What makes a great speech great? Creating a new presentation or speech can feel like a daunting task, but we can never get frustrated and give up. Slapping together a few points and sticking them on a PowerPoint won’t be beneficial to you or your audience. So much can be gained from a great speech, and yet so many people don’t even come close to receiving the amazing results a speech can provide. Recognition, promotion, a raise, more sales, warm leads, increased inquiries, referrals, more spin-off business, and so much more.
Weak presentations are the result of poor (or misguided) preparation.
Weak presentations lead to weak results.
Here are 5 Lessons to always keep in mind when developing a speech. Great speakers never forget these:
1. Make Your Topic Specific Make the topic of your speech as specific as possible. Leadership is not a specific topic. It is too broad and expansive to be effectively covered in one speech. However, leadership techniques to use in a crisis situation is a very specific topic. The more narrow your speech topic, the easier it will be to develop the main talking points for that speech. A clear topic will help you entice and engage your audience.
Side note: It’s always best if you’re passionate about the topic. Even if you are assigned a presentation that doesn’t get you riled up, perhaps you can find an angle in the presentation that gets you pumped about delivering the message. Is there a personal perspective you can add? I bet there is!
2. Break Away Set your speech apart by making it different. Not all speeches have to be the same. Add more activity, choose unique stories, add off-the wall humor, incorporate different forms of media, wear a costume, play games, do impersonations,…something different. There’s no need to be different just for the sake of being different, but too often people miss some great creative opportunities for their presentation because they are too wrapped up and worried about how to conform to the status quo. Some people think that since presentations within their company/organization have always followed a particular pattern, that pattern is the way all presentations must be conducted. Not always the case! Speaking is fun when you can add your personality into the speech and style. When looking for ways to be different, you might stumble upon some wonderful ways to illustrate your points – you’ll never know unless you look for them.
3. You are the Message Audiences value their time, and (I’m sorry to say it) they are judgmental. We live in a world where we do “kill” the messenger. If your message falls flat, you’re right behind it. Never forget, a part of your reputation is on the line. They probably won’t say anything to your face. Instead, what is more likely to happen, the next time there is an opportunity to speak in front of clients, prospect, or colleagues, your name will be passed by. Your loss. This doesn’t mean that you should shy away from speaking opportunities, instead this should help motivate you to work more diligently on creating a great presentation and not take the opportunity for granted.
4. Connect No presentation is successful without a sincere connection with the audience. While you have the honor to speak in front of a group of people, no matter how big or how small, the moment isn’t about you. It’s about them. How are you helping them? How will you make them feel better? What will you help them understand? Connection is the backbone of any great presentation. You’ll be amazed at the numerous meaningful and reciprocal connections that are can be made after ever speech.
5. Become a Student of Speaking The beauty if public speaking, or any form of communication, is that you can never stop learning. We all can always be a little bit better. Search the web for professional speakers. Look at the videos of speakers at the National Speakers Association (nsaspeaker.org). See what the best are doing. Every time you watch someone speak, ask yourself, “What one thing can I learn about their presentation that I can incorporate in my next speech?” Just look for one thing. The more you know about what works and why, they more you can adjust and improve your speaking skills.
