Brush up your oratorical skills with techniques United States President Barack Obama uses to captivate audiences

BEFORE first- time US Senator Barack Obama delivered his mesmerizing key note address at the Democratic Convention in July 2004, the 42-years-old Harvard law graduate was virtually unknown.
Four years later, despite his lack of executive experience and his African- American heritage, he was elected the Unites State of America’s 44th president.
Apart from his formidable intellect, the cornerstone of his success was undoubtedly his oratorical skills, a gift he shares with other charismatic speakers like Winston Churchill and John F Kennedy.
Why makes Obama so charismatic? Why Americans vote him? Here is the summary of the key elements of his public speaking techniques, which you can emulate to enrich your presentations:

1 Give people hope
When your audience is facing adversity – financial turmoil, retrenchment, home foreclosures –lift their hopes. Acknowledge the situation and remind them of reasons to be optimistic.
In his inaugural address, President Obama inspired Americans to choose “hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord”. Acknowledging the huge challenges facing them, such as the war in Iraq and the worst recession since the Great Depression, he told Americans: “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and being again the work of remaking America”.

2 Project yourself as winner
Even though you are facing difficulties, act with confidence that you will overcome the bad times. Project yourself as positive and healthy.
After his defeat the New Hampshire primaries, Mr. Obama delivered a speech full of optimism that would rally his supporters. He said: “We know the battle ahead will be long. But always remember, no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change ….. there has never been anything false about hope”.

3 Use rich imagery
Help your audience to create mental pictures through your words. Employ all the five senses – visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste). Civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King was a master of this technique.
In 2004, Mr Obama painted a picture of what he meant by the audacity of hope: “ It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs, the hope of immigrants setting out for distance shores, the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta, the hope a mill worker’s son who dares to defy the odds, the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him too”.

4 Use figurative language
A metaphor is an imaginative way of assigning new meaning to things. During the Cold War, to highlight the spread of communism, Winston Churchill described Russia as the Iron Curtain. When China fell to Mao Tsetung’s Communists, it became the bamboo curtain.
President Obama suggested that the US would be prepared to extend a hand of peace to one of its opponents is it “unclenched its fist”.

5 Employ contrast
When Neil Armstrong first landed on the moon July 1, 1969, he declared: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. The juxta- position of these contrasting images emphasized the lunar mission’s great technological achievement.
At his last rally at Manassas in Virginia on November 3, 2008, the night before the election, Mr Obama stressed to voters that a better future was in their hands. He said: “Tomorrow you can choose policies that invest in our middle class, create new jobs and grow this economy so that everybody has a chance to succeed. Not just the CEO but the secretary and the janitor; not just the factory owner but the men and women who work the factory floor”.
His message of change resonated with Americans and won him the White House.

source: i forgot sorry

Bob has a way of dealing with people. If a peer asks for his help, he gives only a little. If he makes a mistake, he shifts the blame. When he is told something in confidence, he often breaks that confidence. In short, Bob lacks integrity.

To become a strong and effective leader, you must gain the trust and confidence of your peers and superiors by demonstrating your integrity. Integrity is demonstrated by what you say, do, and believe.

Integrity in What You Say
The first way to demonstrate integrity is through words. Keep your promises. Whether that means maintaining a confidence or completing a project by a promised date, doing what you have said you will do is essential to your credibility.

Integrity in What You Do
The second way to demonstrate integrity is through actions. To become an effective leader, you must act consistently. Treat everyone in a fair and equitable manner, and avoid sudden displays of emotion. Moody managers and those who appear to play favorites will fail when it comes to building trust and inspiring confidence.

Other effective actions are to show support for the behaviors you want to encourage and avoid undo criticism. When you have to criticize, do it constructively. Try to turn mistakes into learning opportunities. When you disagree with something, say so, but do it in a way that shows your willingness to consider other options and ideas.

Integrity in What You Believe
The third way to demonstrate integrity is through beliefs. What you believe is reflected in what you say and what you do. When your words and actions fail to coincide with what you profess to believe, you lose credibility. As a leader, you must guard against compromising the beliefs you profess to hold. This may be difficult when you are faced with a challenge. But remember, revenge, pride and the desire to retain power are poor substitutes for integrity.

To build trust and confidence in your leadership abilities, you must demonstrate your integrity. Not in a hurried, forced, unnatural way but over time as the opportunities arise. You can demonstrate your integrity effectively by what you say, what you do, and what you believe.

Instructions: Use this Skill Guide as a reference to help you prepare a personal accountability self-assessment.

Description of Accountability or Contribution:
Assessment Step	Definition	Your Self-assessment
Claiming Credit for Successes	A statement of success describes goals that were achieved or where you made significant progress. Restate what you set out to accomplish in just a few words. Then, describe what you've accomplished.
Accepting Responsibility for Shortcomings	A statement to accept shortcomings admits to goals that were not achieved or where no significant progress was made. Describe goals that you failed to achieve or where no significant progress was made. Report the causes, but don't blame others or point fingers. Talk about the lessons you learned from your problems or failures.
Outlining the Future	A statement to outline the future describes what you will do next to expand on your accountability. Describe any proposed changes in goals, timelines, or activities. Tell your listener how these changes will affect the organization. Finally, ask for the help or collaboration you need to correct shortcomings and achieve your goals.

Personal Accountability: Working for Your Inner Boss

Instructions: Use this SkillGuide as a reference to help you construct a complete plan for proposing a contribution or accountability.

Plan Element	Definition	Your Plan
Contribution	A contribution may be something tangible such as a report, a piece of equipment, a product, or a financial gain. It may also be something intangible such as information, shared knowledge, or training for other organization members.
Metrics	A metric is a measurable standard for determining whether you succeeded or failed in implementing your proposed contribution.
Limits	Limits are boundaries that define what's included in or excluded from your contribution. Limits may describe the last step in the contribution you'll make or identify specific exclusions from your proposed contribution. If your contribution affects only some coworkers or customers, or is otherwise limited, be sure to spell out what's not included.

People who practice personal accountability usually stand out in any organization. They display certain distinguishing characteristics that define how they relate to others in the organization around them. They define their relationship with the organization as a contribution toward the organization's goals. They acknowledge the impact that the quality of their work has on others. They answer for the success or failure of their own work.

Employees who practice personal accountability define their relationship with the rest of their organization in terms of a contribution toward the organization's goals. They display this characteristic in the way they describe the inputs to and the outputs from the work they perform. Input received from others is described as actions or needs that are part of a process. Input is not described as static documents or objects. The output from their own work is described as an input to the work of another member of the organization, or as a final product or service for a customer or client.

Another characteristic that distinguishes employees who practice personal accountability is their acknowledgment of the impact that the quality of their work has on others. They may describe how their work benefits someone else—a coworker or a customer—when the work is performed correctly. They may also describe how a coworker or customer is negatively affected when the work isn't done properly. Employees who practice personal accountability are willing to answer for their own successes or failures. They accept praise when they succeed and criticism when they fail. They don't try to shift blame for poor results or make excuses.

In the workplace, you may answer to feedback from supervisors, coworkers, subordinates, or customers. Personal accountability means being willing to answer responsibly to anyone who offers feedback on your work results. You need confidence and courage to answer for the success or failure of your own work. Many people are reluctant to seem boastful about their successes. They may be even more reluctant to shoulder the blame for a failure alone.

The characteristics of personal accountability are the behaviors that connect the members of an organization. Employees who care about and enjoy their jobs stand out from the rest. They exhibit the characteristics of personal accountability. Do you?

Have you ever tried to make a decision without having the facts that are relevant to the issue? Could you even make a decision without knowledge of the issue itself and all its components, including those that go beyond the facts?

Learning is something you do every day. The better you understand the learning process, the better you will be able to use this understanding in the redesign of your organization.


There are five levels of learning: facts, information, know-how, comprehension and wisdom.

1. Facts - The first level of learning deals with facts—details or data which result from direct observation and research. Facts make up the most basic level of learning. Taken on their own at this level, facts have no direct application. But without facts, you cannot move on to the other levels of learning.
2. Information - The second level of learning deals with information—observational data in a usable form. The descriptions that information consists of tell who, what, when, where, and how many. With information, you can begin to make use of facts.
3. Know-how - Know-how is the focus of the third level of learning. Know-how consists of a collection of descriptions in the form of instructions. Know-how is about having the instructions you need to make use of the information you have. With know-how, you derive knowledge from experience.
4. Comprehension - The fourth level of learning deals with comprehension. Comprehension answers the question "Why?" At the comprehension level, learning is composed of explanations. When you understand why, you are better able to use the knowledge and know-how you already have.
5. Wisdom - Wisdom is the focus of the fifth and final level of learning. Wisdom is the ability to evaluate, and it incorporates values. It is essential for development. Using know-how and comprehension without wisdom can result in actions that don't work for the overall mission of the organization.

The five levels of learning build on one another. In an organizational setting, you will often need to use all five levels to make a decision, work on a redesign, or build relationships with co-workers.

Mike is the CEO of a transnational airline corporation. He has been studying the levels of learning that are currently affecting his organization.

"The facts are what happen in the company on a day-to-day basis. The facts include all planes taking off, customers arriving at their destinations, and packages being shipped. There is no way to catalog them without turning them into information."

"The information we work with includes how many planes take off every day, how many passengers arrive at their destinations, what these destinations are, how many packages we ship, and where we ship the packages."

"The know-how involved here describes how all this moving of people and baggage gets done. This level of learning deals with processes and the instructions they consist of. Without know-how, our pilots, baggage handlers, and attendants would be lost."

"Comprehension is just as vital for our people to be able to do their jobs. Pilots need to understand not only the mechanics of flying but also why it works. As CEO, I want to understand how the pieces fit together most effectively."

"Wisdom is the hardest level to explain, but it's also the most important. The company's values are rooted in wisdom. We need wisdom to make decisions about our mission as a company. Our employees depend on our commitment to our values."

Like Mike, you have to know the levels of learning and how they build on one another to make full use of them in redesigning your organization. These levels turn day-to-day experiences into something that your company can organize and use in planning and decision making.

One of the best resources for self-directed learning is other people. However, this process is underutilized in many companies because people are hesitant to admit they don't know something or that they've made a mistake.

There are five basic work relationships you should create in your workplace. Each of them has a different purpose and distinct advantages. The relationships are based on using:

1. Formal or Informal Mentoring
2. Online Mentoring
3. Team Mentoring
4. Coaches
5. People as Resources.

Formal or Informal Mentoring
Traditional mentoring can be divided into informal and formal categories. Both of these are good sources of advice and direction, particularly in soft-skill development, career development, and in creating leadership ability.

In the more informal mentoring, the mentor and mentee choose each other and may or may not even work for the same company. In formal mentoring, a company mentorship program is established, and mentors and mentees are assigned to each other.

Online Mentoring
Online mentoring can take the form of an informal chat room, where people share a common interest in a subject. It can occur in a chat room led by an expert where questions are answered synchronously—in real time. Learners can even use e-mail to ask questions of an expert who usually answers them within 24 hours.

Some real-time mentoring even includes videoconferencing capabilities. Below are some advantages of online mentoring:

* Because online mentoring is anonymous, learners can discuss problems in their company confidentially and without fear of reprisal.
* Chatting with others, possibly from around the world, brings depth of understanding and viewpoints not previously considered.
* Learners can use chat rooms and e-mail at off hours when their work schedules are not making as many demands on them.
* By talking with experts and others interested in a subject, learners stay up-to-date in their fields and recognize the knowledge and skill gaps they need to fill.

Team Mentoring
With the growing popularity of self-directed teams, team members are also learning to mentor each other.

Team mentoring is about knowledge sharing, a crucial concept for those trying to maintain a competitive edge. It can involve learning skills that will benefit the group and then sharing these skills with the whole team.

Coaches
Coaching is not a new idea for corporations, but traditionally it has been a supervisor who coaches his or her direct reports. Now, coaching has taken on a different dimension because the knowledge workers of the new corporation often know more than their supervisors.

Coaches should be selected for their expertise and their communication and feedback skills. Coaching provides supervised practice: It's not practice that makes perfect; it's perfect practice that makes perfect.

People as Resources
When you have a specific question about something, isn't there someone you always ask, someone who has a strong skill set in that area?

Everyone has a source person who tirelessly answers questions that perhaps should not even be asked. This is a relationship that can easily be abused.

Some people seem to encourage questions from their colleagues, but every question is an interruption in their work. Be sure to maximize your opportunities to use people as resources for self-directed learning.

When companies are demanding faster response time from all employees, mentoring, coaching, or just asking a colleague for help may be some of the most efficient ways to bridge your skill or knowledge gap.

When it's time to take action, you have only three choices: Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Of course, "getting out of the way" is rarely an acceptable choice when there's work to be done. So the proper course of action is to either lead or follow. If you know the right way to go about it, the choice is yours. Your goal, however, should be to tailor your decisions to the company culture and supervisory style in which you work.

A company's culture determines who holds the authority to make decisions. If you decide to take the lead in taking action, you have to be sure the organization gives you the authority to act. Good etiquette requires you to observe your company's culture before you assume you have the authority to lead. Consider the following points.

* One company culture is a strict hierarchy. If workers want to take initiative, they need to work through the chain of command. The first step is to document the actions they want to take. Then they wait until they receive approval to proceed.
* A participatory culture seeks input from many levels in the organization before managers make the final call. Workers who want to take the lead can gather information and prepare solutions without seeking approval, but they should report back to their bosses.
* A company using distributed decision-making expects people to take initiative, so assertive action is welcome. People should start by talking to other workers who may be affected by their actions. They need to build consensus, then implement their decisions.


There may be times when you'd rather take a back seat and let others lead. Perhaps you're still learning a new job responsibility or just don't want to take on a new task. The solution is to provide information so others can lead.

When you make the decision to lead, you first must think about your boss's supervisory style. Some supervisors may be offended by subordinates who are too assertive. However, in most situations, supervisors appreciate workers who show initiative. If you take actions compatible with your boss's supervisory style, you'll avoid giving the impression you're trying to do your boss's job. Keep the following points in mind when dealing with the three types of supervisors: quarterbacks, coaches, or cheerleaders.

* Bosses who are quarterbacks want to be involved in everything. If you want this type of boss to take charge, just ask his advice. Before you know it, he'll make the plan, assign the tasks, and do a big chunk of the work himself.
* Bosses who are coaches like to talk strategy, but then they'll expect you to take over from there. If you want to be a follower, you'll sometimes have to ask the coach to lead. Coaches will lead as a way to help you learn, but don't expect them to change roles frequently.
* If your supervisor is a cheerleader and you want to be a follower, you have a problem. Cheerleaders stay on the sidelines while you do the work. You'll have to convince a cheerleader that you can't handle the task before he'll take charge.

As you can see, there are no simple rules of etiquette to follow when you're deciding whether to be a leader or a follower. But by tailoring your decisions to the company culture and supervisory style in which you work, you can ensure you're successful when you decide it's time for you to take the lead. What's more, you'll be able to choose the right course of action in everyday business situations.