Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Pages from my travelogue

How many of you have visited or heard of Mission Viejo? I did, 10 years back, and am reminded of it now when I browse through my travelogue. Bangalore The first page takes me back to Bangalore airport. I was to take a flight to Chennai. I had completed check-in, security check and was waiting at the departure gate. Saw people leaving for various flights – but did not see the departure announcement for my flight. After waiting for almost an hour, I found myself as alone as the kid Kevin in the Home Alone movie. Was shocked to hear my name being announced – “this is the final call for passenger Usha travelling to Chennai”… The realization hit me like a bucket of cold water! I rushed to the gate as fast as an Olympic runner! I flip the page of my travelogue – the scene takes me to Malaysia. From Chennai I was to travel to Los Angeles with a stopover at Malaysia. Malaysia On reaching Malaysia and experiencing the maze of elevators at the airport, I checked into a hotel. Very exhausted, I set the alarm and fell into deep slumber like Sleeping Beauty. I dreamt about missing the flight, and awoke with a start. Not to worry; I had plenty of time. I was not to miss a flight yet. The rest of my journey till LA and the hotel was quite uneventful. So I move to the next page of my travel diary. First day at Mission Viejo The first day at work – I took a cab which dropped me in office in 15 minutes. So I thought – let me walk down in the evening and pick up some groceries on the way. I started walking. I walked on and on and on for one hour….like an Energizer battery. However By the time I reached the store, my energy was all gone. Luckily I met an Indian family from Orissa, started talking to them and told them my story. This friendship was good for me – because they dropped me at the hotel and also invited me for dinner the next day! My travelogue next talks about my journey to Atlanta one long weekend. Atlanta It was my birthday and I was to catch a flight to Atlanta on Fri evening. My friend came over to drop me at Los Angeles airport. Oh bother! The highway was jammed and vehicles moved at snail’s pace. I realized then – that a jam is a jam is a jam – whether in India or the US, we feel the same pain! Finally reached the airport missed the flight by a whisker. A whisker - because the pilots were also caught in the jam and the flight was delayed. Whew! Somehow managed to catch the next flight, landed in Atlanta airport at 6 am and called my cousin. She picked up the phone, and asked “where are you”? I said, “Atlanta airport. Where are you?”. I heard her swearing “Oh my God!”….and rushing out from her home…guess she had set too early an alarm time, heard it, had switched it off and gone back to sleep! So….this was how I came, I saw and I experienced the USA…the memory is still as sweet as honey to me!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Toastmasters Project 2 - Organize Your Speech

The Rule of Three Outline: What is the Rule of Three? How to apply the Rule to your speech outline? How to add humor with the rule Tobacco. [long pause]Alcohol. [long pause]Guns. [long pause]Criminal items seized in a search [slight pause] of a 6th grade locker in a bad school district. In case you think I’m going to talk about crime, you’re mistaken. I just used 3 words to show how the Rule of Three can be used in a speech. What is the rule of Three? The Rule of Three is a powerful speechwriting technique that we should learn, practice and master. It suggests that things which come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. Using the rule enables us to express concepts better, emphasize the points, and make our message memorable. A series of three is often used to create a progression in which the tension is created, then built up, and finally released That’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! – this is an example of the rule of three. General examples: · from books - The Good, The Bad and the ugly · from French motto - Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité · Government – of the people, by the people, for the people Why rule of three – why not two or four? There is something magical about the rule of three – it allows the speaker to express a concept, emphasize it and make it memorable. As Roy Peter Clark says –
The mojo of three offers a greater sense of completeness than four or more.
Use one for power. Use two for comparison, contrast. Use three for completeness, wholeness, roundness. Some examples where people have used the rule in their speeches: · “Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered” – Obama’s inaugural speech · “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.” [Advice for speakers from Franklin D. Roosevelt] · “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” - Mark Antony’s speech in Julius Caesar How to apply the rule of three in your speech outline? We just saw how the rule can be applied at a micro level, to form triads of words or sentences. Now let’s see how we can apply it to craft an entire speech outline. Last week, my daughter and I visited our local library to get some children’s books – lo! We found the rule of 3 in those stories: § Three Little Pigs — the first two pigs get eaten because their houses are weak; the third pig’s house of bricks is strong. § Goldilocks and the Three Bears — the porridge was too hot; the porridge was too cold; the porridge was just right. § The
wicked stepmother visits Snow White in the forest three times before she finally causes her to fall dead Stephen J. Cannell claims that “Every great movie, book or play that has stood the test of time has a solid Three-Act structure.” – the introduction/setup, the confrontation, and the climax/resolution. So how can we apply the rule to a speech outline? 1. Introduction, Body, and Conclusionnow you might say – this is, of course, obvious! Sure, it is the most common outline people use. However people often omit the introduction – jumping into the content - making the audience wonder “How did we get here”? Sometimes, the speaker runs out of time, and omits the conclusion 2. Past, Present, Future 3. Complication, Resolution, Example 4. Three stories 5. Pros, Cons, Recommendation How to add humor with the rule of Three How to add humor? Add a twist to the third element. E.g. “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics” - Benjamin Disraeli>> the “statistics” is the twist A funny line is sometimes said to be like a train wreck. You know where the train (your train of thought) has been, you think you know where it's going, but then you're surprised when it goes off track. The surprise or twist helps build the tension to create and magnify the humor. How do you get to my place? Go down to the corner, turn left, and get lost Many popular jokes are based on three characters – e.g. the Englishman, the Irishman, and the Scot – all in the same situation. The first two react normally; the third does something which is not pragmatic. I heard this once on an answering machine – “Sorry I can’t personally answer the phone. I’m either motivating thousands of people, appearing on the Oprah show, or…taking a nap” Some patterns you could use to create humor are: · Expected Trait/Expected Trait/Unexpected Trait (She was pretty, she was shapely, she was a man). · Ordinary/ordinary/ridiculous – I go to Las Vegas to see the shows, eat at the buffets, and spend my money · Rhyme/rhyme/rhyme – Three things that describe ‘xyz’ – Nifty, thrifty, Fifty Here’s one more example: Ellen always takes 3 hours and 3 seconds to get ready: one hour to put on her make up, two hours to choose an outfit and 3 seconds to make up an excuse for being late. Humor results from the mismatch between expectation and reality. When you follow the rule of three, set a pattern with the first two elements. This also sets the expectation for the third element, and heightens the tension. However, break that expectation when you actually reveal the third element. Remember, the last element is the key which will determine whether you are humorous, memorable, or forgettable. As John Richardson said, “When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.

Plugged into Toastmasters

Its been almost a year since I started attending Toastmasters...should've posted about it loooong back....but....better late than never! Tis been a great learning experience so far - have delivered 5 prepared speeches, and been through various roles - Toastmaster, TT Master, Ah counter, Word master, TT evaluator, etc. TT Master is my favourite role! I'd recommend folks to join Toastmasters - it not only enriches your communication skills; but you also learn a lot by listening to other speakers. And of course, you get to play a variety of other roles! My next posts will contain the text of my prepared speeches.