Clean Words From A Dirty Moose

Regardless of your career, public speaking is a critical skill to possess. I have been fortunate enough to be an announcer, a radio dj and a narrator in films and I will share my advice in daily segments on this page. These are easily applicable techniques to improve your speaking skills in front of large groups. If you like them, please share them with your friends.

One major technique you need to pay attention to is your body language. Your nonverbal can convey everything you want it to and don’t want it to. If you’re nervous, it’s going to show. I suggest smiling before you speak your first word. I know that sounds hokey, but if you show up in front of the audience looking like you just saw a ghost, the audience is going to get nervous about what you’re about to say. Train yourself to “mask” your nerves and look relaxed and happy to be there.

And as always, the more you practice, the easier it will be to control your body language.

Regardless of your career, public speaking is a critical skill to possess. I have been fortunate enough to be an announcer, a radio dj and a narrator in films and I will share my advice in daily segments on this page. These are easily applicable techniques to improve your speaking skills in front of large groups. If you like them, please share them with your friends.

Another thing you’ll come across when speaking is the detrimental fill words. Words like “uh”, “um” and “soooooooo” happen all too often. One piece of advice I have is just to train yourself to stop using them. When practicing a speech, have a friend literally count how many times you say “uh” or whatever word you are guilty of abusing. Fill words just exacerbate the fact that you are not an expert on your topic and the trick of public speaking is to make people think that you are an expert! That’s why you’re the one talking!

The goal you want to hit is to make every word in your speech count. What makes a popular song popular? It sure is NOT the person saying “uh” 20+ times, unless the song really calls for it.

Next time you practice your speech, video tape yourself and go back and count the empty words. Then try to replace them with a healthy pause and slowly refine your speech so that you only say the words that count. You’ll notice a big difference trust me!

Remember: make every word count.

Regardless of your career, public speaking is a critical skill to possess. I have been fortunate enough to be an announcer, a radio dj and a narrator in films and I will share my advice in daily segments on this page. These are easily applicable techniques to improve your speaking skills in front of large groups. If you like them, please share them with your friends.

Today’s post is about eye contact. They say the eyes are the windows to the souls and they are absolutely right. If you want to effectively get your message across to someone, look them directly in the eyes and don’t break eye contact. In the public speaking realm, this is how you hold your audience. Show that you know that they are there. In an audience, all you have to do is switch from the different sets of eyes in the audience. Don’t spend too much time on one person, or else they may think you fancy them a little too much!

As always, practice makes perfect. So I recommend the next time you talk to a friend, challenge yourself to maintain eye contact for the entire conversation, especially when you are listening. Then ask your friend if they felt any difference in their perception of you receiving their message.

Practice that eye contact and you’ll be on your way to becoming a more effective speaker!

Regardless of your career, public speaking is a critical skill to possess. I have been fortunate enough to be an announcer, a radio dj and a narrator in films and I will share my advice in daily segments on this page. These are easily applicable techniques to improve your speaking skills in front of large groups. If you like them, please share them with your friends.

It’s just as easy as it sounds. Don’t use notes, at all if possible. The reason why is that you will sound more natural in your speech. Have you ever listened to someone read from a piece of paper? Besides getting across what they wanted to say, how interested were you in what they had to say? My point is, if you’re giving a speech on something, you should practice what you’re going to say. The more you practice, the less you’ll need to rely on notes.

Click this link and open your ears…

http://stream.rainydawg.org/High.m3u

So the other day I got a little adventurous and hopped on the subway. Well okay, I knew where I was going but I had only looked at google maps online to see where this bike shop was that I wanted to check out. I was in desperate need of some new shoes for cyclocross season and it was too late to order some online that would get to me before September 25th. I went to this shop called Lazzaretti and it was pretty easy to find as it had Campagnolo banners all over the windows. I walk in and the shop is literally two dorm rooms stuck together with a loft. I walk around and check out the bikes. Upstairs, they have bikes as well. The staircase is a one foot wide spiral staircase but somehow me and my backpack fit up there. I check out all their high end Pinarellos and Cannondales (an American company that is ridden by one of Italy’s top pro teams) then head back down to ask someone about shoes. The guy behind the counter is finally free to talk and I ask him right off the bat how good his english is. He says it’s minimal.

I say I need shoes. I forget the Italian word for shoes so I use the finger and point at my feet. Then I say cyclocross. He knows what I want. He runs down to the basement and grabs a pair for me. I ask to try them on and he points me towards a chair in the corner. I try them on and they fit perfect after I take out the cardboard insert. I ask if the shoes come in black and he says no, just white. Then he points to the wall with all the shoes and says “bianco, bianco, bianco!”  They love the color white in Italy. They must have some strong bleach here.

I’m checking out with the shoes and I ask the guy ringing me up where I can watch the world championships. He says it’s on Rai Sport 2. I say I don’t have tv. He says it’s online. I say my internet is really slow. Finally he tells me to follow him and he takes me into the bar next door and asks his buddy behind the bar a few questions. He tells me I can watch it here.

Back in the bike shop, it takes about 20 minutes to check out. Since I’m outside the EU, I get a break on the tax. It took 5 minutes of asking questions across the language barrier to figure that out. Then I mention that I race back in the United States and that my brother races professionally over here. All their ears perk up. One guy asks which team and they are confused when I respond. I mention a few of the big names on the team and they start to recognize at least the names. Then I pull out my handy dandy iphone and show them some photos. They are impressed that my brother rode in the few races he did in the last month and the guy talking to me, Marcello, is a big Ivan Basso fan. I pull up the team site for my brother on their computer and Marcello is impressed. He finds the facebook page and likes it with their shop account. +1 fan for United Healthcare Pro Cycling Team.

After about an hour of talking about bikes with the guys at the shop, I decide I should let them be. I say goodbye and find the subway back to home. It was worth the trip to the shop. They had to be the nicest people I’ve met so far in Rome. They had probably a half million dollars worth of equipment in that tiny little store. It was nice to be around bikes again and see what an Italian shop was like. I went to the Vatican this morning, so that will be my next post. And I will have pictures for that. I forgot to take some of my bike shop adventure.

Until next time, thanks for reading. 5 more days until the USA!

-Evan

So this past weekend, we went to Amalfi. On the way there, we drove by Mt. Vesuvio and made a stop in Napoli to get a quick look at the sights. We went through this large galleria with a glass ceiling, then we walked by a castle and a big palace on the main square in town. Then we got some amazing pizza at this restaurant on Piazza Plebsicito. We also went to a few churches but I’m fuzzy on the names right now. I liked Napoli a lot but apparently it’s a dangerous city so everyone had their eyes peeled. We got back on the bus and headed for Amalfi.

The bus ride over was very interesting as the road along the coast is super small. At one point, we encountered another bus and brushed the rock wall on the right side and got stuck trying to pass each other. Finally we arrive at our hotel and it’s out of town by like a ten minute walk and the view from our room looks out over the water. We head down into town for dinner that night and I end up having dinner on the water with Vanessa, Gina, Beryl, Jill and Ashley. Then we headed back to the hotel for some rest.

The next morning I woke up to go for a run and just missed sunrise but the run I went on had so many stairs. I made it about 20 minutes and called it good. Hopefully all those stairs will pay off in the Cyclocross season. Got showered, had an amazing continental breakfast here at the hotel. I literally ate my weight in croissants! Then we headed out to the town of Ravello, which is waaaaaayyyyy up in the hills above Amalfi. We checked out the Villa Crimone and it was amazing. This rich British guy built it and my photos do not speak for the beauty. Then after seeing the villa, we went back into town and got sandwiches from this woman who makes them to order in her shop. Have to say it was the best sandwich ever as she uses everything fresh and in large quantities. After lunch, josh and I headed over to Villa Rufolo, where they have an annual music festival. The stage for the fest is perched on a cliff and if you’re from Washington, it’s like if they put the Gorge on top of Mt. Rainier. Just look at the photo you’ll know what I’m talking about. We walked around and checked out the architecture and the views everywhere around the villa. Then we headed over and took the bus back to Amalfi, which took us on some amazing roads to ride a bike on but I would probably never ride a bus on again. Some roads are just not meant for buses but Italians don’t believe in that for some reason.

We get back to the hotel and grab our suits to head to the beach and get some water time. After chilling for two hours, we head back up and get ready for dinner in town. It’s the day of their patron saint in Amalfi so they have a fireworks show and a band playing in the main square. Dinner is amazing and this stray cat came and hung out with us for a bit. I also got some time with our tour guide Rita, who was from outside Venezia but had taught college Italian in the United States for a few years.

After dinner, I headed back up to the hotel with Tommy and then went straight for the roof of our hotel to soak in the full moon traversing the sky above the ocean. I was accompanied by a glass of limoncello, as that is the local product here. I cashed out around midnight.

The next morning, I got up before the sun and went for a run. It was brilliant as no cars were on the road to Positano and I had a great ocean view the whole way. I definitely want to come back with a bike, as the 2009 Tour of Italy came through here. I can see why Lance Armstrong was so blown away by the beauty here. Oh, at one of the shops in Ravello, they have celebrity photos of who had come into this pottery shop. Ben Stiller and Denise Richards had both been in the shop, so we thought it was pretty cool.

Anyways, I got my run and shower, then meet with everyone to get on our boat to ride to Positano. On the way, we stopped at a grotto that a diver had found. Essentially it was one of those “cheap, roadside attractions” but there was a cool part to it. The blue hue of the light coming in from one of the underground entry ways was surreal. So we get back in our boat and cruise the coast. There are castles everywhere and finally we approach the watercolor painting of town called Positano. We dock and head for the beach, which is a 30 minute hike up and over a ridge in town.

We get there and dive in the water. After a while, I venture along the beach and find a giant rock to hang out on. The water is bath water warm. Carlos and I head back early so we can see town a little bit. This town develops up the hill, as there is no where else to expand. We wander around and I get a caffe and a sandwich. After demolishing that, I get a gelato consisting of white chocolate and chocolate. Winning. We hop back on the boat and head home for Amalfi. We get back and wash up for dinner. Dinner is magnificient with the usual appetizer and main course of pasta. Seafood is abundant here so I order the pasta with clams. Then I head back to the hotel and post up on the roof again to soak it in one last time. The next morning we hop on the bus and head back to Roma.

If you have only a little time to spend in italia, I recommend going straight for Amalfi. The scenery is surreal and the food is on par with any other high end resort town in the world. If you have a weak stomach, I recommend you take a boat to town instead of a car because the road is winding and it gets tight at times with all the buses on the road. But of course, if you can, ride a bike to town. Your mind will be blown.

Now we’re back to reality in Roma and back to the video project. I thought I would end with a photo of the Vittorio Emanuele monument as we have to go by it everyday. There’s much discontent with it that you can look up in your free time, but it’s still a beautiful mass of marble. I want to visit the local bike shop today or tomorrow and find out where I can watch the road worlds championships on tv. I’m hoping I can watch there at the shop! Anyways, I’m going to get ready for the day. I’ll post again soon, thank you for reading!

-Evan