Strategy. Innovation. Brand.

Public Speaking

Speaking Human

When we want to let people know how smart we are during a speaking presentation, we often dress up our language. We use more formal diction, bigger words, and formidable phrasing. We often toss in a lot of jargon as well. Typically, however, it doesn’t work. We just sound stuffy, self-important, and boring. We’re trying to show the audience how smart we are which is always a losing strategy. Much better to show the audience how smart they are. You do this by speaking human — conversational, easy-to-understand, and plain spoken. As the saying goes, you should eschew obfuscation. Learn more in the video.

Why go to a live presentation?

TW at Swedish User Group -1Why do people come to live events? Years ago, it was because they wanted to hear the latest news. Content was king and people came to hear the newest, latest, most exciting news. Today, content is everywhere. You can get it from the web, from books, from text
messages, from Twitter, or from television. So why go to a live event? Increasingly, it’s about context. It’s about making commitments and creating networks. As you plan your live events, don’t put all the emphasis on content. Leave time and create opportunities to develop a context for people to interact. They’ll get the content from many sources.  Make sure they get the context from your event.  Now watch the video.

The First Three Minutes

three oclockMy clients often describe the first three minutes of a speaking presentation as “pure torture.” You need to step up, capture the audience’s attention, establish your credibility, and lay out your key themes. At the same time, you need to remember your key messages, your communication objectives, and the sound bites that you want your audience to walk away with. It’s a lot to remember and the pressure is likely to raise your blood pressure and play havoc with your memory. But, relax. There are three simple tips to help you stay on message while remaining comfortable and confident. Just watch the video.

Creating Sound Bites

attentionMost people will forget most of what you say shortly after your presentation. Speech writers are always looking for hooks to make key ideas more memorable. These are the sound bites that you often hear on the evening news. Sound bites summarize, shorten and encode information to make it more memorable. It’s almost like writing a jingle for a commercial.  How do you create sound bites? It’s not easy but there are some general rules to follow. Find out more in the video.

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