A story would be great for your talk, but what if you can’t think of one? Well, consider the process of preparing for a recent project – perhaps even the talk itself: ‘Unfortunately, I had to tackle this daunting project’‘Fortunately, I knew the subject inside out’‘Unfortunately, it became way tougher than I’d imagined’‘Fortunately, I met […]
How to Use a Story Read More »
The content of your talk is obviously very important; your audience wants substance, useful information and an inspiring message. However, I often see speakers for whom the other half of their talk is a bit poor: the delivery. Your audience is looking for emotional guidance on how they should feel about you and the talk.
The key to your talk’s success is preparation. Obvious, I know. Here’s a process I recommend: Stage 1: Write your material.+ Start thinking (and even better, speaking) about the subject, and capture those ideas in some form. The aim is to quickly build a basic structure that is strong enough to support the complete talk.
Prepare Thoroughly Read More »
They may sound like four sisters from a Jane Austen novel, but they are in fact the four elements for a great speech as defined by JFK speechwriter Ted Sorensen, and shared with me via Jeremy Connell-Waite. So, for all your talks: + Keep it light. You can deal with even the most serious subject in
Levity, Brevity, Charity, Clarity. Read More »
A damn fine motto, isn’t it? I believe that preparation is certainly the key to success for any kind of public speaking. You might think you can get away with inadequate preparation, but let’s face it, you can generally tell when someone isn’t ready to give their talk, just from the basic signals such as
Always Be Prepared Read More »
