by: Avish Parashar
"Watchability." Both my spell checker and an online dictionary
tell me that "watchability" is not a real word. However, I will
continue to use it because, in my opinion, the ability to be
watchable may be the single most important trait a speaker can
have.
This summer, I attended the annual convention of the National
Speakers Association. I thought that the kickoff speaker was
amazing. However, if you break down his style in purely technical
terms, he was awful. He kept moving around the stage, he stepped
out of the light and into the audience, he checked his watch
while speaking, etc. Despite all that, he had watchability.
Something about his delivery and style kept me grossly engaged.
Others must have thought so as well - you don't get to open a
national speakers convention if people think you're no good.
So what is watchability? It is, to be a bit redundant, the
characteristic of being watchable. People enjoy watching and
listening to you speak. The amazing thing is that if you are
watchable, then even if you mess up or if your content or
delivery isn't up to snuff, the audience will enjoy it.
The ultimate goal, of course, is to have great content and
delivery while being amazingly watchable.
The challenge is that
while content and delivery are easily viewable traits,
watchability is abstract. It's easy to watch a speaker and
critique how they move, or how they use their facials. You can
listen and critique stutters, inflection, pace, and vocal
variety. The value of their content is easy to immediately judge.
Watchability, however, is like charisma. You can't define a set
criteria, but you know it when you see it.
I have however, observed a few things that all eminently
watchable speakers do:
1) They are themselves. These speakers speak from the heart, and
speak in a style that is true to themselves. They don't use other
people's words, and they don't use unnatural body movements that
a coach taught them. They give you the impression that if the two
of you were hanging out for dinner, they would say the same thing
in the same way.
2) They are comfortable. Watchable speakers look right at home on
stage. This comes from two things: 1) they are experienced and
know the material inside and out, and 2) they are not afraid of
failure. While they want to communicate their message and please
they audience, they are not wrapped up in all that. They are
content to just get on stage and do their best. If the audience
likes it great; if not, it's not the end of the world.
3) They are having fun. You have probably seen a speaker (even a
"professional") who looks like they don't want to be on stage.
Watchable speakers have fun. Even if their topic is serious, they
clearly act as if they want to be on that stage. They view it as
an honor and a privilege. Whether it stems from fear, arrogance,
burn-out, or some mysterious other factor, when a speaker would
rather be somewhere else, an audience can feel it.
Practice implementing these three ideas: be yourself, get
comfortable, and have fun. You can instantly and drastically
increase the value of your speech without changing a single word
if you do this. You will, in word, become "watchable."
About The Author
Avish Parashar is the world?s funniest (and potentially only) ?Improvising Motivational Keynote Speaker? To learn more about how to bring the hilariously powerful lessons of improv comedy to your organization, visit http://www.avishparashar.com. For more information and specific exercises on how to use Improv Comedy to be a better speaker (and get a fr.ee 7-Day E-Course), visit http://www.improvforspeakers.com.
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Six Steps To Becoming A Powerful Public Speaker
Six Steps To Becoming A Powerful Public Speaker
by: Sintilia Miecevole
Public speaking ranks right up there in terms of the things we are afraid to do. Whether it?s the fear of being watched closely by others, or the insecurity and self-conscious feeling of slipping up during the presentation, these six tips will help you give a polished, professional speech that you (and your audience) can be proud of!
1. Know your audience. This is the single best piece of advice for delivering a presentation. What are there interests? Their backgrounds? Why are they coming to hear you speak? What ideas do you have to share with them? Approaching your speech as more of a ?me-to-you? discussion rather than a full-blown broadcast makes it less stressful.
2. What do you want your audience to do as a result of your speech? What?s really at the heart of your presentation? By concentrating on the ?end result? rather than slogging through the beginning, you...
Six Steps To Becoming A Powerful Public Speaker
Speakers > Six Steps To Becoming A Powerful Public Speaker
The 3 Deadly Sins of Motivational Speakers And How To Avoid Them
The 3 Deadly Sins of Motivational Speakers And How To Avoid Them
by: Timothy Crawford
As I survey the speaker?s market I?ve become a tad weary willfully wearing the title "Motivational Speaker". All speakers worth their salt seek to motivate or cause action. Maybe it's just me, but does the mere mention of the term "Motivational Speaker" conjure irritating mental pictures in your subconscious mind? There are far too many stereotypes being propagated regarding speakers. I will address a few of these speaker stereotypes and hopefully simultaneously construct a not-to-do list that aspiring speakers may use on their roads to success in the lucrative speaking industry.
Motivational Speaker Stereotype Number One:
The "Over-The-Top" Speaker
The "Over-The-Top" Speaker or the O.T.T. Speaker appears to have discovered a new fad diet which includes mountains of pure sugar and caffeine. The O.T.T. will at any given moment find it necessary to...
The 3 Deadly Sins of Motivational Speakers And How To Avoid Them
Speakers > The 3 Deadly Sins of Motivational Speakers And How To Avoid Them
Speakers and Trainers - The Internet is Your Biggest Megaphone
Speakers and Trainers - The Internet is Your Biggest Megaphone
by: Dr. Lynella Grant
Speak to an Audience that Reaches across the Globe
As a professional at home on the platform, you?ve spent years polishing a compelling message. The presentations you make are honed to perfection. Your delivery style draws raves and repeat bookings. So why don?t you deliver a taste of your best stuff to the whole world?
Easily done! Send articles that provide a sample of your message and speaking personality to numerous Internet directories and ezines. The biggest auditorium couldn?t contain all the people exposed to a single article widely posted online. While the cost is minimal (mainly your time), the impact from articles can be gigantic! Consider the benefits. http://www.promotewitharticles.com/benefits.html
Internet Exposure is Crucial for Name Recognition
A spokesman...
Speakers and Trainers - The Internet is Your Biggest Megaphone
Speakers > Speakers and Trainers - The Internet is Your Biggest Megaphone
Is There Any Way Out Of This Mess?
Is There Any Way Out Of This Mess?
by: Neale Donald Walsch
From Conversations with God, Book 2, pgs. 173-171-172,174:
"Yes, Shall I say it again? A shift of consciousness.
You cannot solve the problems which plague humankind through governmental action or by political means. You have been trying that for thousands of years.
The change that must be made can be made only in the hearts of men...
You must stop seeing God as separate from you, and you as separate from each other. The only solution is the Ultimate Truth; nothing exists in the Universe that is separate from anything else. Everything is intrinsically connected, irrevocably interdependent, interactive, interwoven into the fabric of all life.
All government, all politics, must be based on this truth. All laws must be rooted in it...consciousness is everything. Of what are you aware? What do you know? I have told you before: all attack is a call for help. ...
Is There Any Way Out Of This Mess?
Speakers > Is There Any Way Out Of This Mess?
Are You Fed Up?
Are You Fed Up?
by: Neale Donald Walsch
There is no better place to be than Fed Up. That's the place of new beginnings. That's the place of letting go. That's the place of "giving up." You are giving up what's been going on so far, and getting ready to create a new reality.
I know with all the talk of war and terror levels and how shall we respond, what is the answer, it's not so difficult to feel like giving up. If you feel like giving up, I'd like you to consider giving up one more thing; I'd like you to give up your idea that you can't find an answer.
I'm here to tell you that you can.
God will never let you down, and if you have not received any response from God before it is not because He hasn't answered, it is because, like me, you have been unable to hear the response. But trust me. God is responding. Right now. And every day and moment of your life.
I have often heard from people interpreting CwG Book 1 to say that...
Are You Fed Up?
Speakers > Are You Fed Up?
The History of Voice over Internet Protocol
The History of Voice over Internet Protocol
by: Van Theodorou
The History of Voice over Internet Protocol By the end of 2006,
Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) may account for as much as
25 - 40% of international voice traffic. This prediction is
impressive, but it is even more amazing when you consider the
relatively short history of voice over internet protocol. It
began as a hobby for some people in Israel who were only able to
communicate by computer.
Later that year, in 1995, the first company in the history of
voice over internet protocol to put a product on the market was
Vocaltec. They released Internet Phone Software, which in
combination with a home computer, sound card, speakers,
microphone and modem allowed users to make a phone call over the
internet. However, the people on both ends had to have the same
setup, and sound quality was much less than on a normal phone.
In 1998,...
The History of Voice over Internet Protocol
Speakers > The History of Voice over Internet Protocol
Common Sense Tips For Public Speaking
Common Sense Tips For Public Speaking
by: Emily Sanders
Here are a few tips you?ll want to keep handy when you?re just starting out in public speaking. These aren?t anything out of the ordinary and for the most part the points below are really common sense. The idea here is that too often we forget common sense when we?re overtaken by anxiety, social phobia and fear of public speaking. That?s a reality for a lot of people who are just starting to speak in front of an audience and it?s also a reality for more seasoned speakers who still find it challenging to overcome their fear of public speaking and stage fright.
Once again, these points are common sense, but you?ll still get a lot out of reviewing them:
1. Learn from people who have gone through the same experience.
2. Use sentences and techniques that have been tested.
? Some structures are known to work better than others. Rely on what works!
3. Practice a lot! ...
Common Sense Tips For Public Speaking
Speakers > Common Sense Tips For Public Speaking
Superhuman
Superhuman
by: Taitelul Verde
Interesting title isn?t it? Superhuman, what does this mean to you? Are you thinking of superman, the one that could fly, that would be invincible and that would melt ice with his eyes, or are you thinking of Einstein the super genius, the man that made so many discoveries, and that used his mind as it should be used?
Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I?m thinking of the second one! Actually, I?m not thinking about Einstein...
Superhuman Speakers nursing courses
Speakers > Superhuman
Rear Projection LCD TV
Rear Projection LCD TV
by: Linda Harrison
The least expensive type of large TV is a rear-projection LCD TV. Some projection TVs have three cathode-ray picture tubes (CRTs), which are like smaller versions of the tubes used in conventional sets. The images from those small tubes are projected onto the back of a 40 inch to 60 inch plus screen, giving them the name rear projection TV. Other rear projection TV sets use LCD, digital light processing (DLP), or liquid...
Speakers Rear Projection LCD TV tvs The Secrets of ?Watchability? for Speakers
Speakers > Rear Projection LCD TV
Speakers tax help The Secrets of ?Watchability? for Speakers
New, No Break Polyproyplene Stadium And Theatre Seating-Bleacher Chair
New, No Break Polyproyplene Stadium And Theatre Seating-Bleacher Chair
by: Frank Sumner
Preferred Seating is leading the way into the next generation of stadium and theatre seating. Seating is now available that is made out of the same no break polypropylene that automobiles components are made of. Stadium seat technology has advanced from the heavy steel seats of yesterday to the industry's newest state-of-the-art standard: no-break, lightweight, high-impact...
Speakers spring break The Secrets of ?Watchability? for Speakers New, No Break Polyproyplene Stadium And Theatre Seating-Bleacher Chair
Speakers > New, No Break Polyproyplene Stadium And Theatre Seating-Bleacher Chair