How-To-Give-A-Great-Speech

HowToGiveAGreatSpeechThelateSteveJobs’2005commencementaddressatStanfordUniversityhasbeenviewedcloseto8milliontimesonYouTube.Eightyearsafterhedeliveredit,atextversionstillfliesaroundtheWeb.Thespeechisaspowerfulforitsmessage–stayhungry,stayfoolish–asitisforitsstructureanddelivery.“TodayIwanttotellyouthreestoriesfrommylife,”hesaid.“That’sit.Nobigdeal.Justthreestories.”Andwiththat,viewers(andreaders)arehooked.Futurepublicspeakersoftheworld,takenote.Youdon’thavetobeaSiliconValleybillionairetodeliveragreatspeech.Thebestspeechesincludeaclear,relevantmessageandafewgreatstoriestoillustrateit.ForgetfancyPowerPointpresentationsandloadsofdata.Instead,keepyourspeechsimple,withaclearbeginning,middleandend.Focusononetheme,andeliminateeverythingelse.“Speechesareaninefficientformofcommunication,”saysNickMorgan,“Peopledon’tremembermuchofwhattheyhear,sofocusandkeepitsimple.”Useanecdotes.“Peoplewouldfindspeechwritingmucheasieriftheyrealizedthatalltheyneededtodowasfindakeymessageandthreegreatstoriestosupportit,”saysJanePraeger“Thosekindsofspeechesarealsoeasiertodeliverbecausetheydon’thavetoberead.Ifyou’velivedastory,youcantellitfrommemoryandwithgenuinefeeling.Andstoriesstickinpeople’sminds.Whenyoutellpeopleastory,itarousestheiremotionsandreleasesdopamineintheirbrains,whichmakesthatcontentsticky.Inotherwords,ifyoumakepeoplefeelwhatyouaretalkingabout,theywon’tforgetit.”Berelevanttoyouraudience.Askyourselfwhatproblemtheaudiencewantstosolve,andtalkaboutthatproblemfirst.“Thenandonlythen,talkaboutyourareaofexpertiseasthesolutiontothatproblem,”saysMorgan.“Audiencesstartoffbyaskingwhy.WhyamIhere?WhyshouldIcare?Ifyouanswerthosequestionsearly,thenthey’llaskhow.Yourjobistoanswerthewhyquestionfirstandthenaddressthehow.”Ditchthethankyous,andjumprightin.Peopleoftenmakethemistakeofstartingspeechesbythankingtheintroducerorexpressingtheirhappinessatbeingthere.“Instead,jumprightinwithaframingstorythatsuggestswhatthetopiciswithoutgivingitallaway,astatistic,aquestionorsomekindofinteractionwiththeaudience,”saysMorgan.Ifyouknowwhatyourspeechisabout–anditshouldbeaboutonething–youshouldhaveaneasytimedecidingonanopening.Getrightintothestoryandlettheaudienceknowwhatyourtalkwillbeabout.Usebodylanguagethatmakesyouappearcomfortable.Ifyoushowsignsofnervousness,likecrossingyourarms,orclutchingyourhandsinfrontofyourstomach,youraudiencewillsenseyourtrepidationandbelessopentoyourmessage.“Youhavetopretendthatyou’rehavingagoodtimeandareopentothataudiencesothattheycanhaveagoodtimeandbeopenbacktoyou,”saysMorgan.“Successfulpublicspeakingisallaboutpassionandemotion.Ifyou’reexcited,thenyouraudiencewillbe,too.”Standupstraight.Whetheryouwalkacrossthestageorstandbehindalectern,trytomaintaingoodposture.“Imaginethatyourheadisbeingheldupbyastring,”saysPraeger.Articulateyourwords,regardlessofyournaturalspeakingstyle.“Authenticityiskey,”Praegersays.“Youcan’tbesomeoneyou’renot.Ontheotherhand,youcanbeyourbestself.Softnessdoesn’tdetractfromaspeechifyou’recommittedtowhatyou’resaying.Passion,commitmentandconvictionarecriticalfordelivery,andyoucandothatwhetheryou’resoft-spokenornot.Anynumberofdeliverystyleswillwork.”Practiceyourspeechbeforehand.“Youwoulddobetterpracticingintheshowerandrunningthespeechinyourheadratherthanpracticinginfrontofamirror,whichisdistracting,”Praegersays.“Youdohavetopracticeoutloud,hopefullywithasmallaudience.”Practicereplacingdeadeningfillerwordslike“um,”“so”and“like”withsilence.Worktheroom.Trytospeaktoaudiencemembersbeforeyourspeech,sothatyoucanfocusonfewfriendlyfaces,particularlyifyougetnervous.“Ifyou’remakingeyecontactwithafriendlypersoninquadrantone,everyonetotheirleftwillthinkthatyou’retalkingtothem,”saysPraeger.“Thendothesamethinginquadranttwo.Youwanttoseeyourtalkasaseriesofconversationswithdifferentpeoplethroughouttheroom.”Mostimportant,trytoenjoytheexperience.“Therealzensecretistolovewhatyou’redoinginthatmoment,”saysMorgan.“Ifyoucanrelaxandbehappyaboutbeingthere,theaudiencewillfeelthatway,too.”HowtoGiveaSuccessfulSpeechIthinkeveryoneofusdreamsofsomedaygivingTHATONESPEECH.YouknowexactlywhatspeechI’mtalkingabout.Theonewhereyouarestandingonstage,supremelyconfidentinyourknowledgeandflawlessdelivery.Theonewithnostuttersandnoawkwardpausestryingtorememberwhattosaynext.Theonewithnobodyintheaudiencelookingaroundorcheckingtheirwatchorwonderingwhattheyshouldeatfordinner.Theonewhereyourvoicedoesnotshakewithfearandyourgesturesarenotawkwardandforced.Theonespeechwhereattheendofit,theaudiencegivesathunderingapplause(notthestandardapplause,orthehalf-heartedapplause,orthepityapplause),butthegeniune100%certifiedgradeA“Wemostdefinitelylovedyourspeechandwewanttoshowit”applause.That’sTHEspeechI’mtalkingabout.KeyPoint#1:YouHaveanImportantMessageYouWanttoTellPeopleAdoptthementalitythatyouhavethisgreatmessage(yourspeech),thatonlyyouarecapableofdeliveringthisimportantmessagetotheaudienceandthatitisyourjobtomakethemunderstandyourmessage.Itisverycrucialtheyunderstandyourmessage.Putyourentirefocusonwantingandmakingsuretheaudienceunderstandsyourmessage.Why?Alotofspeechclassescov