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Richard Pryor: A Brilliant Communicator
One of the habits I have developed in the last few years is watching speeches of TEDsters and Authors@Google. I find it is one of the quickest ways to be exposed to great ideas without having to travel to another city or state. In 2008, I watched a rather eye-opening video of Dan Roam. He was at the headquarters of Google, in Mountain View, California, to discuss his ideas about using pictures to communicate and to solve problems.
Roam's book is titled, The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. As I watched his talk I was more interested in his use of pictures to sell ideas more so than to solve problems. I was interested in his notion of using visual aids to convey the big idea; where the message is so clear, little else is needed.
As a professor, I learned early that my courses should be as interactive as possible and to make learning a by-product of that interaction. There is no worse feeling one can have as a speaker than to express ideas to an audience and to be met with blank stares; people who appear as if they would prefer to be anywhere but where they are; or my personal favorite, the person who continuously ‘rolls their eyes.' In my first class as a Graduate Instructor (2002) I quickly learned that dry lectures would not be in the best interests of my students or me.
Fast Forward to 2008
By the time I came across the ideas of Dan Roam my classes were already a highly interactive experience. I engaged students in frequent conversations throughout lectures. Each class I had them introduce topics for discussion; that they were interested in and that pertained to the subject. I also used multiple-group assignments that encouraged teamwork and debates to drive home the points on special topics. Additionally, for test reviews I used game show formats to help keep class interesting. I had no problems with getting students to actively participate in their educational process.
However, there was one thing that I continued to do that gave me trouble and that was the use of the dry Power-point presentations. Even though all other aspects of my classes were full of dialogue, discussion and debate when that projector came on you could feel a palpable shift in the energy of the room. Roam calls it "death by Power-point." I decided to use his ideas for one of my courses and it ended up being a pivotal point in my career as a professor.
I created an entire presentation using colorful backgrounds, eye-catching pictures and music. As the talk dealt with public speaking anxiety I used images of the brain and the central nervous system, parts of the body affected by anxiety, photos of Kimbo Slice, cartoons and drill sergeants. I included terms, but with no definitions attached, so the students could focus on what I was saying instead of trying to write and listen to me at the same time.
After I delivered the lecture to my students they applauded at the end. I was stunned. I felt as if I was in a scene from Dead Poets Society or Mr. Holland's Opus.
You Can't Forget What I Write
But the use of Power points is just one aspect of communication. What about writing? In their book, Made to Stick: Why some ideas survive and others die, authors and brothers Dan and Chip Heath discuss the ‘mechanics' behind memorable messages. One technique they champion is the use of the graphic story. A story where you only have to hear it one time and could remember it for the rest of your life.
In their book they use an urban legend as an example. They write about a guy who goes to a bar and is 'hit' on by a beautiful woman. She offers to buy him a drink, which he accepts. He remembers her going to the bar and returning with the drinks, but nothing else. When he wakes up hours later he is in a big tub of cold water with a tube sticking out of his back. His kidney had been stolen.
Most of us have heard these types of stories before. The urban legend that I remember most deals with driving at night. A man was driving on a dark lonely road and flashed his lights at an oncoming car that was not using its headlights. Little did he know that the people in the opposite car were being inducted into a gang. Their mission was to drive with their lights off and to shoot the people in the first car to flash their lights at them.
Who could forget tales such as these?
Admittedly, everything we write about can't be dramatic as the urban legends mentioned above. Yet, if we think hard enough or even just focus on connecting a unique story to our subject material it helps the reader to remember the message. Over the years I have developed a system that I use to create material. The acronym for my method is SICK Humor and I have used it for books that I have written and articles I have had published by newspapers, national magazines and online news organizations.
S - Story
IC - Interesting Concept
K - Knowledge
Humor - Funny or Surprising
First, there is the story. Parables are timeless and can be found in books ranging from religious texts such as the Bible, the Quran and the Torah to famous tales such as The Richest Man in Babylon. More modern versions include Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, Og Mandino's The Greatest Salesman in the World and The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma. A story entertains and isn't preachy.
Second, use an interesting concept. A story must have a point and a reason for being told. That is where the concept comes into play. As an academic who writes for the public I use academic theories as concepts and build stories around them.
Next, as a writer, I want the reader to walk away with something. I would like for them to be able to go out and say, "Hey, I read something interesting the other day. It was..." ------ Therefore, I always seek to offer the reader something that they may have not heard before, that makes them a little more knowledgeable about a subject. I know when I read other people's work I become disappointed when an author offers oft told stories as new material or common sense as new wisdom. So I like to provide findings in academic research and original stories, whether incidents from my life or those I have observed to stimulate the reader.
Finally, I like to use humor. And when I say humor, I am defining it broadly as funny, entertaining or surprising. Everything can't be laugh out loud funny but when writing for the public I argue that writing can be made entertaining. Further, by offering readers something that they didn't expect, which makes them laugh or engages them mentally, it lets them know that you actually crafted a piece of art in written form as opposed to just churning out a written piece.
As a busy professional, I have been quite pleased with my development as a writer. I am also happy with my progress in learning how to pass messages to my students and other audiences in an entertaining way. The techniques mentioned above have helped me and I hope they can be of use to you too.
Bakari Akil II, Ph.D. is the author of Pop Psychology - The Psychology of Pop Culture and Everyday Life! You can also check out his page on Twitter.
Also check out his book, Speech Exercises for the Classroom!
