TALLER DE DEBATE

1. TALLER DE DEBATE

2. Whatmakes a speaker GREAT?

3. Debating Guidelines Debatingisaboutdevelopingyourcommunicationskills. Itisaboutassembling and organisingeffectivearguments, persuading and entertaininganaudience, and usingyourvoice and gesturestoconvinceanadjudicatorthatyourargumentsoutweighyouroppositions. Debatingisnotabout personal abuse, irrationalattacksorpurelyemotional appeals.

4. El debate • Tanto la argumentación como el debate son actividades reflexivas para llegar a la búsqueda cooperativa de la verdad.(Rangel Hinojosa) • El debate es una forma de interacción verbal sometida a una regulación especial. • El objetivo es llegar a un acuerdo racionalmente motivado. • Nunca hay que proceder sin dejar asentada la mecánica del debate (rol del moderador y del jurado). • La mejor manera de ganar un debate es lograr un acuerdo en el cual no hay ganadores ni perdedores.

5. El debate • Para Aristóteles, el debate posee cuatro valores: – el triunfo de la justicia, – la instrucción del público, – la visión de ambos lados de un caso y – la posibilidad de una defensa.

6. El debate Si se consideran las relaciones entre los adversarios en el debate, se distinguen dos tipos de estrategia: a) la erística o polémica, en la que interesa solamente la lucha, abatir al adversario, y b) la dialéctica, de carácter contractual o conciliatorio, que comporta una actitud de apertura positiva y de búsqueda de la verdad en el diálogo. - En la polémica no existe voluntad de concertación: se suceden los argumentos de cada parte como en un diálogo de sordos y se trata solamente de ganar la voluntad del público o de quien debe rendir su decisión. - La dialéctica es una controversia constructiva, que presupone la voluntad de llegar a algún tipo de concertación con el oponente; sin embargo, no excluye la posibilidad de desacuerdo.

7. El debate El debate se clasifica en: debate aplicado (especial -con reglas de juego fijadas por los participantes-, judicial, parlamentario, no formal -televisión, medios en general-), y debate académico (conducido por una institución educativa).

8. TheTopic If a debate is a form of argument then it logically follows that there must be something to argue about. This is called the TOPIC. The topic changes from debate to debate. They are often about current issues of public importance ("That Canberra should have self government") or about general philosophies or ideas ("That beauty is better than brains"). All topics begin with the word "That". As in other arguments there are two sides to any topic. The team that agrees with the topic is called the AFFIRMATIVE (or the `government' in parliamentary debating) and the team that disagrees with the topic is called the NEGATIVE (or the `opposition' in parliamentary debating). When organising a debate it is important to select a topic that is appropriate to the age and education of the debaters concerned. Often topics will cover areas that the debaters have a specific interest in or, in the case of schools debates, that have been covered in classes or are current news items.

9. Team Line Because debating is a team event it is important that the three speakers work together as a team. The TEAM LINE is the basic statement of "why the topic is true" (for the affirmative) and "why the topic is false" (for the negative). It should be a short sentence, presented by the first speaker of each team and used by the other two speakers to enforce the idea of teamwork.

10. TheDefinition Clarifiesthetopic. Thedefinitionshouldtakethetopic as a whole, defining individual wordsonlyiftheyhave a key role. Out of thedefinitionshould come a clearunderstanding of theissuesthatwillbefoughtover in the debate. Itformsthebasis of theteam'sargument. Define wordsorphrasesbytheircommonusage. Dictionariesmaybeusefulforfinding a commonmeaningor a pithyexplanation of a word, butthey are notanabsoluteauthority. If a dictionaryisnecessarytheConcise Oxford isoftenrecommended, butsquabblesoverwhosedictionary has thehigher status have no place in gooddebating. A definitionmustbereasonable: Itmustbedebatable (i.e.havetwosidestoit). Itmustnotbe a bizarredistortion of themoot. (Thisisnottosaythatanaffirmativemaynotchooseanunusualinterpretation of themoot, buttheymustbepreparedtojustifyit). Ifthedefinitiondoesnotconformtoeither of thesetworequirements, thenegative has therighttochallengeit. Be verycarefulaboutchallengingthedefinition-only do so ifyou are absolutelycertainthattheaffirmative'sdefinitionisunfair. Itisbettertobebrave and dumpyourprepared case in favour of tacklingtheaffirmativeontheirowntermsthantoissueanunjustifieddefinitionalchallenge. Bythesametoken, affirmativeteamsshould try toensurethattheirdefinitionisfair. Thenegativeteammustacceptorrejectthedefinition. If a negativeteamacceptsthedefinition, theyonlyneedtosay so-itisnotnecessarytorestateit. Iftheychallengeit, theirjustificationfordoing so mustbeclearlystated, and analternativeput forward. Ifthedefinitionisacceptedthatdefinitionmust stand. Thenegativemustadjusttheir case tothatdefinition, and theadjudicator'sviewsonitsreasonablenessbecomeirrelevant.

11. Thedefinition • If a debate is going to take place then it must be agreed in advance what the debate is going to be about. Thus it must be agreed what the topic means. This may seem obvious in a topic like "That Canberra should have self government" but with something like "That a cabbage is better than a rose" is might not be so clear. Deciding and explaining what a topic means is called `defining the topic'. The job of defining begins with the AFFIRMATIVE. The first speaker of the affirmative must explain in clear terms what they believe the topic means. In deciding this the affirmative team should always try to use the "person on the street" test. That is if this topic were presented to the average person on the street - is this what they would take it to mean. Where the topic is too obscure to allow this test then apply the `reasonability' test. The affirmative team should ask themselves "Is this definition reasonable ? Is it something the average person might expect ? Does it allow for both sides of the debate ?". If you can answer yes to these questions then the definition is probably reasonable, if not search for something more reasonable. Try to avoid the dictionary, except in cases where you don't understand a word. In your definition explain the meaning of the whole topic rather than each separate word. • The negative team may agree with or choose to challenge the definition presented. The negative team should be very careful about challenging as it is difficult to continue the debate with two definitions. Challenges may be made if the definition given is unreasonable or if it defines the opposition out of the debate. If the negative team chooses to challenge the definition it should be done by the first speaker who should clearly outline why the negative is challenging and then propose a better definition.

12. Argument • Argumentisnotassertion • Argumentistheprocess of explainingwhy a point of viewshouldbeaccepted. Itconcernsthelogic and theevidencesupporting a particular conclusion. • Use evidence (i.e.examples, facts, statistics, quotations of expert/publicopinion etc.) to back up eachpointyoumake in yourargument. Show howeachpiece of evidenceisrelevant and howitadvancesyourargument. Make a point, givethereasonforthatpoint, and supplyevidenceto back it up. Whatadjudicators look for in a goodargument: • Relevance • Organisation • Consistency and internallogic-i.e. don'tcontradictyourselforyourteam mates • Clarity (remember, debatingisaboutpersuadingyouraudience and adjudicatorthatyou'reright-so makesurethey can understandwhatyou'resaying!) • Effective use of evidence

13. Rebuttal • Rebuttalis vital. Anargument, howeverweak, stands untilitisrebutted, and maystill stand ifitisbadlyrebutted. Adjudicatorscannotregardanargument as knockeddownuntiltheopposition has rebuttediteffectively. If a teammakesan error in factorlogic, theadjudicatorcannotpenalisethemunlesstheotherteampointsoutthe error, orifthe error is so blatant a reasonablemember of theaudiencewoulddiscredittheargument. • As withargument, assertiondoesnotequalrebuttal. Just as teamsmust show how and whytheirownarguments are valid, so theymust show how and whytheopposition'sarguments are invalid. • Anargumentmaybewrong in factorlogic-if so, sayhow and why • Anargumentmaycontradicttheirteam line, orsomethingelse a speaker onthatteam has said • Anargumentmaybe true butirrelevant-watchoutfor red herrings. Organisation of rebuttal Itisnotnecessarytorebutevery single point and factraisedbytheopposition. Single outtheirmainarguments and attackthosefirst. Savagetheirteam case and show howitfallsdown-and show whyyoursisbetter! Youshouldrebutbybothdestroyingtheopposition'sarguments and byestablishing a case thatdirectlyopposestheirs.

14. Rebuttal In debating each team will present points in favour of their case. They will also spend some time criticising the arguments presented by the other team. This is called rebuttal. There are a few things to remember about rebuttal. • 1. Logic - to say that the other side is wrong is not enough. You have to show why the other side is wrong. This is best done by taking a main point of the other side's argument and showing that it does not make sense. Because a lot of the thinking for this needs to be done quickly this is one of the most challenging and enjoyable aspects of debating. • 2. Pick the important points - try to rebut the most important points of the other side's case. You will find that after a while these are easier and easier to spot. One obvious spot to find them is when the first speaker of the other team outlines briefly what the rest of the team will say. But do not rebut those points until after they have actually been presented by the other team. • 3. `Play the ball' - do not criticise the individual speakers, criticise what they say. To call someone fat, ugly or a nerd does not make what they say wrong and it will also lose you marks.

15. Whatmakes a speaker GREAT?

16. El poder del discurso ¡Del conocimiento viene la voluntad de resurgir! Han quedado dos millones en la lucha. También ellos tienen derechos, no solamente nosotros los sobrevivientes. Hay millones de huerfanos, lisiados y viudas entre nosotros. ¡También ellos tienen derechos! Para la nación de hoy ninguno ha muerto ni ha quedado lisiado, huérfano o viuda. ¡Tenemos la deuda con estos millones de construir una nueva patria! En la Biblia está escrito: "Lo que no es ni caliente ni frío lo quiero escupir de mi boca". Este frase del gran Nazareno ha conservado hasta el dia de hoy su honda validez. El que quiera deambular por el dorado camino del medio debe renunciar a la consecución de grandes y máximas metas.

17. Requirements of theSpeakers

18. Estructura de un debate de  30 minutos • Grupo 1: Primera afirmación de la tesis (introducción o exordio): 4 minutos • Grupo 2: Primera afirmación de la antítesis (introducción o exordio): 4 minutos  • Grupo 1: Interrogación cruzada de la antítesis: 3 minutos • Grupo 2: Interrogación cruzada de la tesis: 3 minutos  • Grupo 1: Refutación de la antítesis: 4 minutos • Grupo 2: Refutación de la tesis: 4 minutos  • Grupo 1: Segunda afirmación de la tesis (cierre o peroración): 4 minutos • Grupo 2: Segunda afirmación de la antítesis (cierre o peroración): 4 minutos 

19. Thesixspeakerseachhavedifferent roles toplay and adjudicatorsshouldtakeaccount of howwell a speaker fulfilshis/herobligations. • Teamworkisveryimportant. It can beseen in thedevelopment and support of theteam line byallspeakers in a team, and in a team case thatdoesnotcontaincontradictionsorredundancies.

20. Exordium • A talented speaker is fundamental • A strongfirstimpressionequals a solidpossition • Mustwintheaudience • Bodylanguage • Presentstheteam case with

21. FirstSpeakers Thefirstspeakersestablishthefundamentals of theirteam's cases. FirstAffirmative • Defines thetopic, presentsthebasicteam line and teamsplit. Sheor he should set outthebasis of theteam's case, and shouldensurethat no importantpoints of definition are leftout. He orshemayspendsome time onthedefinition and onestablishingtheteam case and showinghowitisgoingtodevelop. Butitisimportanttoleave time topresentsome substantive arguments. FirstNegative • Acceptsorrejectsthedefinition. (Seedefinitionsectionabove). • Outlinesher/histeam line and teamsplit, • Rebutslstaffirmative, delivers a part of thenegative's substantive case. • As a negativeitisimportanttobothattacktheopposition'sargument and put forward analternative. • Afterthefirstspeakershavespokenthedirection of each case shouldbeapparent.

22. Secondspeakers Secondspeakers - dealwiththebulk of the substantive argument. SecondAffirmative • Somerebuttal of thelstnegative'smajorarguments. • Shore up and developownteam's case, and bepreparedtodefendthedefinitionifnecessary. Ifitisattacked, itis vital forthesecondaffirmativetowin back theinitiative. Howevermost of the 2nd affirmative's time shouldbespentdealingwith new material and thebulk of theaffirmative's case, SecondNegative • Somerebuttal of thefirsttwoaffirmativespeakers. • Develops substantive negative line. • Dependingonthecircumstances, a secondnegative speaker shouldadjusttheamount of time spentoneach of theaboveaccordingtowhichseems more important. • Most of theteams' substantive argumentshouldhave emerged bythe time thesecondspeakershavespoken.

23. Thirdspeakers • The role of thethirdspeakersissimplythis: Attack!Most of a thirdspeaker's time mustbespentrebuttingtheprecedingspeakers. Generally at leastthreequarters of a thirdspeechshouldberebuttal. • Thethirdspeakersmustalso introduce anadditionalaspect of theteam case and show development of theteam line. However, theyshouldnot introduce major new arguments.

24. Peroratio • A Peroratiois a review of bothyourown and theopposition's case. Itrepresents a chance fortheteamsto show theirarguments in thebest light and tosummarisetheflaws in theopposition's case. • Theaimistoemphasisethemajorpointsmadebyyourownteam and to show howthesecontributedto a logicalprogression of argument in support of yourteam line. At thesame time theflaws in theopposition'sargumentmustbeoutlined. This can be done case by case, orbytaking a more global approachtothearguments. Both are effectiveifwell done, so findthesummarystylethatsuitsyoubest. • New material shouldnotbeintroduced, except in directrebuttal. Theargumentsused in thesummariesmustremainwithintheparametersestablishedduringthe debate. • A strongendisimportant: maketheaudiencethink! • A Talented speaker isrequired

25. Judging • Matter: Subject knowledge Relevance Logical Reasoning Quoted Authorities Definition Refutation • Manner: Personality Persuasiveness Language • Method: Speech Structure Introduction Peroration Technique Strategy • Teamwork:Compare teams as a whole Collective presentation of case Continuity of argument • Reply Summary and Refutation

26. Observaciones para el jurado • Uso de evidencias: • Hechos • Ejemplos • Analogías • Estadísticas • Inclusión de narración o descripción pertinentes • Uso de anécdotas • Citas de autoridad • Otros aspectos para observar: • Uso de enlaces o conectores • Uso del léxico • Corrección idiomática • Tecnicismos • Falacias • Aspectos no verbales: voz, gestos, posturas… • Muletillas • Cierre o  Peroración • Repetición de la tesis • Presentación de soluciones o propuestas al problema • Uso de citas de autoridad • Efecto de apelación al auditorio para actuar Introducción o exordio:     • Claridad de la tesis • Contextualización • Importancia e interés  • Desarrollo o cuerpo:   • Orden para presentar las ideas • Ideas secundarias empleadas • Secuencia en la presentación  de los argumentos • Coherencia en las definiciones • Uso de la concesión y de la adversación • Fundamentación de la refutación • Empleo de la contrarrefutación acertada

27. Debate Rules and Suggestions

28. Advice on Debating with Others • Avoid the use of Never. • Avoid the use of Always. • Refrain from saying you are wrong. • You can say your idea is mistaken. • Don't disagree with obvious truths. • Attack the idea not the person. • Use many rather than most. • Avoidexaggeration. • Use some rather than many. • The use of often allows for exceptions. • The use of generally allows for exceptions. • Quotesources and numbers. • If it is just an opinion, admit it. • Do not present opinion as facts. • Smilewhendisagreeing. • Stress the positive. • You do not need to win every battle to win the war. • Concede minor or trivial points. • Avoid bickering, quarreling, and wrangling. • Watch your tone of voice. • Don't win a debate and lose a friend. • Keep your perspective - You're just debating.

29. Techniques 4 the individual speaker

30. Matter • Matter is what you say, it is the substance of your speech. You should divide your matter into arguments and examples. • An argument is a statement "The topic is true (or false depending on which side you are on) because of x", where the argument fills in for the x . For example in the topic "That the zoos should be closed" an argument may be: "the zoos should be closed because they confine the animals in an unnatural environment". • An example is a fact or piece of evidence which supports an argument. If our argument is: "that zoos should be closed because they confine the animals in an unnatural environment" then an example might be: "that in the lion cage at Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney the animals only have about 200 square metres where in the wild they would have 2000 square kilometres to roam in.". • Any examples that you use should be relevant to the topic at hand. Examples which have very little or nothing to do with the topic only make a speech look weak and lacking substance. • Matter cannot be just a long list of examples. You do not win a debate by creating the biggest pile of facts. Facts are like bricks in a wall, if you don't use them, cement them together properly then they are useless. Similarly you cannot win a debate solely by proving that some of the facts of the opposition are wrong. It may weaken their case a little, the same way that removing some of the bricks from a wall will, but you really need to attack the main arguments that the other side presents to bring the whole wall crashing down. • Many debates are on currently important issues so it is good for any debater to keep themselves informed of what is happening in the world around them and what are the issues involved.

31. Method • Where matter is what you say method is how you organise what you say. There are many delicious pieces of the method pie; here are a few tantalising crumbs....... • 1. TEAM. Good team method involves unity and logic. Unity is created by all members being aware of the definition, what the other speakers have said and what the team line is. Each member of the team needs to reinforce the team line and be consistent with what has already been said and what will be said by the other members of their team. You may as well shoot yourself in the foot as change the team line mid debate just because you think it isn't working. Your team will look poorly organised and will be severely penalised by the adjudicator. • 2. INDIVIDUAL. You must structure your own speech well. The first step is to have a clear idea of your own arguments and which examples you will be using to support those arguments. As you speak make a clear division between arguments and let the audience know when you are moving from one argument to the next, this is called sign posting and is a very important debating tool. The key thing to remember is that although you know exactly what you are saying the audience has never heard it before and will only hear it once so you have to be very clear about it. When you are presenting one particular argument make sure that the argument is logical (makes sense) and that you make clear links between your team line and the argument, and between the argument and the examples that you will use to support it. Rebuttal should be organised the same way. Attack each argument that the opposition presents in turn. Spend a little while on each and then move on to the next. That way the other team's case is completely demolished. Also organise your speech well in terms of time. Adjudicators can pick up when you are waffling just to fill in time .... and can see when you've spent too long on one point and then have to rush through all your other points and rebuttal just to finish your speech in time. Whew!! You will probably make a few mistakes with this early on but practice makes perfect.

32. Manner • Manner is how you present what you say and there are various aspects of manner that you need to be aware of. There is no one prescribed way of presenting your argument. It is not true, no matter what Paul Keating thinks, that the best way of being convincing is to shout and thump on the table. The best advice you can get is to develop a manner style that is natural to you. Here are some tips and pointers. • 1. CUE CARDS. Do not write out your speech on cue cards. There is even a current, and indeed deplorable, trend towards computer generated cue cards. Debating is an exercise in lively interaction between two teams and between the teams and the audience, not in reading a speech. Use cue cards the same way you would use a prompt it a play, they are there for reference if you lose your spot. You can tell when someone is reading.. remember the television announcements by the politicians in the recent ACT elections? • 2 EYE CONTACT. Is very closely related to cue cards. If you look at the audience you will hold their attention. If you spend your time reading from cue cards or looking at a point just above the audience's head they will lose concentration very quickly. When you've got them by the eyeballs their hearts and minds will follow. • 3 VOICE. There are many things you can do with your voice to make it effective. You must project so that you can be heard but 4 minutes of constant shouting will become very annoying very quickly. ( Like a butcher shouting out the daily specials ). Use volume, pitch and speed to emphasise important points in your speech. A sudden loud burst will grab your audience's attention while a period of quiet speaking can draw your audience in and make them listen carefully. • 4. BODY. "Work it baby, work it!". ( Although any other links between the movie Pretty Woman and debating end here ! Your body is a tool for you to use. Make hand gestures deliberately and with confidence (a fine example of someone who can't is that idiot on the Canberra Toyota ads at the moment). Move your head and upper body to maintain eye contact with all members of the audience (although automatically moving your head from side to side makes the adjudicator want to pop a ping-pong ball in there). If you want to walk up and down do so but move with effect and deliberately, don't wear worry lines into the carpet. If you are going to stand still, stand with confidence. Don't let your body apologise for your presence by appearing nervous. • 5 NERVOUS HABITS. Avoid them like the plague. Playing with your cue cards, pulling on a stray strand of hair, fiddling with your watch, bouncing up and down on the balls of your feet or bouncing your cue cards off the nose of the nearest audience member as you are finished with them only distracts from your presentation. Use your whole person to effect, don't let any one thing detract from your ability to persuade the audience. • 6 ELOCUTION AND OTHER BIG WORDS. This is not an exercise in grammar or elocution. Try to avoid being too informal but don't go overboard the other way. There are no marks to be gained from trying to use big words you don't understand or can't pronounce. In the same way it is a huge mistake to let someone else write your speech. People that do that aren't entering the spirit or developing the skills of debating and end up looking really silly getting stuck on a word they just can't say.

33. Debating vs. Public Speaking

34. Debating and Public Speaking: the Differences • Debating is not the same as giving a speech. When debating you will need public speaking skills, but you must also take account of these differences: • ·You have opponents who will argue against what you are saying. • Anticipate (= think of in advance) what their arguments will be, and be prepared to rebut them. • Make sure you own arguments are well-supported, consistent and logical. Youmustbe flexible. • A speech may be fully prepared, but in debating you must be ready to alter your planned statements to rebut your opponents or steer the debate in a ways which suits your team. • You have to think on your feet. Some rule of debating allow your opponents to make 'points of information' in which they may ask a brief question or make a comment. You must be prepared to deal with these without getting flustered. • If you can think quickly and rebut your opponent's comment with a witty remark do so - but respond to the argument. Don't insult the speaker. Comments like 'Well, what would you know!' or 'That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard' are childish and lose you marks.

35. Debating and Public Speaking: the Differences You must work as a team. • The leader must apportion (divide up) the roles. For example: I will show how many areas of society have been damaged by new technology; my second speaker will demonstrate the health risks of computers and cellphones; and our third speaker will show how much better off we would be without these so-called advances. • As well as researching and arguing their own case, each speaker should support the others and reinforce their arguments. For example, As my colleague has explained, cellphones have enabled criminals to be caught more easily. The Negative point out that criminals use cellphones too. This is true. But, in the end, criminals need secrecy, while law enforcement is enhanced by better communication. On balance, cellphoneshavebenefitedlaw and order. You should practise appearing confident. • Public speaking needs confidence, but debating needs more., because you must relate to both your audience and the opposition, obey the Chairperson, and impress the adjudicators - and you may have to think up replies on the spur of the moment. • A lot of confidence is self-created. Many confident people started out feeling terrified, but if you appear confident then other people treat you as a confident person - which gives you confidence. Itworks! • These things make you look unconfident: • Stuttering • Hiding your face by lowering your head or covering it with your hand • Gigglingnervously • Awkward gestures such a biting your lip or rubbing your hands together • This is how to make yourself look more confident: • Even if you feel 'caught out', embarrassed, or your mind is a blank, make no reaction. • Fill in time while you think using 'fillers' such as 'Thank you, I was just coming to that.' or 'Yes, a lot of people seem to agree with that. Butwedon'tacceptitbecause...'

36. Whatmakes a speaker GREAT?

37. How 2-be a great speaker Steps • Eye contact is number one. • Make sure that your pronunciation is correct and clear, and there are no problems with your information. • You have to attract others’ attention and let them have interest in your words. • Talk friendly and politely. Remember to smile! • Make sure that your speed is proper when you talk to people, not too fast or slow. • Make sure to be well-prepared before presenting a speech. • If the listener doesn’t have any interest in the topic of the conversation, just change the subject of the talk. Tips • When using a microphone, don’t put it too close or too far away from your mouth. • When emphasizing some important information, you can raise your intonation, slow your speed or repeat it at least twice. • Taking a deep breath when you stand on a stage can relieve your tension. Warnings • When sneezing or laughing, put the microphone far away from your mouth. • Make clear pauses when reading something.

38. 1. Be Yourself • It's great to watch other successful speakers, to see what they do and how they do it. To be a great speaker in your own right requires you to develop your own style, to speak using your own voice. Be yourself when you speak and you can't help but be successful. 2. Be Bold • You might think that it takes boldness just to stand up and start talking, and it does, but there are plenty of speakers out there who come across like timid mice. Be bold as a speaker, confident in your abilities. Practice every day, give speeches whenever you can. 3. Be different • Successful speakers aren't like everybody else. There's something that sets them apart. Makes them stand out. They're the speakers who do more than just stand in the front of the room and talk at you. 4. Be funny • Successful speakers know how to be funny, that is: they know when and where to use humor in their presentations... and they aren't afraid to do so. 5. Be engaging • Listening to a speech is, for most people, a passive activity. Successful speakers involve their audiences and converse with them so that it's a conversation, not a talking-to. 6. Be positive • No matter what the subject, successful speakers are always positive with their audiences. They help their audiences learn what to do as opposed to what NOT to do. They focus on the upside, not the downside. 7. Be challenging • Lastly, great speakers always challenge their audiences to do great things. And again, it doesn't matter what the subject. A successful speaker gives you the know-how and the challenge to make your life more enjoyable and more rewarding everyday.

39. Your personal brand • Appearance:Your body language, clothing attire and overall posture. • Personality:Your behavior, communication skills and attitudes toward people. • Competencies:Your special skills fulfilling task requirements. • Differentiation:What separates you from others and leaves a lasting memory in the minds of others.

40. How 2-overcome StageFright Steps • Practice your part. Do this until you know it by heart. Remember the words of the person who speaks before you, so you recognize the cue for you to speak. Practice in front of family, friends, AND STUFFED ANIMALS (surprise?)and even in front of empty chairs. so that you are used to performing in front of people. • Gain confidence in yourself by reciting your lines in front of a mirror. Watch your mannerisms, look at how you move your hands as you speak. Try different ways of saying the same words or sentences. Wear the same outfit while watching yourself. • Keep your voice warm by humming softly whenever you can. • Concentrate on what you are about to do. Forget about the audience. Make believe that you are in front of the mirror or your family. Go over your act prior to leaving the house. Be confident in the knowledge that what you are about to perform on stage has been learned well, whether you are going to dance, sing, or perform in a play with others. Take a deep breath and go! • While you are singing, in the parts where you have to sing a solo, you think how great you are. Have confidence. Tips • If you forget a word, do not stop, just continue. Try to use other words that were not in the script. If your scene partner makes a mistake, do not react to it. Simply ignore the mistake, or, if it was too large to let pass, improvise around the error. Ability to improvise is the mark of a true actor. • Turn the tables in your own mind: tell yourself that the people watching you should be nervous in your presence, not the other way around -- this "ego trip" really works! • Sometimes it's ok to be a little nervous. If you are so paranoid you are going to make a mistake, then you will be more careful. It's the overly confident people that make the most mistakes. • Remember: EVERYONE makes mistakes. Anyone who will laugh for a mistake you made is just self-conscious. If you do make a mistake out of nervousness, who cares? Forget about it. You shouldn't be nervous from then on, anyway, because it can't get too much worse! Almost like reverse psychology.