1. Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in.

Know more about it th an you include in your speech. Use humor, personal stories and conversational la nguage that way you won t easily forget what to say. 2. Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan o n using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and allow time for the unexpected. 3. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It s easi er to speak to a group of friends than to strangers. 4. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids. 5. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerv es. Pause, smile and count to three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy in to enthusiasm. 6. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience clapping it will boost your co nfidence. 7. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting , stimulating, informative and entertaining. They re rooting for you. 8. Don t apologize for any nervousness or problem ced it. the audience probably never noti

9. Concentrate on the message not the medium. Focus your attention away from you r own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience. 10. Gain experience. Mainly, your speech should represent you as an authority an d as a person. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speak ing. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience you need in a safe and frien dly environment.

Presentation Skills Success Strategy and tips for you to prepare, write, rehearse and deliver your next pres entation based on the experience of the Speech Coach for Executives George Torok. You can speak with confidence, clarity and conviction when you polish your prese ntation skills. The power of public speaking is a key leadership skill. Your abi lity to communicate will take you farther than any other skill set. Communicate well. Communicate effectively and communicate your message so that others listen , understand and act. This article can be a career enhancing opportunity for you . Study this article and watch your presentation skills achieve greater success. You will be amazed at what you can do when you polish your presentation skills to deliver your message with impact.

Fear of Public Speaking Presentation Sins First thoughts on your presentation Why you?

Practical Speaking Tips PowerPoint Sins

How can you get more done? By being a superior communicator. The secret of manag ing people is to master the art and science of communication. Superior communica tion skills are a combination of listening, negotiating and speaking.

Public Speaking, Presentation or Speech? Deliver your message with impact. It is not just a speech or presentation. I use the words speech, public speaking and presentation interchangeably in this arti cle. It is your message that is important. Your presentation is the vehicle for delivering your message and to create results. A successful presentation is one that moves people to action. You know it was a success if after you speak, they buy, work or follow. To do that requires skill. Devour this article. You will ca pture the essence of superior presentation skills.

First Rule of Great Presentations A great presentation does not just happen. It is planned, rehearsed then deliver ed with flair. A good presenter is one who learns the skills of presentations not one who hopes for talent to carry them. Public speaking is a set of skills n ot a talent. You can be a good presenter if you learn the skills for presentatio n success. You will be a great speaker if you learn from every presentation you deliver. Great presenters start as poor speakers then they get better.

Learn from other Great Speech Makers Who are the public speakers you admire? Ask yourself why you admire them. What t echniques do they use in their speeches that you can use? What principles can yo u adapt to your presentations? It could be a great political leader, business ex ecutive or innovator. Whether it is a Churchill, Henry Ford or Einstein ask your self, Why does their delivery work so well? How can I use that technique or princ iple in my speech? Look for the skills they used and make them your own.

Preparing your Presentation Purpose of your presentation Imagine that you have been scheduled to speak to a group. An important question

for you to review is Why am I delivering this presentation? Don t answer, Because I was asked. Instead ask why does this group need to hear from you? What message is so important that you must take their time to speak to them? You must be clear on the purpose of your speech before you can write it. Please don t give a speech just because you are the boss. Don t waste their time and embarrass yourself. Have something worthwhile to say. If you start by knowing what you want to happen th en you will begin to create an effective speech.

Your audience is the reason you are there Understand your audience. What do they want? Why would they listen to you? If yo u want to reach them with your presentation you must reach them through their ne eds. While you are talking they are asking themselves, What s in it for us? If you h ave not spoken to this group before, interview a few of them before your present ation. Mention the names of some audience members during your presentation. It w ill help you connect with the group.

Read Establishing Rapport with your Audience Design your presentation backwards The most common way to write your speech is to start at the beginning and write to the end. That is not an effective way to write a speech. Instead write the sp eech backwards. Start with the destination and work back to the opening. You wil l write your speech faster and clearer if you start with the end in mind. Know y our purpose. Write the closing line that hammers home your message. Then write t he points to support that close. Then write your opening that launches you into that presentation. Designing your speech is also a set of communication skills.

Read Write Your Speech in Five Minutes Presentation Structure There are many presentation structures that you can choose from. When you speak to a business group the most effective approach is to state your conclusions fir st, the actions required then follow with supporting information. That would be an effective business speech.

The most boring and ineffectual presentation style to use with a business group is the scientific method that many of us learned in school. The scientific metho d starts with a problem, followed by a hypothesis, a method, results and conclus ion. That sounds logical but most people in business today do not have the patie nce to listen to that litany. We want the answer first. Speak don t lecture.

Q&A structure Another simple presentation structure that works is to tell your audience that y ou will answer the most common questions you have heard. Then you state the ques

tion and answer it. This is one of the easiest ways to give a speech. It sounds like a conversation and you will find it easier to remember. All you need to rem ember are the questions because you already know the answers. The best speech fe els like a conversation.

Pain and Relief An effective sales technique is to first reveal or describe their pain, fear or problem. Then you offer the relief to the pain. The relief from pain and desire for pleasure are powerful motivators. Just don t dwell on the pain too long. Think plop, plop fizz, fizz.

Illustrating your main points We need images to understand. A good image for the accountant and numbers type i s a chart. Bankers, financial planners and money folk love charts and graphs. Us e pie charts, bar graphs and piles of coins to illustrate and emphasize your poi nts when talking to financial types. Images can contribute more to the success o f your presentation then words.

Telling Stories Tell stories. Paint word pictures that create images in the listeners minds. If t hey can see it they are more likely to understand and remember your message. The best public speakers are storytellers Use stories and anecdotes to illustrate a nd reinforce the main points of your presentation. Learn to master the skill of storytelling. Listen to newscasters, entertainers and other speakers. The best stories are personal. Because they are yours - they are easier to remem ber and they make your presentation unique. We listen to stories. We hate lectur es. If you forgot that lesson - just ask your kids. The way to find personal sto ries that can be used in your presentations is to write them down. Make a list o f significant things that happened to you and those around you; the first time th e best, the worst, the biggest mistake, the best break, the greatest ah-ha, the funniest moment, the most frustrating incident, the dumbest thing you did, the m ost embarrassing moment

The things that hurt you the most make the best stories to tell in your presenta tions. Rehearse your stories to edit them down into a short story that is easy t o listen to. The hardest thing for you might be to leave out details. The hardes t thing for your audience is listening to you describe unnecessary details. Just make the point.

Researching your presentation

Get your facts straight. Don t stand there saying, I think so or I m not sure. and pretend to know something you do not. So spend time collecting and confirmin g your information. Too many public speakers are quick to present their opinions without providing clear substance. Avoid that trap.

Don t lie

Be careful of presenting hearsay as evidence unless you preface it as that. You might interview customers for their comments or check with the front lines for t heir unofficial feedback. That is ok but present it honestly. Do a quick search on one or a few of the Internet search engines to find some new insights on the topic of your presentation. These Internet facts might not be confirmable so prese nt them as what you found Stuff from the Internet .

Test for relevance Review your speech for relevance to your audience. After every statement that yo u plan to make ask yourself, So what? Because that is what your audience will be a sking. If you cannot answer this question clearly and succinctly then rework it or remove it from your speech. What do you want them thinking, Yeah right on! or So what?

Remembering your speech The best public speakers do not memorize their presentation. Instead know your t opic and the issues. Then make notes for yourself. But don t read your speech. Tha t is so boring. Instead write key words that remind you of your messages. Write your speech notes on index cards. That is much easier to handle instead of fumbl ing with a sheet of paper.

Rehearsing your presentation Rehearse your speech on your feet at least three times. It is okay to rehearse p arts of it in your car or sitting at your desk. But because you will deliver in on your feet you rehearse the speech on your feet. It feels different when you s peak on your feet. Get used to the feel of delivering your presentation. The bes t way to reinforce a set of skills is by repeating the pattern the way you plan to deliver. Golfers and musicians rehearse their patterns so the skills of the b ig day are natural to them.

The fear of public speaking Studies show that our number one fear is the fear of public speaking. Hard to be lieve but it is more prevalent than the fear of death. If you have a fear of pub lic speaking or feel some anxiety you are not alone. Even great speakers like Ch urchill experienced this fear. But he worked on his delivery skills so he could deliver even when he was nervous. I am a professional speaker who has spoken to audiences all over North America yet I also experience speech anxiety. The fear

of public speaking might be with you forever. But your audience does not need to know.

Overcoming the fear of public speaking In most cases the symptoms of the fear are not noticeable to your audience. might feel terrified but your audience doesn t know. There are several ways past speech anxiety. Focus on the success of your presentation. Before you up to speak take a couple of slow deep breaths. Speak slowly. Don t let it ay from you. You to get step run aw

Presentation Skills Success continued How you can prepare, write, rehearse and deliver your speech, presentation or pu blic speaking program from the Speech Coach for Executives George Torok. You can s peak with confidence, clarity and conviction when you polish your presentation s kills. The power of public speaking is a key leadership skill. Your ability to c ommunicate will take you farther than any other skill. Communicate well. Communi cate effectively and communicate your message so that others listen, understand and act. This article can be a career enhancing opportunity for you. Study this article and watch your presentation skills achieve greater success. You will be amazed at what you can do when you hone your presentation skills and you present your message with impact.

Avoid the Nine Presentation Sins

Delivering your Presentation Last minute details before you begin speaking Get into the room before your audience arrives to check the setup and get the fe el of the room. This helps to make it your room. Walk around the room and sit in a few different chairs to take in the feel of your room and how your audience w ill see you. Check your equipment and put on your busiest slide to check for rea dability. Drink one or two glasses of warm water to both lubricate your vocal co rds and hydrate yourself. Public speaking dehydrates you. Emergency preparation Check the exit doors and paths from the building. If an emergency occurs the aud ience will look to you, the speaker, for leadership and maybe their lives. Be pr epared to tell people how to leave the room and building. If it becomes necessar y - do it in a calm, commanding and confident voice. Public speaking carries the

responsibility of leadership. Everything you do while speaking will be better i f you prepare the skills to deliver.

Your confederate Always have at least one confederate. This is a simple yet important secret to p resentation success. Your confederate should sit near the back of the room so th ey can survey the room, help late arrivers and do things without disturbing the audience. They will take care of the lights, handouts, ushering people to their seats and even asking a planted question. It is their job to head off problems b efore they erupt. They should know how to work the lights and who to call when p roblems arise.

Eye Contact Talk directly to people. The best presentation is delivered as a conversation to every person in your audience one person at a time. If you want to be believed talk to every individual looking him or her in the eye. Don t make the big mistak e committed by many novice public speakers - staring at the spot on the back wa ll. This one technique is a powerful element of successful presentation skills.

Emphasizing key points If you want people to remember something repeat it at least three times during y our speech. The first time they might hear it. The second time they might mull i t over. The third time it might stick. I have a dream . Do you know how many times Martin Luthur King repeated that phrase in his famous speech?

Read Emphasizing Key Points Establishing rapport Talk about things to which your audience can relate. Don t talk down and don t baby them. To build rapport with your audience they must relate to you. Don t pretend to be something you are not. But show how you are like them. Be human. Expose a flaw. Show that you are not perfect. If you pretend to be perfect they will hate you and not listen.

Read Establishing Rapport Stay on time Start your presentation on time and finish on time. If you start all your meetin gs and presentations on time people will learn to show up on time. Do not repeat yourself for latecomers. If there is a small group at starting time then be pre pared to start with a discussion instead of your speech. Those that are there will believe that you started on time and those arriving late will seat themselves q

uickly feeling a bit guilty for being late.

Finish on time even if it means leaving something out. For that reason always ge t your important message out early. Never keep the key message till the end of y our speech. They might be asleep by that time. Position a small clock where you can see it so you know where you are in your presentation. Don t commit the sin of asking, How are we doing for time? You should know you are the speaker.

Deliver your speech with credibility If you are the CEO, President or the boss you have credibility by position. You might lose your credibility by committing presentation sins. You can enhance you r credibility by the sources of information you quote. You can quote from a publ ication they read and respect. You can quote from a well-known and respected per son. You can quote from some member of your audience remember your research?

You can also imply credibility by waving a source document or book as you speak. Notice how preachers use this technique by holding the bible.

Read Introducing Your Speaker

Help your audience remember the important parts Repeat the points you want them to remember. Use an anecdote or story to illustr ate the point. Pause just before and after you state the key points.

We find it easier to remember images and feelings. If you want your audience to remember the key points of your presentation attach those points to images or em otions. Men tend to connect visuals with memory while women tend to connect emot ions for memory. Be sure to address both needs in your presentations.

Read

Power of the Pause

Look your best Smile. You look your best when you smile. You look most trustworthy, friendly an d confident when you smile. We do not want to listen to a speaker who is frownin g. Don t grin like a fool all the way through your speech. Instead smile before yo u start. Smile when you say something important. Smile when you end. Make it a w arm friendly smile. When you smile you look confident and help to improve the co nfidence of your audience. Smile.

Sounding your best Drinking water before you speak will lubricate your vocal chords. Breathing deep ly and slowly will allow you to project your voice and pause when you want to no t when you need to. Speak slower that you normally speak. The audience needs to hear you, think about it and internalize it.

Try these simple exercises to get your voice in shape before you speak. Yawn. Ye s, yawning relaxes your vocal chords and opens the voice channel. The second tri ck is to hum. Humming seems to set up a resonance within your vocal cavity.

Using equipment and technology If you are using a computer projector and PowerPoint in your presentation then a void the mistakes committed by many presenters. Ensure that your slides enhance your points. Don t make the common mistake of designing your presentation around t he slides. Instead, first create your presentation then decide how to illustrate your points. You might have sat through some horrible PowerPoint Presentations. That happens when speakers with poor presenters attempt to hide their lack of s kills behind a PowerPoint presentation.

Read Power Tips for Presentations with Computer Projectors Read Tips on Presenting with Overhead Projectors

Read PowerPoint Sins Ensuring success in your presentation Your audience does not know your script. Be ready to adapt your presentation to the audience and conditions. Be prepared to leave something out. It might be tou gh on you but your audience does not know what you left out or forgot. Instead f ocus on them and your message. If they get it then forget the rest of your speec h.

Correcting things that go wrong If you look and sound calm the audience does not know that anything is wrong. Th ey might even think that you planned the interruption. When things go wrong, smi le, pause, breathe and sound confident. Adapt your presentation. Never appear t o panic. Instead focus on your message and what you want them to do.

Handling Q&A At some point during your presentation you might offer to answer questions from the audience. Never do this as an afterthought. Don t make the mistake of deliveri ng and finishing a spectacular speech then opening to questions. That is a weak way to close. Instead before you finish your speech, announce that you will tak e questions for x minutes. Then close off the questions and finish with your clo sing statement. That way you get the strong close you planned not the answer to a lame question.

Read

Handling Questions with Authority

Tame the Hecklers How do you handle hecklers? Prepare yourself for the worst questions. Write down all the possible objections and your answer to each. Rehearse the answers when you rehearse your speech. Answering questions well is a crucial part of your pre sentation skills. No matter what happens remain calm. The worst thing for you to do is to react. Instead, respond and guide the audience back to your message. I f you have established rapport with your audience they will be on side with you. Don t alienate your audience by appearing angry or out of control. If a heckler makes a negative comment you can respond with, Thank you for your op inion and move on. Don t let yourself get dragged into a dirty argument. Don t give the heckler credibility.

Finish Your Presentation Strong End your presentation with a strong message. You can choose from several techniq ues. A call to action is one of the best endings to get your audience into actio n immediately after your speech. Other endings you can use include a rhetorical question; a positive statement; or a famous quotation. But never end with, Well t hat s all folks. That is an extremely weak ending. Instead end on a positive action -generating note.

Presentation Skills Success continued How you can prepare, write, rehearse and deliver your speech, presentation or pu blic speaking program from the Speech Coach for Executives George Torok. You can s peak with confidence, clarity and conviction when you polish your presentation s kills. The power of public speaking is a key leadership skill. Your ability to c ommunicate will take you farther than any other skill. Communicate well. Communi cate effectively and communicate your message so that others listen, understand and act. This article can be a career enhancing opportunity for you. Read this a rticle and watch your presentation skills achieve greater success. You will be a mazed at what you can do when you hone your presentation skills and you present your message with impact.

 Post Presentation Review your presentation and grow Ask a trusted colleague to attend your presentation and give you constructive fe edback. Be specific in what you ask from them; e.g. How well was my point illustr ated? Did my humor work well? Did I connect with them? When you ask specific ques tions you will get specific answers. The most important question you can ask you rself is, Did I make happen what I wanted to happen? If the answer is yes it was a successful presentation. Did they buy, were they convinced, did they march in t he direction you pointed? That is the measure of a successful speech. That is th e purpose of your presentation skills in action. Also look at where you might st ill improve your skills. And plan to work on this before your next presentation.

When someone compliments you on the presentation be gracious and What was the best idea or strongest message that you will take might be surprised at what they heard versus what you said . ove your presentation skills is to review every presentation you orked well? What could you change?

ask him or her, away and use? You The fastest way to impr deliver. What w

Leverage your presentation Make your presentation more than an event and part of the process. Summarize key points and questions from the presentation in your newsletter and send a note t o everyone. Perhaps the speech would make a good article with some editing. Spea king is only one part of your overall set of communication and leadership skills . These skills are meant to help you get done what you need to get done by you a nd by others.

Your next presentation File your notes from the presentation so you can refer to them next time you pre sent. Include in the file your comments about what you thought worked well and w hat you need to improve. Include suggestions to yourself on what to try differen tly next time. Remember the great masters of golf and music are continually impr oving their skills. They never sit back on rely on talent alone.

Presentation Resources for you

To become a powerful presenter work with a speech coach. http://www.speechcoachforexecutives.com/ To learn the fundamentals of public speaking join Toastmasters. It is a none-pro fit association that teaches public speaking skills. http://www.toastmasters.org/ For an easy-to-use reference for public speaking read the bestseller ower Presentations by Peter Urs Bender http://www.peterursbender.com/ Secrets of P

Final Words of Encouragement for you

Public Speaking is a set of skills. It is not about talent. It is a set of techn iques practiced, rehearsed and delivered. You will never deliver the perfect spe ech. But you might deliver a powerful and effective speech. I know many wonderfu l presenters but I do not know one who has ever delivered a perfect presentation . The skill of public speaking is both an art and a science. The more you learn and practice the science the easier the art will work for you. You can be a powe rful and skillful presenter. But it will take time, practice and energy. And tho se are the elements of greatness.

For success with your presentations: Speak well; Speak effectively; Speak with confidence; Speak to make things happen; Speak imperfectly and speak again.

George Torok is the Speech Coach for Executives. He is a professional speaker, t rainer and consultant. He is the creator and host of the weekly radio show, Busi ness in Motion. He is the co-author of the national bestseller, Secrets of Power Marketing the first guide to personal marketing for the non-marketer. He works with executives, business professionals and managers to help them present their messages with power and results. You can contact him to arrange an executive Spe ech Coaching session or Presentations Skills group-training program at 800-304-1 861 For more information about how he can work with you and your organization vi sit http://www.speechcoachforexecutives.com/

For more information about George Torok and the programs he delivers visit these websites. http://www.torok.com/ http://www.speechcoachforexecutives.com/ http://www.promotebrandyou.com/

Presentation Skills Success concluded How you can prepare, write, rehearse and deliver your speech, presentation or pu blic speaking program from the Speech Coach for Executives George Torok. You can s peak with confidence, clarity and conviction when you polish your presentation s kills. The power of public speaking is a key leadership skill. Your ability to c ommunicate will take you farther than any other skill. Communicate well. Communi cate effectively and communicate your message so that others listen, understand and act. This article can be a career enhancing opportunity for you. Read this a rticle and watch your presentation skills achieve greater success. You will be a mazed at what you can do when you hone your presentation skills and you present your message with impact.

Epilogue

Presentation Skills Success ongoing It never really concludes. To be a better public speaker you must commit to be a n ongoing learner. Communications is a set of skills that can be learned, honed and taught. The ability to communicate is one of the most sought after success s kills. As human beings we process a unique ability to communicate with each othe r. And after thousands of years of trying to communicate we have an incredible k nack for miscommunication. We make mistakes when we speak and when we listen. So the brave keep trying to hone that essence of delivering the perfect speech or amazing presentation.

Remember you will never deliver the prefect presentation. Never.

With study and practice you can deliver some amazing presentations.

As a public speaker you will grow as long as you seek to grow.

I suggest that you print this article, and mark it up with a highlighter, pen an d post-it notes. It is a long article and packed with helpful tips for you. Ref er to it before your presentations to remind you of powerful speaking techniques . Read it between your public speaking assignments to reinforce your presentatio n style. And most importantly plan to be a better speaker.

My wish to you Best of public speaking success to you. May you continue to grow as a skilled presenter. May you one day deliver a presentation that has your audience saying e get some of that? Wow how do w

George Torok

www.Torok.com

Professional speaker Executive Speech Coach Radio Show Host

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15 Tactics to Establish Ethos: Examples for Persuasive Speaking by Andrew Dlugan Feb 7th, 2010 Your speaking ethos is critical to ensure that your audience is present, listeni ng, and open to being persuaded by your ideas. But, how do you maximize your ethos for a given speech and a given audience? Is ethos fixed before you open your mouth? Is there anything you can do during a sp eech that makes a difference? This article shows you practical tactics you can employ to establish and increas e your ethos. Definition of Ethos The previous article in the Ethos, Pathos, and Logos series defined ethos along

four dimensions: Trustworthiness Does your audience the truth? Similarity Does your audience Authority Do you have formal Reputation How much expertise believe you are a good person who can be trusted to tell identify with you? or informal authority relative to your audience? does your audience think you have in this field?

We will refer to these four dimensions throughout this article as we link practi cal actions back to their roots. Look for them in parentheses, like this: (Simil iarity). When a certain tactic applies to all four dimensions of ethos, we ll deno te it like this: (All) Remember that these dimensions are not always independent; rather, they are ofte n intertwined. Three Pillars of Public Speaking Ethos, Pathos, Logos - Introduction Ethos - Speaker Credibility What is Ethos? How to Establish Ethos Pathos - Emotional Connection What is Pathos? How to Develop Pathos Logos - Logical Argument What is Logos? How to Convey Logos Caution: Ethos is not an exact measure Consider the difference between your weight and your overall health. Weight is precise. Yesterday, you weighted 121 pounds. Today, you weigh 120. 5 pounds. If you burn 3500 calories through exercise, you ll drop one pound in wei ght. Last week, you weighed three pounds less than your sister. Health, on the other hand, is not precise. Your health cannot be described b y a single number. Still, you can make some assertions. You can be pretty sure t hat one person is healthier than another. Further, you can be confident that cer tain actions will improve your health (e.g. exercising more; eating spinach) and other actions will damage your health (e.g. smoking; eating cake). Ethos is not like weight. You can t say Oh, my ethos score with this audience is 16 5 today. Yippee! (Well, you can say it, but it would be meaningless.) Instead, ethos is like your physical health. You probably have less ethos than S teve Jobs at a technology convention. Having come to this epiphany, you should a lso realize that there are certain actions which improve your ethos, and certain actions that damage your ethos. Examples of these actions will be the focus of the remainder of this article. You probably have less ethos than Steve Jobs at a technology convention. How to Improve Ethos Long Before Your Speech Ethos is about your audience s perception of you, and this perception can be forme d over many months or years, or perhaps over many past speeches. So, we ll first e xamine things you can do in the long run to improve your ethos.

#1: Be a Good Person (Trustworthiness) Let s start with an easy one. Be a good person, do good things, and think good tho ughts. There are far more important reasons to follow this mantra than to gain s peaking ethos. Nonetheless, your ethos will grow. The positive effect you have o n those around you will spread, and will become known to your audience. Example: How much ethos does Tiger Woods have (in the wake of the fidelity scand al) in terms of trustworthiness? #2: Develop Deep Expertise in Topics You Speak About (Reputation) Your expertise will often differentiate you from competing speakers. People are busy. (There s a news flash!) There are many things competing for their attention, and there are often many other speakers competing for their attentio n. Why will they choose to listen to you speak? Your expertise will often differ entiate you from competing speakers. Example: Suppose an audience has two options for concurrent sessions at a confer ence: Speaker A has very interesting ideas, but only 2 years of work in a related field. Speaker B has written two best-selling books in the field, and is a sought a fter consultant with 15 years of experience. Who is the audience going to choose? There s a corollary for this rule too. Stick to speaking about topics for which yo u have deep expertise. #3: Market Yourself (Reputation) Developing the expertise doesn t earn you any ethos if you don t market yourself and let the world know about it. You ve got to take charge of your personal brand and make sure that it s a brand that emphasizes the qualities you want to emphasize. #4: Analyze Your Audience (Similarity) Thorough audience analysis is critical for improving your ethos. (It s critical fo r improving your pathos and logos too but that s a topic for another article. Stay tuned.) Audience analysis will reveal valuable clues that you can use to adapt yourself to your audience. Seek to find common traits that you share and highlight them. For other traits, find ways to adapt your language, your mannerisms, your dress, your PowerPoint visuals, or your stories to match the audience. Example: You ve been invited to speak to a company that is new to you. You don t kno w whether their corporate atmosphere is formal or relaxed. Through audience anal ysis, you discover that nobody in the company wears a suit to work. So, you choo se a less formal outfit to adapt to your audience. How to Improve Ethos Before Your Speech Showing up early demonstrates your dedication to serve the audience. The day of your presentation is too late to develop deep expertise about your to pic. However, there s much you can do before you say your first words: #5: Show up Early to Welcome the Audience (Trustworthiness) Showing up with minutes to spare gives the impression that you almost had somewh ere more important to be. Showing up early demonstrates your dedication to serve

the audience. This, in turn, builds trust. #6: Share Event Experience with Audience (Similarity) If your presentation is part of a larger event, try to attend as much of it as y ou can. Every minute you spend with your audience as an audience member builds y our level of affiliation with them. The event becomes a shared experience. The a udience sees you as one of them. #7: Highlight Ethos in Marketing Materials (All) Depending on the event, you may have an opportunity to provide an author s bio to complement your speech title. Seize this opportunity. Make it clear to your pote ntial audience why they should spend their time (and their money) to listen to y ou. This is particularly critical if you are at an event with concurrent session s. Don t assume that people make their decisions on topic alone. Example: Suppose you will be speaking at the Arizona Teachers Association Annual Conference. Positive testimonials from past presentations to teacher associatio ns would be effective to establish your reputation. #8: Highlight Ethos in Introduction (All) Your introduction is probably the single best opportunity for you to establish y our ethos with this audience on this day. For this reason, you should always wri te your own introduction. Don t let an event organizer wing it. Highlight the esse ntial facts that establish your trustworthiness, similarity, authority, and repu tation. As in the example above, pick the material specific to this audience and topic. Beware that you don t overdo it. Long introductions are boring. Long introductions filled with every accomplishment you ve had since age 21 are boring and pompous. You should always write your own introduction. Don t let an event organizer wing it . Example: Suppose you are delivering user training for employees to introduce the new corporate financial system. Key items to highlight in your brief introducti on might be: You were the project manager for implementing the new system (Reputation) You have implemented similar systems twice before in your career (Reputation ) Note: Much more on effective evaluations can be found in the article: How to Int roduce a Speaker: 16 Essential Tips for Success. How to Improve Ethos During Your Speech If you ve done well so far, your audience is listening from your first word. Don t g et complacent. Continue building your ethos through your presentation: #9: Tell stories or anecdotes which show you are consistent with your message (T rustworthiness) Don t be a hypocrite. Nobody will act on your advice if you don t. Example: Suppose you are trying to persuade your audience to support Habitat for Humanity, an international organization that builds homes to eliminate poverty. You can raise your ethos by crafting stories or anecdotes which demonstrate tha t you are active in the local Habitat chapter. By demonstrating that you follow your own advice, your audience is more likely t o believe you on other points which cannot be so easily verified (for example, s tatistics about Habitat for Humanity).

Don t be a hypocrite. Nobody will act on your advice if you don t. #10: Use language familiar to your audience (Similarity) Using language familiar to your audience is good for two reasons: It aids in their understanding (which, indirectly, makes you more persuasive ). It helps the audience identify with you which boosts your ethos. By familiar language , I mean more than English versus Dutch. As well, I mean more than using words which are understood by the audience. To really get your audience to identify with you, you must use the terms that th ey would use to describe the concepts. Example: A few examples might make this clearer: Many people would understand that property agent is the same thing as a real estate agent. However, depending where you speak, one of these terms will be mo re common. Use it! Acronyms are dangerous if you are using ones that your audience doesn t know. Conversely, if everyone in your audience uses the term P.M. on a daily basis, yo u should use that term rather than project manager. #11: Use visuals/examples which resonate with your audience (Similarity) For any given message, you have a multitude of options for stories, anecdotes, v isuals, or other techniques to convey your speech. From this multitude, try sele cting the ones which have the biggest impact with this audience. Not only will y ou get the big impact, but the audience will also start thinking that you are ju st like them. That s good for you! Example: Suppose you are speaking to company management on the topic of goal-set ting. Through audience analysis, you discovered that the company sponsored emplo yees to run the local marathon. Although there are many metaphors and visuals yo u could use to talk about goal-setting, you choose to draw parallels between cor porate goal-setting and the goals one sets when tackling a challenging race. You feature several vivid photographs of marathon races to complement your argument s. #12: Choose quotations and statistics from the right sources (All) Quotations and statistics are common speech tools which, on the surface, may con tribute more to your logos (logical argument) than ethos. Nonetheless, if you ch oose the right sources, you can boost your ethos too. When you reference a reputable source, you boost your ethos by association. Example: When researching a speech about cancer research, you discover two stati stics that will help you make your argument. The source of the first statistic is some unknown author on Wikipedia. The source of the second statistic is the Mayo Clinic. Which statistic is your audience more likely to believe? If you guessed the Mayo Clinic, you re right. When you reference a reputable source, you boost your ethos by association. So, the general guideline is to use quotations and statistics from sources which have high ethos to your audience, whether by trustworthiness, similarity, autho

rity, or reputation. #13: Reference people in the audience, or events earlier in the day (Similarity) Earlier, we mentioned that, if possible, you should try to share the event exper ience with your audience. When you do, you can increase your ethos by incorporat ing something from that shared experience (or someone in the audience) into your speech. Your audience sees you as one of them , and a silent bond forms. Example: In the presentation preceding yours, the speaker repeated a memorable p hrase It s never too late. If you can do it in a meaningful way, try to weave this p hrase into your material. How to Improve Ethos After Your Speech Your talk is done, but your effectiveness as a speaker is not yet written in sto ne. Here s a few things you can do to continue to build up your ethos with this au dience, or with your next audience. #14: Make yourself available to your audience (Similarity) Whenever possible, stick around after your presentation is over. Mingle with the audience and continue to share in the event experience. Not only will you have the opportunity for productive follow-up conversations, but your audience will s ee you as accessible, and accessible is good. In short, your ethos will rise. #15: Follow through on promises made during your presentation (Trustworthiness) One technique for managing a short Q&A session is to defer thorny or complex que stions to a later time. Example: If someone asks a question as part of a 10-minute Q&A session that woul d take you 20 minutes to answer, it s okay to defer the question saying: I d like to give the complete answer, but we don t have time today. I ll send it out to the grou p on email. It s okay to do that, but only if you do follow up! If you fail to do so, your aud ience will judge you as being untrustworthy. Even if your presentation was great , your influence on their future actions is diminished. Three Pillars of Public Speaking Ethos, Pathos, Logos - Introduction Ethos - Speaker Credibility What is Ethos? How to Establish Ethos Pathos - Emotional Connection What is Pathos? How to Develop Pathos Logos - Logical Argument What is Logos? How to Convey Logos Ethos in the short term versus the long term In the above examples, you may have noticed that trustworthiness and similarity were mentioned much more often than authority or reputation. This is not an acci dent. You can significantly influence your audience s on-the-spot assessment of your trustworthiness and similarity by following the advice above. While your audien ce may have preconceptions about you in these dimensions, you may be able to cha nge their mind.

It is much harder to change your audience s on-the-spot assessment of your aut hority and reputation. Your audience s perception of you along these dimensions is mostly fixed before your speech starts. Either you are an expert in the field, or you are not. Either you have formal authority over your audience, or you don t. Not much that you say in a one hour s

Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking by Andrew Dlugan Jan 24th, 2010 2300 years ago, Aristotle wrote down the secret to being a persuasive speaker, t he secret which forms the basis for nearly every public speaking book written si nce then. Do you know the secret? If you don t, you might be wondering what a 2300-year-old theory has to do with pu blic speaking in the year 2010. In a word everything!

In this article, you ll learn what ethos, pathos, and logos are (the secret!), and what every speaker needs to understand about these three pillars of public spea king. What are Ethos, Pathos, and Logos? So, what are ethos, pathos, and logos? In simplest terms, they correspond to: Ethos: credibility (or character) of the speaker Pathos: emotional connection to the audience Logos: logical argument

Together, they are the three persuasive appeals. In other words, these are the t hree essential qualities that your speech or presentation must have before your audience will accept your message. Origins of Ethos, Pathos, Logos On Rhetoric by Aristotle Three Pillars of Public Speaking Ethos, Pathos, Logos - Introduction Ethos - Speaker Credibility What is Ethos? How to Establish Ethos Pathos - Emotional Connection What is Pathos? How to Develop Pathos Logos - Logical Argument What is Logos? How to Convey Logos Written in the 4th century B.C.E., the Greek philosopher Aristotle compiled his thoughts on the art of rhetoric into On Rhetoric, including his theory on the th ree persuasive appeals. Many teachers of communication, speech, and rhetoric consider Aristotle s On Rheto ric to be a seminal work in the field. Indeed, the editors of The Rhetoric of We stern Thought: From the Mediterranean World to the Global Setting call it the mos t important single work on persuasion ever written. It is hard to argue this clai m; most advice from modern books can be traced back to Aristotle s foundations. In The Classic Review, Sally van Noorden points to George Kennedy s modern transla tion as the standard reference text for studying On Rhetoric. Kennedy s translatio n is the source that I use. (At the time of this writing, it is available from a mazon.com for $24.56, 18% off the list price.) Ethos Before you can convince an audience to accept anything you say, they have to acc ept you as credible. There are many aspects to building your credibility: Does Does Does Does the the the the audience audience audience audience respect believe believe believe you? you are of good character? you are generally trustworthy? you are an authority on this speech topic?

Keep in mind that it isn t enough for you to know that you are a credible source. (This isn t about your confidence, experience, or expertise.) Your audience must k now this. Ethos is your level of credibility as perceived by your audience. We will define ethos in greater detail, and we will study examples of how to est ablish and build ethos. Pathos Pathos is the quality of a persuasive presentation which appeals to the emotions of the audience. Do your words evoke feelings of love? sympathy? fear? Do your visuals evoke feelings of compassion? envy? Does your characterization of the competition evoke feelings of hate? contem pt?

Emotional connection can be created in many ways by a speaker, perhaps most nota bly by stories. The goal of a story, anecdote, analogy, simile, and metaphor is often to link an aspect of our primary message with a triggered emotional respon se from the audience. We will study pathos in greater detail, and look at how to build pathos by tappi ng into different audience emotions. Logos Logos is synonymous with a logical argument. Does your message make sense? Is your message based on facts, statistics, and evidence? Will your call-to-action lead to the desired outcome that you promise? We will see why logos is critical to your success, and examine ways to construct a logical, reasoned argument. Which is most important? Ethos? Pathos? or Logos? Suppose two speakers give speeches about a new corporate restructuring strategy. The first speaker a grade nine student gives a flawless speech pitching stra tegy A which is both logically sound and stirs emotions. The second speaker a Fortune 500 CEO gives a boring speech pitching strategy B. Which speech is more persuasive? Is the CEO s speech more persuasive, simply becau se she has much more credibility (ethos)? Some suggest that pathos is the most critical of the three. In You ve Got to Be Be lieved to Be Heard, Bert Decker says that people buy on emotion (pathos) and jus tify with fact (logos). True? You decide. Aristotle believed that logos should be the most important of the three persuasi ve appeals. As a philosopher and a master of logical reasoning, he believed that logos should be the only required persuasive appeal. That is, if you demonstrat ed logos, you should not need either ethos or pathos. However, Aristotle stated that logos alone is not sufficient. Not only is it not sufficient on its own, but it is no more important than either of the two other pillars. He argued that all three persuasive appeals are necessary. Is he right? What do you think?

7 Easy Ways to Be a More Persuasive Speaker by Andrew Dlugan Aug 22nd, 2010 The previous article in the Ethos, Pathos, and Logos series defined logos and de scribed why logical arguments are so important for your presentations. Okay, that s all very good in theory, but do we need to be logical masters to buil d high logos? No, not at all. In this article, we examine simple techniques you can use in your presentations to be more persuasive by improving your logos. Three Pillars of Public Speaking Ethos, Pathos, Logos - Introduction Ethos - Speaker Credibility What is Ethos? How to Establish Ethos Pathos - Emotional Connection What is Pathos? How to Develop Pathos Logos - Logical Argument What is Logos? How to Convey Logos General Strategies for Improving Your Logos In the last article, we identified, three general principles that you can adopt to improve your logos: Make it Understandable Can your audience understand you? Or have they only absorbed half of your po ints? Make it Logical

Do your arguments make sense? Or do you require your audience to make an ext reme leap of faith? How easy is it for your audience to connect the dots? Make it Real Concrete and specific tends to win over abstract and general. We ll now look at 17 specific techniques derived from these three general strategi es. You may wish to compare to techniques in previous articles: 15 ways to improve ethos 18 ways to improve pathos Make it Understandable If your audience doesn t understand you, they can t be persuaded by you. To be an ef fective communicator, you ve first got to be a clear communicator. To be a clear c ommunicator, you must use words, phrases, examples, and visuals that are underst andable, and you ve got to deliver them at a pace that the audience can absorb. How can you do this? Let us count some ways #1: Use plain language. Use words that your audience uses. Avoid technical jargon that your audience (or a portion of your audience) isn t familiar with. Favor short words and phrases over long and convoluted counterparts. Don t imitate the language you might find in a legal transcript or an academic paper. Technic al language is necessary for those contexts, but it isn t helpful in a conversatio n or presentation. Note that plain language doesn t mean age where appropriate. #2: Be explicit. boring language. Use vivid and descriptive langu

To be an effective communicator, you ve first got to be a clear communicator. Your audience should not need a decoder ring to figure out your message. It shou ld be obvious. Spell it out if necessary. Make sure you are not misinterpreted. It is particularly important to make the connection between premises and conclus ions explicit. Because is a magic word for this purpose: Because premise A and p remise B, we can see that conclusion must be true. If your arguments involve more than a couple premises, be sure your audience see s the relationship between them. And these five advantages capital costs, schedul ing, inventory control, marketing, and employee satisfaction together make this a winning proposal. #3: Trace sequences or processes in order. To help your audience understand a sequence or process, march through the steps or phases in a meaningful order, usually sequential. If you jump around the step s out of order, your audience will be confused. As the number of steps increases, so does the need to use a diagram for clarity. #4: Use diagrams. Carefully crafted and focused diagrams almost always enhance the understandabili ty of your arguments. It doesn t matter if you draw in PowerPoint, on a white boar d, or on the back of a napkin it only matters that you clarify concepts for your

audience. But, be careful not to introduce an unnecessarily complex diagram. In the worst case, a busy diagram or one with lots of irrelevant details will frustrate your audience and diminish your understandability. #5: Use charts. Like diagrams, a carefully crafted chart or graph will speak volumes and clarify a previously fuzzy relationship. Remember the warning about unnecessary complexity applies to charts too. #6: Use progressive disclosure. Suppose the diagram (or chart) which best explains the concepts is a complex one . What then? It doesn t matter if you draw in PowerPoint, on a white board, or on the back of a napkin it only matters that you clarify concepts for your audience. In nearly all cases, it should be possible to use progressive disclosure. This m eans that you build up the entire diagram (or chart) progressively as a series o f chunks, revealing only a part of the overall diagram at a time. If you are dra wing the diagram as you speak, you are inherently using progressive disclosure. (You draw a few lines, explain what you ve drawn, draw a few more, explain again, and repeat.) This is easy to do with PowerPoint too. #7: Use comparisons, analogies, and metaphors. Whenever you introduce new concepts, search for an appropriate analogy which hel ps the audience understand the new concept in terms of how they already understa nd the old one. Make it Logical Okay, your audience understands what you are saying, but does what you are sayin g make sense? Does it pass the logical tests which your audience will be applying subconscious ly? #8: Leverage audience commonplaces. Commonplaces often provide the most stable foundation for your argument. It s a go od ideas to start with these because your audience already believes them and bui ld the remainder of your argument outward. In a similar manner, framing the issue from your audience s perspective is a great way to be more persuasive. #9: Ask questions, and get your audience thinking. Questions engage your audience and make them active participants in the conversa tion. Rather than passively waiting for you to provide answers, they ll be contrib uting to the answers as you go. As a result, they will collectively feel ownersh ip when you move toward conclusions. In the best case, they will feel that they came to the conclusions themselves a sure way to guarantee your persuasiveness. #10: Address the opposing point of view, and refute it. On the surface, it seems foolish to bring up the opposing arguments. What if you r audience didn t think of that? Now you ve just planted a seed of doubt! On the contrary, bringing up opposing arguments makes you seem unbiased and boos ts your ethos. ( You must be trustworthy; you are pointing out your opposition! ) Fu rther, and more importantly, it allows you to directly refute the opposing argum

ents with logical arguments of your own. #11: Emphasize the points of most value to audience Unless you are using only perfect, irrefutable facts as premises, and making a p urely deductive argument (where the conclusions follow immediately from premises ), there are going to be holes in your inductive argument. (This doesn t mean you ve done a poor job. Inductive arguments have uncertainties by definition.) Since your presentation has a finite length, you must make choices how to best s pend your time. You will be most effective if you devote the majority of your pr esentation to discuss the issues of primary interest to your audience. Make it Real Concrete and specific details improve the strength of your arguments, and thus m ake your overall message more persuasive. Explaining the theory behind why your new solution will raise profits is a good start; sharing a story about a company which raised profits 17% by adopting your solution is much stronger. #12. Use props or photographs. Talking about something in abstract terms is good, but using real objects or pho tographs carries more logos. Visual evidence is very hard to refute. Personal stories and anecdotes carry more logos than stories or anecdotes ppened to a friend of mine. #13: Use vivid details. which ha

In lieu of photographs, you can make your claims more real by supplying vivid de tails. #14: Use facts and statistics. Assigning numbers adds to the impact. Compare the following statements: Every year, many people die of cancer. Every year, 3000 people in our community die of cancer. Which one of these statements is more likely to persuade your audience to contri bute money to cancer research? #15: Cite your sources. A statistic may be accurate, but without citing a source, your audience may dism iss it. By citing a source, you tip the scale towards believability. (The credibility of your source is also important, but that is more closely rela ted to ethos.) #16: Use real examples and case studies. You can construct convincing arguments about theories and ideas, but your audien ce will be left to wonder whether the theory holds in reality. Real examples and case studies show that the theory works in the real world. #17: Use personal stories and anecdotes. Three Pillars of Public Speaking Ethos, Pathos, Logos - Introduction Ethos - Speaker Credibility What is Ethos? How to Establish Ethos

Pathos - Emotional Connection What is Pathos? How to Develop Pathos Logos - Logical Argument What is Logos? How to Convey Logos A personal story combines the power of a real example with that of a cited sourc e. Assuming you are a credible source, personal stories and anecdotes carry more logos than stories or anecdotes which happened to a friend of mine. What do you think? The techniques listed here are far from complete. There are other ways to improv e your logical arguments and your persuasive effectiveness. What other techniques do you use? When you are in the audience, what qualities of the presentation make you more l ikely to judge it to be a sound argument? Please share your ideas in the comments.