I just arrived back in Florida after attending the Oscars, and I’m still shocked that a movie star of John Travolta’s caliber and experience would make such a simple mistake in front of a billion people watching around the world. Watch this short video I taped in Hollywood yesterday morning and I’ll look forward to your comments.
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Steve Siebold, CSP My name is Steve Siebold. I’m an author with 1.4 million books in print, and a professional speaker and consultant to Fortune 500 sales teams on how to increase sales and retention rates through mental toughness training. My corporate clients include Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, Harrah’s Entertainment, Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Ingersoll Rand, etc.
It was indeed unfortunate to see John Travolta commit this error. I am a fan of his (like you) ever since his early days on TV. As you noted, many speakers have made similar mistakes, and preparation is the “KEY.” In the past many had mangled my Greek last name, “Keriakedes” (don’t know why LOL), but after I got into public speaking I developed an easy way for Emcee’s to remember. During my prepared introduction I also give them the phonetic version of my last name, “Carry-ah-key- this” and then ask them to envision “carrying a key, giving it to someone and saying, this.” It works all the time! They now say it better than me!!
I would like though, to take this opportunity to also call your attention to another speech during the Oscars by Matthew McConaughey (his acceptance speech), who masterfully illustrated how to “tell a story and make a point!” I thought his message set up, his personal story and his conclusion were all fantastic! Cheers!
If that’s the worst thing that happened at this year’s Oscars, I’m relieved. Last year we had “We Saw Your Boobs.” That wasn’t a simple mistake, it was poor judgement.
Hi Steve,
Glad you had a fantastic time at the Oscars.
I think a lot of people mistake the ability of those who may be excellent in one
discipline and then are disappointed to find they lack equal ability in another setting. Another aspect (I did not see Travolta) is he may have thought his
pronunciation of her name was the correct one. I’m a little surprised that you never heard of this actress who scored a great success on Broadway and in
a TV series.
Love ya cause I know you are always out of the box.
p.s. Matthew, I won’t try to spell his last name, but I agree with the ohter comment about him…I take it one step further, he has character and that will
always reflect the best one has to offer. America’s great actor.
Exciting evening for you and many others, there or watching on TV.
Though I don’t consider it an excuse I believe Travolta, like Cher, Tom Cruise, and others, is dyslexic. All the more reason to learn the intro by heart.
And I totally agree with the others that Matthew M. did a brilliantly self-disclosing and heartwarming job with his speech. In case anyone here missed it, you owe it to yourself to experience it –
http://www.957kjr.com/onair/luciana-bosio-45943/mcconaugheys-impassioned-oscar-acceptance-speech-about-12118348/
Thanks Steve, what a wonderful experience for you. I noticed that John Travolta stumbled with the name of the singer but thought nothing of it because on the Red Carpet, they had trouble with it too. I blame the producers for not ensuring that people go it right.
It reminds of something that happened to another well-known speaker years ago. I was in Ottawa speaking at a State Farm insurance gathering. The guy there the year before me was in the top echelons of public speakers in the world, I felt honored to follow him. When he got up to speak he said thank you for inviting me to speak at your Allstate convention. They were still talking about it a year later. Bad mistake because his message is powerful and they missed out on it because of that slip up on his part. Could be lack of preparation, nervousness or devaluing the organization. Causes me to pay attention today.
Great story, Bob! Thanks for sharing.
Steve
Hi Steve- Thoroughly enjoyed your blog and video! Great points regarding Travolta’s mishap! I was so happy to have a face with the name. I have been receiving email notices from you for, probably, a few years. I live on Catalina Island off the coast of Long Beach California and am 58 years old. In my life, I have put together conferences and been the lead speaker, as well as being the one speaking from the pulpit of a church (Ordained since 1986). Although not being in the religious community any longer, my skills are in capturing an audience, tremendous research capability and can speak on any issue I am presented with. I have always wanted to join your team, but after a ministry divorce in 2000, have no resources to proceed. I wish there were some way for us to connect that you could launch me into public speaking with my already honed skills. I love the challenge of capturing an audience and I speak from the heart which is always a magnet for listeners. Could you take the time to respond to me and let me know if there is any way we could connect? I didn’t know, until viewing this, that you are all the way over in Florida. But, hey, if you haven’t been to Catalina Island, you are missing a rare treasure in the state of California! I would welcome a visit with you, or at least a call. Give me a subject to research and put a presentation together on, and I will email you a video of how I would present it. With respect, Theresa Cummings
Hey Steve, yep Travolta most certainly butchered her name in front of a decent sized audience. Would love to know the reason why. Oh and I loved the last few seconds of your video – funny stuff mate.
Regards
Marcello
Steve –
Thanks for the great reminder. Reminds me of what we do in aviation: constantly rehearsing emergency procedures so that we can perform them without hesitation in a high-pressure environment.
As an old flight instructor once said: “If you ‘think’ you’re prepared, you’re not. There’s no time for ‘thinking’ when the —- hits the fan. Ya gotta ‘know’ it cold.”
Wiz…
For me the greatest speech in print is Henry V St Crispin”s Day and the
greatest deliverer of it is Lawrence Olliver from the same moviie.l
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