Thursday, March 26, 2009

What are you talking about?


So..... you have managed to get to the point where you can speak clearly and confidently in front of your crowds, engage, amuse and inform them and leave them wanting more. Yet somehow, in the rush of all this success, you have managed to fail: fail to see the point.

 

A great presentation is about more than the just the presentation itself, it is about its effect on the audience after the fact and it is possible as a speaker to be clear concise, elegant, efficient and ….. ineffective.  The trick is to determine exactly what the purpose of your speech is. Is there one many point? Are there many points? And if there are many is there a good way to tie them all together and make them more memorable? When putting your presentation together define and isolate these points and ensure that they are going to come through as effectively as possible. It is often a good idea to write in the margins what your specific point is in that section of the speech. It is easy to get carried away with details on a subject and obscure the reason for bringing the subject up in the first place. Make sure that when you cover a subject you reach a conclusion with it and most importantly, define the appropriate response or strategy.

 

  Subject     >>      Conclusion     >>     Strategy

 

  There are different ways of organize these three elements. People often like to leave the conclusion and/or strategy until the end of a presentation which can work well as it leaves that as the final thought for the audience. It is also possible to place conclusions and strategies throughout a presentation which can give them more opportunities to sink in and they then can be associated with specific points. Another option is to begin your speech or title it using a conclusion or strategy and then explain it as you go along. 

Just remember that at all times, consciously or unconsciously, your audience is asking “what’s your point”, so give the people what they want.


www.laughlearnlead.com

http://twitter.com/chrismolineux

2 comments:

  1. Chris, Thanks for the insight. I have enjoyed following you on Twitter. I have recently developed a new speaking strategy. I am focusing on working with small and medium sized businesses connect technology with the valuestream of their business.

    The model that you have outlined here, is very similar to the direction I have been heading. Your blog post added additional clarity. It is appreciated.

    Good Luck and Be Well

    sp_ideas

    ReplyDelete
  2. I appreciate your point of view. It is obviously based on a great deal of experience.
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

I welcome your comments and questions.

 
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