Getting ready to speak to Technology professionals

My Confession

I must confess that, in the past, I used to view some audiences as collective groups. For example, I’d think, “Okay, this is a group of engineers so I can’t bring my normal speaking style to this event.” And I’d change my style and almost always fail. Fortunately for me, another speaker pulled me aside one day and said, “Craig, they hired you for a reason. They want YOU!”

Realization

With that realization I came to see that all of our audiences are made up of individual human beings that have feelings, emotions, and ways of thinking and that you can’t just look at them as one static group. They are whole people. I say this because some speakers think they need to change their entire style to speak to certain groups. This is untrue. You need to still be you. However, you can make subtle adjustments to fit the culture of each event.

Even Thoracic Surgeons?

The first time I spoke to a group of thoracic surgeons I had doubts about bringing my energetic style to the table. I thought since they were surgeons that maybe I should leave my humor and emotions out and simply give them the logic. After all, heart surgery is serious is it not?

However, soon after I began, it hit me that they were individual human beings long before becoming surgeons. In other words, they’d like me to make them TALL (Think, Act, Laugh, and Learn) just as other audieneces would. So I gave them me. Following the presentation many of the surgeons (and some scientists) approached me and said things like:

 “Thank you for bringing this conference to life. These conferences are usually so boring.”

 “You gave me a new sense of why I do what I do. Thank you!”

 “I am so motivated to get back to my research. Do you have any tapes (that’s what we used to call them)?”

Realize that none of these comments was about the logic, but about change. Change is sparked by emotions backed up by logic. It’s very difficult to connect with peoples’ emotions when you’re not being your true self. No matter whom you address, make sure YOU are the one addressing them.

Should I ever change based on the audience?

 You don’t need to change who you are but you can certainly make adjustments to your content and your delivery. Adjust for your audience. Even though you have individuals in your audience, you can still customize your speech in ways that will help them connect with you the best. Just make sure, like everything else in speaking, the adjustments are subtle. Look at the ways many speakers adjust to certain types of audiences while retaining their own style:

The Key to Your Connection?                                     

All in all, the key to making a connection is you. No matter what small adjustments you make please keep in mind that the audience still wants to experience the real you. Tell your stories and make your points. They hired you for a reason. They want you just the way you are.

Speaking in Bali, Indonesia

As soon as you start learning to speak, what’s one thing speakers and speech coaches tell you? They say, “Pause.” A lot of conversation goes into tell you to pause but not enough conversation goes into showing you the specifics of when and how and for how long, etc.

Below are five moments in which you can pause along with tools you can use to maximize the impact of those pauses so you connect deeper with every future audience. Here are the five reasons:

Moment #1 –  When you ask a question

So often I see speakers ask their audiences a question but then they don’t pause long enough to let the audiences respond. If you want a verbal response then it becomes easy. However, when the question is rhetorical, it becomes slightly more difficult? Why? Because you might not know how long to pause. What you pick up here is my secret key to asking questions and  pausing for the appropriate length.

Secret Key: In my mind, I answer the question I just asked as if I am in my audience.

For example, let’s take a question I heard in my bootcamp this past weekend. The speaker asked, “When you were in Grade 3, what did you want to be when you grew up?”

If you were to ask that question, how long would you pause? Well, I would answer my own question in my mind after I asked it so that I could hopefully match how long it would take my audience to think, reflect, and answer the question in their minds.

For example, after I asked the question, I would answer in my mind, “Well, I wanted to be Dr. J (pro basketball player) and have my own farm with horses.” However long it takes me to answer my question is how long I pause. After I answer it in my mind, I continue talking. In this case, I continue by asking the follow-up question, “Is that what you have become?”

How long would I pause after this second question? Here’s a quiz for you. Would I pause longer or shorter than I paused for the first question? I’d pause shorter for the second question. Why? Because it’s a yes or no question. Think about it. If (like my bootcamp attendee did), I asked, “Is that what you have become?” the answer is either yes or no. That’s only one word. Therefore, after I ask the question, I answer it in my mind by saying, “No.” Guess what? That’s how long (or short) I pause! That’s it. Pretty simple, right?

Whenever you ask a rhetorical question on stage, answer it in your own mind and that will give you an adequate and effective pause. You might even pause a bit longer because, let’s face it, unlike your audience, you already know what you’re going to ask so you have a head start in thinking of the answer.

Some speech coaches will tell you to count to five or seven or something like that. Do you know why I don’t suggest that? Because counting to five or seven takes you away from your message. To me it always seems artificial. However, if you answer the question you ask, you stay in tune with what your audience is going through and hence you’ll connect deeper with them. So much of your speaking success is determined by what’s going on in your mind as you speak.  

As you see from this strategy, how long you pause after your question depends on the question itself.

Moment #2 – After you say something profound

Another important reason to pause is after you say something that hits home with your audience. How do you know it hits home? You know by watching your watchers and listening to your listeners. You’ll see on their faces when it hits home. Over time, you will know which parts of your message resonate the deepest.

Here’s an example. Listen to this quick statement I make and the pause afterwards.

Download audio file (ExcusesShort.mp3)
 

Surely you heard the pause after the line “We invite them never the change.” It was a good pause for that audience. What do I mean that it was good for that audience?

Here’s something you might never have heard about pausing.

The size of the audience can help determine the length of your pause

The larger your audience, the longer you pause.

If you think about it, it makes sense because you’re pausing to make sure they “get” the statement. Well, if you’re in front of a smaller audience, you can look around the room quicker to see the confirmation on their faces or their heads nodding in agreement. In a larger audience it takes a bit longer to see all of head nods and expressions. If you were speaking to one person, the pause would be even shorter although it would still be there.

Too many speakers start feeding their audiences the next lines when the audience is still chewing on the current line. Let them finish chewing before you give them more. Many speakers know not to step on the laughter but they haven’t yet learned to avoid stepping on their audience’s thoughts and reflections.

Moment #3 – When you make your audience laugh

Knowing and doing are two different animals. Most speakers know not to keep talking while their audience is laughing. However, I still see way too many speakers doing it. Some speakers say, “But Craig, I don’t have enough time so I have to interrupt their laughter.” I say, “Cut something else out of your speech so you can make room for the laughter but don’t step on the laughter.”

Why? Because stepping on the laughter is rude to your audience. Your audience wants to be heard too. That’s why they laugh. That’s why they yell out at times. That’s why they nod their heads and give you verbal cues that they’re connected with you. Let them speak in their own ways including laughter.

The key is to get the laugh, pause, and then come back in at the very end of the laughter just as it’s dying down.

Keep in mind that laughter from a large audience requires a longer pause because it takes them longer to laugh. That’s why, each year, I see contestants in speech contests go over time. Why? They underestimate how long it takes those larger audiences to laugh.

Moment #4 – Before you begin your speech

Before you begin your speech, I suggest that you pause and look at your audience. I’m not talking about staring at them for 10 seconds and making everybody uncomfortable. I’m simply suggesting that you look at them and let them know you see them before you start speaking.

Why? Well, what do you think about a person who doesn’t look at you when you first meet? Some people won’t trust the person and others will think the person isn’t really interested in connecting with them. Either way, this is not good for the connection. Your audience can think the same thing about you if you don’t at least acknowledge their presence with a look that says, “I see you” before you begin your speech (i.e. as you first meet). The good news is this can be done in a couple of seconds.

Moment #5 – When you are showing a visual reaction to what has occurred in your story

Last but certainly not least is the pause you give inside of your stories. I already covered this in a separate blog entry but it’s worth bringing up again. To revisit that entry click here and scroll down to the part of that entry that says “The Problem with Silence.”

Why Don’t Speakers Pause Long Enough

I believe speakers don’t pause enough (or long enough) because they’re afraid they’ll forget what to say next. So instead they rush off to the next line for fear of forgetting it. So what’s the solution to this?

 Don’t memorize; internalize

 I don’t believe speakers should ever be worried about what they’re going to say next. Instead, they should have rehearsed to a point where they can forget their speech and have it come back to them at all of the correct times. That keeps it fresh. This can be done by internalizing your speech rather than memorizing it. Stay tuned for a future newsletter lesson on how to internalize your speech.

Final Thoughts

Speakers and speech coaches constantly point out the importance of the pause, but now you hopefully have some more insight into when and how to do it. Keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list of when and how to pause. However, it is a reminder of five very important moments in your speech that you can use to establish and deepen your connection to your audience.

Because this is the Holiday season, I felt like giving the gift that keeps on giving. Below are five very important newsletters from the past 2-3 years.

I’m sure there may be other newsletters of mine that hit you more where you live. However, if you act on the suggestions from these 5, you should gain a significant edge over most speakers when it comes to mastering this wonderful art of public speaking.  

If you have read them before, you should enjoy seeing them again from your new perspective.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Five Must-See Newsletters from the Past Two Years

 The #1 Storytelling Mistake Speakers Make (and 3 ways to fix it)

 Two Delivery Tools to Uncover Humor in your Speech

 25 Phrases to Guide you to Greatness in Speaking

 4 Mistakes that Make You Lose Your Audience

 Intangibles of Speaking – 20 Ideas to Have Presence and Speak from the Heart

If you want to continue mastering the art of public speaking, stay tuned for more valuable newsletters to come!

So much of what we do in speaking involves the visual that goes with the verbal. And, unfortunately, many speakers forget all about the visual part. Here are three tools you can use to energize your audience, keep them with you, and provide a humorous experience.  Watch the video below before you begin reading about the tools under it.

Note: This is an excerpt from a speech I gave to a wonderful company in Oklahoma.

Tool #1: Finish the Phrase

Let your audience finish your phrase. For example, I said, “Being the World Champion is a blessing and a _________.” They said, “Curse!” and finished the phrase. You will recall that I held my hand to my ear to signify that I wanted them to yell out. That’s the visual part. You can do this several times throughout your speech to keep them on their toes and get them involved.

I also asked, “Good luck is when preparedness meets what?” Several of them said, “Opportunity!” This is great because it makes those who got it right feel good. Plus, every now and then you’ll hear an answer that you can jump on as a spontaneous moment.

For example, one time I said, “Good luck is when preparedness meets…” and someone yelled out, “Preparation!” Needless to say, I jumped all over that one and the audience member and I had a wonderful back and forth. This is another example of the Finish the Phrase tool.

Tool #2: React to their Reactions

After I used the line about Denzel Washington, I looked at one audience member and said, “You didn’t have to laugh that hard.” She laughed and the audience laughed with us.

The key is to pick out people who have reacted in a certain way (visibly or verbally) and actually talk directly to them. It makes them feel special and it helps you connect with the entire audience. Plus, it turns the speech from a monologue into a dialogue.

The key here is not to just give the line, but also give the look that goes with the line. That’s the visual part. The reaction on your face should precede the response from your lips.

Tool #3: Give the audience Dialogue

If an audience member says something funny or meaningful, repeat it and give him or her credit. I did this when the lady in the front row said, “I thought 4 hours was the max.” The key is to repeat it in his or her same dialogue by saying, “She said, ‘I thought 4 hours was the max.’” This is much more effective than narrating it with “She told me 4 hours was the max.” Say it exactly how she said it. You can also gesture to the person with an open hand (rather than pointing with your finger). That’s the visual part.

Again, this makes the audience member feel important and gives her a bit of temporary stardom. After all, what do you think will happen when she goes back to her office? Chances are her colleagues will talk about that moment. When they discuss the moment, they remember you. This helps to transform your talk from a static speech into an exciting experience.

Your Turn

I’m curious to know if and how you’ve used the abovementioned tools. Let’s talk about it. How have you used them? What happened as a result?

Should you toot your own horn when speaking?

The answer is yes. However, it’s a must to do it without hitting a sour note with your audience.

Why is it important to do?

It’s important because your audience has the following question in their minds when you get up to speak:

Why should I listen to this speaker?

In other words, your audience needs to know how you’ve earned the right to speak to them. What credibility do you have? Don’t get me wrong, if your stories and messages are interesting, they will listen. However, throughout the speech, you will gain greater and greater influence once they understand, bit by bit, how you’ve walked your own talk and utilized the tools you are now sharing with them. They need to know what you’ve done so they can care about what you share.

5 Tooting Tools to build credibility without hitting a sour note

1. Spread it out

I remember back when I first started with the National Seminars Group (NSG). Before my first training session, I was trained for two days on NSG’s way of doing things. I tried to start my practice training session by stating my accolades in an attempt to build credibility. My trainer said, “Craig, don’t try to get all of your accolades across at the beginning, because that will turn your audience off. Instead, spread it over the two days.” I never forgot that.

She was absolutely right. If you bunch up your accolades and list one after the other, your audience will feel like you’re lifting yourself above them. Instead, it’s important to mention an accolade only when it relates to the point you’re about to make. For example, if the third point in my speech is “Stay away from negative people,” that’s when I might mention a good result I achieved in life (such as winning Salesperson of the year 3 times in 4 years) because I did it by avoiding negative people. The key is that I don’t bring up the accolade until I bring up the relevant point. And because your points are spread throughout your speech, your accolades will automatically follow suit.

2. Put it in another character’s words

Instead of saying something like, “I won Manager of the Year for the National Small Business Council,” I could put that into another character’s words within my story. I learned this from Patricia Fripp.

I like to do this with a question. For example, I could say, “My friend Karen once asked me, ‘Craig, what went into becoming the Manager of the Year for the National Small Business Council? What do you attribute that to?’” With that set up, I can say, “Well, Karen, I learned the most important tool there is to know when it comes to leading people. It’s…” So I set up the tool with the toot. This becomes organic and meaningful to the point rather than thrown in with an egotistical intention.

3. Share at least one failure first

One way to avoid hitting a sour note with your toot is to share at least one failure before you share the related success. Your audience can now identify with your failure and later be excited about how you turned it into a success. They will be on your side.   

Another option is to share the failure and the toot at the same time. For example, when I speak to sales groups, I often share this quick mixture of  tooting and failing. Click below to hear the 44-second audio.

Download audio file (Fred.mp3)

When you share the toot and the failure together, your audience knows that you realize it is the process (i.e. avoiding negative people) that helped you accomplish what you did.

4. Be Grateful in your Delivery

As you know, speaking is a combination of structure, content, and delivery. Delivery plays a big role in how your toot comes across. If you deliver it as if you always knew you were entitled to achieve your accomplishment, it will hit a sour note. However, if you deliver it as if you are grateful and maybe even surprised at the success, it will come across as something we can celebrate with you.  And we will!

5. Put the process, not the person, on a pedestal

Don’t toot about yourself as much as you toot about the processes you’ve uncovered. For example, in the audio you heard about my colleague Fred, I then go on to inform my audience that it was hanging around positive people that helped me reach my sales success. It wasn’t me, it was the process. Put the process, not the person, on a pedestal.

Final thoughts:

Tooting your own horn can come across either as a sour note or beautiful music. If you prefer the latter, then put these 5 Tooting Tools to work for you.

Craig Valentine speaking to 50 CEOs and Executives in Sri Lanka

Many speakers give absolutely no thought to how they use the stage. They are missing out on a grand opportunity to pull on the audience’s emotions, clarify their message, and paint a lasting picture in the minds of their audience members.

Here’s a quick solution:

Designate a spot on the stage for each story you tell within your speech. Then, when you get to the end of the speech, you can call back to those stories while physically calling back to those spots on the stage.

For example, at the end of my speech, while I say, “…and just like Jermaine Williams Jr. would not let go of his old ways…” I also hand-gesture to the spot on the floor where I originally told that story. When you do this, you’ll evoke much more emotion in your audience because they will still “see” the story (happening in that spot on the stage) in their mind.

Also, make sure you remember the number one reason for moving on stage.

“Let the action in your story prompt your movement on stage.”

When something happens in your story, relive it on stage. For example, if you use the line, “I rushed over to my daughter’s room to see if she was okay,” don’t just stand there, rush! Look panicked! Move! Do as the story tells you to do. Do as you did when it really happened. Relive it. Let the action drive your movement on stage. Again, this means you’ll have to designate the spot where her room is represented on stage so you can rush over to it.

Remember that speaking is a series of scenes. If you’re not in the scene, you won’t be able to bring us into it.

How else can you use the stage?

• If you have 3 major points, you can designate a spot on the stage for each point and then you keep calling back to those points visually and verbally as you move on to the next points. This helps the audience follow along with your speech’s roadmap.
• If you have a problem/solution speech, you can use your right side of the stage (your audience’s left side) for the problem and your left side for the solution
• If you have a past vs. future speech, you use your right as the problem and your left as the solution
• If you have a good behavior vs bad behavior, you can use your right as the bad and your left as the good
• When you finish your story (or another anchor) you can step up closer to your audience and make your point
• When you turn one of your audience members into a character in your story (which is a great idea), you can walk up to where he or she is sitting and deliver your lines of dialogue.
• You can turn the stage into a timeline that you walk up and down based on the past, present, and future. For example, listen to this quick 30-second segment:

Download audio file (JoinedTI.mp3)

In the USA and many other countries where we use English as our first language, our timelines move from the left to the right. However, as a speaker, we must do it backwards (right to left) so that it’s correct for our audience members. Therefore, you should move to your right (the audience’s left) for the past, and keep moving to your left as you enter the present and the future. For the audio you just heard, I started to my right when I joined Toastmasters, moved to the center when I got my CTM, and moved to the left when I won the World Championship. All of this movement was subtle but significant.

The Visual/Verbal Callback

The good news is, because I have set up the spots, now I can call back visually and verbally to them. For example, towards the end of my speech I can easily walk back to my right, point to that spot in the past and ask, “But what if I had never joined Toastmasters?” Then I can look or gesture to my left (the future) and ask, “Where would I be today?” That’s powerful.

Final Thoughts

Using the stage takes practice? Don’t be like so many speakers who think they can ”wing it.” Why? Because you don’t want to make these movements obvious. Instead, make them subtle. Take just a few steps in one direction to separate the past from the future. Don’t move all the way across the stage. Take a tiny step forward to drive home your point. Don’t take several steps away each time a new character is talking. Make it all subtle otherwise it will distract from your message.

“The key is subtlety on stage”

It’s up to you how you use the stage, but just don’t forget to use it intentionally. Moving on stage can help move your audience to action.

Craig Valentine's audience in Sri Lanka

That past 12 years of professional speaking have taught me something invaluable that I never expected to learn about audiences.

Your connection to them often comes from what you didn’t plan to do or say

Spontaneity Sparks Speaking Success

Surely you can connect with your planned content. However, audience members love to feel like this is not just another cookie-cutter speech that you are giving and that some of what is happening hasn’t happened anywhere else. Spontaneous moments provide this satisfaction.  

By jumping on the spontaneous moments, you will…  

• Deepen your connection
• generate an eruption of humor
• Turn some of your audience members into the stars of your speech
• Get more buy-in for your message because “People buy into what they help create,” and your audience helps to create this speech
• Give your audience members something fun to refer to days and months later
• Lift the energy
• Refresh you as the speaker because it feels new and magical for you too!

Why don’t more speakers use spontaneity?

With so many benefits to having spontaneity, what keeps most speakers from taking advantage of these potential speech-changing moments?

Answer:  Trust and time.

Trust: They don’t trust themselves to be able to leave their planned content, jump on the spontaneous moments, and then seamlessly return to continue their points. You must be willing to leave your mental script and take a chance without knowing exactly where it will take you.

 Time: They don’t allow enough time and space within their content to milk these wonderful moments. If you’re called to do a 45-minute engagement, you should not plan for 45 minutes of content. Instead, plan for 35-40 minutes for a couple of reasons.

• First, it will take a few minutes for people to settle into the venue and for your introducer to introduce you.

• Next, you cannot connect with your audience when you are rushing through your material. If you plan to fill up the entire 45 minutes with your content, you WILL be rushing and there will be no room to even look for spontaneity. Remember the old speaker proverb: When you squeeze your information in, you squeeze your audience out.

• Finally, it’s perfectly fine to end a few minutes early whereas it’s often disastrous to end a few minutes late. The balance you want to strike is to give them great content and leave them wanting more. Only when you provide space for these moments, will they arise and present themselves as tremendous opportunities.

Move towards, not away from, these opportunities

Example #1: Sometimes you can bring audience members on stage to help make a point and realize there is a potential for some humorous, spontaneous moments. Here’s an example that comes from a public speaking workshop I did last month in Sri Lanka. I brought someone up on stage who told a story about how he and his friend hid behind a bush as they watched their teacher walk by a pool. Then they decided to run out and push this teacher into the pool. As I worked with this participant’s story, I received my own surprise about his friend. Listen to how it went (68 seconds)

Download audio file (SriLanka.mp3)

That was just the tip of the iceberg of the spontaneity that happened with that participant. Still, it lifted the energy of the audience, provided humor, and made him the star. People are still e-mailing me about that moment a month later.

Example #2: Other times audience members will do something or say something that you can address. For example, let’s take a workshop I did two days ago for the enrollment staff at a University. I facilitated and activity in which the participants were to get into groups of three and make triangles. Usually they draw these triangles on paper. However, one participant claimed to have made several triangles but none were on paper and I couldn’t quite grasp her explanation or see any of her triangles. Now, you can’t see what I’m doing, but you can still pick up the flavor of our interaction based on the response of the other audience members. Listen to this (86 seconds).

Download audio file (Triangles.mp3)

Just in case you’re wondering, I was doing several physical moves and turns on stage and calling them “triangles.” The key is it was all in fun and she, at least for the time being, became the star of that moment. But the other key was knowing this was a two hour workshop and allowing myself not to fill the entire two hours with content. In other words, I left time for spontaneity and interaction. As a result, it lifted the energy, provided a tremendous amount of humor, and made her star.

Example #3: Here’s one more example that happened to me many years ago. While speaking to a group of probation officers, I began my dramatic closing story about a devastating moment in my childhood. Needless to say, I didn’t get the reaction I imagined. However, I did milk the reaction (spontaneous moment) I got. Instead of running away from or ignoring the moment, I ran to it. Here’s how it went (2 minutes):

Download audio file (Probation.mp3)

Your Challenge

So there you have it. Now you know what these wonderful magical spontaneous moments can do for you and you know that Trust and Time are what you need to take advantage of them.

In your next (non-contest) speech, I challenge you to have at least one spontaneous moment that you jump on and milk to see where it takes you. When you do, feel free to send me a comment in this blog entry describing the moment so I (and others) can enjoy it too! Thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing from you.

Speaking in Sri Lanka

To become a top-notch speaker and keep improving, it is important to internalize valuable speaking truths. Now, these are my truths but I’ve certainly found them to work for the hundreds of speakers I have personally coached. I suggest that you tack these Reminders up in your workspace and keep them in front of you. 

If you are not familiar with some of these reminders, I have also provided the three resources you can access to grasp the reminders fully. 

7 Storytelling Reminders             

1. Tap into your audience’s world with a question before you transport them into your world with a story. 

2. Don’t give the cure before you build the conflict. 

3. Too much narration = a report. Too much dialogue = a stage play. The right mix = a very compelling story. 

4. It’s not the line, it’s the look before and after the line that tells the story 

5. If we don’t see a change in your character, then you don’t have a story. Show the change after the cure. 

6. Just give a hint to describe your scenes and characters. People buy into what they help create so if you go into too much detail, there’s nothing left for them to do. Save those details for your novel. 

7. Don’t just establish the conflict; escalate it using at least two escalation events). 

Resource: These reminders come out of my most popular best-selling course that helps you keep your audience on the edge of their seats with your stories. It’s called the Edge Of their Seats Storytelling Home-Study Course for Speakers. 

7 Keynoting Reminders

1. To be an excellent speaker you must be an excellent tease. Find ways to Transition Tease them for what’s coming next (using the Silver Spoon or Verbal Knife approach).    

2. Never end with the Q and A (Questions and Answers) session. Have one if necessary, but don’t end with it. 

3. Check the PARTS (make sure you have a Phrase, Anchor, Reflection, Technique, and Sale) for every point you make so that you become known as a content-rich speaker. 

4. Use all 4A’s for Anchors (Anecdote, Analogy, Activity, and Acronym) in every keynote speech or training session 

5. Use the 10:1 Rule of Thumb to determine how many points to make during your speech. If you’re speaking for 45 minutes, make no more than 4 major points and dive a mile deep into each one. Remember the old speaking proverb; 

When you squeeze your information in, you squeeze your audience out 

6. Make sure you provide a Roadmap (i.e. “First  you will pick up tools on how to breathe life into your speech, then you’ll see how to bring the audience to you, and finally, how to build a message that sticks.”) so your audience knows exactly where they are going. 

7. Use the Discuss and Debrief method to have your audience review and verbally express your message towards the end of your speech. Remember what Tom Hopkins said: 

 If I say it, they can doubt me. If they say it, it’s true 

Get them to say your message. 

Resource: These reminders come out of the course that helps you develop and deliver a captivating 30 to 60 to 90 minute speech. It’s called the Create Your Killer Keynote Home-Study Course for Speakers. 

7 Selling Reminders

1. Never sell a product (or service, idea, change, or yourself); always sell the result. 

2. Go across the EDGE (Esteem more, Do more, Gain more, Enjoy more) when selling your results and making your promises. 

3. Always state the result before the resource. For example, I ask some of my audiences the following: “Raise your hand if, a year from now, you’d like to be at least 3 times better than the speaker you are today (result)? Great then visit my free site at http://www.52SpeakingTips.com (resource) and get a free speaking tip each week for 52 weeks.” 

4. Create the Need for Now so your audience acts on your next step immediately. They will not act later. 

5. Put the power of reciprocity to work for you. It’s in peoples’ DNA to want to return the favor. 

6. Never make a separate sales pitch during your speech. Instead, make it an organic extension of your story using the Then, Now, and How approach.   

7. Put the process, not the person, on a pedestal. When you lift yourself up, you let your audience down. But you also bring down your ability to sell because unless you come across as similar (and not special), your audience won’t act on your message or buy anything from you. 

Resource: These reminders come out of the course that helps you make an extra $3,000 to $5,000 per speech by selling products and services. It’s called the Mastering Back of the Room Sales Home-Study Course for Speakers  

Here is a video coaching I did for a presenter and we worked on that missing ingredient necessary for telling your story effectively.

Important note: This missing ingredient was originally driven home to me by my good friend and fellow World Champion, Darren LaCroix. So the credit for this message goes to Darren. Enjoy the video:

Thoughts to remember:

• It’s the look before and after that line that really makes the line work
• Both posture and positioning of your characters are important when delivering their lines
• Paint the picture of where each character is located. Should he/she be looking up, down, near, or far away, etc. when delivering his/her lines?
• Make sure we (the audience members) know which character is talking. Posture, positioning, and using the other character’s name in the line of dialogue all contribute to this clarity.
• Make sure you take on the persona of each character. For example, the Police Officer should come across as authoritative.
• Posture, Positioning, and Persona will breathe life into each scene.

Even the greatest content/message will be ruined by a poor delivery. So often speakers work diligantly on what they’re going to say but they fail to connect because of how they’re saying it. The following 10 Delivery Guidelines will help you use your delivery to deepen, rather than damage, your connection.

1. Don’t move all the time

If you are always moving then no movement will be meaningful. Your audience will never know what’s most important. Move with a purpose. When there is no reason to move, don’t.

 What’s the main purpose for moving during your speech?

It’s the action in your story. Let the action in your story prompt your movement on stage. If you have a story in which you move from the living room to the kitchen, show that movement on stage. That means you must have designated spots for the kitchen and for the living room on your stage. And those spots must stay there for the length of that particular story. Listen to what might happen if they don’t.

Download audio file (Lunch-on-Uncle-.mp3)
 

2. Don’t forget about your face

Your facial expressions are more important than all your arm and hand movements combined. The eyes are indeed the windows to the soul. What you do with them can make or break your entire speech.

3. Use your character’s gestures

Keep in mind that speaking involves utilizing captivating stories to make your unforgettable points. Each story has its own characters and each character probably has his or her own way of gesturing. When you take on the role and persona of that character, you should use his or her gestures. While rehearsing your speech, consistently ask yourself, “How would this character say this?” In other words, every character should not look and act like you. Each character should act differently, because that will help us see those characters with greater clarity. So again, keep asking:

How would this character say this?

4. Let the emotions drive

The emotions in your story and in your point will drive your movements. If you are intoxicated with your emotions while telling your story or making your point, the appropriate gestures will come. It will be effortless. Think about it. When you’re really angry at someone or something, do you have to think about what gestures to use? No, they come automatically. If you build the emotion, the gestures will come.

5. Use Surround-Sense Gestures (360 Degrees)

Many speakers gesture in front of them and maybe on the side. The most effective speakers realize there is an entire area around them and they utilize it. Feel free to gesture down for the lower dimension. For example, when I speak about a swamp tour my wife and I took, I talk about the alligators that surrounded the boat. At that point I gesture downwards with the open hand while looking at where the water is designated on stage. Then I describe the trees that were hanging down as if they were trying to grab onto us. At that point I gesture upwards to the upper dimension using my hands to emulate how the trees hung and swayed. At times I point behind me to the back of the stage or in front of me out into the audience. I might point to my right to signify the past and point to my left to signify the future as I use the stage as a timeline. The key is to go up, down, back, forth, and side to side in order to paint a whole (surround-sense) scene for your audience in order to invite them into it.

6. Don’t use the same gesture over and over again

This is evidence of a habit and most likely distracts from your presentation. Ask me how I know this!

7. Watch out for your resting position

This is the position your hands fall to when you’re not using a gesture. For example, my hands used to fall together in front of me with my fingers interlocking. In time it became distracting. Definitely film your speeches every now and then to see if you’re falling into this habit. It helps to turn off the sound and then fast-forward the video because if you’re using a resting point, it will become very evident.

8. Use an open hand

It’s better to point to your audience with an open hand rather than an index finger. It’s less threatening and more inviting. The open hand is also effective when calling back to spots on the floor as you revisit the points, characters, and stories you previously used. A body language expert recently told me that palms up are much more welcoming than palms down as you deliver your message and especially when you point to someone in your audience. Apparently palms down can have a condescending effect.

9. Use bigger gestures for bigger audiences

Don’t mismatch the size of your audience with the size of your gestures. If you’re speaking at a Commencement Ceremony to 4,000 people and you give the same sized gestures that you do in front of a Toastmasters Club, chances are your audience won’t see them. When the audience gets bigger, you must get bigger.

 Also, make sure you match their energy at first. For example, if you have a laid back audience, you can’t come out screaming and excited, because they’ll be looking for the nearest exit. Instead, meet them on their energy level and then, once you connect with them there, they will follow you to your natural energy level. It’s called Pacing and Leading. You must intially meet them where they are, not where you are.

10. Smile

Often the first thing to go when a speaker gets on stage is his or her smile. That’s unfortunate because the smile can connect you with your audience before you even say one word. So smile…when appropriate!