Be a master at grabbing and keeping his audience’s attention, which is the number one goal of any public speaker. And also a compelling speech. Take them on a journey by way of an interesting story or maybe several.
When I think about compelling presentations, I think about taking an audience on a journey. A successful talk is a little miracle — people see the world differently afterward.
Chris Anderson, Ted founder
How do you do it, you say? Pay attention to these 16 key lessons from a rhetorical playbook. Follow them diligently and practice, practice, practice. Let’s get started:
A compelling speech … talk about the audience’s interests and need
Tell a story from the audience perspective. Start your talk by broadly defining the challenges that your listeners face. Then, once you’ve got them nodding their heads in agreement, move on to describe the problems or challenges that are on their minds.
Match your topic to your objectives and audience interests
This is critical to your success. And to achieve your goal, you must know your audience and do your research homework. Let what you learn to show in your speech.
Speech formula … start strong
Use a well-constructed story, question, or staggering fact to set the audience’s mindset. Frame the speech. The first minute is critical.
Add color
Use stories, analogies, visuals, humor, and metaphors to add color. Maybe not all in one speech, but select and employ to round out the speech.
Communicate through the transfer of emotion
Passion beats all … people feel what you feel. Help them feel it. Don’t rush it. Build in peaks and valleys with defined points of suspense to create curiosity. Use body language that shows you are comfortable and composed.
Compelling speech topics
You can keep it simple, even if you have mountains of research to report.
First, fine-tune your core message. Chisel away at your topic until you can reduce your presentation to a core message. Once you achieve this, all your ideas can march behind it.
This is as true for business presentations as it is for political campaigns. Consider Obama’s campaign speeches. He used his simple slogan to make us believe he was the politician for change — something so many Americans longed for — and he appealed to us to have faith (to believe) in the change he was offering us.
He won people through a simple slogan, which then allowed him to more easily serve up his ideas about meaty topics.
Don’t be tied to slides
If you are going to use slides, make sure they complement what you say … not be what you say. Few words on a slide and heavy on visuals. And don’t ‘lean-on’ the slides, at all costs
Establish the why
You have selected your key message based on your audience research. Early on establish the reason for this theme. Make it important.
Delivery techniques
Always use a wireless microform so that you can move around. Vary tone and inflections of your voice.
Maintain good eye contact by picking specific people in the audience. Change them around every moment or so.
Employ inflection points
Good plot twists are very effective at holding your audience’s attention. ‘There is something else at play here’. Make them milestones and set them up with pauses to give them space.
Alternate between ‘grand insights’ and relevant examples
Weave in proof points and examples. Then you can use the stories to help illustrate you points.
Anticipate your audience
Be aware of the great line by Goethe, “Every word that is uttered evokes the idea of its opposite.” What this means is that when you express one view, the odds are high that people will reflexively think about other, unmentioned aspects of the topic.
A presentation that does not deal with this “evoking of opposites” loses the audience’s attention because it fails to address the questions and concerns that come up in people’s minds.
So anticipate them. Show your audience that you understand the contrary view better than they do, and explain why your proposal or argument is still superior.
Effective Presentation Skills That I Learned From the Masters
Master use of pauses
Well planned pauses will do wonders for your speech. For example, Obama has mastered the art of pausing. He pauses to let us catch up with him. He pauses to let his words resonate. He pauses, in a sense, to let us rest. Pauses also give the impression of composure and thoughtfulness.
Where you pause is up to you; there are no hard and fast rules. Try it. Slowly inhale to the count of three at each breath mark. Speak as though you had plenty of time. The goal of this exercise is to teach your body to slow down.
Watch experts and learn
Pay attention to excellent speakers … there are many out there and many on video. Take these tips and watch how the experts apply them. They will not all be the same, so pick things you like and apply them to your style. Continuous learning is the key.
Practice and more practice
I’m sure most you have seen Steve Jobs at Apple’s new product announcements or other speaking engagements. He made it look effortless, didn’t he? But it was NEVER without lots of practice.
Videotape yourself during practice, you can then see what the audience will see. Practice the needed changes.
Finish strong
As we have said, focus on one theme and eliminate everything else. One relevant message and several great stories to illustrate.
Save your most memorable story for your ending. Hopefully, the one that is also the most encompassing of your message.
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the importance of being a great presenter. And put it to good use.
It’s up to you to keep improving your presenting skills and efforts. Lessons are all around you. In this case, the best presenters can provide the ideas and or inspiration. And the learning. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your presentation skills?
Do you have a lesson about making your presentation strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
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