Do You Talk Like a Talking Head?
I went to a seminar awhile ago and gave a presentation. There were a lot of accomplished presenters there that had very impressive academic backgrounds. I looked forward to listening to what they had to say. But you know what? They didn’t say anything.
They covered their background, told an anecdote or two that was totally unrelated to the topic or helpful to the audience in anyway (because it didn’t share helpful information, it conveyed how clever the speaker was). Much of the talk included gobbledy gook language. Every profession has their own lingo, but talk English to people. Hopefully as trial lawyers we’re better at this than most.
One of my favorite questions is “What does that mean?” I was at LexThink a few years ago and talking to someone and asked him what he did. He gave me a rambling corporate speak that really didn’t tell me anything. Okay. What does that mean? Again random corporate speak. Okay. What does that mean?
I had to ask him three times what that meant before I got anywhere close to an answer. The answer was we deal with standardizing innovation and new ideas, so that people can respond to them, improve them and have an objective way of determining which are the best ideas, which are working and which are not. Ahhhh….well, then. That’s pretty cool. Then just say that.
When he first started talking, such gibberish was coming out of his mouth that I was thinking to myself “This guy is either a genius, or an idiot, but I can’t figure out which one”. It turns out that he’s a genius. He used to work for one of the big 8 accounting firms as a senior consultant and he was really doing neat stuff. But he had a hard time saying that.
Make it simple. Talk like a person.
"standardizing innovation" ?!?!? Hmmm -- I would have guessed idiot at that point.
Brian,
Actually, they were trying to standardize ways to determine whether innovation was helpful to the business.
I think it's actually pretty smart. Sometimes the things that sound the best, aren't the best ideas. Sometimes you have a good idea, but someone else has an even better idea.
In smaller shops, it's less critical, but in a large organization, I think it makes a difference.
I like your comment about "make it simple and talk like a person". It is so true in real life and in making presentations - such as a presentation to a jury.
If you are held captive and your captor tells you that you are allowed to read only one book, which book would you pick?
For me, the choice is "Moving Mountains" by Henry Boettinger. It is by far the best book on communication. It was written back in 1969 by an AT&T executive in England. The language is a bit dated but the advice offered there is timeless.
Peter Drucker's review appears on the book cover as follows: "A first-class and highly original, but also highly practical, treatise both on how one thinks and how one presents thinking."
On presentation, Boettinger states that each person listens for his own reason. So it is not what you say that matters; it is what people hear. Before you make a presentation, you need to really try to understand the various reasons people show up to hear you. Know your audience.
On elegance, Boettinger says that it "exists when a great many aspects of a subject or person are expressed in the simplest possible way."
On passion, he writes that "you can never affect others if you yourself are not affected by the idea". That's why people who read from their speeches or presentations can never convince their audience because there is no passion there. The audience (aka jury) can sense it right away.
Boettinger also says that you should always "treat the audience as equals during the presentation". If you talk down to the audience, they become resentful. If you try to kiss up to the audience, they despise you.
The best quote from the book is what Boettinger says about making presentations: " Presentation of ideas is conversation carried on at high voltage — at once more dangerous and more powerful."
The good news is that this book is 340 pages of great practical and timeless advice. The bad news is that it is out of print and it is a bit hard to find. Some libraries carry them. You may be able to find it at Amazon or eBay.
