Speak Like Obama – Yes You Can!

Since the world went Barack Obama crazy, it was just a matter of time before someone would come up with the idea to analyse his speeches, thus allowing any orator to apply the “Obama touch”.

Communications consultant Jon Kraushar has done that in his blog on the Fox News website. His article, which I have watered down, says Obama’s inaugural address on the 20^th of January was marked by the magical powers of conviction, determination, faith and belief in rejuvenation. By breaking down Obama’s speech, you can borrow and apply his tricks the next time you give a speech, Kraushar says.

Every speech indeed tells a story and needs a title to show its principle point. Obama’s address focused on a new era of responsibility, accountability, and possibility. His speech was also distinguished by the emotion behind his words.

President Obama used many rhetorical devices to make his messages memorable. Three techniques stand out: contrast, repetition, and imagery. In a contrast about possibility, he said: “We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.”

When speakers give speeches, audiences remember a few general ideas and themes, but mainly go on feelings: “I liked him”, “I agreed with her” (or didn’t). This tells us that to capture the hearts and minds of your audience, your words, face, eyes, body, voice, and attitude must fit together emotionally and connect with them.

If you want to borrow Obama’s techniques, start with words. Decide on a theme. Organise your thoughts into an outline or bullet points. Then write a few sound bites, using contrast, repetition, and word pictures. In short: show, tell, and sell.

A lot of the impact a speaker makes is based on what we read in his face, eyes, and body language. President Obama’s non-verbal signs telegraphed his seriousness, determination, and fundamental optimism. We saw this in his furrowed brow, his dignified demeanour and the way he emphasized his points with his hand gestures. It’s more interesting to watch and listen to a lively speaker whose gestures bring out stronger sounds out of them.

You can see the effect of body language by rehearsing in front of a mirror. Also have someone watch you rehearse to benefit from a second opinion.

The final impact derives from the voice: tone, pitch, volume, resonance, pauses and rate of speaking. Vocal techniques to evoke specific emotions include pauses for drama, emphasising certain words, a tone shift from sombre to optimistic, and a change in pace from slow and deliberate to slightly faster.

In order to be effective communicators, presidents need to convey the right combination of authority and warmth so people identify with them even while considering them to be on a higher plane. President Barack Obama isn’t a wizard; he’s a craftsman who works hard at being a good communicator. He applies the law of focus which says that whatever you focus on increases.

Go ahead and customize what you like from Obama’s techniques to fit your personality and style and you will perform “magic” when you speak in public.

The Law of Saving

Saving has always been a challenge for me, but of late I just made a commitment to myself that no matter what I’m going to save at least 10% of my earnings. And I must say that it’s going pretty well as I’m getting into the habit of saving now which is good. I’ve also been reading a lot of books and articles on the subject of money and managing your personal finances. I thought that it’s about time I shared some of my insights with my readers concerning the law of saving.

In common usage, saving generally means putting money aside, for example, by putting money in the bank or investing in a pension plan. In a broader sense, saving is typically used to refer to economizing, cutting costs, or to rescuing someone or something. In terms of personal finance, saving refers to preserving money for future use – typically by putting it on deposit – this is distinct from investment where there is an element of risk.

Financial freedom comes to the person who saves at least ten percent or more of his income throughout his lifetime. One of the smartest things that you can ever do for yourself is to develop the habit of saving part of your salary, every single month. Individuals, families and even societies are stable and prosperous to the degree to which they have high savings rates. Savings today are what guarantee the security and the possibilities of tomorrow.

The first consequence of the Law of Saving comes from the book The Richest Man in Babylon by George Classon. It is to “Pay yourself first.”

Begin today to save ten percent of your earnings, and never touch it. This is your fund for long-term financial accumulation and you never use it for any other reason except to assure your financial future.

The remarkable thing is that when you pay yourself first, and force yourself to live on the other ninety percent, you will soon become used to it. You’re a creature of habit. When you regularly put away ten percent of your earnings, you soon become comfortable living on the other ninety percent. Many people start by saving ten percent of their income and then graduate to saving fifteen percent, twenty percent, and even more. And their financial lives change dramatically as a result. So will yours.

The second outcome of the Law of Saving says, “Take advantage of tax deferred savings and investment plans.” Because of high and even multiple tax rates, money that is saved or invested without being taxed accumulates at a rate of 30% to 40% faster than money that is subject to taxation. Self-made millionaires, according to Dr Thomas Stanley’s book The Millionaire Next Door, are almost obsessive about accumulating their funds in assets such as real estate, self owned businesses and equities that increase in value without triggering tax liabilities.

Invest in company pension and retirement plans , stock option programs and whatever else has been approved by your government for long term financial accumulation. Make every dollar count!
Here’s two practicle things you can do to apply this law immediately:

First, begin today to put away ten percent of your earnings. Set up a special account for this purpose and treat your contributions to this account with the same respect that you do your rent or mortgage payments each month.

Second, become a lifelong student of money. Read the best books, take courses and subscribe to the most helpful magazines. Know what you are doing so you can always make intelligent decisions when you invest your funds.

Your 3 Kinds of Energy

Did you know that most successful people are known to have very high levels of energy. Since energy is the fuel with which everything is achieved, there seems to be a direct relationship between energy levels and levels of accomplishment. It is hard to imagine a tired, burned-out person achieving much in life. On the other hand, energetic, positive, forward-moving individuals seem to get and enjoy far more of the things life has to offer than does the average person.

We have been led to believe that there is basically one kind of energy, and we supposedly replenish this energy by sleeping at night, and during the day, we use it up again. It’s like we’re machines powered by batteries, and each night we recharge our batteries for seven or eight hours. However, there are some problems with this view of energy. The biggest problem is that it doesn’t deal with the fact that there are actually three different kinds of energy, each of which is necessary for maximum performance.

The three main forms are physical energy, emotional energy, and mental energy. Each of these energies is different, but they are interrelated, and they depend on each other.

Physical energy is raw energy, coarse energy, bulk energy, what we call “meat-and-potatoes” energy. Your physical energy is what you use to do physical labour. It is the primary energy applied by men and women who earn their livings by the sweat of their brow.
The second form of energy is emotional energy. This is the energy of enthusiasm and excitement. This is the energy that lends sparkle to the life of an individual. This is the energy that is necessary for feeling love, happiness, and joy. Largely, it is your emotional energy that makes life enjoyable for you. In fact, almost everything you say and do is determined in some way by an emotion, either positive or negative.

Mental energy is the energy of creativity, of problem solving and decision making. You use mental energy to make sales, write reports and proposals, plan your day and your week, and learn new subjects. Your level of mental energy is a major determinant of the quality of your life.

The reason why most people fail to realize their potential in life and work is because they burn up their energy at the emotional level, or the physical level; therefore, they have very little energy left over for mental activities. Most people burn up their emotional energy through the expression of negative emotions. Negative emotions are like a fire that burns up their energy so quickly that they have very little left with which to think positively and constructively. In fact, one five-minute uncontrolled outburst of anger can burn up as much energy as an average person would use in eight hours of work.

Your job is to think continually about how you can stay calm and positive, and work smoothly and efficient, so you can have more mental energy to do the things that are most important to you in life.

Here’s three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, take time to identify the different ways that you either use up or deplete your levels of physical, emotional and mental energy. How could you improve in each area?

Second, be sure to get plenty of healthful, nutritious food so you can keep your physical energy at high levels. Also, get sufficient sleep. This is the key to all other energies.

Third, look for ways to conserve your emotional energies by being more relaxed and optimistic in the face of daily problems and disappointments.

The more energy you have, the happier and more productive you will be.