Author Bjorn Turmann shows equal enthusiasm for spoken stories or printed ones. Between writing novels, he coaches business executives, politicians, students and others on effective public speaking. His new book, Speaking Energy, Public Speaking For Humans… Finally! (2010, Konstrukt Books, 215 pages) helps with the process.
“Storytelling is the fastest way to connect with an audience,” Turmann says. “If the story is personal, if it's about you, your experiences or history, then the potential for human connection is even stronger.”
Anyone can benefit from Speaking Energy, regardless of culture, nationality, education or primary language. All speakers have an ability to deliver exciting and convincing messages, provided they're “willing to be honest with the audience”.
Earnest and thoughtful, Speaking Energy reads like a skilful speech. It's casual-sounding, full of constructive comments and sprinkled with relevant stories (“everyone's willing to listen to a story”) about everything from walking to work in Singapore to sightseeing in Lebanon. For storytelling, the author's savvy as a novelist serves him well: “After getting in and out of two taxis speaking my best broken English, I found a willing driver in an old Mercedes diesel: a small man with a black chapeau, dark eyes and olive skin….”
Turmann entertains when teaching. If speakers use the same strategy, their listeners won't fall asleep or tinker with mobile phones.
Sometimes this book likens speech-making to playing golf or doing yoga. “With the barriers gone, breathe, acknowledge, project and connect. Yoga words. Try it out for your next presentation, speech or company pep talk. No yoga mat required.”
Turmann's how-to advice sounds easy. Unlike most 20th-century speaking gurus, he refuses to fill pages with lists of rules. Really, “there are no rules”, he insists. Each speaker is unique and needs a comfy, personal style, one that comes naturally and has lively spontaneity.
“Despite what you may have read or been taught, public speaking is not about formulas or strategies, dos and don'ts, lists and rules…. The only formula that exists is the one that you currently possess: your natural style.”
Using his experiences and those of students, Turmann never runs short of examples or suggestions. “My hands like to move around when I speak…. This is my natural style. If you like to put your hands in your pockets when you speak, then go for it. If you like to give yourself a hug when you speak (as I saw at one of my workshops), then great, keep hugging…. Your body will go instinctively into the position that feels most comfortable. Allow that to happen…. Maybe your arms will flap, maybe they won't. Maybe your feet will tap, maybe they won't. None of that matters.”
What's essential is making a personal connection with the audience. Often, that's best done quickly by telling a story or behaving in “a human way”, not like a stiff, rehearsed robot.
“It really doesn't take very much to please an audience. We fear boredom; everyone loves a story…. Memorizing words for days, speaking non-stop, and believing that unless everyone is listening to me at all times, I've failed, is not the best use of your human energy. In fact, it's wasted energy.”
There's a big difference between speaking and communicating. “Speaking is instinctive. Communication requires thought and emotion. Speaking is often just noise. Communication is so much more. Think of the most boring speakers you've ever heard. They probably made a lot of sound, but forgot that connecting that sound to the audience is more important than just standing up there talking. They led with sound and forgot about a lot of the other important things: eyes, breathing, physical presence, honesty, accessibility, vulnerability, spontaneity and, of course, making human connections happen.”
Many actions deemed negative, like “making waves” or “going off the deep end”, aren't. “Think about the people who created some waves in your life, giving you that forward thrust… just when you needed it most. Now it's your turn. Go off the deep end, make some waves.”
A Canadian based in Bangkok, Thailand, Turmann is a former Microsoft executive who first arrived in Asia in 1993. The latest of his three novels, The Last Tobacco Shop in the World, appeared on the same day as Speaking Energy did. Two others, Good Daughter and The Karaoke World of Cortous Haire, came earlier.
If enough people heed the author's advice, then lectures, seminars, conferences and business meetings will turn much more lively, effective and enjoyable. That's no small feat.
For the book's most diligent readers, the fear of making speeches should vanish. “Go out and experiment with your next presentation. Tell that story, explain that personal history, throw away the written speech – the results will be far more positive than you'd ever hoped. Guaranteed!”
Approval rating: 80 per cent.
For more information: speakingenergy.com or speakingenergy.wordpress.com
(March 29, 2010)
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When Bjorn Turmann speaks,
his hands 'like to move around'.
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