Are you an introvert, quiet type, and think you can’t bring my level of passion to your “presentations”? Watch this and tell me that to my face. đ
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HyUDIj-zsY[/youtube]
Are you an introvert, quiet type, and think you can’t bring my level of passion to your “presentations”? Watch this and tell me that to my face. đ
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HyUDIj-zsY[/youtube]
Do you remember in English class, we were told to âshow, donât tellâ when writing fiction? Thatâs because itâs boring to âtell.â Hereâs a quick example of âtellingâ: Bob was tired. He walked to the sofa and lay down. The room was too bright and he covered his eyes.
How would we write it if we were to show this same scene, not tell? Bob rubbed his eyes and yawned. He stood up and dragged his feet across the wooden floor into the living room, where he collapsed with a heavy sigh onto the sofa. Sunlight streamed relentlessly upon him and he threw an arm across his eyes. This is more interesting and taps our visual and even auditory senses. We are more engaged and intrigued âi.e. more attentive.
But this is not a post on writing, so whatâs my point? My point is that âtellingâ in any formatâwriting or speakingâis boring! And when youâre speaking, your audience will lose interest if you âtell.â This is called the âpour and snoreâ technique!
Yet, do you know that 80% of
presenters I see âtellâ almost
exclusively? And 99.99% âtellâ
far too often?
So, when youâre speaking, whatâs the alternative to âtellingâ? Asking.
Hereâs one of my firm mottos:Â Whenever you would tell, ask a question instead.
Glance up three lines. Do you see that I asked a question–âYet, do you know thatâŚ?â I could have made it a statement, couldnât I?
Where I would have said, â80% of presenters I seeâŚâ But I asked a question. And look back in this paragraph. I posed two questions that most people would have made as statements. âDo you see thatâŚ?â would have been, typically, âGlance up three lines. Youâll see that I asked a question.â And rather than write, âI could have made it a statement, couldnât I?â most would have told instead: âI could have made it into a statement.â
Have you ever seen an Improv comedy show? One of the games is the Question Game. Two members begin: one asks a question, the other must answer with a question. The member who answers with a statement, or whose mind goes blank, goes to the back of the line, and the next troupe member plays against the winner. Obviously, the last member standing is the one who has succeeded in asking only questions all the way through. Kind of fun, isnât it?
I would go so far as to say the speaker/presenter who asks questions all the way through his presentation will be the last one standing.
Even if you are a natural born question-askerâas coach or reporter or interviewerâit will still be challenging to take this on. Weâve been taught by our educational system that the person in front of the room knows everything and is there to âpour informationâ into us.
Despite hating the effect of âinformation downloadâ when weâre in the audience, we tend to perpetuate it on stage because we havenât been taught to ask questions.
How on earth can you ask questions all the time, you may ask? Well, can you envision one of your main teaching points and how you usually express it? Or a single statement you might make? What would it be like, turned into a question? Â (Please note 4 questions in this paragraph.)
All right, letâs try an example, shall we? Say youâre
giving a presentation on the most advanced techni-
ques available for screwing in a light bulb. So, there you are and youâve got a light bulb in one hand and a fake socket on a demonstration table next to you.
With me so far? A typical presenter would tell her audience how to insert the light bulb: âFirst, make sure all electricity has been turned off. Next, rattle
the light bulb to make sure it makes no soundâthat means itâs new. Finally, make sure there is no water nearby.â
So, how boring is that?! Canât you just imagine everyone in that audience nodding off? How can we turn it into a question-based presentation
instead?
âCan you tell me what you think weâre going to be doing here today?â
Answer: âScrewing in a light bulb.â
âAnd for what reason?â Answer: âTo make light.â
âExcellent. Before we screw it in, what are some safety precautions we should take?â They think of the water and turning off the electricity, but not ensuring that the light bulb is new. So, you shake the bulb and ask, âWhat do you think this might tell me?â
There you have a very brief example, but can you see what it does for the attentiveness of those in the group? The brain cannot abide an un-answered question. Itâs like not answering a ringing phone. Your brain is compelled to answer.
Can you see that âtellingâ does not activate
the brain at all? It keeps it in a passive stateâ
which is the kiss of death for attentiveness,
comprehension and retention! Curiosity pro-
duces chemical reactions in the body that
directly stimulate learning and recall.
So, whatâs the bad news for you? Well, you donât get to show off every-thing you know when youâre asking questionsâwhich can be a problem
for many experts, right? But thatâs not what youâre there to do, is it?Youâre there to enable the audience to see how much it knows.
So, whatâs the motto you want to keep front and center when youâre delivering a presentation? Wherever you could tell, ask.
Got it? Do you promise to ask a LOT more questions? Do you think you already do? Let me assure youâyou could almost never ask too many questions. Not if your goal is to stimulate a peak state of learning.
Join me tomorrow, April 7th at 7:30pm for my last free teleclass on “the new paradigm” of public speaking. Learn why it is we “tell” and don’t ask (it comes from an archaic cultural influence)–and find out what the other 3 influences are that destine you to be ineffective (and mediocre) with audiences. Read more and register here. It’s tomorrow!