As you know, how you open and close your speech is critically important. Below are two tools you can use to open with impact and close meaningfully even when stressed for time.

Let’s start with your opening. Can you think of any reason why I would advise you (at times) to scrap what you’ve prepared for an opening? Here’s why?

Many times the best way to connect with your audience is to do an opening call-back that you just uncovered at, or on your way to, the event.  

The Opening Call-back

What’s that? It’s not something you’ve planned for weeks. Instead, it’s something that happened related to that specific engagement. For example, it might be…

• something that happened to you as you traveled to the engagement
• something that somebody said earlier during the engagement
• the way someone treated you before you stepped on stage

 In a nutshell, it’s anything related to that event that you can bring up as you open your speech.

Why does the Opening Call-back work so well?

Audience members want to feel like your speech is special to you. They want to feel like it’s specifically designed for them but that it still has meaning for you. They want to make sure it’s not a speech you are giving with your eyes closed. They don’t want to feel like you’re speaking to every audience you’ve ever had. Instead, they want to know you are focused on this one and only engagement. They want to feel like parts of your speech “could only have happened here.”

Celine Dion taught me this lesson

In 2002 I watched a program where Celine Dion was about to sing her famous song from the Titanic movie. Before she started I thought, “Wow, she must have sung this song thousands of times. I wonder if it’s still special to her.” Then she looked at the audience and let them know that the song had a special meaning to her that day because it was the 90th anniversary of the day the Titanic sank. Even though I was watching on television, you could feel the connection with her audience deepen. I remember thinking, “This is going to be special and this is only happening once.”

What’s Your Flavor?

The other benefit to using an opening call-back is that whatever you do in the opening flavors the rest of your speech in your audience’s eyes. Therefore, when you open with something specific to them, they think, “Great. This is not canned. He’s speaking to us!” Plus, it usually involves someone they know and that person can temporarily become the star of the speech. A great way to connect with your audience is to turn a few of them into stars.  

For example, recently I spoke outside of Philadelphia and, when I approached the registration table, one of the volunteers said something to me that I knew I could use for my opening. Listen to how it went.

Download audio file (callback.mp3)

What you heard was simply a direct quotation I used from the volunteer who met me at the registration table. But what happened as a result? First, it got a nice laugh and loosened up the audience. Then, what you couldn’t see is that she actually raised her hand and took the credit for the line thereby making her the star. Finally, it set the tone in their minds that the speech would be fresh and not a stale repetition of past engagements.

FYI – You also heard a couple of small call backs to the “positive charge” and the “Hula Girls.” There’s no need for a detailed explanation. Just know they were call backs to things that happened during the event.  

Do You Really Have to Scrap Your Prepared Opening?

No. What did you hear me do after I finished the Opening Call-back? I transitioned into my prepared opening, which you heard me begin to deliver (i.e. “I was traveling so much…”). You don’t actually have to scrap your prepared opening. You just push it back a bit so you can go into it with all the wonderful momentum created from the Opening Call-back  

Next Opening Call-back Example

As I write this, I am sitting in Bali, Indonesia where I recently gave two speeches. Here is how I opened the first speech.

“Here’s how I knew I would love Bali. Raise your hand if you took a flight to get here? Do you know how, when you go through Customs in most countries, the officers are very stiff? They say things like, ‘What will you be doing in our country? Where will you be staying? And, more importantly, when will you be leaving?’ Well, the Customs Officer in Bali was different. He simply looked at my passport and then looked at me and said, ‘Are you sure you’re not Obama?’”

This got a huge laugh and set the tone not only for that speech but for both of my speeches. And all weekend long people repeated that line.

 Make no mistake about it, sometimes audience members and people you meet on the way to your engagement give you the material for your speech. Your job as a speaker is to always keep your eyes and ears open for the interesting experiences you have on your way to the engagement. If you think like a speaker, I believe that at least 50% of the time you will find something you can use as an Opening call-back that will connect you with that specific audience and let them know, “This only happened here.”

Bonus Lesson 

Emergency Landings

Here’s an extra quick lesson for you today. If you are or want to be a professional speaker, it is very important to be one thing:

A professional!

One of the ways to show your professionalism is by keeping your client’s agenda on time. Therefore, it is essential for you not to go over time with your speech. In a contest, if you go over time, you are disqualified. In the real world, if you go over time, you will most likely not get re-hired. Plus you can do serious harm to all the planning that went into the event.

Knowing this, whenever I find myself short on time (which is usually the result of having a very lively and interactive group…and that’s great!) I use what I call an Emergency Landing. Here’s how it works.

I have my audience review my main points using the Discuss and Debrief method.

Then, instead of going into my closing story, which usually takes between 4-6 minutes, I simply close with a quick thought.

Here’s an example of an emergency landing I did at a Toastmasters Conference where I talked about my path to the World Championship.

Download audio file (EmergencyLanding.mp3)
 

My Challenges for You

Challenge Number One: Attempt to use an Opening Call-back in an upcoming speech.

Challenge Number Two: Develop an Emergency Landing for every speech you give.

Your Turn

Have you used an Opening Call-back? If so, what did you say and how did it go?

Do you have an Emergency Landing for your speech?

Have you ever seen a speaker who seemed to be doing all the right things but still didn’t connect with the audience? Have you ever been that speaker? It’s like something is missing that you just can’t put your finger on. Well, I believe that’s where the following intangibles of public speaking come into play:

• Speaking from the heart
• Presence
• Mindset

Speaking from the Heart

What does it mean to speak from the heart? You know it when you see it (or feel it), right? To me it means…

1. Feeling and believing everything you say.
2. Instead of memorizing, you’ve internalized your message.
3. You really live the message.
4. You have no doubt that what you’re saying is what you should be saying. If you go in with doubts, they’ll come out with doubts.
5. Being under the influence of your own emotions during the speech.
6. Reliving your stories rather than retelling them
7. Emotionally being in each of your scenes because you cannot bring an audience into a scene (at least emotionally) if you’re not in it emotionally.  
8. Not having to write out your speech and put “Smile here” or “Lift left arm here” to remind yourself of your gestures.
9. Being willing to open yourself up to your audience
10. Telling your story and admitting your flaws

One day, when I used to run an employment academy for homeless men in Baltimore City, I heard a beautiful sound coming from Bernice’s (one of my Case Managers) office. It literally stopped me dead in my tracks and I asked, “Who is that singing?”  Bernice said, “Its Eva Cassidy. She was a singer out of Washington, DC who died way too young. I really feel her songs.”

I felt it too…all the way down the hall! So I purchased the CD (remember CDs?) and was immediately amazed by her simple yet heartfelt renditions. Interestingly enough, she actually has a song called “I Know You by Heart.”

Eva Cassidy sang straight from the heart. I hear others singing the same exact songs but nobody seems to sing them with as much heart as she did. When you listen to her, you know she feels everything she sings. It’s like she’s being sung through. In speaking, at times it can feel like you’re being spoken through. When you have 100% conviction in your message and you can check off numbers 1-10 above, chances are you’ll be speaking from the heart.

Presence

What does presence mean? You know it when you see it, right? To me presence comes from…

1. Being 100 percent present (that’s right, having presence comes from being present)
2. Only focusing on your audience and what they are getting.
3. Not worrying about whether or not they like you.  
4. Really looking at them and listening to them while you speak.
5. Realizing when someone’s light goes on in your audience and non-verbally acknowledging that by sending them a signal or a look.
6. Being able to have a true dialogue rather than a monologue with your audience.
7. Responding to their responses.
8. Finding a person who really needs to hear that particular part of your message and looking directly at him/her when you say it.
9. Forgetting your speech and allowing it to simply all come back to you at the right time.  
10. Never worrying about remembering what to say next but focusing completely on what your audience is hearing now.

Mindset

Here are several ideas to consider when it comes to how you think as a speaker.

I believe what you think about immediately before going on stage will make or break your speech. Therefore, instead of it just being your skill-set, it’s also your mindset that makes the difference. Many speakers hope and pray to do well. However, to make the greatest impact on your audience, who does it make sense to think about? Your audience!

This is why, immediately before going on stage, I tell myself to…

Forget myself, remember my speech, and touch my audience in a positive impactful way

I believe the way a speaker thinks about preparation makes the difference between how well they impact their audience. For example, a lot of speakers think:

“I want to prepare so I can remember everything I need to say”

However, my view is different. I think the following:

I want to prepare so much that I can forget what I’ve prepared.

That way it can all come back to me at the right time, in the right space, and with the right fresh spontaneous energy. This is what makes your audience feel like you’re giving the speech for the first time. It’s not memorized, it’s internalized.

In my opinion…

Spontaneity is on the far side of preparation

I believe what a speaker thinks about past speeches impacts what’s going to happen in future speeches. For example, after a great presentation, a speaker might think…

“I hope my next audience is like this one!”

On the other hand, here’s what I force myself to think after a great engagement:

I have to let go of this audience before I get to my next one

Why in the world would I want to let go of the great feelings and connection I had with a great audience? Because if you don’t let go of your past audience, you cannot fully embrace your next audience.  For example, I have a friend who once gave a great speech in Canada but then gave a poor speech a week later in South Africa. Guess what? It was the same speech! What I believe was the difference was he still held onto his Canadian audience, which didn’t let him fully embrace his South African audience.

I’ve had audiences that were so good I’ve wanted to replay the event over and over in my head. But Keep in mind one thing:

Your new audience doesn’t care what you did for your past  audience

The key is to let that past audience go so you can focus 100% of your energy on the audience in front of you. This will help with your presence and speaking from the heart.

Speaking of past audiences, sometimes people ask me, “Craig, what keeps you grounded and working hard as a speaker?”

My answer is always the same. My motto is the following;

You’re only as good as your next speech

Your past successes mean nothing to your future audiences. When you accept that you’re only as good as your next speech, you prepare accordingly each and every time. And when you do, you automatically find yourself speaking from the heart, having a great presence, and touching lives in a profound way.

Years ago, one of my coaching said to me, “Craig, you have a rhythm when you speak. How can I get a rhythm into my speeches?”

I have to admit, at the time, I was stumped for an answer. I really hadn’t thought much about it. However, a few months later, it hit me. Speaking is certainly a lot like music and there is a rhythm to it.

The Advantage to Having Rhythm in your Speech?

There is also a major benefit to having a rhythm in your speech. Can you guess what that is?

It makes the speech more memorable!

Think about it. Aren’t there some songs you haven’t heard for years but, if you heard them today, you would remember the words? That’s because music has that kind of power. The rhythm helps deliver the message. Speaking can have a similar power if it’s rhythmic.

Proof of the Power of the Rhythm

Just the other day I received a phone call from a prospect who said, “Craig, I saw you speak 10 years ago and I remember when you said, ‘People buy-into what they help create.’ Well, I need some buy-in from my staff today so I want to bring you in to speak.”

Wow, 10 years! Believe it or not, I’m sure the repetition and the rhythm behind the points I drove home that day had a lot to do with why he still remembered them.

Let’s look at how you can have Rhythm in your Speaking

When I was in middle school, I remember our music teacher showing us how to put a song together. Today I look at speaking in a very similar way.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a musician nor do I pretend to be. After all, when people hear me sing they say, “I’m glad you can speak.” However, the way a very simple song is put together has similarities with the way a speech can be put together…especially a keynote speech.

Speaking of Singing

Here’s what I remember about the structure of a song. It’s what is regularly called the AABA form.

Verse A

Chorus

Verse A

Chorus

Bridge

Verse A

Chorus

Speaking of Speaking

Now let’s look at the way a speech can be put together compared to the song.

Verse A – This is similar to the first story of your speech

Chorus – This is the Foundational Phrase (or takeaway message) of your first story

Verse A  - This is the second story of your speech

Chorus – This includes call backs to the Foundational Phrases of your first and second stories

Bridge – According to Wikipedia, in music, the “…bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section.” In other words, it is not the same as the verses but it gets you back to the verses afterwards. What does this mean for speaking?

I strongly suggest at this point that you depart from your stories and head to something different like a short activity, some questions for your audience, a discuss and debrief, or something that will change the rhythm of the speech.  This keeps your audience on their toes and energizes them.

One of the ideas I learned from Ed Tate is that once people get too used to your rhythm of speech, they start to tune you out. Therefore, it’s important to change your rhythm at times and “taking it to the bridge” will help with that.

Verse A – Once you’ve transitioned back from the bridge, you can tell your third story.

Chorus – This includes call backs to the Foundational Phrases from your three stories. When you repeat these phrases, it’s similar to the repetition of the chorus. Aren’t there some choruses you can’t get out of your head? Guess what? By repeating your Foundational Phrases throughout the rhythm of your speech, you will make them stick.

The Other Key to Having a Rhythm to your Speech

Here’s the biggest key I learned for having a rhythm to your speech:

Silence!

That’s right, it’s not what you say; it’s what you don’t say that matters. It also matters when you don’t say it. This involves timing.

I’m consistently reminded of something I read years ago that, through research, I found was said by the French Composer Claude Debussy.

Music is the silence between the notes

Later, through reading Deepak Chopra and others, I learned…

Without silence between notes, music would simply be noise

I’ve always thought about those quotes related to speaking. So often speakers are worried about what they’re going to say. We need to also be mindful about when we’re going to be silent and let the rhythm speak.

For example, here is one very small section of a story I tell about a speaking hero of mine. Listen for the silence:

Download audio file (Sheen.mp3)

Welcome back. Did you hear it? There was a long silence between my notes and this affected my speech in several ways.

1. When I became silent, my audience members began to experience my disappointment with me
2. They also wondered what I would do (and what they would have done) in that situation
3. It made them want to hear what was coming next
4. It gave my audience time to catch up after my excitement and fast pace from intitially meeting my hero
5. It made my audience look at my face (and other visual cues) to try to determine what I was thinking and where the story would go. This is an extreme benefit to taking silence.

Problem with Silence

One of the big problems with silence is that many speakers are afraid of it. They’re afraid their audience will tune out or think that the speaker has forgotten the speech.

In fact, think back to the silence you just heard in that audio. In one of my DVDs that includes that same story, the videographer actually edited the video and took out those several seconds of silence! I couldn’t believe it! I wanted to say, “Are you kidding me? That’s one of the most important parts of the story.” After all, I want music, not noise. So we had him put it back in. He probably saw the silence as an enemy. You should see it as your best friend.

The takeaway is to not be afraid of the silence. It will only give your speech the rhythm it deserves and provide your audience with an experience and a message they won’t soon forget.

My Question to you 

If you too see speaking as being musical or rhythmic, how are you using that to your advantage?

Final Thought

“I’ve leave you with something more important than anything I’ve said today. I’ll leave you with this…”

What are Speakers Neglecting to do?

So often I’ll coach a speaker who does everything right with his story until the end of it. He establishes the conflict, escalates it, and gets the cure or revelation. But guess what happens then? He ends the story!

Hello? Do you mean to tell me you’re going to take us down to the depths of your struggle and make us relive those down times with you and then, when you get to the big payoff part of your journey, we’re not invited? How rude!

If you take us through the problem, take us through the payoff

What is a Payoff?

A payoff is not only what happens to you after you overcome the conflict but also how you feel about it. The feeling is the key. In the both examples below, you’ll hear me mention (and demonstrate through my energy and tone) my happiness.  Of course you cannot see my face but those expressions are part of the payoff too. In other words, it must bring emotions into play. Don’t just tell what happened, sell what happened.

Payoff Example #1

Here’s an example. A decade ago, I used to give a story about forgiveness. It’s about how my ex-girlfriend (my girlfriend at the time) was unfaithful and how that venom started to destroy me. I became what I despised and started treating people poorly myself. With this speech, I take my audience through my entire struggle until I get the revelation (from a book) that told me that forgiveness will rid me of my venom. So in my heart I forgave the girl who did that to me.

Okay, now that I forgave her, I need to take you (the audience) through my payoff because I surely took you through my problem. So here’s the payoff I take my audience through after I am free of the venom (This clip is 54 seconds):

Download audio file (Free.mp3)

Pretty nice payoff, isn’t it?

Why is the Payoff Important?

This payoff is very important to your audience because it pushes them 80% across the bridge to heeding your message (i.e. forgiveness) before you even begin to drive the message home. In other words, when you take them through your emotional payoff, the story gets their buy-in. So many speeches are ruined by neglecting to have a payoff that is at least equal (and hopefully greater than) the problem in terms of your emotions.

Remember, people make decisions with emotion backed up by logic. Therefore, you can’t simply tell them the payoff. You need to show them the payoff through your own emotional victory. Relive it. Show it through your entire being.

Payoff Example #2

Another payoff I give in a different story is after my wife tells me, “Craig, your dream is not for sale.” So I go back to the Vice President of the company who won’t let me leave and I tell him, “Hey, my wife said my dream is not for sale.” After I leave the company, here is what I give as the payoff (This clip is 14 seconds).

Download audio file (RunningMouth.mp3)

That’s a heck of a payoff isn’t it? It encourages other people to not let the good get in the way of the best in their lives too. They’re 80% across the bridge to buying into my message.

Don’t take us through a problem without taking us through the payoff

How can you make sure have an effective Payoff?

The questions to ask yourself to help clarify and emphasize your payoff are the following:

• What was my payoff?
• What happened to me after I transcended my conflict?
• How did my life change for the better?
• How did I feel after I overcame that conflict?
• How can I express that feeling to my audience so they’ll know how much the payoff meant to me and how much a similar payoff can mean to them?

The stronger your payoff, the easier it will be for people to buy-into your message even before you drive it home.  

Post the following statement somewhere you can see it:

If you take us through the problem, take us through the payoff

One way I’ve seen speakers break the trust of their audience is by mentioning their own products without heeding the following advice:

Mention OPP First

OPP stands for Other Peoples’ Products.

What do you think happens to an audience when they see a speaker who just keeps mentioning his own products? Exactly, the audience feels he only has his own best interest in mind. Now, what do you think happens to an audience when they hear a speaker who mentions valuable books and resources that are not his own? Chances are it has the following effects:

• The audience feels the speaker has their (the audience members) best interest in mind and this builds the all-important trust you must have with your audience.

• The speaker gains credibility too because the audience knows he has studied this subject and they feel this is only the tip of the iceberg of what he knows about the topic.

• It deepens the connection with some audience members who have already read those books or consumed those resources. So the speaker uncovers advocates in the audience.

• The audience members probably want to bring him back to hear more of what he knows.

So it’s okay to mention your own products but just make sure you mention other peoples’ products (and resources) first.

How do you mention Other Peoples’ Products?

I believe the best way to mention OPP is through your own stories. Why? Because your audience not only hears the titles but they understand what these books and resources have done for you. Then they realize these same books can have a similar effect of them. For example, listen to this quick audio clip of me integrating three books into one of my stories and sharing what they’ve done for me.  

Download audio file (CreativeVisualization.mp3)

After every speech wherein I’ve told this story, I never fail to have a few audience members approach me and say, “Hey, what were the names of those three books you mentioned about imagination?” I love this because if they go out and buy those books (Creative Visualization; Passion, Profit, and Power; and The Power of Your Subconscious Mind) I am still touching their lives! That’s awesome. Think about it. If they follow your lead and get those resources, what does that say about the level of trust they’ve placed in you?

Here’s another quick audio clip of me mentioning OPP

Download audio file (Peaceful.mp3)

Mentioning these resources (Way of the Peaceful Warrior, and The Road Less Traveled) within the natural flow of your story is the most non-intrusive way of handling it. It’s organic because the reality is, the resources are part of what made you who you are. It’s part of your story that can now become part of theirs.

One Crucial Understanding You Must Have When Mentioning OPP

If you mention OPP and suggest that others invest in it, make sure you’ve actually read or consumed the resource. Why? Because people will want to discuss it with you.

It’s just like using quotations in your speech. If you use a famous quotation by a famous person that you’ve never read anything about, you just might be shooting yourself in the foot? Why? Because in every audience, there seems to be an expert on the person you mentioned. What if she approaches you afterwards and says, “I’m so glad you quoted Mark Twain. I’ve been studying him for the past 15 years and I just love his stories. Remember when he…” Now, this is fine if you can hold a conversation about Mark Twain. You don’t need to be an expert. However, if all you know about him is the quotation you just gave, you’ve lost your credibility with that audience member and with anyone else who was listening to that conversation. Here’s the key:

Always know much more about your topic than you can possibly share in one speech

My rule of thumb is to make sure I have read at least one book on a person (or by a person) before I quote him or her.

Again, once you’ve mentioned OPP, it’s fine to slip in one of yours. To see how best to do this, click here.

A good customized opening beats a great canned one

Why? It’s because audiences want to know that this message is designed just for them. They don’t want to think it’s something you have given hundreds of times even if you have.

The Customized Call Back Opening

One of the most effective instant connection tools you can use during your opening is what I call the Customized Call Back. A call back is just what it sounds like; you bring something back up that happened in the past that’s related to the event. With your opening, there are several areas in which you can make call backs, and here are three of my favorites:

• Something leading up to the event
• Something that was mentioned as you were being introduced  
• Something that happened earlier during the event

Let’s listen to examples of each.

Something leading up to the event

When you open your speech, you can call back to a story about something that happened behind the scenes that led up to that moment. For example, I spoke once to all the personnel in a school district in Virginia. The Superintendent (Mr. Turner) had been very meticulous with me throughout the weeks leading up to the event because he was nervous whether I would meet their needs.

Also, you’ll need to know that he gave out service pins that morning to certain staff, which allowed them to go home early that day (just that day). I called back to both of these events during my opening. Here’s how it went:

Download audio file (ServicePinsandMrTurner.mp3)

As you heard, the audience loved it. However, what’s more important is that they felt the speech was designed for them.

Here’s another very quick example of a speech in Minnesota where I used this technique of calling back to something leading up to the event.

Download audio file (MinnesotaToGetWarm.mp3)

Something that happened as you were being introduced

Many times your introducers will say something (planned or unplanned) that you can call back to during your opening.  For example, I spoke recently to a company in Tulsa, Oklahoma and my introducer mentioned that “Next month we’ll have the winner of the TV show ‘The Biggest Loser’ as our speaker.” I was standing backstage when I heard the audience erupt in applause and get very excited for next month’s speaker. I figured this would be an effective quick call back that would create an instant connection. Here’s how it went:

Download audio file (BiggestLoser.mp3)

That call back was the beginning of a connection that deepened over the 45 minutes. I knew the Biggest Loser was on their minds and so I followed my own advice that

If they think it, you state it

Something that happened earlier during the event

Finally, at times you have situations you can call back to that happened during the event. This is very effective especially if the event lasts for more than one day. For example, years ago I gave a few speeches at an event in Toronto and something very interesting happened to me in-between the days of the conference.

In addition to my mishap, there was also a gentleman whose job it was to promote the next event and he did it over and over again seemingly during every break in the conference until it got to the point where I’m sure people were thinking, “Okay, okay, we’ve got it!” Well, I felt like I should call back to both of these situations as I opened. Here’s how it went:

Download audio file (Toronto.mp3)

Those call backs created an instant connection and I hadn’t even finished my opening. That’s what will happen for you when you use customized call backs.

But there’s a Caveat

People remember best what they hear first and what they hear last, which means the first 30 seconds of your speech can either build a connection or dig a hole. Therefore, it is indeed a risk to make the absolute first thing you say be one of these call backs. It’s a risk because you obviously haven’t used the call backs before because they’re only related specifically to this event. So I only use these call backs when I feel there is a very high probability that they’ll produce a laugh. However, what if I don’t have that degree of confidence in the call back?

Here’s my solution. Often what I’ll do is make the call back the second thing I say rather than the first. In other words, I’ll open up with my sure-fire content and then, once I get that initial connection, I’ll dive into the call back. Here’s an example from Miami where I opened with my planned opening and then (a few minutes later) called back to something specific to the event. :

Download audio file (HeatIsOn1.mp3)

Another Possible Problem?

You might find yourself asking, “Craig, but what do these call backs have to do with your message? Shouldn’t all of our humor relate to our message?”

Well, there are several schools of thought on this, but here’s where I stand. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, I’m just saying it’s what works for me over and over again.

1. During your opening, please remember this:

Mindset trumps message

In other words, I learned from Aristotle that our first objective is to get the audience into the right mindset so they’ll be open to our message. So even though some of those call backs don’t pertain specifically to my message, they still get my audience into the mindset to receive my message. That’s what’s most important.

2. You can easily find ways to tie each call back into your message if you deem it necessary. For example, after the Miami Heat example, I could have easily said something like, “Let’s take a look at how you can go to number one in any endeavor you choose. You can do this through what I like to call my 4 Rs to Remarkable Results.”

That’s a great way to set up the learning.

Final Thoughts

 Customized call backs in your opening are very effective when done well. Keep in mind, they don’t have to be perfectly presented. Your audience knows this is not something you’ve been planning for years and they will appreciate the customization and the effort to  meet them where they are.

 Strong Suggestion: For the first few times you try this, don’t make your call back be the exact first thing you say. Open with your sure-fire content and then dive into the customization. It will pay off in wonderful ways!

 As you may or may not know, Mitch Meyerson and I wrote a book called World Class Speaking and we later created a course where we certify World Class Speaking Coaches.

At the heart of the program are these 12 World Class Speaking Competencies that we (Certified Coaches) help our clients master. As a speaker, if you master these competencies, you will find yourself being asked to speak more and more, which brings countless rewards.  

Invaluable Activity

This 4-step activity can be the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to improving your speeches and making you a more masterful speaker.

1. Rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 on the competencies below. A 10 means you are already great at it and a 1 means you feel you are currently ineffective with that particular competency.

2. Contact at least one other presenter and discuss your ratings.

3. Pick 2 competencies you commit to improving immediately. Because public declaration is a very strong motivator, feel free to post those 2 competencies in the comments section of this blog post.

4. Revisit your competencies every 30 days and rate yourself again. Feel free to post your progress.

 You master what you measure

 

 Look at these competencies as muscles. The more you strengthen each of them, the stronger you become overall as a speaker. This takes commitment and that’s why many people won’t do it. Therefore, this is YOUR opportunity to get a significant edge as a speaker.

The 12 World Class Speaking Competencies

 1. Storytelling – Being able to tell a story and make a point is at the heart of public speaking. World Class Speakers become World Class storytellers by mastering the elements of storytelling and including them in every speech.    

2. Selling – Every presentation is selling something whether it is an idea, product, service, or simply selling your audience on the benefit of listening to your message. World Class Speakers embrace this and integrate selling tools into every message.

3. Process-Driven – Instead of building themselves up, World Class Speakers build up the processes (or formulas or systems) that will improve the condition of their audience members.

4. Next Steps – World Class Speakers have a definite next step they want their audiences to take immediately following their presentation. They build their entire speech around getting their audiences to take that specific next step.

5. Anchor-Driven – World Class Speakers realize that “what’s loose is lost” and the best way to tighten their presentations is by using various anchors (i.e. stories, analogies, acronyms, activities, videos, etc.) to make their points memorable.  

6. Begin with a Bang – World Class Speakers understand the importance of the first 30 seconds of any presentation and they constantly open with a bang.

7. Succinct – World Class Speakers realize that squeezing their information in squeezes their audience out. As a result, they never try to fit in too much information into one speech.  

8. You-focused – World Class Speakers know that it is never about what they give but always about what the audience gets. Therefore, instead of saying, “I would like to share with you…” they say, “You’re about to receive…” The focus is always on “you” (the audience).

9. Dynamic – World Class Speakers use dynamic delivery skills that keep audiences engaged, energized, and wanting more.

10. Involvement – World Class Speakers constantly get and keep their audiences involved from the beginning to the end of their presentations. They realize that people buy into what they help create and making their audience part of the process helps to sell their message.  

11. Staging – World Class Speakers not only use the physical stage to clarify their message but they also use “Virtual Staging” to create the healthiest learning environments online and offline.

12. Research/Assessment-Driven – World Class Speakers meet their audiences where they (the audience members) are by doing pre-speech research and by assessing the energy of the audience throughout the speech. This is how they get and stay connected.

Final Note:

When you work on these competencies, these competencies will work on you.

If you are interested in not only mastering these competencies but also helping others master them as a Certified World Class Speaking Coach, visit http://www.certifiedspeakingcoach.com/ and simply show your interest. We run the program once per year and the next class begins on June 13^th 2011. It’s limited to 20 attendees.

If you’re interested in finding a coach that can help you master these competencies, here is a great place to start http://www.worldclassspeakingcoach.com/

Strong Suggestion: Bookmark and save this page for future reference!

This is a page worth bookmarking, because it can become the gift that keeps on giving as you navigate through this wonderful art of public speaking.

Before you dive into my Top 10 posts from 2010, here is another valuable gift. For years people have asked me, “What are you favorite books?” I always answer with, “In what subject?”

Common Costly Mistake for Speakers?

Often speakers think that the way to get better at speaking is simply to focus on speaking. I disagree. I believe there are 4 major topic areas that will make you a better speaker if you study them. They are…

1. Speaking – Because it’s good to see what speakers can teach you from their experience
2. Marketing – Because studying this art and science will automatically make you more persuasive
3. Influence/Sales –  Because studying these crafts will help you become very profitable as a speaker
4. Personal Growth – Because the more you work on yourself, the greater your impact will be on others. You can’t give what you don’t have.

As a result, I decided to do create CraigsBookshelf.com where you can access the books that changed my life as a speaker and can change yours too. It’s divided into the 4 topic areas above and shows you my 9 favorite books from each topic. I hope they do as much for you as they continue to do for me.

Become a more masterful speaker by accessing my Top 10 Lessons of 2010

The Number one Storytelling Mistake and 3 ways to fix it  

Open your speech and Open their Minds

4 Mistakes that make you Lose your Audience

Use the Back-to-Back Story Method to Influence Your Audience (Includes Video)

25 Phrases to Guide you to Greatness in Speaking

The Quickest Way to Connect with your Audience

How to Create and Walk Your Timeline (includes video)

17 Deadly Mistakes in Public Speaking

How to Rehearse your Speech (come behind the scenes with me)

3 Staging Strategies to help your audience really see your Speech (includes video)

Want to add humor to your speech? Here is why you should NOT

Happy New Year! Here’s to a wonderful start to 2011.

This is an excerpt from the book World Class Speaking by Craig Valentine (that’s me!) and Mitch Meyerson

Warning: As I posted this and re-read this, I realized something you’ll surely come to see. Because this content is in the opening chapter of the World Class Speaking book, it’s a preview of what’s to come in the rest of the book. Therefore, it’s a huge tease as an opening to a book should be. However, I still posted it here because knowledge of these 17 mistakes (even without reading the book) should still be of value to you. So forgive the tease please!

Let’s begin our journey by understanding the difference between wannabe speakers and World Class Speakers when it comes to the art of public speaking. Wannabe speakers generally make the following 17 mistakes. World Class Speakers avoid these mistakes and reap the rewards for doing so. Here are the 17 common mistakes speakers make:

1. 1.                   They don’t master the essence of public speaking. The essence of public speaking is to tell a story and sell a point. Wannabe speakers don’t master this. If you master the art of storytelling, you will be 80% across the bridge to mastering the art of public speaking. Most presentations are way too loose? This means the audience cannot remember the points because the points are not tied to anything. When you tie them to stories, your speech becomes tight and you make your audience TALL (Think, Act, Laugh, and Learn).

1. 2.                  They don’t sell! Every speech is a sales presentation. Even eulogies sell us on the qualities of the person who just left us. Whether you are selling an idea, a product, a service, or a person’s life story, when you are in speaking you are in sales. Mastering the art of selling will bring wealth to you quicker than any other way. Now you may say, “But Valentine, I just give informational speeches. I don’t sell.” Well then let me ask you this; do you want people to listen to your presentation? Then you need to sell them on why they should listen in the first place. Again, every speech is a sales presentation. Don’t avoid it; embrace it. Master it.

1. 3.                  They build themselves up. If you build yourself up, you let your audience down. Too many speakers, in the name of establishing credibility, begin building themselves up by talking about all the things they’ve accomplished and all the successes they have had. Guess what your audience thinks about this? First, they probably think you’re egotistical and second they think you’re special. The absolute worst thing you can have audience members think about you is that you are “special.” Later you will grasp an understanding of why this is so detrimental and what you can do to be light-years ahead of most presenters.

1. 4.                  They have no next clear step. Most speeches end with applause and apathy. The speaker is the cause for both. Before you even put your speech together, you should ask yourself, “What do I want my audience to think, feel, or do after experiencing my message?” If your audience does not know exactly what they should think, feel, or do afterwards, you have failed as a speaker. Later you will pick up tools to not only have them know what to think, feel, or do but to be so excited they can’t wait to act on it.

1. 5.                  They give loose messages. Loose means the messages are not tied to any anchors and therefore the audience has no way to remember it. Your message becomes fleeting and everyone has wasted their time. Later you will see how to use anchors for every point you make so that your speech becomes unforgettable and your impact becomes a magnet for more opportunities, customers, and profits. You will pick up my special PARTS Formula for making your whole speech stick.

1. 6.                  They present with words, words, and more words. Audiences remember what they see far more than what you say. Profitable speakers speak in images not in words. They say “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Well, later you will discover a tool that is “worth a thousand pictures.” These tools and others will tighten your speech and make it as memorable as your last trip to the beach.

1. 7.                  They start with a whimper. The best speakers understand that the first 30 seconds will make or break your entire speech. This is all the time it takes for the audience to decide whether they should mentally check in or check out of your presentation. Do not start with a whimper. Start with a bang. Later you will see examples of how too many speakers begin their speeches and then you will pick up tools to start with the kind of bang that makes your audiences say, “I’m so glad I’m here and I can’t wait to see the rest of this!” 

1. 8.                  They force fit. Force fitting means they try to get too much information into too little time. There is an old speaker proverb that states, “If you squeeze your information in; you squeeze your audience out.” There is no time to engage, to play, and to connect with your audience. Later you will discover a rule of thumb formula you can use to include just enough information but not too much. When you do this correctly, you will be able to watch your audience walk away with satisfied smiles on their faces. It’s as if they’ve just finished a great meal.

1. 9.                  They don’t build their speech on benefits. Wannabe speakers, if they use benefits at all, sprinkle them on at the end of each point or worse at the end of each presentation. They think this will motivate people to act. That won’t get it. The structure of the presentation has to actually be built on benefits and very few speakers do this. Once you do, you will keep your audiences on the edge of their seats and when they get up, they’ll take your next step. Later you will see just how you can build a benefits-laden speech from the ground up. This is World Class Speaking at its best.

1. 10.               They have an “I” or “We” focus. The most important word in speaking is you. It needs to be used with an 80/20 ratio with the words I and We. Whether setting up your structure, doing check-ins and questions with your audience, or driving home your points, you need to use you and your as often as possible. Later you will uncover the most effective ways to do this. When you do, you’ll find it almost effortless to keep them leaning on your every word.

1. 11.                Their delivery is not truly dynamic. If you get mail delivered to your house and it’s destroyed by the rain, chances are whatever that mail contains will be affected. That’s because content is directly tied to delivery and being ineffective with one leads to a destroyed speech. What you say is not enough to make an impact. How you say it is critical. It’s not about bouncing off the walls. It’s not about being dynamic the entire time. It’s not about simply changing your stress, rate, pitch, and volume. It’s not about the powerful pause. What is it about? You will find out in Chapter 4 on delivery.

1. 12.               They lip-synch. If you use PowerPoint slides to say the same thing visually that you say verbally, you are lip-synching your presentation. You are the Milli Vanilli of public speaking. Abuse of slides has destroyed more presentations than any other device in history. Speakers who use slides improperly compete with themselves and their audience members lose. The audience must choose among watching the screen, reading their handouts, and watching you. Do you know what they usually decide to do? They mentally checkout of your presentation and just leave the shell of the body there for you to bore to death. Later you will get the tools you can use to make slides work for you rather than weaken you.

1. 13.               They use Ditch-digging introductions. Most speakers understand that you should always give a written introduction to the person introducing you. However, they don’t understand what makes a good introduction. Instead, their introductions are just a tweaking of their bio. This is horrible when it comes to speaking and the audience already starts thinking, “Enough already. Okay, so he has done this and that. What’s in it for me to be here?” Later you will learn a fool-proof method for writing an introduction that makes your audience members say, “Great! I’m in the right place.”

1. 14.               They don’t get their audiences involved. Involvement breathes life into a speech, but wannabe speakers leave audiences gasping for air, because they don’t get them involved. If they do get them involved, they don’t do it early enough. Waiting until the end of your presentation to ask, “Are there any questions?” does not suffice as good audience involvement. There are so many ways to get and keep them involved, it ought to be a crime not to. Later you will pick up tools to keep them involved, engrossed, and engaged throughout your entire presentation and beyond. You will see eyes wide open rather than glazed over. Remember that audiences like to be heard too. Get them involved and do it early.

1. 15.               They forget about the floor. They don’t own the stage. Wannabe speakers take the stage, but World Class Speakers own it. You have the ability to add clarity, great emotion, and impact to your speech just by using the stage in masterful purposeful ways. Later you will discover how to use this speaking platform to spark an unbreakable connection between you and your audience members.

1. 16.               They don’t connect. If you do not connect, you cannot affect. Connection is about energy, but it is not about bouncing off the walls. Later you will see how to match the energy of your audience so that they feel connected to you within the first few moments of your speech.

1. 17.               They speak for standing ovations. Too many speakers strive to get a standing ovation instead of what they should strive for; standing invitations.

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.