Practicing what I preach...

For several years, I've been presenting education sessions on public speaking.  One of the techniques that I recommend is that speakers use stories to exemplify their points.  It's a technique that I really began focusing on using since the early 2000's.  (Actually, it's a technique that I've seen in practice for all of my more-than-40 years.  My Dad is a preacher, and it is a technique that I've seen him and other preachers use to great effect.)

I also recommend that speakers build a story file, but it's not just something that I teach.  It is something that I actively do.  A case in point came one week ago today; Friday, November 7.  Angie and I were headed to Florida, where I was the keynote speaker at the Inaugural Toastmasters District 84 conference.  We headed to DFW Airport to board our flight that morning.  Since AA has begun charging extra fees for checked bags, passengers now make more of an effort to pack as much as possible into their carry-on bags, making the overhead bin space an absolute premium.  It also means that more time is required to board the plane, as passengers seek out the ever-decreasing available space to stow their things...which leads to delays.

Our flight was experiencing such a delay, and people were beginning to get more and more frustrated.  A plane full of irritated passengers would not have made for a positive flight experience, so what the situation needed was to have that tension and frustration diffused.  Luckily, our co-pilot had just the cure:  humor.  With both his pre-flight and post-flight remarks, he gave us the chance to laugh and unwind a little, by saying the following:

1. When giving the "turn off put up your electronic devices" dictum for the 2nd or 3rd time:
   
   

   …and  if you’re still talking on your cell phone, repeat after me:
   “I love you honey; I’ll  see you in Orlando.  Click.”

2. Shortly after we got airborne:
   
   American Airlines has some of the best flight attendants in all of the airline industry.    Unfortunately, none of them are here.  The ones that we have will do their dead-level best to make the flight semi-enjoyable.  (Jim's comment:  It pays to know who you can poke fun at.  Though the flight attendants were the foil of this comment, he was actually doing them a favor.  I say that since THEY are the ones who had to directly deal with the passengers.  Happy passengers make their job easier.)
   
3. Taking into account the fact that AA now makes you pay for any food they hand out, but still gives complimentary beverages:
   
   In a few moments, the flight crew will commence beverage service.  Here on American Airlines, you might starve to death, but you won’t die of thirst.
   
4. As the cabin lights were being turned off:
   
   To improve the appearance of the flight crew, we’re going to be dimming the lights at this time.  If you need additional lighting, simply press the light button located overhead and you will be illuminated.  If you push the emergency service button, nothing will probably happen.  (Again, know who you can poke fun at.)

As soon as we were allowed to resume our electronic devices, I fired up my laptop and documented his quips.  I knew that I would be using them at some point in time, and I started thinking about the possibility of using them in my keynote address at the conference that night.  You can bet that when we landed, I was on "high alert" for other possible mirthful comments.  Sure enough, he did not disapoint. Shortly after we landed, he came back on with these gems:

Please bring your seat backs up to their fully upright and most uncomfortable position.

Thank you for flying American Airlines.  We realize that you have a couple of options when choosing air carriers.  American Airlines is proud to be one of the few remaining carriers not to file for federal bankruptcy.

Please make sure you collect all of your personal possessions.  If you do leave some of your personal possessions behind, please make sure it is something our flight attendants would like to have.

The keynote address I delivered that evening was entitled "The Excellence Principle", in which I talked about taking customer service to new levels of excellence.  (Since Toastmasters is essentially a customer service organization, this topic was a really good fit.)  One of my points was the need to see the true need, even when it might not be readily apparent.  This story was a great example of that.  The need of the passengers was to have their frustrations diffused; the co-pilot did that with his humorous remarks.

I read some (not all) of the quips I posted above.  They got huge laughs, they made their point, and they prepared the audience to be that much more receptive to the rest of my talk.  Win-win!!!

As a side note, had the co-pilot remarks printed out, and took them onstage with me.  I told the audience that I was going to do the "unthinkable" and use notes <gasp> for that portion of my speech, since it was something that just happened that day, and I want to be accurate.  For those of you who don't know, there a lot of people in Toastmasters who think that using notes is almost a sin.  And for a World Champion of Public Speaking to use them.....well, what is the world coming to?  :-p

Personally, I dislike using notes during a speech.  It ties me down too much, and breaks my connection with the audience when I have to refer back to them.  But I'd rather be precise on points (especially new material) than screw up and lose effectiveness just because I'm following a rule.  If people are looking to me as example of perfection on the speaking stage, they are going to be sorely disappointed.  If, however, they are looking for a speaker to be effective, I'm their man.

So...I don't just "preach" the use of stories in speeches, I put it into practice.  And it gives me the maximum positive results.

Comments

[Dennis Bauer]

Jim, you make an apt point regarding the difference between "excellence" and "effectiveness" in connecting with a crowd. Too often in our TM speech evaluations we receive only praises and pointers related to our technique. Since the whole purpose of giving a speech is to connect with an audience in such a way that they are moved or informed or challenged, perhaps evaluations should focus equally on effectiveness. A speaker could miss the entire target ...all while using an excellent bow and a well-crafted arrow. To pursue excellence and not effectiveness misses the point. Excellence is the quality of weaponry, effectiveness is good aim. -my two cents.