Portugal Toastmasters Interview with Diane DiResta

I was interviewed by Francisco Saraiva, the President of Toastmasters in Portugal.

FRANCISCO SARAIVAAbout Public Speaking… Home
Who is Francisco Saraiva?
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Moment with Diane DiResta
Public Speaking Blogs, Toastmasters Add comments As we continue our feature posts of the best speakers in the corporate world, we give you a brief interview with internationally renowned public speaking coach and trainer and author, Diane DiResta.

Diane conducts various hands on training and coaching on presentation and communication skills development. We asked Diane the main challenges clients face regarding public speaking.

“The main challenges my clients have in common are fear of speaking, and a loss of leadership credibility when speaking. In a few cases, the fear causes avoidance. Avoiding speaking is career suicide especially for those in a leadership role. They lose opportunities for visibility both internally and externally. Knowing this, they seek coaching,” she said. Effective communication skills are therefore a vital part of a company’s success.

So apart from fear, what else do clients face for them to seek help?

“Many clients have difficulty getting to the point. I’m often hired because the client lacks “executive presence.” They are skilled and competent but they don’t look and sound like leaders. They overwhelm the listeners with details they don’t need or care about. This leads to a lack of clarity and focus. Without a clear focus and a crisp message, speakers will lose the attention and respect of the audience.”

“In my book, Knockout Presentations, I created a template so that speakers could organize their thoughts and speak more succinctly. I’m about to launch an online Speech Maker tool that will allow speakers to easily write their speeches online, edit, and print them from their desktops. It will be ready this summer”, she excitedly told us. This is something to watch out for.


In Diane’s blog she state that “if you want to get to the next level of speaking, watch good speakers.” We asked her identify three “good speakers” that influenced her the most and why?

“Certainly Martin Luther King is very inspiring to watch. He was passionate and used rhetorical devices such as alliteration, vocal intonation, creating a shared vision, repetition, and a challenge to the audience.”

We featured Martin Luther King at length a couple of weeks ago with a focus on his “I Have a Dream” speech.

“I’m inspired by a minister named Joel Osteen who has such a positive message of hope and through his storytelling empowers people to be their best. Gerald Coffee is a former Vietnam prisoner of war who tells his story in the most interesting and motivating way. He is a walking example of the resiliency of the human spirit. He uses a technique called anchoring. When he talks about how the American prisoners would knock on the wall to communicate with each other, he knocks on the podium. He begins and ends his presentation with three knocks. He has a powerful story to tell.

I’m continually impressed and influenced by the speakers at the National Speakers Association convention. It will be held in New York City in August.”

Diane has an interesting article “A Predilection for Diction” where she quoted an interesting study by West Georgia College, “a person’s social status is determined by their voice even when content free speech is used e.g. counting from one to ten.” With regards to this, we asked her if she thinks a professional speaker should worry about his accent and try to change to a more respected accent such as the BBC accent.

“This is an interesting question. I don’t think you should be something that you’re not. Faking a British accent will never work. But people will make judgments based on your voice and diction. It depends on your purpose. One professional speaker I know was from New York City. He had a real New York accent. He was advised by some other speaker that he should lose his accent. He thought about it for a few minutes and decided against it. If he changed his accent he would sound like every other speaker. He had a New York attitude and style and his speech pattern suited him. He’s still on the speaking circuit and is successful.”

We asked the same question to other speakers as well and they all agreed not to lose one’s native accent which a person could work for his advantage. Each person is unique in his own way.

Diane continued, “On the other hand, I once saw a medical doctor who had poor diction. I couldn’t believe that a network television station would give her a job as a health reporter. I had trouble believing she was a medical doctor and questioned her intelligence. Why would someone with that level of education still sound inarticulate? They eventually fired her. The first speaker was very articulate, used proper grammar and vocabulary. He just had a regional accent. There is no excuse for poor grammar. It’s fine to sound like you’re from a particular region as long as it’s not a pronounced or thick accent. I have worked with people who have foreign accents to speak more clearly but they don’t ever sound like Americans.”

Finally, “People will make decisions about your competence and status based on how you speak. This is especially true when speaking on the telephone. Most people love the voice of the actor James Earl Jones or Richard Burton. They have deep, warm, resonant voices. There are other voices that sound like nails on a chalkboard. The voice can soothe or irritate. We create images in our minds about the other person just from the sound of the voice. My advice is to use your best voice and diction especially when using the telephone, interviewing for a job, or speaking from the podium.”

“Thank you for the interview. I would love to visit Portugal some day.”

DiResta Communications can be reached at www.diresta.com
or email Diane at info@diresta.com. She answers rather promptly or we wouldn’t be having a chance for this interview. Drop her a line soon!



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Get the Hook: When Speakers Hog the Spotlight

It's been declared that Senator Obama is the democratic nominee. In politics or sports, when one person's numbers exceed his opponent's scores it's customary to bow out gracefully. This was not the case for Hillary Clinton. She continued to command the spotlight without any mention of an end to her campaign. So when is it to time to leave the stage? And how do you stop a speaker who exceeds the time limit?

Time is valuable to any audience. When a speaker ignores the clock, the audience feels frustrated and disrespected.

There are a few reasons why speakers don't end on time:


Lack of Preparation-They didn't rehearse out loud and time themselves and they have too much material.

Ego-They love the sound of their own voices and take advantage of a captive audience.

Time Cut Short-The previous speaker spilled over to the next time slot and the speaker doesn't know how to shorten the speech.

Nobody complains when a speaker finishes early.
But when a speaker drones on and hogs the spotlight it's time to get the hook. Here's what the moderator can say:


"Thank you, John. What's one thought you'd like to leave us with ?"

"Please help me thank Katherine." (applaud)

"Bill we're coming up on the one minute mark. Do you want to continue and skip the Q&A?"

"What a great presentation. Thank you" (start applauding)

Say out loud, "One minute is left."

Play loud music or lower the lights to let them know the time is up.

If you find that you're running out of time, finish your point and fast forward to your conclusion. Come to an end and look for the nearest exit.

Don't let them get the hook.

Speakers Behaving Badly: Are You A Platform Abuser?

The platform is a privilege. When invited to speak, we have a responsibility to respect the audience and the nature of the platform (culture, venue, purpose of the invitation). Yet, many speakers take this responsibility lightly and abuse the platform. Some of the biggest abusers are Hollywood celebrities at the academy awards. It's disrespectul to accept an award and then use the stage for self-serving causes and political rants. When Jane Fonda received an academy award for the movie Klute, it was at the height of her anti-war protests. You could hear the audience breathe a sigh of relief when she said, "There's so much to say but now is not the time." Worse yet, are singers who pack the stadium to full capacity only to bash the current administration or turn the concert into a political rally. When people buy a concert ticket they expect to be entertained. To impose a political agenda is simply a bait and switch tactic.

The most recent platform abuser was reverend Michal Pfleger. He mimicked and mocked Hillary Clinton at the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ. What was especially abusive was to do this in a church or "House of God." A pastor's platform is to preach the Scriptures not to campaign for a presidential candidate. This was a betrayal of trust.

At conferences business speakers abuse the platfrom when they sell their products from the stage. An infomercial is not what they came to hear. There is an unspoken contract between a speaker and an audience. The audience expects you to provide value. While it's acceptable to challenge, stimulate and provoke thinking, it's not all right to change the program just because you have a captive audience.

One speaker announced that instead of lecturing he would have an open discussion. People left feeling dissatisfied. They wanted the speaker's expertise-not a chat. He violated the contract.

The next time you're invited to speak, clarify your role, know the audience expectations, and then keep your promise. Speaking is a gift. Resist the temptation to push your own agenda. And you'll continue to enjoy the privilege of the platform.

Get to the Point

The top speaking mistake is lack of focus.
I can’t tell you how often leaders and entrepreneurs sabotage their brand by not being able to articulate a clear message. Not only does the message get lost, but the speaker loses credibility. As a leader, you are the brand. And the market place wants to hear from you.

So how do you get to the point? First, begin with a clear outcome by completing this sentence. At the end of my presentation, the audience will _______. The answer to this fill-in is your outcome.
To be on message you must start with a clear intention.
Next, write down a one sentence purpose statement. This is your opening. If you can’t state your purpose in one sentence it’s too long.
Ex. “In today’s podcast, we’ll talk about how to get to the point and why it’s so important.”

After the purpose statement, write a 3 point agenda. People remember things in threes. Keep it short and simple. The audience needs a roadmap and the agenda will keep everybody focused.

Now, develop each point with examples and data. Remember the rule of three. Don’t overwhelm them with details. Otherwise you’ll start to ramble. When it comes to speaking, less is more.

I once coached an executive who was told that his communication was unclear and his team left his meetings feeling confused. After observing him, I realized his problem.
He would say the same thing three different times. He was concerned that his team might not understand it the first time. Instead, we was confusing them. To get to the point, say something once and move on. If it’s not clear, the audience will ask questions.

So, to get to the point remember these principles:
Create a clear outcome or intention for the presentation.
Begin with a one sentence purpose statement.
Remember the rule of three.
Keep it short and simple. When tempted to give more information ask yourself “Do they really need this?”
Less is more. Say something once and move on.

When you use these principles I guarantee you’ll get to the point more quickly, deliver the intended message, and become a better speaker and leader.

For more communication tools, visit my website and visit my channel on youtube.