Coach's Mailbag by Steve Adubato, Ph.D.

Lots of great feedback to last week's column on the danger of scripting your presentations and reading verbatim.

Educational administrator Anthony Molinaro agrees that speeches are better when they are not read verbatim. "People need to believe in you as a person before they will believe in what you are trying to convey…It seems so basic, but too many supposedly 'effective' speakers continue to read rather than speak from the heart. As a person who speaks to our youth on a regular basis, it is paramount that my audience believes in me more than the facts and figures I am speaking about."

You've got it right, Anthony. Students get inundated with information, rules and standard operating procedures. The educators who have the greatest impact are the ones that don't hide their passion. That's hard to do when they are glued to that script, regardless of what the content matter is.

Pat Bartling, a research librarian from Hillsborough, NJ, has a great technique for preparing for any presentation. Says Pat, "I first write a very detailed beginning that grabs the audience and then add as much detail as I feel I need for the remainder of my talk. I then convert my notes to a bulleted outline, and rehearse my talk from that. This allows me to alter the talk as I go along, according to the reaction of the audience. What good is a live presentation if you cannot connect with the audience?"

Pat's comments prove that great presentations aren't about shooting from the hip or winging it as some people think. In fact, it takes a lot more preparation and hard work to deliver a great five-minute presentation than it does to ramble on for 50 minutes. Getting to the great five-minutes is about editing, prioritizing and making some tough choices.

Nick Giuditta, an attorney from Cranford, also says the outline approach works for him. "I write out my outline and then practice the speech numerous times without notes or reading from a script. Actually, the first person that taught me this was my fifth-grade teacher. Yet, it still amazes me to see educated people speak from a written document while never or rarely making eye contact. This is extremely ineffective and beyond amateurish in the business, professional or political world. Hopefully, more people will take your advice."

Think about how much impact Nick's fifth grade teacher had on his professional teaching style. It's amazing what one teacher who really understands the art of communication can do. Conversely, consider how many kids get terrible advice from their teachers. (I.e., Focus on a spot six inches above the heads of your audience instead of making direct eye contact. Don't laugh, one of my son's grade school teachers told him just that.)

Roy Barry, who conducts seminars and workshops, has found that treating a prepared script as if you were an actor is most beneficial. Says Barry, "The primary reason this works is because you then have an objective. It is important for a speaker to figure out 'why' I want to accomplish a specific objective and then move on to 'how' he or she is going to accomplish this objective…Audiences receive information when their emotions are open. If the audience is responding, they are with you. Good actors always do that."

You got it, Roy. You ever notice how actors will ask their director, "What's my motivation?" The key is to get in touch with what reaction you are trying to get from your audience. Once you do that, your presentation is likely to be a lot more effective.

Dr. Steve Adubato coaches and speaks on the subjects of communication and leadership and is the author of the book "Speak from the Heart." Write to him at The Star-Ledger, 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, NJ 07102, or click here to contact him through this web site.