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Kerry
Daigle |
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KEEP PUNCHING
This is a topic I really like to spend time on, public speaking. Through many requests on email, fax,
voicemail, and calls directly to my office on this subject matter, I thought it would be appropriate to
address many myths on the subject while at the same time give some insight on one of the oldest
professions practiced globally.with Kerry Daigle STARTING YOUR CAREER IN PUBLIC SPEAKING Whether you are giving a speech to a group of hundreds or thousands of people, a small sales organization of 5 to 10, or just being interviewed by a small audience, public speaking seems to create ‘fear’ to many. In the BOOK OF LISTS, public speaking is listed as the number one fear people have in America with the fear of death coming in at number six. Our goals are to give you some practical and sound advice for overcoming stage fright and anxiety associated with the dilemma of speaking in front of an audience. I remember I started my public speaking career in my teenage years being involved in amateur boxing and then later in the professional ranks. I was scared to death at my first announced press conference where I had to introduce all the key players and athletes for a professional boxing show. I remember seeing the television cameras, the newspaper reporters, the radio newscasters, and other forms of the media waiting anxiously for my announcement of the upcoming amateur fighters in the process of turning professional. I stood up….looked out at the crowd…and all of a sudden I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I was so nervous that once I had the opportunity to use my vocal cords I then introduced a friend and business partner to take over. That was my introduction to ‘big time speaking’……….and I’ll never forget it. Stage fright had set in and the fear of having my performance evaluated negatively was on my mind. To think today I speak in different parts of the U.S and the world, have a radio talk show promoted internationally and coach and train others on ‘how’ to effectively do speaking engagements and promote events. Of course, that didn’t come easy and without lots of practice. Let me assure you that it doesn’t take an audience with the media or a large crowd for this fear to occur. It could be you introducing yourself in front of a crowd at a luncheon networking your profession and only saying your name and what type of business you’re in. I know because I’ve attended many of those luncheons throughout the United States and other countries. I see people ‘terrified’ at standing up for that brief moment. I actually read a book on public speaking written several years ago where the author even recommended drugs or hypnosis to relax the speaker. I had to crack up when I read that book thinking about the speaker standing up either in a trance from the hypnosis or being tongue-tied from the drug. Believe me………we aren’t going into that arena, however, it goes to show you how serious some people will get to learn ‘how’ to effectively become a public speaker or to what length they will go to be on that stage in front of an audience. Public speaking is something that is not a natural activity for most people. It is almost close to acting as it is a performance that needs practice, lots of preparation, more practice, critiquing, and lots of polish. There is no easy way to learn how to become an effective speaker and whether you will become flawless. I believe everyone needs critiquing after ‘every’ performance and yes,, you can become better with more and more experience and we will try to teach some effective methods that will help you reach your goals of success in public speaking. There is a lot of pleasure to enjoy from speaking in public. For example, applause is a terrific reward along with an audience member who tells the speaker ‘how much they got out of your talk’… If you don’t believe me…. just ask the next speaker you meet. Now, you read earlier that public speaking is close to acting. As a business man or business woman you may feel like that is not a professional way to look at the art of standing in front of a crowd. Let me assure you that once you understand that the moment you walk up to the podium or stage to greet a room full of people you have just entered the entertainment industry. The more you can accept that philosophy the quicker your success will come because you “are” in the ‘show’ business. That is why practicing and offering your services are very important. Actors memorize their lines and also their body language before an audience and practice religiously. Think about an important interview you may have attended in the past…did you go to the interview half-stepping or did you go in trying your best to make the best impression you could? I would think you wanted to look good and sound good. This is no difference except that your audience is only larger therefore it is important to ‘dry clean’ your words as you would your suit. The first step in learning to become a great speechwriter and speaker is to carry a journal with you to every speaking engagement you attend. Date the journal, title the event, and then take all the notes you can. Write down ‘how’ you were registered for the event, how you were seated, who you met, the name of the host or emcee, the person who introduced the speaker and their style, and everything you can about the speaker from his or her appearance, the use of their language and if you could understand what they were saying, along with their movements, and whether they used a microphone, a podium, or just spoke on an open stage. This will help you to understand that every ‘presentation’ is different depending on the speaker, the audience, the topic, and availability of equipment for the speaker. You will also learn how to adjust as a speaker depending on your audience by taking notes and watching carefully. Writing this down in your ‘speaking journal’ will teach you how to be more prepared for your next speech keeping in mind that every speaker is different and you can learn from each and everyone of them. Journals are not an option if you want to become a successful speaker. Taking notes is much better than trying to remember what happened on that particular day and keeping your notes organized in a journal will help you reach your goals much quicker. The first lesson will be on overcoming stage fright. Understand that ‘fear’ is good and natural only because you are embarking on a new career and are nervous about it. Years after speaking before boxing audiences I entered a new career with a large direct sales company. I remember being asked to introduce one of our product lines to the audience and I was very new to the product line so my knowledge was very limited. Being caught ‘off-guard’ made me really nervous. I walked up to the stage and within minutes was sweating and had no idea ‘what’ to say………….All I remember was my presentation that day was a short 2 minutes when the audience and ‘host’ was expecting at least 20 minutes. Being completely unprepared made me realize that I was never going to let that happen to me again and I started a strenuous study program on the profession of public speaking. So if you have stage fright…that’s okay. In this profession we all have had that problem at one time or another. It’s only natural. And do we still get nervous for a presentation? Yes; everyone does even after doing several thousand presentations because your subject matter could change and your audience changes . Being nervous is a good thing………..be unprepared is NOT a good thing. Fear, however, can be mastered and become your servant by being more prepared. Always remember your audience is nothing more than individual like you. Speaking to an audience is no different that speaking to individuals one at a time. You wouldn’t have a problem with someone ‘one-on one’ , therefore, just think of yourself speaking to all of these individuals at once. Unless you are a conservative Republican facing a group of liberal Democrats you shouldn’t have anything to be concerned about. These are just human beings waiting to be spoken to. Rehearsing your talk in advance always prepares you for this special time before the audience. If you are speaking at a luncheon or dinner it may be best for you to eat after you speak and if alcoholic drinks are served avoid them at all costs until you are done with your speaking engagement. I know at time speakers think a drink will calm them down but in actuality all it will do is either do the talking for you and possibly come up with some new words even you never heard of before. So save the drinks for socializing after the event. Once on the stage I would suggest you to thank everyone for their attendance and the opportunity to address them. Some public speaking coaches think you should look beyond your audience to the end of the room and that will lower your stage fright. Still others say you need to think your audience is completely naked. I never understood that suggestion, as there are a lot of audience members I would rather not see nude. I beg to differ from both of these suggestions. My public speaking coaches have always taught me to look directly into some of the audience members’ eyes. Some will look away, some look down, some smile, and yes, you may even get a wink or two but looking directly at them will show confidence on your part. Looking confident will show you are in control. Think about it ! Would you want your real estate agent selling you a home answering your questions while looking at their shoes? Or would you want a little eye contact before you spend possibly the largest sum of money you’ve ever spent in your life? It really is no different in being the star on the public speaking stage. Show the audience that you want to be there. Stand confident. Let them know you are in control and you are happy to be their guest. The next thing to remember is that if you are asked to speak for 15 minutes…speak for ONLY 15 MINUTES. If there is a speaker that was in front of you that was discourteous enough to become long winded and take some of your time you still want to take only the time left. In a professional and entertaining way let your audience know their time is very important and you are starting later than the anticipated and planned time but that you will finish exactly at the time you are supposed to. Your audience will respect you much more than the “long-winded, lost in time speaker” before you and your ‘host’ will see you as a much more professional and courteous speaker than the person who ‘stole’ your time earlier. This is one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in public speaking. Respect the agenda, the hosts, and most importantly your audience and you will be the winner every time. The losers are the ones who disrespect the agenda presented to them and try to set their own rules. On all of your presentations it is always best to get to the session early. Get to know your audience, meet some of them, shake hands, feel the room out and get a feel of where you will be speaking. If you are using some notes do you have a podium to put them on? Are you using a hand held microphone, lapel mike, or no microphone at all? Do you have a glass of water handy in the event you need a quick drink? Also, give yourself time to go to the restroom and straighten out your hair and make sure you don’t have any broccoli between your teeth. We laugh about that, however, we have seen some interesting situations with speakers. I remember the time I was flying into St. Louis, Missouri to do a speaking engagement. My flight was delayed so naturally I was coming into the speaking engagement late. In addition to being late another worse case scenario happened. My bags didn’t arrive with my flight! I was wearing casual clothing. Luckily my outfit was a sport shirt and casual pants so all I needed was a ‘sport jacket’. I was lucky enough to purchase one at a men’s clothing store on my way to the speaking engagement and made it to the stage just a minute or two before I was scheduled to speak. What I didn’t realize was that the price tag on my jacket was still attached and I didn’t notice it until I was three fourth’s complete with my talk. Luckily, I was able to humorously work my way out of that fiasco but I learned a very important lesson about being early. So if you are flying into another city, always be certain you are flying in hours earlier or even the night before. If it is a local session attend the session early. It could save you lots of embarrassment. Remember, you were asked to speak to an audience and you were the choice over others. Give that host or event coordinator and the audience members the respect they deserve and most importantly, respect yourself. So remember in your dreams and goals to becoming a public speaker, ‘The key to happiness is having dreams. The key to success is making those dreams come true!’ Even the great speakers have had many obstacles to overcome to get where they are today, however, they were dreamers. The Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglars, Jim Rohns, Bob Burgs, Les Browns, Mark Victor Hansons, Napolean Hills, Norman Vincent Peales, Wayne Dyers, Tom Hopkins, and many others all had challenges to overcome. So, don’t get discouraged if you get knocked down along the way to becoming an effective public speaker. Just remember to get up again and always KEEP PUNCHING. Until our next session…………. Keep Punching!  |
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Kerry Daigle, a proud Cajun from Opelousas, Louisiana, paints the portrait of the
ultimate Renaissance man. A successful entrepreneur since 1965, Kerry runs a
number of businesses out of his home, while simultaneously hosting a radio show,
writing books, keeping a hectic speaking schedule while operating and managing
his direct sales neutriceutical business. Kerry’s businesses take him literally around the world, from Australia to the United Kingdom and throughout the United States and Canada. He does speaking engagements each time he travels, sharing insightful presentations with worldwide audiences, full of revealing Cajun wisdom that he learned from his first mentors, his grandparents, Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw Daigle. Kerry’s radio show “KEEP PUNCHING WITH KERRY DAIGLE” offers motivation and inspiration to a global audience that listens to archived shows at www.kslokogm-fm.com and www.keeppunching.com , 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Kerry’s tremendous knack for finding and developing talent extends beyond his core business and into his love affair with the sport of boxing. Kerry finds, coaches and develops promising young fighters, helping them to excel and rise through the professional ranks and into the big leagues. He uses this special gift in all areas of his life, as a mentor and teacher at home, in his businesses and other personal pursuits. Visit www.keeppunching.com, Kerry’s sports and sales website, full of fantastic information on personal development, sales, book recommendations, boxing, and much more. His new CD, DREAMS, FAIRY TALES, AND MIRACLES, authored with his daughter, Angela is available by contacting him directly or going to his website. The CD consists of chapters of his upcoming book. Kerry Daigle shows the world through his actions and accomplishments, that you truly can have it all. Kerry can be reached at 337.288.8510 or email him at keeppunching@cox.net. Feel free to write to Kerry about his articles and any questions you may have. And as Kerry says...KEEP PUNCHING! |
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