SPEED READING, EVELYN WOOD & SPEAKING

n EVELYN WOOD'S SPEAKING SUGGESTIONS

Here are our memories of a short but brilliant lecture by "Evelyn Wood", nthe Mother of Speed Reading, to a small group of us about, "how to give a speech".
It was a half-century ago, so we admit some lapses, but it has stayed with us and nserved as a model ever since. We hope it will serve you as profitably and as long.

"Yes Virginia, there is a success strategy to making a presentation to just "one" nperson, an executive group of ten to twenty, or to an audience of one-hundred.
I put this system to good use winning strong applause on the "Johnny Carson Show".

In a recent Gallop poll Americans ranked "public-speaking", the numbern# 1 stress-maker, and what they would least volunteer to do. [Still true!]

If you want your career to develop to its maximum capacity, we recommendnyou discover the elements of influencing other people. Dale Carnegie wasncorrect, "How to make friends and influence people", is a requirement fornthose choosing the executive and professional areas of our Knowledge Economy.

Here are ten (10) key elements to being yourself, yet pleasing your audience,nand remember, a audience may be "one" important person, a class of learners,nor an auditorium filled with experts.

The most consistently asked question about speaking in front of a group is:

"How do I overcome my blood-curdling fear of getting up there to give a talk?"

The correct answer may not be what lazy people want to hear - a magic-bulletnlike the diet pill that lets you eat a ton of pizza and ice cream , and still lose tennpounds a week. We do not have such "pixie-dust", mostly because it doesn'tnexist, and is not coming down the pike next week either.

The secret is that you must make yourself an "expert", a master of you
material. Doing that will give you all the confidence you need to succeed, andncome across to your audience that you did your homework and have importantnknowledge to impart. Let your useful knowledge wash over the listeners, and theynwill really be impressed.

You don't have to look like a Hollywood Oscar winner, or sound like a professionalnannouncer on a tv commercial, just deliver the goods and all is forgiven.

You can look like Frankenstein, sound like a frog with a sore-throat, and have the personality of a "decayed-tooth", but if you have knowledge and the "how-to" of it ninformation that will BENEFIT me or my family, at home or at work, we will nlisten as if you were one of the original prophets delivering the goods on redemptionn to an adoring audience of "seekers" and "true-believers".

Remember, we all want to learn how to live longer and healthier; learn and understand; earn more money;nhave great personal relationships, and be happy. If you know how to solve some ofnthe challenges life has dealt us, we will listen with "baited" (to stop for food or refreshmentnduring a trip), breath. Just offer us BENEFITS and know-your-stuff, and you can neve
bore us". The less graphics and charts the better, is my experience. We relate to "you",nthe expert, not a inhuman "pie-chart".

Here is her ten (10) points, and four (4) mission elements, as we scribbled them down.n n 1. CLEAR-THINKING: Abstract in one or two sentences the key point ofnyour entire presentation. If you can not create a simply one sentence synopsis (summary),nyour talk is unfocused. It's your Knowledge-Tree, with the leaves being the "details" for ninformation-processing.

2.CLEAR STRUCTURE: There's a Beginning, a Middle and an End, and nkey points in each of the three sections. What are the key-words or acronymsn(words created from first letters of a phrase or list i.e. Wac (Women's Army corp); USA;
IBM. Have a list for yourself (the speaker), and follow it for clarity toward your audience.
We use a small index card to keep track of the points to cover, not a formal speech.

This applies whether we are speaking to one CEO or student, or audience of a thousand.
Call it a "syllabus" - an outline of the contents of the speaker's curriculum on a card.

3. MEMORABLE STORIES: folks in an audience remember a good story becausenthey create a visualization - a mental image, and emotions. Create a "filmette" in ntheir minds by using memorable characters, exciting situations, suspense or nfunny elements. A story has a beginning, middle and a punch-line ending. It makes a pointnrelevant to our lecture.

4. EMOTIONALLY CONNECT WITH PEOPLE: Facts alone don't cut it, they mustn"feel" something positive when they ask the question - WIITFM (What's In It For Me?).
We give logical reasons to justify our decisions to impress ournleft-brain, and "pictures and feelings" to involve our right-brain. Both-hemispheres must be involvednnot just in doing - the demonstration using the hand as a Pacer, but your stories nmust grab their imagination ...offer a future of what they "can" be with their new academic skills.
Be "you, the listener" centered, not "we"the organization, boasting and bragging.

5. ABSTRACTION: Are we stuck in general principles (jargon), or excessive details?
Both are boring and lead to limited attention-span, use examples and illustrations. A demostration is best.
Mix, (don't drown them), in features and "benefits". Do they know why they are here?
Is their motivation clearly in mind? Are they getting what they want, maybe "one" usablenpoint, not ten complicated ideas , in a teaching style that works for them?

6. CHANGE OF PACE: Switch from the Pacer training, to Memory, to Notetaking, to Vocabulary,nand then back to our speed reading strategies. Always have ten-minute-breaks after fifty classroom minutes.
Give them time for our ideas to sink-in,nand give them time-outs to mentally organize what they have heard, seen and done.

7. DON'T ANNOY THE LISTENER: Fluency-of-language: no "Um, Hmm, Er or Ah", whilenstalling to think of an answer. You are an expert, so fling it out and it will be great.
Weak verbal crutches are loud-static on their mental wavelength.

8. WHAT'S YOUR PUNCH-WORD? Emphasize the key word, often the last one, in you
punch-word. Johnny Carson EMPHASIZES his own punch-line, and so should you.
Examples:

"You will read THREE-TIMES as much, with the same comprehensionnor better." i.e. "Limited classes, sign up NOW!" (Key the phrase: "Three-times")

"You will have the RAZOR'S EDGE over your peers."n i.e. "Ace your SAT!"

Never step on your own punch line by adding an unnecessary word after it like , "Right?" or "See?"nor my nemesis, "Did I make myself clear?" Never drop your voice on the PUNCH-WORD,nit costs "emphasis".

9. STRONG OPENING, POWERFUL SELLING CLOSING: Your "opening" gives you
20 seconds to capture their "attention and interest", and five minutes to grab their imagination.

Ask "you" questions - i.e. "What do you want to take home after this course?"
"What are you going to use speed reading for?"

Make a believable promise that offers a reasonable expectation:

"You will discover talents and skills that you have never tapped, like findingna $50 bill in your old jacket".

"You will have the ability to "double" your reading skills after today's class."

CLOSING: take questions BEFORE your wind-up your "closing". Closing gets permissionnto contact them in the future, compliments and excites their imagination, and makes a promise.
Your last words, just as your introductory remarks - are remembered. The great nmiddle with its details - get easily forgotten like dust in the wind.

10. HIGH TECH AUDIO-VISUAL: If you can connect to the audience, a nsimple blackboard works better than a $1000 overhead projector or your newncomputer. Graphics and charts cause snoozing, unless you are talking tonprofessionals, and even they want the MAGIC BULLETS and clear benefits.

Find your humanity,and link and nmerge with your audience, make them feel what you're feeling, to be a part ofnsomething bigger than just their money - (leave a legacy), all the high-tech ncrutches are just annoying. The spotlight is on you, the speaker, and answering
WIITM (What's In It For Me), for each of them in the audience or classroom. n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are four (4) elements to our Speed Reading Institute mission:nna) Tuition remains low to reach the greatest number of students, adultsnand organizations with the benefits of language fluency and information-nprocessing.nnb) Demonstrations of Speed Reading using our hand as a Pacer, is the heartnof our marketing style. We move students by SHOWING and DOING that it'sneasy to learn.nnc) Technological advancements are added to Speed Reading to keep ourncourses ahead-of-the-lea
ing-curve.nnd) The student and graduate's improvement and satisfaction are the nsingle objective of our programs - their tuition is never the primary consideration.

"Do the right job and we will get referrals and group classes from organizations.
Success follows excellent instructor performance and personal conce
for their ninterests and accomplishments. Yes, really!"

Are the ten points of speaking, and the four elements of Evelyn Wood's missionnstatement "relevant", fifty years later? It's your answer that counts. n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------nncopyright 2003
H. Bernard Wechsle
www.speedlea
ing.orgnhbw@speedlea
ing.org

H. Bernard Wechsler is a senior educational consultant to The SpeedLea
ing
Institute, affiliated with Long Island University, the Learning Annex, and NYCnschools through the DOME Project.
He is one of the founders of Evelyn Wood speed reading, graduating 2 millionnincluding Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Carter.n------------------------------------------------------------