Comments

I really enjoyed the interview. Thank you. I loved the point made about stories being the secret to public speaking and the necessity of various stories. "There is a secret period: stories, stories, stories and more stories. A speech is a collection of stories, of vignettes and those vignettes range from something Starbucks did to something that happened to you in the 7-Eleven on the way to the speech. It's all about stories."

Growing up the youngest of 12, there wasn't a whole lot to go around twice so we created our own entertainment; we told stories nightly and performed elabaorate improvised plays on the weekends. Our house, including the neigborhood kids, was the busiest on the weekend. Because we could only watch 1 hour of TV nightly at the most, we read tons of books. Books were everywhere to build the imagination. There was no time limit on reading. I sometimes wonder about the legacy that we will leave our kids when reading does not seem to be as valued today. Reading helps speaking; it also helps to form ideas.

Another valuable point for me in the interview was the importance of knowing your audience. I loved the question TP asks to each and every sponsor: "If you were to put words in my mouth what are the three messages that you would like me to have transmitted to your group? I hound them in a conversation until I get those three big parts." The answer to this question gives you insight into what's important to them, even if your presentation does not frame exactly the messages desired.

Loved the wrap up too:

1. Do a lot of speeches.
2. Talk to anybody who will let you in.
3. Tell stories
4. Enjoy yourself or get the hell out of the business.

Oh...I also loved the reason TP uses Powerpoint slides. For one reason he says, "I stand on the shoulders of others and almost 90% of the slides I use quote experts." He goes on to explain that he, needless to say, has his own ideas but that he does not solely depend on them. His
"credibility" is in "the series of quotations or remarks of others." I REALLY loved the humility and homage here. I also loved the honesty that at one point in time this was not that case. Processes are beautiful.

There's a lot of love here, eh?

Posted by Judith Ellis at March 28, 2008 8:45 PM

Great interview. What comes through to me with Tom (as always) – and please correct me if I am wrong Tom - is that serendipity and luck is at least as important as some grand strategic plan. The other key 'take away' for me is that only public speaking makes us better at public speaking.

I just love the ‘secret’ that Tom gives us – the use of stories … How wonderful and how true.

I have attended - like most people who visit TP Blog – hundreds of seminars/speeches/conferences. The only ‘take aways’ for me are NEVER ‘technical’ content – it is ALWAYS a story.

Example - I can’t remember a single word spoken by Professor Michael Porter in a 2 hour speech 2 and a half years ago in Birmingham, England ….. and yet I can remember a hell of a lot , word for word of what Tom Peters said in London six months later in a six hour TP seminar!

That is not to undermine the technical knowledge of Professor Porter who is absolutely brilliant on his subject. It is simply a comment on ‘delivery’ or as Tom might say – execution!

This is one half hour of wonderful free advice that you would pay a fortune for – thanks again Tom.

Posted by Trevor Gay at March 29, 2008 5:39 PM

This was a great interview... I enjoyed the frankness with which you dealt with the issues - becoming adept at power point presentations, being famous before becoming an 'in demand' speaker, being led by 'your passion' to be heard when you offer a point of difference, being able to ride your luck with unrelenting amounts of hard work, being willing and able to fit your message into the client's needs, being forceful but respectful of cultural difference (in humour especially), AND most importantly being Tom Peters at the beginning and the end of doing 30 years of this stuff.

The key to your success for me came out early in the interview - your integrity. You are right - people can pick a dud/fake/phoney almost before he or she takes center stage.

You are a natural showman - you have honed your skills of presentation by wrapping your message in an entertaining package based on stories that illustrate your points. You have the natural gift or have learned the key tool of the trade of any good stand up comedian - timing! You talk about all this in this short riff and thus it must be a great encouragement for all young people who have a pressing need to make their point or tell their story in public. Well done!

Professor Michael Porter is not a great showman - he is no entertainer and no he does not tell stories BUT he is a great communicator of complex ideas, he is great at dissecting myths, he is a intellect who has made a personal contribution to the continued expansion of capitalism, and he simply makes sense when he presents his arguments. Porter is not someone I agree with wholeheartedly but he did impart to me an idea that has become the staple (ie a first principle concept) in all my advice and consulting work since I heard him speak more than 25 years ago. This concept still guides all my thinking about economics, organisations, networks, business, government, etc. Professor Porter proves to me there are more ways to achieve excellence in execution as a public speaker than merely telling stories, mouthing slogans, and repeating mantras.

Finally the public speaking forum is no longer just seminars, conferences, and conventions - there is a new public forum or message space being built by Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Blogshere, etc. This new forum presents us all with a new and exciting workspace AND YET the good news here is that the essence of what Tom Peters says he does and has always done still applies to these new media. Many social network commentators say it is now the medium not the message that counts - Tom Peters has told us in the interview why that is not ever going to be the case. Tom builds trust, rapport, and a sense of community when he works the room with a presentation. It is his message that the participants talk about when they break for coffee or later mix with friends not the medium of delivery. Tom's message is now being transmitted further and faster than ever before (by Twitter, Facebook, et al) BUT it is still his message that counts if you dilute the message you implode the forum.. Even on this TP blog more and more people are coming to comment from around the globe. I believe that so long as Tom Peters has something relevant, and dare I say controversial, to say then they will continue to come to listen and they will come in increased numbers.

This interview convinces me that the key to good public speaking is to have something 'relevant, remarkable, and infectious' to say before you get up on any stage.

Richard.

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at March 29, 2008 8:07 PM

Since TP does not use his own material in his Powerpoint presentations, allow me to quote in this forum relevant passages from A Passion for Excellence about the importance of symbols. He writes:

"Experts agree that the only thing that distinguishes mankind from the rest of the planet's creatures is our use of language and reasoning power-i.e, the manipulation of symbols."

TP writes of the above in relation to leadership but the transference to public speaking is also apropos: He continues:

"Leadership (management) is symbolic behavior (love this!), whether you're talking about Martin Luther King's trek to Selma, Alabama, of Jack Welch's special phone for purchasing agents." (Shall I add Obama Barack's road to Pennsylvania to deliver his "A More Perfect Union" speech?)

The best public speakers are lead dramatists in that they use a "collection of stories, of vignettes," to get the "attention," of the audience through "symbols" and "drama."

Symbols and drama lead to change. It's fallacy not to consider these elements in leaders, elements that, I might add, have no particular style or approach. These things are as unique as the trajectory TP describes in the road leading to public speaking.

Chapter 16 begins this way, "'all business is show business.' Those words were uttered by Jan Carlzon, of the Scandinavian Air System (SAS). We agree. All business is show business. All leadership is show business. All management is show business."

All public speaking is show business.

Thank you, TP!

Posted by Judith Ellis at March 29, 2008 9:15 PM

Great interview..and well worth the almost 2 hours of frustration trying to fix an "audio" problem problem with the PC (apparently that Mute button has something to do with sound quanitity and quality). Classic, classic stuff. "You should never open your mouth unless you care about something!" How true and something that I personally need to remind myself to practice...be it in trying to keep the most mundane and repetative stuff interesting or to being a more visible and vocal advocate in those few issues I really do care about. You can't pick your family but you can pick your "guru's". I've read a lot of stuff over the years but I have found none better at helping me and my teams understand how to execute and apply leadership and management "stuff" in our day to day than Tom. Thank you sir!

Posted by Dave Wheeler at March 30, 2008 12:16 PM

Hey Dave....stay clear of the politics man. You're getting dangerously close with that "you can't pick your family, but you can pick your guru" line. You're bringing it on! But I will abstain...most certainly. You really DON'T want me to unleash my fury on what's going on now. It won't be pretty. I'd probably get real ugly, real quickly! You wouldn't want that and neither would I :)

I too agree with you about TP's stuff being classic. I came to his material much later and find it inexhaustive. I read the bulk of his books within the last four months and it's just amazing stuff. I too have read loads and loads of books on leadership, management, pyschology, and philosophy. This is indeed..."classic, classic stuff" but with a counterintuitive bent.

I'm glad you had the intuition to check the mute button :)

Posted by Judith Ellis at March 30, 2008 2:06 PM

As a marketer, speaker and writer, I appreciate the advice on a number of levels.

Thank you.

Patrick Byers
The Responsible Marketing Blog
http://responsiblemarketing.com

Posted by Patrick Byers at March 31, 2008 4:47 AM

Just did my first mini-seminar... wish I'd found this interview BEFORE, rather than after, doing it! Really fantastic stuff from a master.

Thanks Tom!

Posted by AJ Hoge at April 8, 2008 4:02 AM