery together is an art – and it's anything but undisciplined. The improvisation is in choosing which prepared riff comes next, and making it look easy.

Is there a lesson here for anyone not looking for a career at Second City? What can we learn or take from Improv? (Pay attention out there on the phones, in the field and the boardroom!)

Pre-planning makes things go right. If you're prepared, you can more easily roll with what comes.
A simple standard structure (Uh, “Ready, Set, Go!”?) means you don't have to change the system every time you speak. Stick to the format. Change the content, the openings, the props – but leave the structure in place. You'll never get lost again.
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! It will elevate your delivery and allow your natural style to emerge while freeing your mind to listen and connect.

The content earns you the right to the lectern. A "signature" delivery style gets you remembered; and delivering on your promises gets you invited back!

A little more discipline please! Improvise!

Freeing the Angel

2010-04-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

“I saw an Angel in the Marble, and I carved until I set him Free.”

-- Michelangelo Buonarotti
Florentine Architect, Painter, Sculptor
(1475-1564)

Speech.
Writing.
Sculpture.

Art.

The intention to create an outcome... a result, through or within another person... through the medium of words or marble. (Sometimes words on/in Marble...)

The challenge of “sculpting a presentation” is to say what must be said, to achieve what must be understood – and nothing more.

It's about creating the greatest effect, with the least material.

We know too much. We have too little time.

Less is more.

Everywhere we see too much. Our culture is married to “More is More.” TV shows that go on ad nauseum, season after season. Martial artists who leap ten feet in the air to break a single brick. Retail sales organizations that sell you a pair of shoes wrapped in six pounds of paper, tissue and cardboard packaging. Oh, and the bag. Lots of show; Little substance. Big hat; No cattle.

No. Thing. More. Remove the heavy fashion statement on the part of the presenter. Remove the faked staging. Remove the forty-two Power Point screens. Remove the thirty-minute story and the joke. Remove the big deal program. Remove the five pounds of arithmetic in the pitch book. Sculpture is about removal, until only the essence remains.

The well-sculpted presentation contains:

1. What do you think we should do?

2. Why?

3. How?

4. How do we start?

5. Include an image that underscores the point.

6. Package it with your firm’s unique “signature.”

7. Add an index card with the image, a summary and your contact data.

8. Then, Ask us; Tell us – to Start. Now.

Creating the “Fusion” of you, your audience and your point.

Fusion. It’s an Art.

Go find your angel!

Facing the Fear

2010-04-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

Public Speaking! Perennial Winner of the "Top Ten Fears" Poll.

Short of leaving the country, or filling a prescription; is there a way to Vanquish this Fear?

In a word, Yes. But it doesn't involve turning your back, running away or taking a pill.

First, recognize that fear is a perfectly reasonable response to being told you have to stand and address your peers. There's considerable risk involved if you mess it up. Ridicule. Laughter. Becoming the butt of a community joke -- all can result if you fail to win over the audience by winning -- over your fear.

Fear is reasonable. It just isn't rational. It's an animal response. Flight! Now! Preferably to a warm climate. Change your name. Disavow your previous life! But the more you run, the more you get caught up inside your head; the worse it becomes.

Turn and face the fear; and the audience! Look directly at them!

True, this is so simple it's laughable -- but it will be the "laughter of release." Try it!

There is nothing so apparently simple as to stand and look at your audience -- but one person at a time. Do it Slowly. Take long enough with each person to notice the color of their eyes, their hair, their signature expression. And the miracle happens... As you slowly become more aware of the audience as individuals; you become correspondingly less afraid. Until you're not afraid at all. They become aware of you also and the longer you look, the more time slows down until absolutely... nothing... is... happening. You are now PRESENT "in the moment." This is the "place of pure nothingness" that all performers and speakers aspire to as a prelude to the performance. It's a spiritual place, with no fear, no noise. It's a perfect foundation -- and from here you can take it anywhere. The audience can't quite figure out why you are so powerfully commanding. Their tension mounts, until you choose to release it -- by beginning. Was that ten years? Or ten seconds.

What's the secret? Fear is reasonable, but not rational. It lives inside your head. So you should go somewhere else -- "out of your head" and into the eyes, minds, hearts and souls of your audience.

There's no good to be done inside your head. Anyway, you're probably sharing that real estate with a "crazy person" -- just like all of us.

Get "Out of your head!" Look at the audience, then Speak!
Face down your fear as you face the audience.

Now, go tackle your fear of spiders...