No Half Measures in Nine 1/2 Hour Chavez Speech

by Blogmaster Posted on January 19, 2012
Speech by Hugo Chavez
President Chavez takes no half measures with his speech

1980s audiences sensed that Nine 1/2 weeks, starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke,  simply shot by. So how  about nine 1/2 hours?

That’s the length of time that Venezuela’s President, Hugo Chavez, has just given to one of his speeches.

This epic speech is one of many that the President is delivering as he re-asserts his authority and popularity after his 2011 illness. It’s a case of no half measures for this speaker.

The hypothesis goes that a 9 1/2 hour long speech points to his stamina and strength! That’s the hypothesis that takes no account of his poor, unfortunate audience. He’s keen that his speeches should re-position him as the choice of the majority in the imminent elections for President.

The President apparently noted that he had simply lost track of time during his speech…he missed the audience’s yawns, their growling stomachs or the setting sun.

As a speaker President Chavez has earned a reputation for lengthy speeches. I sense that autocracy does this to speakers. Just consider the examples of Robert Mugabe speeches or Fidel Castro’s public speaking. An ordeal.

Autocracy, or a 13-year tenure in office, must be complicit. Just consider what happened when President Chavez had an interactive section in his speech–a section when questions could be asked by his audience.

When an opposition Presidential candidate asked a pointed question about Venezuelan living standards, the President responded:

unless she wins next month’s primary she’s out of my league to debate …eagles don’t hunt flies.

Now that’s a put-down and a half from any speaker.


 

Posted in Public-speaking | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Kate Winslet Speech Success after Winning Gold with Mildred Pierce

by Blogmaster Posted on January 19, 2012

As the host, Ricky Gervais noted, it wasn’t the Academy Awards but emotions were running high at the Golden Globe Awards this week.

Kate Winslet’s speech was typically breathless and nerve-wracking for her audience. Would she crack under the strain of it all? No, she didn’t. She held out.

Her speech, tentative at first as she regained her composure, proved well-structured and sound. It had all the essential elements of a good acceptance speech: pace, humility and some humour. Perhaps it was the fact that she couldn’t read her prepared speech–she had left her spectacles on her table.

But read it or not, she knew it. She had clearly taken the time to prepare, practise and rehearse some words for her speech and it showed.

Her speech thanked everyone for their help in the making of Mildred Pierce for which she won the award of best actress in a mini-series. Her acceptance speech flowed with a measured pace as she thanked one and all…keeping well within her small time budget.

This proved one of the more endearing acceptance speeches of the night.


 

Posted in Speeches | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Boris Johnson: HS2, Beginning, Middle and End

by Blogmaster Posted on January 17, 2012
Boris Johnson speech pattern
Boris Johnson speaks out

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has a reputation as a speaker of some ability. Yet, his speeches are prone to rhetorical flights of fancy, lengthy sentences, ums, ers and bluster.

He’s also a clever blusterer. His ruffled exterior disguises a speaker of some intellect.

This week his comments on the Government’s announcement of plans for the new high speed rail link (HS2) was a case in point.

Commenting on the green light for the HS2 link between London and Birmingham the Mayor sought inspiration from Winston Churchill:

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

(Winston Churchill 1942.)

Borrowing directly from the 1942 speech given by the Wartime Leader, Boris noted:

This is not the end of campaigning against HS2. This is not even the end of the beginning. This is the beginning of the middle of the beginning.

Other speakers have had more success with this turn of phrase in their speeches. Dr. Martin Luther King used a similar line in his 1963 I Have a Dream speech in Washington D.C.

Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.

Dr. Martin Luther King

Dr. King edged it with a more serious and eloquent turn of phrase. And Boris gets the nod for his wit and bonhomie. And that’s the thing, wartime and civil rights leaders have the chance to rise to the top of the rhetoric podium. Their subject matter lends itself to some inspiring oratory.

The Mayor’s on the right track with his oratory. But set against a government intent on railroading this project through Parliament the Mayor will need to get up a whole new head of steam.


 

Posted in Public-speaking | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Eric Talks his Way to the Next Big Thing in Las Vegas

by Blogmaster Posted on January 13, 2012
CNET panel speaker, Eric Schmidt
CNET panel speaker Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman

Giving a keynote speech at a major industry conference or event such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is one thing.

And appearing on a panel is another. Keynote speakers and panelists have much in common, in fact they are often the very same people.

But there’s a difference. Your conference speech is planned, prepared, scripted and rehearsed. Your contribution as a panelist is not. Yes, you should rehearse the questions you expect to receive, but there’s always the chance of something out of the ordinary.

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt is a case in point. He’s never that shy of speaking his mind and is an inveterate conference speaker.

So his appearance on the Next Big Thing panel organised by CNET was an eye-opener.

It wasn’t disastrous. It simply highlighted the dangers of management-speak and techno-babble in your presentations, speeches or panel sessions.

His debate featured heavy use of management-speak and techno-babble. His audience heard:

Microsoft’s trapped in an architectural transition problem they may not get through.

and, talking about Android, he noted:

differentiation is positive, fragmentation is negative,

and, then:

…what people really care about is an interoperable ecosystem of apps.

Superb. And because people in his audience were a bit puzzled with his words, he added:

Differentiation means that you have a choice and the people who are making the phones, they’re going to compete on their view of innovation, and they’re going to try and convince you that theirs is better than somebody else.

Clear? No, I’m afraid you lost me there Eric.

It’s amusing to listen to this gobbledegook for a while. Though the novelty wears off quickly. You’d do better to ditch the management-speak, bury the techno-babble and focus on good plain words when it’s your turn to speak as a panelist. We can’t all be the Google Chairman!


 

Posted in Public-speaking | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Principal Presentation Provokes Germantown Parents

by Blogmaster Posted on January 12, 2012
Dr Horrell's presentation
Dr. Ted Horrell, Principal at Germantown High School

Knowing how to get your message across in your presentation has to be a major focus when you present.

And that’s something that the principal of Germantown High School in Germantown, Tennessee has found out…the hard way.

Parental complaints followed his presentation during a school assembly attended by his students.

The complaints focused on some figures shown in Dr. Ted Horrell’s presentation. The figures purported to show a difference in the educational attainment of students, bracketed by race.

In his defence the Principal explained that the purpose of his presentation was to introduce a new initiative that would provide an extra period of academic support for struggling students. That message was lost by many of the Germantown students. And the gist of his presentation was then lost by their parents.

Fortunately for the Principal he rolled out a damage limitation exercise immediately. Apologies and explanations poured out.

It just goes to show how minded you have to be about your message, the evidence you use and any nuances that might be gleaned.

The Principal will survive. Not everyone took offence–many students were baffled by the fuss. They understood the Principal’s message…achievement is everything.


 

Posted in Public-speaking | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment