Naomi Rhode, in her "Alpha & Omega Synergistic Openings and Closings for Successful Presentations" told us at Pittsburgh's NSA meeting to "keep plus-ing away!"  We should continue to add stories to our keynote speeches and continue to take risks by adding new stories.  How will we know if our new stories work? Record every speech, every show, every performance you do.  Only then can you hear what happened during the speech, and hear where the audience response was greatest.  

Another thing Naomi mentioned was that speaking shorter is much more difficult than speaking for longer periods of time.  Any comic who has ever had a three-minute audition will tell you the same.  Because absolutely everything you say has to be meaningful; in the case of the comic, everything you say has to be funny.  There is no time to take the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotion--let them laugh, let them rest, make them laugh again, etc.  If you've heard me give my "Get Your SHINE Together!" keynote, you will recognize this as the "S" in The SHINE System of Communication. 

So as we say farewell to Naomi this week, and all her wisdom and ideas, you too can keep "plus-ing away" at your communication skills.  And of course, remember to, "Get Your SHINE Together!" 

What stories will you add this week?