Best Article I’ve Read This Week: The Power of Carefully Chosen Words

By: Nancy Duarte

This past Saturday, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson—best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films—delivered an impassioned introduction to the HeForShe campaign at the UN Headquarters in New York. Since then, Watson’s speech has received heavy circulation on social media and been hailed by the press as “powerful,” “game-changing.”

I couldn’t agree more. Watching Watson use her star power as a vehicle to promote global gender equality reminded me that each of has an opportunity and responsibility to stand up for the causes we believe in, whatever those may be. By following a few basic communication guidelines, Watson showed us how to do it effectively.

She knew her audience. Watson made clear from the very beginning that her speech was intended for the men and boys who could become advocates for change. She appealed not just to their sense of right and wrong, but also to the impacts of gender inequality on men’s lives as they suffer the consequences of “being imprisoned by gender stereotypes.” She explicitly invited them to “step forward” and become part of the solution.

Read the full article here:

http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140924214952-172811-the-power-of-carefully-chosen-words-what-every-speaker-can-learn-from-emma-watson

Best Article I’ve Read This Week: 5 Easy Ways to Become a Better Public Speaker — Fast

by:

Carol Roth

Contributor

Entrepreneur and author

Speaking at events is a great way to enhance your status as an expert and generate PR for your business. However, becoming a great speaker is an art, not a science. The good news is that with some tips and some practice, you can leave a lasting impression that you will want people to remember.

Here are some easy ways that you can become a better speaker.

1. Memorize concepts, not content.

You may think that the best way to give a flawless speech is to memorize the content word-for-word.  But trying that can create a lot of problems for speakers. Memorization not only lends itself to sounding over-rehearsed (aka not natural), but also, if your mind goes blank at any point during the presentation, you will lose your place and potentially create an awkward silence. Or worse, start to panic.

Instead of memorizing the content, focus on the concepts. Do this by creating bullet points of the content, stories, data and key takeaways that you want to get across in each part of your presentation. Then, speak naturally about them. If you remember all of those key points,….

Read the full article here:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236611?newsletter=true

Monday’s Motivation

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambi­tion inspired, and success achieved.”

-Helen Keller

The Best Article I’ve Read This Week (An Oldie, But A Goodie): 5 Tips for Getting More from LinkedIn

posted by John Jantsch

I really like some things about LinkedIn. It has always tended towards the service oriented professional, in my opinion, but it has plenty to like in the brand asset optimization world that all businesses live in as well. My advice for most business owners is to find a social network or platform that seems most suited to your business objectives and dive in pretty deep, focusing more casual attention on the others, at least initially. Going hard and deep into one network, like LinkedIn, is the only way to gain the momentum delivered by consistent work and engagement.

So, when it comes to LinkedIn – here are 5 tips to get more

1) Your Profile

2) Give to Get

3) Show What You’ve Got

4) Lead a Group

5) Repurpose Content

Read the full article here:

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2009/07/29/5-tips-for-getting-more-from-linkedin/

What we have on and off our mats is More than Enough

What we have on and off our mats is More than Enough.

Best Article I’ve Read This Week: 5 Essential Elements of Storytelling and Persuasion

by Ryan Flax, Esq.
Managing Director, Litigation Consulting

A2L consulting

Storytelling, in fact, serves the biological function of encouraging pro-social behavior. Effective stories reinforce the concepts that if we are honest and play by the right rules, we reap the rewards of the protagonist, and that if we break the rules, we earn the punishment accorded the bad guy. Stories are evolutionary innovations: They help humans remember socially important things and use that information in their lives.

To impact an audience such as a jury, a story must do three things: (1) emotionally transport the audience by moving them and having them get “lost” in it; (2) include characters facing problems and trying to overcome them, but not engaging in mere meaningless problem solving; and (3) communicate some message or moral, meaning some set of values or ideas. Otherwise, the story will seem “empty” and not important enough to pay attention to.

There are several guidelines to help you turn your evidence into a story worth telling. The essential elements you need to provide are:

1. Theme(s) of your case
2. Compelling characters (good/bad)
3. Motive
4. Conflict/Resolution
5. Messages/Consequences

Read more here:

http://www.a2lc.com/blog/bid/72438/5-essential-elements-of-storytelling-and-persuasion?source=Blog_Email_%5B5%20Essential%20Elements%5D