After a year of writing my 60 Seconds of Writing WIP, I finally realized the titles for these posts were not helpful at all. So instead of calling these 60 Seconds of Writing WIP, I'm trying a new titling scheme: the year, the number, and a name that describes this section.
You might wonder about some of my phrasing, such as ending a section name with a preposition, as in this name. That's because I wait to edit as I go. I never edit while I'm writing. Even for an entire chapter.
Did I think of a better section name after I recorded my podcast? Absolutely! Will I change it yet? NO! I'm not done writing, so I'm not ready to edit. I need to finish this book first. Then I can edit. (See Writing Secret 15: Balance the Need to Finish Against Perfection.)
So, with all that said, this podcast is from the Effective Public Speaking book.
The Podcast:
The Transcript:
I’m Johanna Rothman, and this is Johanna’s 60 Seconds of Writing WIP for January 3, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress.
This is from the Effective Public Speaking book.
Pick Several People to Make Eye Contact With
No speaker can look at “everyone” in the audience. Instead of trying to do so, consider finding several key people to make eye contact with.
I choose a couple of people in the front, a couple of people to my right, one or two in the center, and one or two on my left. Since I'm short, I can't see the back of the room. While I glance to the back, I don't try to make eye contact with the back of the room.
Then, slowly make eye contact with each of your selected people. Linger and smile at them–just enough to connect, not enough to make them nervous.
As a result, everyone in the audience will think you are making eye contact with each person.
The Video:
This video is here.