Many tools can be implemented for success in delivering your speech, whether you are giving a speech to a public audience, talking with members of a company board meeting, or simply offering a sales presentation. Such tools comprise explaining detailed examples, designing statistical charts, in addition to providing influencing testimony. Below, we will add another public speaking skill to the list and explain four special tips for using “evidence” in a influential speech. => http://bit.ly/xIEIsj
Using a pertinent activity as an opening gets the audience's attention because it makes them active. It gives them the opportunity to move physically which makes them more alert and comfortable. It lets them learn and participate with one another. Finally, it put you in charge. That's right, when you cede temporary authority to your audience you get larger in their minds. => http://bit.ly/w3bOZG
by Alan M Perlman
Any successful leader will tell you: Giving a strong presentation is the most immediate and powerful way to set goals, form strategies, and sell your vision-to both internal and external audiences. Perfect Phrases for Executive Presentations not only tells you how to plan and deliver your address, but also provides phrases for every part of the speech or presentation. => http://bit.ly/z76FV8
“Vague and mysterious forms of speech, and abuse of language, have so long passed for mysteries of science; and hard or misapplied words with little or no meaning have, by prescription, such a right to be mistaken for deep learning and height of specu”
John Locke
You've got great ideas trapped in you. You know the importance of public speaking and you want to use your speaking skills to make your audience's lives better. The problem is that if you aren't careful, what you say during your speech will just go in one ear and out the next. How can you make your next speech more "sticky"?
Everyone Loves A Good Picture
Considering how hard we speakers work to get our words right, you'd think that our audiences would have the common courtesy to develop the listening skills that will allow them to remember what we tell them, right?
Unfortunately, remembering words that we've been told is very hard for any audience to do. In fact, trying to remember a particular set of words when we've been hit with a bunch of different ideas during a speech can almost be impossible.
The good news here is that there is something else that works: pictures. Call it a fluke of evolution or whatever, but we humans do a much better job of remembering images than we do words. What this means for us as speakers is that we need to get better at creating mental images in our audience's minds.
You might be thinking that all you have to do is to find the right image to put on a PowerPoint slide and then you'd be home free. Well yes and no. Doing this can certainly help make your message more memorable; however, it's not where the real power comes from.
Instead, it's the images that your audience create in their own minds that will stick for the longest time. These are the images that they build upon hearing the words that you say. What this means for you is that you need to start to use words that will describe the image that you want your audience to be imagining. Talk about how things look, what they would feel like if you could touch them, what color they are, how big they are, and of course what makes them unique or memorable when you look at them.
If You Can Tell A Story, You Can Make An Idea Stick
Painting images in your audience's mind is a great way to start to make what you are telling them stick. However, you can take this one step further if you are willing to tell stories.
This is one area where you do need to be careful. Just telling any old story isn't going to be enough. Instead, you need to tell stories that are going to connect with your audience and you need to make sure that those stories relate to the points that you are trying to make in your speech.
The stories that you tell need to be memorable. In order for this to happen, you need to make them be both emotional and unexpected.
The reason that you want to make your stories emotional is because if you can appeal to your audience's emotions, then you will have found a way to make your story "sticky". Long after you are done telling your story, your audience will remember what you said.
The worst kind of story that you can tell is a boring story. This means that you need to make sure that your story contains unexpected elements. By doing this you don't allow your audience to become complacent and start to think that they know how your story is going to turn out. Keep showing them that they haven't heard this story before!
What All Of This Means For You
All too often when we give a speech, our speeches which appear to us to be fantastic are loaded with too much information for our audiences to absorb. What we say goes in one ear and out the other. Clearly something has to change here.
As speakers, we are always looking for presentation tips that will allow us to share the benefits of public speaking. Getting our ideas to stick requires us to use two presentation tips: creating mental images and telling stories. The images that we can build in our audience's minds are what will cause our key points to stick. We can enhance the "stickiness" of our message by adding stories to our speech. Long after the speech is over, the stories will be remembered and retold by our audience.
In today's busy, busy world, it is no longer enough for us to give a good speech. We need to take the time to add presentation tips such as mental image building and the telling of stories to our speeches in order to make them stick. Doing so will transform your next speech from forgettable to life changing!
..............................................................
Dr. Jim Anderson
http://www.blueelephantconsulting.com/
Your Source For Real World Public Speaking Skills?
Do you give speeches today, but want to learn how be more effective? Dr. Jim Anderson believes that great business skills are no substitute for poor presentation skills. Dr. Anderson will share with you the knowledge that he has gained while working to improve the speaking ability of both individuals and teams of speakers for over 20 years. Learn the secrets of effective speakers and really connect with your audience during your next speech.
If you want to follow Dr. Anderson on Twitter, he can be found at:
http://twitter.com/drjimanderson
"Words have incredible power.
They can make people's hearts soar,
or they can make people's hearts sore."
--Dr. Mardy Grothe
In public speaking, there are times when the best way to support the points you are making is by using data or quotations. Well-chosen quotations are certainly powerful, adding backup to our own opinions. Data comes in many forms - dates, figures and statistics, as well as visuals using graphs, diagrams, tables and more, and it can also be a powerful support for the ideas or opinions you want to sell.
Most of the time, these quotations and data are not our own. Often we are quoting other people's work - or using other people's work.
Imagine what would happen if we did use other prople's work - not crediting the source of our quotations and data? We might very well get away with it, just as we might get away with all sorts of indiscretions, on-stage and off. But sooner or later it will be obvious to someone if not the entire audience that you are not crediting your sources. Your credibility will drop to zero, or maybe even into the negative. It's plain good manners to quote the source. Not doing so, really, amounts to theft. And audiences know that, they feel that.
Always quote your sources. Your originality should be evident in the propositions you put; and the power of your speech or presentation comes from that originality, that uniqueness. There is no weakness in quoting the sources of your facts and figures or of your quotations. In fact you gain even further credibility, because it is obvious you are familiar with the information out there on your subject. You are knowlegeable or you have researched or both.
The process is easy, really - to be able to quote sources. When you are researching, you need to start at the beginning of every book, webpage, or report. Before you start to take notes or store the content, note the details of the resource and its author. Then take the notes you need, and when the time comes to use them, if you are using them, you will have the details of the source ready at hand to quote... and another reason to keep your audience engaged.
In making a speech, it is vital that the speaker gets the message across clearly to his listeners. The audience should get what it is exactly that you want them to know. The length of the speech is irrelevant as long as it fits the time frame you have been given and covers all the bases. These bases are the issue, the facts concerning it, the options they have and the proposal that you and your organization wants to bring up.
The Magic of Three
The number three is a magical number in the English language. We see it in movie titles as in "The Three Stooges, The Three Musketeers and The Three Amigos," we see it as far back as being the most famous phrase in the Unites States declaration of independence - "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", and we see it by speakers and comedians all across America.
I don't know why this is so. We can theorize the reason for this phenomenon from today till tomorrow, and in fact some people have, but my philosophy is, "if something works - just go with it!" Why spend your energy trying to figure out the "why" of it when you can just be in the "now" and just go with it. If it is good for our founding forefathers, if it is good for Hollywood, then it is good for me - You see, there is the rule of three in action!
In speaking, the "rule of three" is mostly used to create humor. When comedians create their humor, they use what is called the "set up - punch". Comedians use this set up-punch formula to get every one of their laughs. Comedians don't always need to use the rule of three, they are so good at creating humor that they don't always need to rely it, but for the rest of us speakers, using the rule of three is a technique that we should always use, and that if done right, can almost guarantee a laugh from the audience.
The psychology of the Set up-Punch Formula
What is the comedian's secret to getting a laugh from the audience? Comedians are not psychologists, but they know how the human minds works - at least when it comes to getting a laugh. Comedians know three things about the human mind very well when it comes to humor.
1. That a "Spontaneous shift" is the key.
2. That proper timing is crucial
3. That the content must be appropriate for the audience
Spontaneous shift
So what is a spontaneous shift? A spontaneous shift is when the speaker puts the audience on one track. The speaker fills up the mind of their audience with a vivid picture of one particular thought or idea and just at the point when the audience is expecting to continue on that track, the speaker suddenly puts them on a totally different track and Walla a laugh occurs!
The key here is spontaneous. From the speakers perspective, it may not seem spontaneous, because the speakers is prepared and knows what he or she is planning to say. However, from the perspective of the audience it definitely comes across as spontaneous. How many times have you had conversations with friends or family and laughs seemed to easily flow. If you think about it, you will probably realize that the instant the laugh occurred, someone said something spontaneous and which also put everyone else's thoughts on another track.
Proper Timing
Putting your audience on another thought track is not enough. You also need to have your timing down in order to make an impact and receive a laugh. Your punch line needs to come immediately after the set up. If you wait too long, you will lose the impact potential of your punch line.
When using the rule of three, you are essentially doing the same thing as what comedians do with their set-punch in their comedy routines, but your set up will be a bit longer.
The rule of Three in Action
A friend of mine and fellow speaker, Marry Cheyne, had used the rule of three extremely well when she delivered her speech "Nelly" at the Toastmasters 2009 international convention. She gave some background about how challenging and uncomfortable it was for her to come to Australia as a 7 year old Chinese. She then said, "I was so uncomfortable that I felt like a fish out of water, like a bird out of its nest, like a "guest (pause) at a toastmasters meeting." The last line, "like a guest at a toastmasters meeting" was the punch line. The other two lines were the set up for her punch line.
The background story gave the audience the "thought track" of her being uncomfortable, The first two lines went along that track - uncomfortable like a fish out of water, uncomfortable like a bird out of its nest and then she throws the twist - Like a guest (she pauses) and then says "at a toastmasters meeting". The audience was expecting her to stay serious, but she doesn't. She spontaneously puts their thought on another track and walla she gets a laugh!
The Rule of Three must be Adaptable to Your Audience
When coming up with the right content for the rule of three, make sure your content is applicable to your audience. When Marry came up with her content, she knew who her audience was. It was a room full of fellow toastmasters. So everyone in her audience knew how uncomfortable a guest at a toastmasters club meeting feels, because at one time or another everyone was a guest before they became a member. That is why it was funny to that audience. Her line would not have been funny to a group of people no affiliated with toastmasters and surely she would not have used it. So always make sure that your content is appropriate to your audience. Enjoy tinkering with "the rule of three" for your next speech!
.....................................................................
Lewis Roth helps speakers build a presentation that is memorable and keeps their audience members on the edge of their seats. Lewis is an award winning speaker, certified world class speech coach, keynote speaker and presentation skills trainer. To receive his free audio download, please visit http://www.hightouchspeaking.com
I was asked to identify the five words or phrases that mattered more than any other. If I was limited to just five recommendations--and these phrases had to work in every aspect of life--what would I say?
