The Friday Fiscal Tickle video experiment
A few years ago my husband and I really wanted to get our personal finances together. That commitment led to a renewed interest in world financial news. And at the time, I wondered if online video could make the whole approach to learning such subject matter more playful (and somehow digestible to my learning style). All this brought an informal (SILLY!) video project to life – called the Friday Fiscal Tickle series.
Over months of time, app. 22 mini video cuts shaped the ‘tickle’ series at roughly 90 seconds each. Each clip is a micro digest about global fiscal events where I play around on camera as a news anchor and multiple personalities.
It was an absolute blast.
The goal frankly was to somehow crack myself up with the camera on, to just have fun. I learned a lot. Strangely it was clear these videos were accessible online and public; but back then I don’t believe I fully internalized the fact folks would potentially watch.
Does that make a hill of sense?
Later as my business took shape, I re-allocated time toward that and away from this tickle-video playground. But eventually the series took on a whole new level of developmental impact, beyond the just-having-fun aspect.
What Friday Fiscal Tickle taught as a public speaker and speaker coach — is that loss of self-consciousness is a great, great liberator.
Every blue moon ‘tickle’ video would come to mind. Nice friends or colleagues would ask about it. Or (gulp…) sponsors at events where I’d be speaking would mention: “Hey that tickle series is fun.”
Then the mental games would begin in my head. And questions like these would swirl around in self-doubt:
-Is Fiscal Tickle video too goofy?
-Does the series send the absolute wrong image to prospects, partners, or heck – Mom and Dad?
Then the moment-of-clarity struck and this realization suppressed all other doubt:
“Holy Smokes, how liberating! Those videos were a blast. They were fun. And somehow, the fact that others were allowed to observe the goofiness was not a concern. Those cuts created a chance to not be so self-conscious, to storyboard concepts, to play, to create, to deliver.”
Is that not a vision of confidence for a pubic speaker?
…it is at least for this speaker and coach at this end of the netz.
It was a liberating realization!
So to celebrate this re-commitment to fun self expression, a Friday Fiscal Tickle episode will be re-published here at Live Your Talk intermittently.
What do you think?
What project or topic is so fun and stimulating that your paranoid sense of self slips away….and authentic expression takes over?
Silence flat out fascinates. When practiced and exerted, it yields a range of results (with distinct impact too when giving a speech to a doubtful audience). And earlier this year, practicing meditative silence became a priority. It felt good. It cultivated clarity of mind and inner ease.
That’s what this Silent10 video experiment is about.
On a weekly basis, I practice silent meditation yet honestly I’ve been inconsistent with publishing the video clips. Sometimes others participate too and record themselves being silent for just a few seconds.
Above my friend and business coach Nicolette Pizzitola participates in the project. For 10 seconds, she is quiet and looking head on to the camera.
That’s it.
In some way, this project is expansive and gratifying to me …if for any other reason - it crystalizes beauty.
Just looking at Nicolette, this becomes evident — for she is open, steadfast, and beautiful.
What do you think of this type of experiment?
What are your thoughts of spreading the benefits of silence through video, and making them more shareable online?
Have you ever been told your stage presence was “duller than a box of rocks?”
To clarify: it’s a special level of suck.
A straight-talking mentor gave that feedback years ago after seeing me deliver a speech. At the time my wounded ego just wanted to resign from public audiences altogether.
Studying stage presence and public speaking however became a fascination. And to this day, how to energize stage presence remains the most popular question from colleagues, students, or clients.
They are often bewildered at what to do.
…which is understandable. Causes could be rigid or feeble vocals, over accelerated pacing, anxiety management or a sundry of things. Or sometimes it’s purely a content issue where certain writing vehicles can add momentum to the presentation. But much of the time, the content is solid leaving stage presence as the item to tackle.
Energy, impromptu storytelling, & social apps
A colleague further framed this challenge so well and asked:
“How can I make my energy more consistent from a stage presence point of view?”
Presenting in front of a live audience and feedback community is stellar practice for stage presence – like Toastmasters or Ignite. But in lieu of those defined public scenarios, there’s another option.
An absolute favorite and results-inspiring solution is to practice a lot with social applications.
The goal?
Practice impromptu storytelling and externalizing your voice as often as possible with a few audio and video tools (smart phone apps included). Keep your recordings private if that’s preferred.
But just investing conscious energy in this exercise a few minutes a day can expand energetic capacity when facing live audiences.
Suggestions for social tools:
Audio apps: Audioboo.fmorcinchcast.fm are mobile and web platforms with reliable audio, a simple interface plus the ability to add other types of media to your audio casts. And both have apps for iPhone and Android;
Video and group apps:
Viddy is emerging as the Instagram of video: it enables 15 seconds of recording with visual filters. You talk about energizing your mind and vocabulary in a hurry! It’s a compelling tool with some major growth since its recent launch. And CloudTalk is a fascinating platform with both iPhone and Android apps – allowing you to share video, audio, text to public users or to a private group (this storytelling app, Blurb, looks fascinating but I’ve yet to toy with it.).
Perfection vs progress
When it comes to upping stage energy, nothing replaces the chance to practice in front of live audiences from a defined stage space. Yet waiting for perfect circumstances inhibits ultimate progress; so I vote for creating a stage-like dynamic with social tools like these. What do you think?!
Becoming your own best audience
Whether recording via audio or video, these tools (and you) become your own reliable audience. And the chance to practice impromptu storytelling or simply get your voice out of your head is an energetic exercise. From my personal work and through observing others too, this practice has fostered more fluid and energized presence from the stage.
Are you game to try these exercises?
What other ideas have helped you galvanize your own stage presence?
A story that grapples with these questions plus examples unfold in the quickie video above (which is also apart of Tinu Abayomi-Paul’s video challenge project – which you can participate in too).
As for key messaging for your presentations, what helps you formulate your primary point for your speech content? Do you like that part of preparation? What are examples that you’d enjoy sharing?
Discerning and shaping key messages can be a welcome but distinct challenge for me — so please, your ideas are welcome anytime in the comments(!)
Have you ever seen an actor be completely silent, simply looking out in the distance or directly at the camera, and yet even without words – they are riveting?
Many of the faces in this TV show promo strike me this way – they exude energy without externalizing thought or words:
I’m reading Tony Barr’s Acting for the Camera where he covers how acting has changed since the silent film era; he gets into specific scene work and how actors should perceive stimulus.
What’s been fascinating are his perceptions about energy and actors.
A favorite quote in his book:
“I believe energy is a direct result of how much an actor cares about what is happening (in a scene). If the content is important enough to you – if what is happening in your performance life is important enough – you as an actor will be listening with sufficient intensity to create the necessary energy in the scene.” ~Tony Barr in Acting for the Camera
This expression of energy and ‘listening as caring’ bring the hopes of many public speakers to mind as well, myself included.
How can delivery of a particular presentation be authentically expressed and energized – with both articulated and unexpressed cues?
How can we as public speakers convey a sense of care – a sense of attentiveness – to the audience?
Tony Barr’s philosophy about energy and intentional care for what is happening in scenes address these answers too in my view. It’s a highly engaging, specific resource and I’m enjoying the crossover of relevance as a speaker coach.
Her prized, numero uno, #1 favorite speaking tip is…:
It’s been a tremendous week here at Blogworld Expo East. And this morning’s workshop was fantastically interactive, co-presented with @AlizaSherman about empowering women as public speakers. The attendees for our Speak Up workshop were so motivating; and people showed determination and progress on their speech topic ideas throughout the session. It’s been a great day.
Words from a witch
In the spirit of finding and asserting our voice as speakers, Nathalie Lussier talked shop about her favorite speaking tip. She presents often and really enjoys the dynamic.
It was energizing to talk with her from Blogworld’s expo floor
- and she blogs regularly at The Raw Foods Witch on lots of healthy stuff.
Nathalie’s #1 tip revealed in this fun, speedy talk:
Today marks the second Friday for the #Silent10 video project.
I’m oddly happy and challenged by the whole idea. This has been an intriguing and soothing experience.
Funny thing & strange reflections
A friend walked in during this recording (just above). I mouthed silently to her that it was “all good.” In the spirit of just accepting the situation as is, I kept the camera on and did not edit. It’s strange.
If this was a storytelling or instructional video, by golly I’d edit that silent mouthing part out. But I’m fascinated by giving this video-as-a-silent-meditative-exercise a real go. So it seemed ok to let it just be.
What do you think?
Commuting home yesterday, I ran into author & Digital Sisterhood founder Ananda Leeke. Here she participates in the #Silent10 project:
Are you game to participate?
-Love to learn your comments or certainly see/experience your own 10 second #Silent10 clip anytime.
A colleague recently shared her pre-game angst for giving a product demonstration. She felt less confident for this particular demo, especially when envisioning questions from attendees that could favor her competition vs her product.
Here are (3) tips that helped her increase her sense of ease, confidence, and control:
1. Set the tone and establish the dynamic early on.
She opened her remarks by overtly declaring her demo a full-on conversation zone; she distinctly invited curiosity about her work (and what they, the attendees, were looking for). Leading the tone in this way was a simple, empowering move. Cultivating this type of conversational environment head-on made my colleague feel like she was guiding the exchange (vs hiding nervously from potential questions).
2. Establish a clear, big-picture message and use that as a mental home base.
The nature of our products and services can be so carved out in our minds that a vivid, concise way to describe its meaning can get obscured. Before the demo, clearly define and articulate a key message that captures the value of your product. Linking mini stories to the key message can help make it all the more humanized, personal, and distinct.
As example: “My #1 interest is providing fantastic, fashionable footware that’s reasonably priced. Faculty at my alma mater are my best customers for this reason….”
3. Acknowledge competitor features, briefly, if prospects bring them up; but promptly re-direct attention to your product’s benefit.
It can be natural to defensively respond when people affirm competition in the face of your product. To diffuse your own anxiety and cultivate a sense of confidence, prepare ways beforehand to gracefully acknowledge competitor features should they come up i.e. “Yes Sallie’s Lime Cupcakes are tasty…” And practice how to immediately re-focus attention on your product’s distinction i.e. “I’ve found the bulk of my customers may try fruit cupcakes once or twice in the short term. But my customer community as a whole craves chocolate and vanilla. And we provide that in 85 creative recipes.”
I’m now craving a cupcake (vanilla, not lime) in the most urgent way(!)
Before signing off though, have you ever experienced anxiety before giving a product demo? What were ways you prepared when anticipating criticism from attendees?
…& the motivation for a new video project called #Silent10. A quick intro clip follows just below:
When engaging with an audience, speakers can evoke a sense of command by offering silence or amplify meaning of their spoken words. Honestly I’ve come to realize in the past few years that silence is one of my most cherished engagement tools to study.
Silence can serve as a distinct gesture…
…when a speaker gazes out to listeners, offering silence before or during a presentation. I have observed how silence, extended in a certain way from speaker to audience, can express unconditional acceptance between speaker and listeners. Even if just for a few seconds – the presenter’s quietness and directed eye contact can come across as an act of reciprocity to those listening. In collaborating with folks on different speech projects, I’ve been enthralled to see a certain exchange that silence can prompt. It’s like extended silence from the speaker indicates to the audience: ”Your dedicated attention is valuable and honored.”
Have you tried silence in this way as a public speaker?
Or have you exercised silence in other more introspective ways?
…like being quiet out in nature? Or have you exercised meditative silence to cultivate inner calm (or greater clarity of mind)?
With this new project, these questions come to mind:
Could online video & silence unite? And could that union create a simple meditative practice between those on both ends of the video clip?
That’s what the new video project - Silent 10 - is about: exercising silence & fostering its benefits through video.
Each week, a video clip of my silent face will show up on camera, a recording of just 10 seconds. It will be shared here at Live Your Talk.
Would you like to join in?
Would you share 10 seconds of silence & record it on video each Friday?
Years ago during a meditation class, the instructor suggested to meditate silently without placing any goals on the practice session.
I’m realizing now though I have hopes for this project.
to strengthen my ability to give and receive attention,
to be more present-minded,
to dedicate to regular practices of silence. Yet no matter what may occupy my mind each Friday – i.e. the hectic dimensions of life – showing up silently and looking honestly as possible in the camera will occur.
to learn, from a speaker development point of view, to be my own best audience first with the camera’s help, and yours if you’re game to participate too!
What do you think? You are very welcome to participate.
Feel free sharing your own #silent10 video clip, just you gazing silently for 10 seconds into the camera, here in the comments too.
I’m motivated about this and curious too (-curious if this may emerge a neat, meditative experience with others, or if it may end up being my cats and me staring at the camera each week!).
Welcome!
Today’s post was originally submitted as a guest feature to the great community at Women Grow Business. These thoughts are offered in a few ways: (90) seconds of video embedded here or also a written summary follows too, whatever suits your preference.
What is going on?
What am I going to learn?
How is this relevant to me?
These are driving questions an audience immediately wants answered when you or any speaker takes the stage to give a speech. The first question is the biggie and represents the audience’s natural craving for orientation to the speaker’s purpose.
Lead ‘em to clarity
An audience wants a sense of partnership with us, trust that we the speaker will lead them to some level of understanding. This was really crystallized for me when collaborating with a colleague this week on her speech. She was exuberant about her story; her content was great too.
She was in the initial storyboarding and brainstorming phase. And she wanted to inspire specific reactions in her audience. We were writing ideas on a whiteboard together when…
She stopped, looked me in the face, and said:
“But I really love this particular story. I think the real thrust of my message is right here.”
That’s when I asked we stop for a minute and said: “You just answered the driving question for the audience of ‘what is going on with this speech!’ ”
It was the needed gravity and purpose that the audience would seek.
It caught us both off guard.
When we first started storyboarding, both of us assumed other stories and anecdotes would be priority for her content. But the storyboarding process led to a certain memory, a professional experience that was more conducive to her audience’s expectations. She became more alive when focusing on this perspective; and her clarity of mind heightened too.
That was a welcome surprise (pay dirt!) in preparing the rest of her content.
It was the driving momentum for this speech; in light of her expertise and her specific audience, it’s definitely the story her audience needs to hear.
What about you and your approach to speech prep? Does storyboarding ever produce unexpected surprises regarding content?
