25 Phrases to Guide you to Greatness in Speaking
December 8th, 2010
There I was, driving down Interstate 95, listening to Charlie “Tremendous” Jones on audio CD the day after I shared the stage with him years ago. Suddenly, he gave the advice that changed my life as a speaker. It can change yours too.
He said,
Don’t get your audience to listen and memorize; get them to think and realize
That statement changed the way I speak because it made me focus on getting my audience to reflect more. It’s only when they reflect, rather than simply listen, that they change their lives.
In this spirit, instead of giving you a lesson to listen to, you get the opportunity to reflect. These are 25 of the Phrases that continue to guide me in my public speaking efforts. If you think deeply about each of these and reflect on how you can apply them, they will guide you to greatness in speaking.
At the risk of making them sound too important, I do strongly make the following 3 suggestions:
SUGGESTION 1:
Print out these 25 Phrases and tack them up where you can see them on a daily basis. Each phrase will come into focus for you at different times and lift your speeches to new heights as you internalize them.
SUGGESTION 2:
Pick a couple of the phrases now and comment on them in the blog. I will respond to your comments thereby providing any clarity you (or I) might need. This is meant to be a reflection exercise and an interaction with me.
SUGGESTION 3:
Discuss the list with another speaker/presenter. Talk about what you feel the phrases mean and how you might apply some of them. Think about where you are strong or weak when it comes to adhering to the phrases.
25 Phrases to Guide you to Greatness in Speaking
• Speak to one but look to all
• When you lift yourself up you let your audience down
• What gets recorded gets rewarded
• Don’t add humor to a speech; uncover humor within it
• What’s loose is lost
• When you squeeze your information in, you squeeze your audience out (this is an old speaker proverb).
• You master what you measure
• Conflict is the hook and Dialogue is the heart
• Put the process, not the person, on a pedestal
• The Foundational Phrase determines what stays
• To be a great speaker you must be a great tease
• Never come across as special; always come across as similar with a special process
• Never sell a product, always sell the result
• Let your old story lead to their new story
• Never end with the Q&A
• People remember best what they hear first and what they hear last
• Don’t tell; ask
• You can’t affect if they don’t reflect
• Become niche and famous (If you try to speak to everyone you will end up speaking to no one)
• A confused mind says no but a clear mind says go
• Give the visual before the verbal
• Give the look that goes with the line
• Reactions tell the story (Darren LaCroix)
• Too many speakers try to get across too much information in too little time
• Don’t speak for standing ovations, speak for standing invitations
To get a better understanding of what these phrases mean and how life-changing they can be for your speaking, see the World Class Speaking book.
45 Responses to “25 Phrases to Guide you to Greatness in Speaking”
Leave a Reply
These are a great resource Craig.
An idea just came to me how I can share them. As VPE of my club I am going to put them at the bottom of our agenda (one a week) and have a short explanation/discussion about them!
Thank you.
Trisha
PS My fave – You can’t affect if they don’t reflect
Hi Craig:
Thank you for sharing these phrases. Some people want money for every little thing. You do some free sharing. I hope you will be blessed in your work.
Thanks,
Dennis Carlsen
Hhhmmm…I am reflecting on: “to be a great speaker you must be a great tease”…ah, I believe I just uncovered my great speaking skill…after all, I have been told numerous times that I am a tease, but that never sounded like something positive…tell me more Craig, how do I use this skill best?!
Hello Craig:
Will your book World Class Speaking be available in Knndle format in the future?
I would really like that.
Best Regards.
Rashid Kapadia
I like that idea Trisha. They actually will be very effective as bite-sized content upon which your club can reflect. Great idea Coach!
Thanks Dennis. One of my objectives is to be a huge giver of free (but valuable) content. I hope I’m succeeding.
Ha! Well, Barbel, we might be talking about two different types of teases! lol. However, too often speakers just give the information without first making their audience curious and thirsty for it. For example, lots of folks just jump directly into a story and they expect their audience to come along. But it’s far more effective to tease the audience into what they’re going to hear.
So, for example, before I start one of my stories, I ask, “What is the number 1 thing that stands between most people living their dreams?” Once I get the audience’s reponses, I say, “Great answers…but they’re all wrong. The number 1 thing is not what you think…(tease).” Then I’ll go into my story and they’re happy to come with me because they’re going to find out that number 1 thing.
Another example is what you can do between major points. Instead of just saying, “And the next point to my speech is this…” Say instead, “If you get this next point…I mean if you REALLY understand it, you’ll find yourself moving towards your goals, dreams, and aspirations even while you sleep.” So now they want to know what this next point is.
Oh, and here’s the most important thing you should pick up about this Barbel, it’s…
I sure hope so Rashid. I’ll get in touch with the publishing company and ask.
Nice checklist Craig. I like the never end with a Q&A. It’s such a low energy way to finish. I save a 30 second burst until after the Q&A that refreshes my key messages in an entertaining way. It’s brings the audience up again and leaves them with my key messages.
All the best,
Warwick John Fahy
Craig;
These are great. Think I’ll turn them into a screen saver!
“When you squeeze your information in, you squeeze your audience out.” This is so true but a tough one for me. I’m in the niche of helping people prevent credit card fraud and ID theft. There is so much they need to know. I do half-days to merchants and feel like I’m needing to leave out a lot. When I get 30-60 minutes for consumers, I feel like I’m cheating them even though I do those engagement for free.
Hi Craig…
This is a great posting… Glad you did it, now I can just add them to my Foundational Phrase folder. Been always at my end’s wits trying to remember ANY foundational phrase when I have to come up with one. I really like Trisha’s idea, of using them for the club meetings.
I am not sure I understand this one completely:
Let your old story lead to their new story. Care to elaborate?
Thanks,
Miranda
PS: Wondering if you’ve been receiving my FB messages, just seems odd that you didn’t reply after 1 week… Pls advice.. thanks.
Hi Craig,
I can bet, all your phrases are correct. and they are workable ideas. I have personally applied them ( at least most of them )and got great results.
The best i like is to be a great speaker, you must be a great tease. Yes. I always do that. It helps me in 2 ways. first to get rid of my own initial nervousness and second to make a heartfelt connection with audience by teasing them, making them smile n laugh.
I am sharing some of eg. 1. if speaking in large audience- i start like this- for those who are sitting in last rows and are not able to see me clearly, let me tell you, i am tall dark handsome and look exactly like Hrithik Roshan ( he is a bollywood film star). Those who are sitting in front rows are requested to not to tell them the truth.
or- Organisers have told me to not to bore you with a long speech. so i will bore you with a short one.
lots of these teasers work very well.
I specially want to execute more on this idea-what gets recorded, gets rewarded.
Can u Please share some ideas to execute it professionally. Thanks. You are a true inspiration. I am going to share above phrases in my club. Thank you. Rajan Bhatia.
Hi Craig
I am still a little confused by the phrase:
to be agreat speaker, you must be a great tease!!
But I really appreciate all your phrases – great resource – but it will all take time to master!!!!
May God continue to bless you.
I love this one.
“Become niche and famous”
I always prefer specialization.
Craig:
All great phrases to reflect on! I already passed one on to a speaker with great potential. I’ll follow another one of your (and Darren’s) great phrases when I review these over and over: “Don’t Memorize, Internalize”.
Great idea Trisha! Our club may follow suit and do the same.
Thanks!
Tim
thanks for the reminder Craig, I site these often when coaching; for those that have not World Class Speaking Coaching Certification will share these phrases but also show you how to use them to be a World Class Coach and better speaker. Keep speaking Craig.
Craig and All,
To enjoy working with these ideas and the great many links to other wonderful ideas listed on this page, I need to have a paradign that
is helpful. If we look at ourselves as being victums or villans who will be ok when we become heros, our lives will be a problem instead of a process.
I love tennis, weather I’m great at it or not. I can apply that to my life. Being happy with what I can already do does not keep me from enjoying the process of developing new skills. We can savor them both.
Craig, Thanks for this chance to share my thoughts. Your friend and fan in a cold Minneaplis suburb.
Never end with the Q&A
I would like to hear your insight on this since this is a very common slide people leave at the end of the presentation, especially in a corporate environment.
Let me guess:
You suggest this because you want the speech to end with something positive, a good ending, a call to action, a high note?
When do you handle the Q&A?
Do you try to address the questions already in the speech?
I like you suggestions in this article. I also posted on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eventsbella/129600600426509
Thanks for sharing!
I love these, Craig! And I was stoked to receive your Create Your Killer Keynote home-study course, and to see your friendly note included. You rock!
One of my favorite phrases of the 25: Don’t speak for standing ovations, speak for standing invitations! (That is the name of the game.)
Here’s one I’m not clear on: “What gets recorded gets rewarded.”
Friendly suggestion/request: Could you number these 25 so they’ll be easier to refer to? Thanks for considering.
Thanks for all your help.
I use Tempt,Tease and Transport, Think, Act, Laugh and Learn, as well as many of your other great insights for speaking, but not for public speaking, but in the class room. They have helped me become a better teacher, which in turn has led to my students increased understanding of the subject matter. I think all teachers should learn some of your skills.
Kind regards
Steve R B Long
Valuable information and facts and exceptional design you got here! I would like to most effective wishes for sharing your thoughts and time into the stuff you post!
David I am in college currently studying to be a minister. Your material has helped me so much to polish my speaking ability. Thank you providing a way for one to refine their speaking skills.
Bless you
Greg W
Thanks Warwick. It sounds like you finish with a bang!
Thanks Tom. That has been one of my toughest ones over the years as well. However, when I follow the advice, it helps in so many ways. Not only does my message stick more with my audience, but I also don’t find myself rushing through my material. As a result, I connect more and deeper. Also, I’ve found it’s okay to leave them wanting more as long as you provide them with an opportunity to get more (i.e. a newsletter, a program, a part II, etc.). I look at it like this: Four ideas that stick are better than 20 ideas that don’t. Thanks Tom!
Hi Miranda,
Thanks. The Let your old story lead to their new story has to do with selling the results. Remember when I went through my Then, Now, and How story about failing as a speaker in Michigan and then fast-forwarding to my re-hire rate today? That’s my story but it becomes my audience’s new story. The new story they tell themselves is, “I can use these tools to increase my re-hire rate and avoid what happened to Craig in Michigan.” So they now have a new story based on my old one. Remember, never sell an idea; always sell the result. When you do, that result will be their new story.
As for Facebook, I believe we’ve already solved that.
Thanks Rajan. I really like your examples. As for What gets recorded gets rewarded, it’s really about recording every single speech you give. It will benefit you in many ways.
1. You will continue to improve. Some speakers try to monitor their what they’ll change next time while they’re still on stage. Instead, you can monitor your future tweaks and changes afterwards when you listen to your recording.
2. You can turn these recordings into products
3. You can use small sections of the recordings for websites and newsletters, etc. If you go back through many of my blog entries, you’ll see Play buttons with audio.
So, I use the Olympus LS-10 recorder that you can find at http://www.resourcesforspeakers.com
I hope that helps!
Thanks Claire. To be a great speaker you must be a great tease means that, before you give away your ideas, you should make your audience want to hear them. Here’s an example of how I use it. I’ll say, “What is the number one thing that stands between most people living their dreams?” My audience usually yells out comments like, “Themselves” or “Fear” or Procrastination.” I then joke with them by saying, “These are all great answers and they’re all wrong. No, they’re not wrong; they’re just not the number one thing that stands in the way. The number one thing is not what you think it is…” Well, at that point, my audience is thinking, “Well, what is the number one thing?” And then I dive into a story that shares what it is.
So that’s how I tease them into wanting to hear it, which is much more effective than simply saying, “Here’s the number one thing that stands in the way…” and giving it to them. So always think, “How can I make them want to hear this next part?”
Thanks Mohamed. Yes, I came up with that saying a while ago. Some of the best books I’ve read on this topic are the following:
Positioning by Ries and Trout
Differentiate or die (same authors)
Focus (same authors)
Re-positioning (same authors)
I laugh because these authors seem to come out with a book every several years that remind people to stay in their niche. Why? Chances are people keep becoming unfocused and they need these reminders. I know I need this reminder!
Thanks Tim. That’s definitely an important one! It’s the difference between having a connection or not.
Thanks Sarah. You’re the best. I can’t wait for us to do our workshop in person together.
Thank you Richard. I really appreciate your response. I often tell people, “There’s no finish line.” When you focus on what you have, you get more. When you are grateful for what you have, you get more to be grateful for. Charlie “Tremendous” Jones taught me the importance of being grateful and it changed my life. Still, like you said, I can be happy with what I have and still want to learn more tools. Keep it up!
Hi Dzung,
Thank you for your note. The reason behind this involves primacy and recency (people remember best what they hear first and what they hear last). Your message should be the last thing in their ears. It’s not always about finishing on a high, but it is about finishing in a way that your audience knows your tools will work for them too. Plus, some people can ask some crazy questions! You don’t want that question to be the last thing an audience remembers about your presentation.
I once spoke in a ballroom right next to a very prominent politician who finished his presentation with the Q and A. There were a few plants in the audience and they stood up and grilled him on one of his political stances. It got to the point where they had to throw the 2 plants out of the audience and drag the politician off the stage. Guess what was remembered by that audience?
Thanks Gina. Absolutely I can number them. I’ll make a tweak and perhaps include it in a future blog as a PDF download as well.
What gets recorded gets rewarded refers to the act of recording every presentation you give. It helps you with tweaking it for the future and you can also possibly turn them into products. Plus, you can have your speeches transcribed at http://www.wordsintoprofits.com for a very low fee in case you wanted to break them up into articles, blog posts, etc. There are just so many ways to be rewarded from the simple act of recording your speech. It’s even more rewarding when you actually go back and listen to what you’ve recorded (which is sometimes scary)!
You can find the recording device I use at http://www.resourcesforSpeakers.com
Thanks Gina!
Thanks so much Steve! I appreciate that and I’m glad the tools are working for you. Keep up the great work in the world’s most important profession.
Thank you Shaunte for your kind words. Also, thanks for reading the post.
Thank you Greg. It’s Craig but I will assume your comment was meant for me. I wish you the best in your endeavors. Stay in touch.
Hi Craig, thank you for the checklist. Need to take time to get better on each one of them. My new year’s resolution! haha.
There’s only one I’m not sure, “A confused mind says no but a clear mind says go.” Could you help elaborate it? Thank you!
Craig, I mentioned living in the moment and you talked about graditude. – maybe gratefulness is the thing that leads us to savoring the moment. I remember a book title: “To love is to be happy with.” Appreciation of what others do and how well they do it are my modus operandi. “Good job” and “Thank you” – more often: “Thank you so much” This is an old truth.
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others” Cicero, Roman author, orator, & politician (106 BC – 43 BC)
Hi Craig,
Thank you for all the outstanding speaking information you graciously give and share with us.
I just finished listening to your Speaking Tip #49 “No Phrase? No Stage.” It’s a terrific tip and also one you’ve included in your 25 Phrases.
“The Foundational Phrase determines what stays”
Are you still looking for a Foundational Phrase regarding your son’s reply to having another cookie after a break? What about: “All work and no play, makes Jack (Ace) a dull boy.”
Craig, you are the best. I appreciate all you have given to help me reach my audiences. Thank you.
Robert
Thank you Robert. I appreciate your kind words and your Foundational Phrase for the cookie story. Thanks for adding value to my next audience!
Thanks Richard. Living in the present moment is something I learned from The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, which is my favorite book. I agree with you 100%.
Thanks Cynthia. It’s nice to hear from you again!
“A confused mind says no” is an old saying and then I added the second part that “a clear mind says go.” This means that our audience members won’t take action if they are confused about what action to take. One of the ways we confuse them is by giving too many next steps and too much information in one speech. The key is to offer just a few simple next steps that are clear so our audience takes action.
Here’s an example. I saw a speaker trying to sell products while he spoke but the problem was he had about 7 or 8 choices of what people could get. When he explained it from the stage, it just confused his audience. As a result, very few people bought anything. When I do my back of the room sales, I offer one next step (one product) and just one choice. This makes it so clear for my audience. As a result, they take the next step. When they are clear, they take action. When they are not, they sit still. I hope that helps!
Thank you, Craig. It’s very clear. Will take note in my next speaking and training.
Reminded me of another phrase you said but not included in the above 25, “Change small, change often.” I used that to tell my clients when they found discouraged that they have so many areas to improve on.
Thank you again, Craig.
Thank you for the great resources! I’m newly into direct sales and am looking to amp up my client base and sales.
Never sell a product, always sell the result – describes perfectly what business I’m in. I have ideas on how to restate my story and examples for my upcoming events. Looking forward to the 52 tips I just signed up for!
Sounds good Dee. I can feel your enthusiasm through the computer. Good luck with your new venture.