At a time when people mull over the past year and plan for the new one, a show has begun running in London that allows you to step back in time.
"The Rat Pack Live From Las Vegas" in the West End has prompted me to adopt an unlikely new hero - Dean Martin.
More famous for his drinking exploits than almost anything else, the late Dean Martin is played by an accomplished Martin impersonator, Mark Adams, who has played the same role in a variety of Dean Martin tributes.
What Mark Adams captures to perfection, after a lifetime's study of the boxer-cum-singer is the perennial coolness which Dean Martin managed to portray.
I can spot his expertise because watching The Dean Martin Show was a routine event in my (dodgy) upbringing.
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Mark Adams - Dubbed the Dean Martin of the 21st Century |
Whether singing, telling jokes or clowning around on stage with fellow Rat Packers posing as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Junior, Mark Adams manages to simulate that extraordinary Martin talent for doing things without looking as though he's trying.
It's an amazing ability if you can manage it on TV or on the speaker's platform.
I'm seeking to emulate it.
Though I won't try too hard of course - because that would ruin the effect.
And as for that infamous Dean Martin affair with the bottle, well there was obviously something to it.
Without it, we would never have had that famous Martin line: "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. They wake up in the morning and that's the best they're going to feel all day."
Nor would we have had: "You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on."
But on stage in the West End, the Dean Martin character makes a partial demolition of this whisky-sodden image, saying that if the drinking stories were all true he would have been dead fifteen years earlier.
My personal assistant, the highly efficient Miss Google, has done some research which backs this up.
After the Dean Martin show ended, his son Dean Paul Martin, spilled the beans over his on stage drinking.
He revealed that much of the "booze" his dad drank during the real Rat Pack performances was actually apple juice.
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Martin with his own wine label - or is it apple juice? |
Though being Mr Cool while sipping apple juice is probably an even harder trick to pull off. |
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THE NEED FOR PROPER PREPARATION
But so you know I'm not planning to model myself on just any passing American, there's another US character who I'm determined not to emulate.
I hope you'll do the same.
Looking back over the past year for lessons to inspire people to boost their communication skills, there's one big character who I find myself drawn towards more than any other.
His name is Rick Perry - a four-term governor of Texas.
If anyone thought George Bush Junior was the best example of why Texas governors don't always make the most impressive presidential candidates, then Rick Perry has forced us to think again.
Mr Perry has earned a place in the history books of the American primaries for committing a gaffe which is regarded by some observers as the worst ever - forgetting one of his own key policies.
He was the guy who in a prime-time debate with his Republican opponents reiterated his promise to scrap three government agencies.
He then named two of them (Commerce and Education) - floundering when he couldn't recall the third (it was Energy, Rick) before coming out with an excruciatingly memorable "Oops".
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| Rick Perry, who managed to remember two of his three budget cutting proposals |
There isn't a better person than Rick Perry to underline the point that when it comes to communicating something important we need to plan for it, prepare for it and practise for it.
And if you do find yourself heading for a potential rabbit-in-the-headlights moment where you can't remember something important - yes it can happen to us all - then there is a way of wording yourself around it, rather than crashing bang into it several times over as Rick Perry managed.
So if you don't want to be the next Rick Perry - or you are Rick Perry - and you want to take part in my next open session to supercharge your communication skills then visit http://michaeldoddmedia.com/presentation_training.php |
GETTING THE ORDER RIGHT
As I run a lot of workshops for business leadership groups, I tend to listen carefully to their suggestions.
And the latest bit of advice I've received makes perfect sense.
It's to set out my various communications workshops in their ideal order - with one leading on smoothly to the next.
So while every session that I offer is self-contained, I've come up with a running order for those wanting to complete the series in the most logical sequence.
It amounts to "The 8 Step Programme For Boosting Your Business Communication Skills".
1. GIVING GREAT ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS: Showing how to stand up to blowtorch-on-the-belly questioning, whether it's from customers, prospects, staff, shareholders, journalists, bank managers or members of the public.
2. PERFECTING YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH: Supercharging your effectiveness when introducing your businesses - in formal and informal situations.
3. POSITION YOUR COMPANY FOR FREE MEDIA PUBLICITY: Giving you a deeper understanding of what makes news, and improving your ability to spot what's of interest to the media within your company and then grab and hold public attention.
4. MAKE YOUR MEMBERS LOCALLY FAMOUS: Showing how you can boost your profile - positioning yourself as a "go to" person the media will want to contact.
5. BOOSTING YOUR MEDIA STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE: Equipping you to plan for positive and negative situations which can put your company in the media spotlight - and to perform with aplomb during triumph and disaster.
6. PRESENTING WITH CONFIDENCE, IMPACT AND PIZZAZZ: Overhauling or polishing the content, structure and delivery of you presentations to get you to a higher level when addressing an audience.
7. CREATE YOUR OWN WEBCASTS: Learning how to get your message across while talking to the camera - and coming away with your own recording that you can put on-line.
8. BECOMING AN INSPIRATIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATOR: Getting your messages across in an inspiring way on those most difficult issues which tend to find their way to the leader's desk.
Each session can be customised to suit exact requirements - so an element of pick-and-mix can be possible at every stage. |
BOY MEETS GIANT CHARACTER
I met some great characters in 2011 - who I'm looking forward to meeting again in 2012.
As you're reading this, you're probably one of them.
But there's one huge character who won't stick his neck out to read this column under any circumstances.
He's too busy chomping his food.
And slobbering on his fans.
Besides, he's not web-savvy.
But despite his insatiable appetite, his sloppy eating habits and his lack of e-skills, this character has become a colourful part of many of my sessions on boosting communication skills.
He is of course Jock the Giraffe, who I met on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Jock helps me help others to become more brilliant communicators.
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| Jock with a bearded Australian friend |
He does this by being the vital player in my quest to get people to give graphic examples to illustrate their points.
Too often people seek to explain something important without painting a vivid picture in the minds of their audience that they can see, hear and feel.
Talking about "all the wildlife in Africa" is too abstract to stand on its own.
Which is why we all need our own Jock The Giraffe to bring our talking points to life.
If you don't have your own Jock yet, get one early in 2012.
And if you can't find him, I'm here to help.
Happy New Year,
Michael |
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