Posted at
8:19 pm in
by Jeff Turner
by Laurie Schloff/Senior Coaching Partner
World peace is getting harder to imagine. It seems that there’s a daily news headliner about losing it.
Kanye West just jumped on the stage and grabbed the microphone from Taylor Swift in the middle of her acceptance speech at the Video Music Awards to announce who HE thought should have won.
Come on Kanye, a lot of us are bonkers about Beyonce too, but somehow we learned it’s just not nice to grab awards away from winners at ceremonies.
On September 12, Serena Williams told the judges at the 2009 U.S Open that she didn’t like their call. “You can take this (expletive) ball and stuff it down your (expletive) throat.”
What separates the dignified from the sore loser? Keeping your cool and grace. Forget tennis for now, Serena and head directly to Anger Management Class.
And don’t forget that fiery moment one week ago. President Obama is giving his healthcare address and Representative Joseph Wilson of South Carolina blurts out “You lie!” when Obama asserted that illegal immigrants wouldn’t receive government covered healthcare.
Did you catch Joe Biden shaking his head with a how did we get to this level of disrespect look?
Reasonable American citizens of both parties agree with the Vice President that it’s rude to interrupt a presidential speech and to insult even worse.
We need to keep our eye on the scary bonding between irrational citizens who are overtaking town halls, hosting mad tea parties and flipping their lids when the Prez gives a pep talk to the kiddos.
It’s just not good for a society when anger becomes contagious. Venom is too easily spread online and on the airwaves and it’s worrisome. No matter what your politics, let’s get behind President Obama’s call for civil discussion and a calm manner.
Let’s hear your thoughts
Posted at
12:09 am in
by Dennis Becker
By Senior Coaching Partner Dr. Dennis Becker
President Obama gave an impassioned presentation on the topic of Healthcare Reform. We have been monitoring and critiquing his speeches and speaking style from the outset of the primaries. We have reviewed and commented on many, many of those speeches and press conferences, etc.. This speech had some of the same techniques and cadence. But, in this speech I heard and saw something different. Yes, he had the same articulation prowess. Yes, he had the same powerful use of language. Yes, he had the same air of confidence. Yes, he had the same control of the moment and the audience. Yes, we saw the usual dynamism of a good speaker. But, this time, I saw more. This time I heard more. This time I saw and heard the President use many more “color words”. These are words which any speaker emphasizes in a slightly different way than other words. Those words add “color” the otherwise black and white sound of the speaker. Mr. Obama often depends on his exquisite use of language and his precise skill at presentation. He is very good. Whether you like his politics or not, most reasonable people will agree that Mr. Obama is a very good speaker.
His use of “color words” was carefully applied. We saw most of it in two places in the speech. We heard “color words” used effectively in the first 10 minutes of the speech. We heard “color words” used effectively again in the segment that referred to the late Senator Kennedy. To me, that was the most touching and poignant part of the speech. The addition of this “color” to his speaking style was a positive. It helped him seem more human and less robotic and practiced.
It was also interesting to note that he showed his comfort in using the media, in this case TV, to his benefit. He looked directly into the camera, at us at home, seven times. Each time he was referring to “Americans”, “Seniors”, etc. It was a very effective use of the camera.
Finally, he handled the very rare and unexpected outburst from a Republican attendee who shouted out “you lie!”. He handled it very well. Basically, he recognized it with a glance in that direction and went on, unshaken. This was one of President Obama’s best deliveries of a speech.
One closing thought on a slightly different topic: I watched the speech on CNN. Unfortunately, the program was hosted by Wolf Blitzer. This intelligent and experienced newsman continues to have one of the most distracting, unprofessional, and unattractive speech habits. It is his constant use of the vocalized pause, “uh”. Mr. Blitzer, pleeease learn control this awful habit.
Posted at
8:41 pm in
by Jeff Turner
A recent article on the New York Times titled: “No Doubts: Women Are Better Managers” sparked this reaction from Coach Laurie Schloff.
Communication Coach Laurie Schloff of The Speech Improvement Company (Boston and Tampa) agrees with Carol Smith (right) of the Elle Group that women are often better managers, but based on her work with hundreds of females aiming for the C level she cautions ambitious females:
1. Women are still cut little slack in terms of ‘acceptable’ management behaviors.
Not only do you have to be viewed as competent, you must also be warm and nice. (more…)
Posted at
8:20 pm in
by Jeff Turner
Commentary by Laurie Schloff
“When Obama’s telempromter screen shattered abruptly at a White House press briefing last week, the audience held its collective breath.
Obama’s communication strength lies in his ability to deliver a prepared, pre-written speech, not to ad lib, “wing it” or be impromptu. Communication coaches observe that this difference in skill depending on context is not unusual at all. In fact, John McCain (remember him?) was way more smooth when responding to on-the-spot questions than
reading off a teleprompter.
Luckily for Obama, there was an additional teleprompter screen at his briefing and he continued on with his usual grace.”
Question: What do you like or not like about the way Obama speaks?
Next Obama Talk: What’s he doing with his hands?
