Tune in to KIT Radio AM 1280, also online, on Wednesday, May 22 @ 4:15pm. Mike Bastinelli and I will discuss my second book, At the Crossing of Justice and Mercy.
Stop by Inklings Bookshop @ 5629 Summitview Avenue in Yakima, WA on Wednesday, May 29 @ 7:00pm. I’ll be signing copies of my books, A Train Called Forgiveness & At the Crossing of Justice and Mercy. Hope to see you there!
My new recording setup.
It’s true what they say about first impressions. We don’t get a second chance. It’s especially true when you’re giving a speech. You get one chance to start your speech out in a way that makes your audience members go “WOW!” There’s power in a great introduction.
Last week we covered support in the post and podcast: You Need Strong Support. This week I’d like to offer a few pointers about creating a solid speech introduction. A good speech introduction should accomplish four things:
1. Grab the audience’s attention
2. Establish your credibility on the topic
3. Provide a thesis statement
4. Preview your main points
Listen to the podcast: The Power of a Great Introduction
The very first thing a great speech introduction should do is grab the audience’s attention. This just might be the most critical part of your entire speech. If you can’t hook the audience from the start, you may struggle to keep their attention throughout the speech. There are several strategies for gaining attention:
1. Use a quotation
2. Tell a story
3. Pose Questions
4. Unusual information
5. Use humor
6. Refer to the audience
7. Refer to the occasion
Finally, there are a few general rules about speech introductions to keep in mind:
1. Write the introduction after you complete the body of the speech
2. Keep the introduction brief
3. Keep your attention-getter relevant
4. Practice
Question: What strategies have you used to gain your audience’s attention?
I’ve been writing a few guest posts lately and something crazy happened. I’m double-booked today. I have a guest post at Dan Black’s site: danblackonleadership.info.
I have another guest post at Vincent Nguyen’s site: selfstairway.com.
It’s a privilege to have the chance to write for both of these great blogs.
Dan’s blog focuses on leadership, and my post, The Empathic Leader, discusses ways we can become better leaders by using empathy as a way of better understanding our followers.
Vincent’s blog focuses on self-improvement through self-reflection. The post for his blog, Self Stairway, was a bit more challenging to write. It took me a few tries, but I finally nailed it: How I Learned to Live Dangerously. This post discusses the differences between what we often think of as living dangerously, and what it really means to live dangerously. It might not be quite what you think.
Please take some time to read both posts. If you’d like me to write a guest post for your blog, or if you’d like to write one for my blog, please contact me at danerickson@danerickson.net. I’d love to work with you.
I’m going to be increasing the amount of posts I post each week.
I know. I just cut back about a month ago, but I like variety and increasing posts allows me to post a larger variety of writing.
Along with the variety, I’ll be creating a couple of new series’ for the summer.
Currently, I’m running my Public Speaking Series. If you ever have to speak in public you know how difficult it can be. I teach public speaking as a college instructor, so I thought I’d share some of my expertise. Read the posts and listen to the podcasts every Tuesday.
I’m also currently re-posting Excerpts from my first book, A Train Called Forgiveness, on Fridays. After I complete the reposts from my first book, I’ll be adding excerpts form my second book, At the Crossing of Justice and Mercy.
If you missed it, check out my Dad’s Last Sermon Series. My dad passed away a couple of years ago, but a friend of his gave me a recording of his “last sermon.” Although it’s a little left of the traditional Christian point of view, Dad was definitely a true believer.
Monday Morning Shorts will start in June and run through the summer. I started writing some very short posts about a month ago. I created the new category so that you could check out the examples of what’s to come. Mondays are busy, and I know your time is important, so I’ll be posting short and concise, yet meaningful posts each Monday morning.
Songs for Saturdays: Yesterday I posted a song about homelessness by Steve Earle. It’s the first time I’ve included a video on my blog. In the future I’ll be posting either audio or video of songs each Saturday throughout the summer. I’ll choose songs by great songwriters that I believe have social significance. As I write songs myself, I may include my own songs from time to time, too. Check out my Songs from A Train Called Forgiveness.
And I’ll continue to post poems, songs and guest posts. Check out the remaining categories: My Poetry, Songwriting, and Welcome Guests.
If you’re interested in being featured on my blog, or featuring my work on your blog, please email me at danerickson@danerickson.
Splashed across the planet,
dashed upon the rocks of the
Atlantic, Old Orchard Beach,
like grains of sand, each one
has its place in the larger
scheme of things, the big picture
that we cannot see through
mere mortals’ eyes.
Left on busses, trains, along
city streets, at the tops of
the tallest buildings, in taxis,
restaurants, subways, from
sea to shining sea and carried
beyond. Spread atop mountain
peaks, blowing eastward, swirling
in the wind, touching down in
pristine lakes, raging rivers,
trickling streams, on a single
blade of grass gently waving
in the Flint Hills of Kansas.
The molecules of my youth
live on forever, even as I pass
the midpoint of this journey
into bliss. They dance and sing
and scramble ‘cross the page
in words and pictures, saved
in the intricate gears and wheels
of time. They stare back at me
sparkling, filled with life, precious
beyond gold and diamonds,
in my children’s eyes.
Recently, I wrote a poem called drive-by, about homelessness. As a songwriter, I love to listen to other good songwriters. One of my favorite contemporary songwriters is Steve Earle.
A song off of his most recent album, The Low Highway, speaks to the same issues as my poem drive-by. As a student of great songwriters, I think the song Invisible tells it like it is. That’s what I love about Steve Earle: his forthright honesty. For me, it’s one of those songs I can’t help but play over and over. Now if we could just do something to help combat the problem of homelessness. It all starts with awareness and a heart. Here’s the song. Listen and enjoy, but think: What can you do to help solve this problem of homelessness?
This is a very short excerpt. Andy is trying to understand how he can write about his past in a cult without reliving the hell he went through. He is taunted by negative voices, yet there is a hopeful voice in the end. I intentionally kept this short, simply to juxtapose the suffering and inspiration of the character.
* * *
I ride my bicycle to the Jocelyn River. I sit and think. I watch the river flow. The voices are mild today, but still with me.
I ask myself, “How can I tell my story?” They answer, “You can’t.”
I ask myself, “How can I share this burden?” They answer, “You are the burden.”
I ask myself, “How can I let go?” They answer, “We have you in a choke hold.”
I ask myself, “How can six years of life in a cult be put into words?” A soft voice speaks directly to my heart. It simply says, “Have faith.”
* * *
A Train Called Forgiveness is Dan Erickson’s first book. It’s a novel based on the reality of his own childhood. Dan was the child victim of a cult. The book follows his life both, during his years in the cult, and after he escapes. Get your copy today at Amazon.
Creating a solid, professional resume is the first key to getting noticed by potential employers. In order to get on the hiring manager’s desk, your resume has to be professional, flawless, and unique. It needs to say, “Wow! I’d like to hire a person like that.” So how can you get your resume to the top of the stack? Here are a few pointers:
Today I’m guest posting at Tom Dixon’s blog, MondayIsGood.com. Tom offers solid practical career advice and I’m honored to be featured as his guest. Read the rest of How To Get Your Resume Noticed.
My new recording setup.
Last week we covered the importance of organizing the body of your speech. You can review the post and podcast here: Organization is Key to Public Speaking Success.
Once you’ve organized the main points, you need to support them. Support, also known as development, comes in many forms. This is where you do your research. Good speeches contain accurate, relevant, and interesting support. Without support your speech will appear weak and incredible, (and I don’t mean awesome). There are a variety of ways to support your speech. Here are a few:
Listen to the podcast: You Need Strong Support
1. Examples: illustrate, describe, or represent things.
2. Stories: help make sense of our experience.
3. Testimony: firsthand findings, eyewitness accounts, opinions.
4. Facts: representations of documented occurrences, actual events.
5. Statistics: quantified evidence that summarizes, compares and predicts.
6. Definitions: dictionary or woking explanations of words or concepts.
7. Contrast and Comparisons: differences and similarities.
8. Humor: entertaining stories.
A few things to remember about supporting material in general:
1. Use a variety of types of support.
2. Make sure it comes from credible sources.
3. Always cite your sources in your speech.
Once you’ve completed your research and found enough support, you can begin to put together the outline. The easiest way to outline a speech is to start by outlining the body of the speech and then build the introduction and conclusion from the information in the body. However, I’m going to wait until later in this series to post an outline that includes all the major parts of the speech. Next week, we’ll discuss introductions.
Question: Where are some good places to find your supporting materials?
Photo courtesy of Bill Betten @ Dry Creek Images
Have you ever felt like “nothing” is getting done? Have you ever had a day when “nothing” goes right? Have you ever felt like you are “nothing?” Maybe it would be better if we thought less of ourselves and more of others.
There’s one simple reason I remain productive day after day, week after week, year after year. I produce content, not for myself, but for others. I write without expectations of glory or financial gain, but because I believe I have information and stories to share that will help motivate, teach, and heal others. If we think of ourselves as “nothing” we find that we think of others and their needs as “something.”
So what about those days that feel like “nothing” is getting done? It’s a lie. As long as you’re consistently working on your craft, producing posts, books, poems, songs. or whatever it is that you produce, you’re doing “something.”
If you’re waiting for the “big deal,” you might be waiting for a long time. If you have high expectaions of success you will nearly always be dissappointed. If you expect “nothing,” you will be happy when “something” comes your way.
I’m not saying we should think poorly of ourselves. I’m not saying we should accept those days when we feel like “nothing” is getting accomplished. What I am saying is this: Stay committed to your work, your projects, your passion for the right reasons: to serve others without expectaions.
Question: How can you put less emphasis on yourself and more emphasis on others today?