Jeff Saturday, future NFL Hall of Fame center, of the Indianapolis Colts, is passionate about football.  He is also very adamant about about eliminating the commercial sex trade. And he speaks publicly about what he is doing.

I was recently invited to Jeff’s Celebrate the City Super Bowl party. Jeff talked to me about his fund raising efforts to prevent the exploitation of children in the sex trade industry throughout the world. Jeff and his wife are co-chairing an event on March 2 at the Indiana Football Center (Colts complex), hoping to raise $100,000 to build a children’s home in Cambodia to keep kids safe from human trafficking.

Additionally, Jeff joined the Indiana Attorney General in signing a pledge to put an end to  public tolerance for human trafficking. This was part of our conversation.

Lessons about public speaking from this Jeff Saturday conversation:

• Be ready for a quick response when someone asks you about your involvement in a cause. Jeff did not hesitate at all, despite the fact that there was a party taking place all around us.

• Don’t drone on and on about your topic. Jeff gave me a succinct 36 second answer, which is the perfect length.  30 second answers tend to be more conversational than longer ones.  Long answers make the person who asked the question wonder when you will stop talking.

• Have a great 10 – 15 second sound-bite.  Here was Jeff’s:

“This should be everybody’s human nature to understand this is sick and it needs to stop. It needs to be changed. American men are the ones supplying the money. We need to fix the problem here and end human trafficking.”

Thanks, Jeff, for all you do in Indianapolis and abroad.

Knope, played by Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation, was presenting to a crowd of 100 spectators and had a red carpet for her entrance to the speaker’s dais. But the red carpet didn’t go all the way to the stage; the floor, which was supposed to be a basketball court, had been changed to an ice rink; and her motivational music, “Get on Your Feet,” lasted 10 seconds and had to be replayed in spurts for her to reach the podium 90 seconds later.

Watch this snippet for a good laugh, and then learn the lessons about the pre-speech details.

Lessons to heed before you start speaking:

• You are in charge of everything involved in your presentation. That includes your introduction, any music or media used, any props, the seating of the audience.
• Make sure your introducer knows what you want him/her to say, can pronounce your name, and runs his/her words by you. In many cases you will have to make a few adjustments.
• If you use music or multi-media in your speech, you must make sure you have the rights to do so. Intellectual property rights apply. I use videos that I have shot and edited. And on occasion, I use clips from movies that I have licensed for use in speeches from MPLA (Motion Picture Licensing Association). My music comes from artists who have given me permission (Jana Stansfield, for example) or I use audio written for my presentations and training sessions by Music Bakery.
• Plan ahead for props not working or media not playing correctly. I have multiple backup systems to use if one of them fails, but am also prepared to continue the presentation without any AV.
• Have a funny line prepared to use if you accidentally trip, drop something, or slip on the ice. I have several in my pocket to use. But I also don’t speak in ice rinks!

But consider the pep talk given to those at the bottom of the pile. Especially to the Indianapolis Colts. It had to be a very tough talk Jim Caldwell, the head coach, delivered. That’s the one I would have wanted to hear.

Just as any leader does, he faced complex issues, including employee illnesses, naysayers with de-motivating messages, and workers worried about their jobs. Here was what boss (coach) Caldwell had on his plate:

Nothing seemed to go right this season. Injuries. Penalties. Referee calls going against the team. 12 straight losses.

The team went through 3 back-up quarterbacks after Peyton Manning’s neck injury kept him off the field the entire season.

Caldwell’s job was on the line, as was the employment status of most of the team.

A complex reason that wasn’t in the regular playbook: A loss in the final game would ensure the Colts would get the first pick in the April NFL draft.

The negative theme of “Suck for Luck” was heard all around Indianapolis.  Andrew Luck, the Stanford quarterback, would be up for grabs in the NFL draft. With Manning’s future in question, the Colts might need a new quarterback next year.

Consider the mindset of the employees, such as traditional roles, competition from other companies (teams), personal issues and worries about job security. Colts players were thinking about this:

Many of them, including the great Reggie Wayne, Jeff Saturday, and Robert Mathis, might have been playing their last game in Colts uniforms since they became free agents at the end of the season.

Contract negotiations for them will be intense, whether it is with the Colts or other teams.

Dan Orlovsky, the QB for the last part of the season, had a monumental emotional event take his focus away from football this week. He became the father of triplets, resulting in a trip away from his office (locker room) in Indianapolis and a lack of sleep!

They were known to be team players, always doing their best to win and give credit to their fellow teammates. But being a team player (or “company man” in olden days) would have a different definition and have been against their very natures. Playing less than their best, just so the “team” would have a good future with the first draft pick, was not in their characters.

Consider the mindset of the big boss, Colts owner, Jim Irsay:

This was the first year in a long time that the Colts were not in the playoffs and considered a potential SuperBowl winner.

The long term success of the franchise rests on the choices made in drafts and trades.

The Colts want Andrew Luck.

It’s no different in business. When a company faces tough times, keeping the morale of the employees is essential. Rarely though is there a situation when a company wants to lose, or to ask employees to do a bad job.

It turns out, whatever Jim Caldwell said, the Colts seemed to play well for a lot of the game. But the Jacksonville Jaguars played just a bit better. (Maurice Jones-Drew actually played a lot better!) And the Jags won the game.

When I read or hear what Caldwell said, I’ll pass it along. I’m sure there are lessons that all bosses can learn about employee communications and having tough talks™ in tough times.

Recently, I was in Connecticut and had a few extra hours and decided to explore. I came across The Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York. It was wonderful.  Great exhibits, no crowds, unbelievably cheap admission fees. For 2-3 hours, I was captivated. All for $5.

I thought about how this experience relates to giving speeches. Here’s what I observed that you can put into practice for your next presentation:

• Surprise your audience by being great. I didn’t expect this out of the way place to be so over-the-top interesting. Your audience may expect a standard presentation from you. (That’s the way most business presentations are viewed.)  Make sure your presentation is over-the-top interesting/valuable/insightful.
• Put your creativity to work when you develop your speech or PowerPoint. One of the most creative exhibits was Red Grooms: The Bookstore. http://www.hrm.org/collections/installations.html
• Make your audience glad they are there. I was thrilled at the “find.”
• Give the people who hear your presentation something they can remember and talk about after you are done. I’ve been telling lots of people about the Hudson River Museum since I returned and recommending it to people who live in the region.
• Remember that you are the expert on the topic you are speaking about…but your audience isn’t. This museum had a small, but impressive collection of the artists from the Hudson River School genre. The descriptions along side the paintings were helpful to those who don’t remember (or never learned) art history. Short and to the point.
• When you give a speech, make sure you put enough of the basic information in for those in your audience who are not as learned about your topic. They don’t want to feel stupid…and may not bother to ask questions to further understand what you are trying to convey. Make basic explanations short, and to the point, allowing you to spend time getting into the meat of your topic.
• Give your audience their money’s worth. Their time is valuable.  Honor that by making your presentation rewarding for everyone who spends time listening to you speak.

FIVE MINUTES ON AIR, FIVE HOURS PREP

There tend to be two different ways that people look at media interviews, Some people feel that since they know their topic inside out, they barely need to prepare, since they will able to deal with any question. Other people are so terrified of being interrogated by a reporter that they spend days analyzing the worst questions, and practicing avoidance tactics.

I advocate a different approach. Your five minutes of airtime is a golden opportunity to deliver a simple, effective, relevant message. When I’m preparing a client for a media encounter, we spend a lot of the time preparing the message, and then practicing ways to deliver it in an answer to any question. That doesn’t mean avoiding the question altogether, but it does mean focusing on your message rather than trying to figure out what the journalist wants to know.

Preparing for a five-minute interview on national radio or TV, I generally split the time up roughly this way:

• • • An hour deciding what message to deliver
    • An hour refining the message
    • An hour practicing delivery of the message
    • An hour considering the worst questions
    • An hour doing a series of practice interviews

That may sound a lot of work for a five-minute interview. But the reputation of you company could hinge on it. How much is that worth?

Thanks, Alan. No matter how well seasoned a company representative is in public speaking, news media interviews are a different communications game. Your media training plan is exactly what is needed in order to get positive results.

Here is an analysis of one speech technique exercise in the movie. You can do it on your own to improve your presentation skills.

Abdominal breathing exercises for speakers …or “Sit on him, Queen Mum.”

Most people breathe shallowly, expanding only the upper regions of their lungs. Long sentences are almost impossible to get through without sounding winded. A good speaking technique is to breathe diaphragmatically. In simple terms, your waistline should expand when you inhale. When you exhale, your waistline should be its smallest.

It’s much easier to illustrate this if the person learning this presentation skill technique lies down on the floor. The “breather” (speaker) can better see the movement of the diaphragm by watching his or her abdomen rise and fall. Inhale and your stomach rises. Exhale and it falls. It’s almost impossible to breathe the wrong way in this position.

In The King’s Speech, the presentations skill coach had the future Queen Mum sit on the monarch’s stomach while the king practiced breathing more deeply. Since I don’t have access to Queen Mums when I work (lol), I use a 3-ring binder. Maybe it’s not as easy to see as her majesty, but it is good enough for us commoners.

This is a public speaking exercise you can try in the privacy of your own home or office conference room. But a word of warning. Don’t fall asleep! It can be too relaxing in this position. In fact, when I can’t get to sleep, I practice this silent speech technique and I’m in dreamland within a few minutes.

You don’t have to be king to be a great speaker. But you should be a great speaker if you are king…or a leader.

1. If you have one comment to make, summarize your point in one sentence and then go into detail for 30 seconds. This keeps you on track and shows your colleagues you can be focused and succinct.
2. If you have several comments to make, start off by saying, “I’d like to address 3 points: point A, point B and point C. In terms of point A, …. “  When you list the points, they should be phrases only. This will set the stage for expressing comments on each of the 3 points  at some time in the meeting, even if you only speak about point A before there is open discussion. Later on, you can chime in with,  “I’d like to go back to point B.  We might want to consider…..”
3. Inhale deeply and then project your voice by speaking from the diaphragm (abdominal breathing). This is essential for those who are shy, because it gives more power to your words and persona and can eliminate any shakiness in your voice.
4. Listen to others. All too often, people who are shy about speaking up at meetings spend too much time rehearsing what they will say and miss what others are contributing.  When you can tie your comments into something someone else said, it shows you are a team player.  Start your entry into the discussion by saying,  “I’d like to follow up on what Joe said about …….  “
5. Beware of your body language. Watch your posture and make eye contact with others in the room.

3. Belly breathe: Public speaking can be nerve-wracking, but you don’t have to let it show. Abdominal breathing will make you sound confident by giving strength to your voice.

To use this technique: “Inhale deeply and then project your voice by speaking from the diaphragm,” says Jean Palmer Heck, president of Real-Impact, Inc. “This is essential for those who are shy, because it gives more power to your words and persona and can eliminate any shakiness in your voice.”

Here’s the full article with “5 tips for speaking up confidently at meetings.”