November 18, 2008

Virgin empire founder Richard Branson suffers from it. So does Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers. As does Paul Orfalea, founder of the Kinko’s chain. Charles Schwab, too. And what that is, is dyslexia.

If you wonder how some entrepreneurs who struggle at reading and writing not only succeed, but thrive, it’s often the result of developing superior public speaking skills (as well as social and problem solving skills). This is one aspect outlined in a fascinating New Yorker article by Tipping Point author Malcom Gladwell published last week titled: The Uses of Adversity: Can underprivileged outsiders have an advantage?

Gladwell suggests it’s fair to compare people who rise to the top in their field while battling disabilities, like dyslexia, to those who seem often to amaze us for success after being reared in poverty, or lacking the social connections affluent families can provide.

Gladwell points to a study that found 35 percent of small business owners suffered from dyslexia, surveyed by business school professor Julie Logan.

“That’s a remarkable statistic,” Gladwell writes. “Dyslexia affects the very skills that lie at the center of an individual’s ability to manage the modern world. Yet Schwab and Orfalea… and Branson seem to have made up for their disabilities in the same way that the poor, in [Dale] Carnegie’s view, can make up for their poverty.”

Another fascinating stat Gladwell points to came out of a study conducted in Britain. It found that 80 percent of dyslexic entrepreneurs had held the position of captain of a high school sport, versus 27 percent of non-dyslexic entrepreneurs.

“They compensated for their academic shortcomings, by developing superior social skills, and when they reached the workplace, those compensatory skills gave them an enormous head start,” Gladwell writes.

Gladwell’s New Yorker article comes on the heels of his new book, Outliers: The Story of Success, which hits bookstores today.

More about Malcom Gladwell and his books:

The Malcom Gladwell Effect, from the New York Times, Feb. 5. 2006

Secrets of Their Success: Fortune Magazine’s Q & A with Malcom Gladwell, Nov. 18, 2008

Gladwell TV Interview on The Colbert Report, Nov., 17, 2008

November 16, 2008

I recently stumbled upon a Michael Jordan Nike ad that tells a story with a powerful punch line using similar techniques speechwriters use to inspire an audience. Watch the video below (or here). Below the video, I break down the technique.

About the message: Of course, the story here is that persistence and perseverance eventually pays off if you never quit. If you quit after a disastrous first public speaking engagement, you will never succeed.

About the technique: After stating three examples of failures (9,000 missed shots, 300 lost games & missing 26 game-winning shots), the message is accentuated by the pause just before Jordan says: “And that’s why I succeed.”

If a speech with that type of punch line is delivered correctly, the most powerful part of the speech is not actually any part during the speech, but rather the moment after: when the audience is silently sitting there contemplating what they had just heard.

Speechwriters can learn a lot from the ad industry.

November 3, 2008

We’ve all done it. Been reviewing a handout during a presentation, and missed a punch line that led to a roaring laughter. “What did he say?” you had to ask someone next you.

Your goal as the presenter should be to engage each and every member of your audience, not just a certain percentage, but all of them. And it’s nearly impossible to do that with audience members who are multi-tasking.

Just because you may see some presenters distribute handouts at the start, doesn’t mean it’s a Best Practice. Some may think they are doing their audiences a favor, so the audience doesn’t have to take as many notes.

But here’s a better solution: Tip them off early in the talk by saying: “Not to worry, there will be handouts distributed after the presentation. Therefore, you don’t have to take any notes. So just relax and listen. The handout will include my email, in case you have further questions that aren’t addressed in the handout.”

As this NBC News segment reports regarding the “myth of multi-tasking,” the human brain can only do so much.