Strategy. Innovation. Brand.

speaking presentation

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.

Delivering the Logic

After you’ve established your credibility and built a foundation of trust during your speaking presentation, it’s time to move on to the logic of your argument. If you share a core belief with your audience (known as a commonplace or a shared belief), you can start with it and proceed from the general belief to the specific conclusion. This is deductive logic and most logicians consider it the most powerful argumentative form. If you don’t have a shared belief with the audience, however, you’ll need to start with specific cases and proceed to a general conclusion. This is inductive logic. With deductive logic, you start with a shared belief. With inductive logic, you end with a shared belief.  Learn more in the video.

Building Credibility & Trust

Trust MeYour first task in delivering a persuasive presentation is to establish your credibility and show the audience that they can trust you. The Greeks called it “ethos” — it has to do with your character and your degree of fit with the audience. The audience will ask several questions of you.  Does she respect us?  Does she use our time wisely? Does she know what she’s talking about?  Is she an egghead or does she have the practical wisdom to recommend a practical course of action?  Does she share our values? These are all subliminal questions but your actions during the first five minutes of a speaking presentation will answer most of them.  Find out more in the video.

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