Mr. Media Training

I hate panel discussions.

Sure, I’ve been to the occasional panel discussion that features an unobtrusive moderator and three panelists who capture the audience’s attention. But they’re rare. Finding a great panel discussion is more challenging than finding a chain drug store with friendly customer service.

The problem is the format. Too often, you’ll find four people—a moderator and three panelists—all jostling for airtime. Egos gets in the way, with the people on stage inserting themselves to make sure they each get their fair share of the talk time. And with four people taking the discussion into different directions, it’s often difficult to form a narrative thread that carries through the entire session. 

Even the logistics for the usual panel session contribute to its awfulness: If you ask even the most energetic speakers to sit at a table and hunch over to speak into a microphone, their energy will inevitably be diminished.

All of that made me wonder: Is there a better way to structure panel discussions?

Here are six ways to enliven your next panel discussion:

1. Look For Areas of Disagreement: Pre-interview your panelists and look for areas of disagreement (if there aren’t any, you’re at risk of booking a boring panel). You may already do that, but here’s the key–don’t share the specific disagreements with the other panelists prior to the session. That will help keep some electricity in the air; when the panelists are confronted with opposing views, the audience will be able to see their genuine reactions.

2. Be a Relentless Time Cop: Have a conference call with your panelists in advance, advising them that you intend to keep the discussion moving quickly. Tell them that as soon as their answers exceed one minute, you’re going to cut them off by saying something such as, “That’s a great point, Susan. I’d like you to pick up on that David.” That puts panelists on notice that you won’t allow soporific filibusters—and the crisp pacing helps preserve the energy in the room.

3. Remove The Table: The majority of panel discussions are conducted from behind a long table. Get rid of it. The table is a physical barrier that separates the panelists from the audience. Worse, it diminishes the speakers’ natural body language. Just try gesturing enthusiastically while seated in a hunched-over position at your desk, your elbows attached to the surface. Pretty hard, no?

4. Use Stools or Chairs Instead: I often encourage clients to position stools or chairs at the front of the stage. That set up conveys a more casual and inviting “living room” feeling—which is the reason all of the morning news show use it. This format allows you to use wireless microphones instead of table microphones.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Be Playful: Depending on the seriousness of the topic, you might consider using a more playful format. For example, if speaking in Indianapolis or Daytona Beach, you might consider waving a racing flag when someone exceeds their allotted time. If speaking during the presidential election season, you might use the red, yellow, and green lights typically seen during televised debates to warn them their time is up. Or you might ask the audience to do a show of hands on a given topic and ask the panelists to respond to the audiences’ opinion. (If the audience overwhelmingly votes one way, you might turn to a panelist and say, “Give me one reason they’re wrong.”)

6. Kill The Ten-Minute Introductory Comments: Here’s a common set-up for panel discussions: In a 50-minute breakout session, each panelist gets 10 minutes to make introductory statements, which eat up the first half-hour of the session. That leaves only 20 minutes for interaction, the real purpose of a panel “discussion.” Instead of asking each panelist to give a lengthy intro, try the opposite approach: begin the panel by asking each panelist, in 30 seconds or less, to offer a strong opinion on a riveting topic.

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Note: I’ll be taking a few days off to enjoy the Memorial Day holiday. I hope you have a great long weekend, and look forward to seeing you back on the blog on Tuesday, May 28.

When you’re giving a speech, is it okay to embellish your humorous anecdotes to make sure they don’t land with a thud?

James C. Humes, author of the popular public speaking book Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln, says yes. He argues that humor, when delivered in the third person, can take the audience out of the moment. He writes:

“When you start by saying ‘this salesman’ or ‘this psychiatrist,’ you have already signaled the audience that this is a joke—something that didn’t really happen—and you have already lost them. Lead them by the hand into your story by saying, for example: ‘An old woman in the town I grew up in’ or ‘A lawyer I know once had a client walk in…’”

Humes believes that such stretches of the truth can be considered “humor license,” similar to the “dramatic license” audiences grant to stage actors. During a speech, Humes writes, “You’re not under oath…don’t worry about stretching the truth.”

But is he right? Is stretching the truth during a humorous anecdote a reasonable use of “license,” or is it simply a lie that could threaten a speaker’s credibility?

If “lie” seems like a strong word, consider this piece of advice from Humes: “Once you repeat it a few times in your own style, you begin to believe that it really did happen.”

A quick anecdote (and I swear, this one is true). During my presentations, I used to tell a story about “a client in Georgia.” The client didn’t really exist—it was a composite of several different clients. But after my presentations, a few people came up to me and asked me who that client was. It made me feel dishonest. Since then, I’ve made it clear to audiences that the “client” is a fictional example. And you know what? The story hasn’t lost any of its zip.

Humes is a former speechwriter for five presidents. The men he served—Eisenhower, Nixon, and Ford among them—served in an era that allowed more license for humorous anecdotes. Today’s politicians have their speeches fact checked, blogged and tweeted about, and dissected for accuracy by opposition researchers. The license Humes recommends may not be fully dead, but it’s dying. And it could come with a great risk to people’s reputations as straight shooters.

My suggestion? Know your audience. Assess whether “humor license” would be well-received or place your reputation in the hands of nefarious opponents and journalists looking for a sexy headline. And don’t take it at face value that audiences will automatically grant you humor license.

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I’ve written close to 1,000 posts since beginning this blog. Many of the posts containing the most critical public speaking tips have gotten buried, so I wanted to post them all in one easy-to-find place.

So, with no further introduction, here are the 25 links I consider to be the most important for public speakers everywhere. I hope you find them useful!

YOUR OPENING AND CLOSING

1. Eight Great Ways to Open a Speech (Part One)

2. Eight Great Ways to Open a Speech (Part Two)

3. Eight Great Ways to Open a Speech (Part Three)

4. Seven Ways to Close a Speech (Part One)

5. Seven Ways to Close a Speech (Part Two)

6. Seven Ways to Close a Speech (Part Three)

7. How To Deliver a Closing “Call-to-Action”

THE MOST IMPORTANT BODY LANGUAGE ELEMENTS

8. Public Speaking Body Language: Energy

9. Public Speaking Body Language: Tone

10. Public Speaking Body Language: Eye Contact

11. Public Speaking Body Language: Gestures

12. Public Speaking Body Language: Posture

13. Public Speaking Body Language: Voice

14. Public Speaking Body Language: Interacting with PowerPoint

15. Public Speaking Body Language: Where to Stand

YOUR SPEECH DELIVERY

16. The One Sentence Most Public Speakers Get Wrong

17. The Biggest Mistake Many Public Speakers Make

18. The “Grocery Cart” Approach to Public Speaking

POWERPOINT

19. The “4S” Approach to Showing PowerPoint Slides

20. The Five Most Common PowerPoint Mistakes

21. The PowerPoint Slide I Hate The Most

MANAGING FEAR

22. Five Ways to Manage Your Fear of Public Speaking

23. What To Do When You Have an “Oh, Shit” Moment

24. Managing Your “Imposter Syndrome”

25. Five Ways to Recover From a Brain Freeze

If you found these links helpful, please check out my book, The Media Training Bible: 101 Things You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know Before Your Next Interview.

And don’t forget to sign up for our mailing list by adding your email address to the box on the upper right of the blog!

You finish your presentation. You turn to the audience and ask, “So, do you have any questions?”

No one responds. Audience members feel uncomfortable with the unfilled silence. People begin awkwardly squirming in their seats.

You finally end their misery by saying, “Well, if no one has any questions, thank you very much for your time today,” and quietly walk off the stage. And then you crawl inside your own head, interpreting their silence as a sign that you were unable to capture the audience’s attention.

That may be a bad assumption.

First, let me admit it. If I ask an audience whether they have any questions and no one does, I’m disappointed. I’ll occasionally crack a joke, pretending I’m addressing the wait staff by requesting a few jumbo-sized pots of coffee for the clearly caffeine-deprived attendees. But I recently realized that those “jokes” are a bad idea, since they make clear my disappointment in the audience’s failure to pose a question.

That joke is passive-aggressive.

I came to that realization when my wife and I attended a child birthing class a few months ago. The instructor was terrific, but the information she was dispensing was rather intense (“If the cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, we may have to do an emergency C-section.”)

When she paused to ask if we had any questions, none of the 12 couples did. But it was clear that we were all listening and that we valued the information she was providing. Our lack of questions didn’t signify that we weren’t interested. If anything, it meant the opposite. We simply needed some time to process the information.

Sure, a lack of questions can also indicate audience boredom or a speaker who’s communicating at an inappropriately advanced level. But those audiences usually reflect that in their body language through signals such as heads resting in palms, tapping, or fidgeting.

So the next time an audience doesn’t ask questions, try to figure out whether it’s because you’re succeeding or flopping before automatically assuming that your presentation is a disaster. And instead of making a joke such as my caffeine one, be kinder to the audience by saying something such as, “I know. That’s a lot of information to take it at once, isn’t it? I want you to know I’ll be available to you as you reflect on what we discussed today.”

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In November 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry’s presidential campaign effectively ended after he went blank during a debate for an excruciatingly painful 47 seconds.

Although that moment became rather infamous (I rated it the worst gaffe of Election 2012), Mr. Perry is far from alone.

Arizona governor Jan Brewer suffered a similar fate during a gubernatorial debate in 2010, when she went blank for 13 seconds. It was even worse for Jeanine Pirro, a candidate who briefly ran for Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate seat in 2005 but who quickly withdrew after misplacing a page of her announcement speech and going silent for 32 seconds.

The truth is that most of us have suffered a similar—if less high profile—brain freeze. So what should you do if you’re caught in an interview, debate, or speech, and you lose your place?

First, after a few seconds, fight the temptation to continue trying to think of the thought that’s eluded your grasp. It’s gone.

Second, consider transitioning to surer ground—confidently—by saying something more general about the specific topic. For example, Governor Perry could have said:

“You know, I’m forgetting the name of the third department and will put that up on our website, but the more important point is that we need to shrink the size of government. We simply can’t continue to afford a federal bureaucracy that is doing the job states are supposed to be doing.”

That wouldn’t have been poetry, and Mr. Perry would have still suffered bad press. But a few seconds of awkwardness would have been vastly preferable to 47 seconds of pain.

Third, if you’ve gone really blank, transition to anything else, even if it’s not directly related to the topic. You can use a line such as, “But the key point I want to make today is…” Again, that’s not perfect, but if done with confidence, the audience may not even notice your inelegance.

Fourth, in some settings, the best approach is simply to admit the gaffe and laugh at your imperfection. That’s what Florida Senator Marco Rubio did when he misplaced a page of his speech last year, and it was barely noticed by the national press.

Fifth, don’t memorize your script beforehand! Little does more to throw off speakers than when they attempt to memorize their speeches and then forget a word along the way. It’s far preferable to deliver your words with bullet points in front of you to serve as memory triggers instead of relying on memory alone.

My new book is now available! Read more about The Media Training Bible: 101 Things You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know Before Your Next Interview.

A version of this post originally ran on Political Wire.

I recently attended a book reading, during which a member of the audience posed a simple question to the author: “What inspired you to write this book?”

At least I thought it was a simple question. But the author’s long, unfocused, and hesitant answer made clear to the audience that he had never before considered the question.

That author is far from alone. Too often, writers—who are immersed in the smallest details of their characters’ lives for years—are unable to zoom out and offer succinct responses to broad (and entirely predictable) questions from the media and the public.

The ten questions below are intended to help you prepare for the queries you’ll most likely face during book readings, speeches, and media interviews.

Practice your responses to these questions in advance, keeping each of your answers to no longer than one minute. And when possible, include a brief anecdote in your responses, as author Michael Wallis did masterfully during this media appearance.

1. What inspired you to write this book? This question (or its relative, “Why did you write this book?”) is one of your best opportunities to sell your book. Take the time necessary to create a tight response—and avoid the fate of Ted Kennedy, whose blown answer to the straightforward question “Why are you running for president?” doomed his 1980 presidential bid.

2. Can you tell me about the book? This open-ended question is a wonderful gift that offers you an easy opportunity to enthrall your audience. Don’t squander it by reciting the copy on the back of your book jacket—infuse your answer with life by describing not only the “what” of your book, but the “why” that places it into a larger context. (Read more about the “why + what” here.)  

3. What did you learn when writing the book? 

4. What surprised you the most?

5. What does the title mean? Some titles are self-explanatory. But be prepared to discuss your book’s title if its meaning is less obvious (e.g. “What Color is Your Parachute?”).

NON-FICTION

6. What did the subject(s) of the book think of it? Audiences love “behind-the-scenes” details that didn’t make it into your book. This question is a great opportunity to peel back the curtain and allow them to feel like insiders.

7. What are the subject(s) doing now? Or, for certain types of books (such as history titles), “What ended up happening?”

8. Did the book make you like the subject(s) more or less? Also anticipate similar questions, such as, Did you find yourself more or less sympathetic toward the subject(s)? Do you understand the subject(s) better now?

FICTION

9. Was the character inspired by a real person? If so, who?

10. What do you think happened to the characters after the book ended? Some authors refuse to answer this question because they want their book to leave some unanswered questions. That’s fine—but instead of simply refusing the question, deflect it and then say something about the characters you are willing to share. Also, be ready for the related question, “Do you miss the characters?”

Brad Phillips is the author of the new book, The Media Training Bible: 101 Things You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know Before Your Next Interview.

(Photo Credit: Joe Mabel, Wikimedia Commons)

If there’s one part of a speech I hate the most, it’s the agenda slide most speakers present at the very beginning of their talks. 

How many times have you seen an intro slide that looks something like this?

I have at least three problems with that type of agenda slide:

1. It Doesn’t Get The Audience “In The Tent”

The opening minutes of a presentation are often the most important. According to Allan and Barbara Pease, authors of The Definitive Book of Body Language, the audience forms 60—80 percent of its impression of a speaker within the first four minutes of a speech. This slide does nothing to create a positive impression.

2.  It Makes PowerPoint The Star

At the beginning of a speech, you should establish yourself as the main attraction. Why would you want to share credit with a screen?

3. It’s Low Value

Worst of all, that type of agenda slide isn’t even close to the most compelling way to share that information.

But since it’s often a good idea to give the audience a sense of what material you plan to cover, what should you do?

First, kill the agenda slide. You can cover the agenda verbally.

Second, don’t begin your speech with the agenda. Open with something more interesting—a compelling story or statistic, for example (here are eight great ways to open a speech). When you’ve finished the opening, then deliver your agenda.

Third, make it short. Most agendas don’t require lengthy explanations. If you can accomplish your entire agenda in one sentence, do it:

“So today, we’ll discuss what we learned in 2012 and how those lessons led to changes in our mission statement; and we’ll talk about our goals for 2013 and how some new regulatory changes will affect the way we accomplish them.” 

Fourth, consider whether you really need an agenda at all. For presentations in which you’re telling a story that builds to a rousing conclusion, an “agenda” might undercut your closing and make your conclusion less impactful.

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I’ve seen thousands of PowerPoint presentations over the past decade.

The majority of speakers present slides in the same way. They finish presenting the information contained on one slide, click to the next slide, and speak about the new slide, often reading it to the audience verbatim.

That approach is problematic for many reasons.

First, those speakers don’t give the audience any time to take in the new information, forcing audience members to choose between absorbing the material on the slide or listening to the speaker.

Second, the audience can read five times quicker than the presenter can speak, meaning that the members of the audience are already ahead of the presenter. They don’t need the speaker to read slides to them verbatim.

Third, by clicking to the next slide before introducing it, the audience may conclude that the speaker needs to see the next PowerPoint slide in order to remember what comes next in their own presentation.

There’s a better way to present each new PowerPoint slide, which I refer to as the “4S” approach:

1. Set It Up

Before clicking to the next slide, set it up by introducing the concept on the upcoming slide first. For example, you might say:

“Now that you’ve heard about our plan to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in shipping costs next year, I’d like to talk to you about something exciting we can do with all of that extra cash.”

2. Show It

Click to the next slide only after you’ve finished setting it up.

3. Stop Talking

This is the hardest step for most speakers. After you’ve clicked to the next slide, don’t speak for a few moments. Give your audience time to take in the new information before continuing to talk—if you continue speaking before they’ve had a chance to fully take in your slide, they won’t hear you anyway. One study, cited in The Definitive Book of Body Language, found that when there’s a battle between the eye and the ear, the eye wins 70 percent of the time.

Most speakers feel uncomfortable with silence, so they begin speaking again too soon. Fight the temptation. You’ll know when it’s time to speak again when the eyes in the room leave the screen and return to you.

4. Supplement It

Generally speaking, you provide little value to your audience by reading a slide to them. Audience members have already read it for themselves. You provide value by helping them make sense of what they’ve just seen. You can do that by adding context, summarizing a key takeaway, or using the slide as a bouncing off point to make a larger point.

For example, let’s say you click to your next slide, which reads:

“Our new shipping plan will save $425,000 in fiscal year 2013.”

Instead of reading that to the audience, you might say:

“So what are we going to do with this new windfall? We propose using it in three different ways. They are…”

Before your next speech, remember to use the 4S’s when showing each PowerPoint slide: Set it up, show it, set it up, and supplement it.

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