Here’s a 90 second video … or a story summary follows below too.
It all started with (6) small business owners presenting at a conference’s lightning round.
Each speaker spoke for app. 5 or 10 minutes only. They all demonstrated their own unique qualities as speakers. And the same time, their approach to content & format had traits in common: they were informal yet still informative, engaging, and story-centric.
This speaker slate set the audience’s expectation for what the lightning round would be like.
Then something completely different took the stage.
A sales representative from one of the event’s sponsors started a 20 minute sales pitch. Yikes.
Certainly a sponsor has a right to work with conference planners on how they will engage with attendees. But this sponsor’s presenter disengaged the audience by coming across as a plastic salesperson wanting to validate product (vs really help listeners in the room).
It begs the question: was there a more effective way for the sponsor to promote their product?
Criticism was striking. And it changed my speaker preparation checklist forever.
The negative reaction from the in-person audience and also reactions on Twitter were significant. Overall the event was a great small business conference (the Grow Smart Biz Conference here in DC) with a diverse, strong speaker slate.
This experience however has added (3) questions to my speaker preparation checklist to always address: Is my presentation style and tone compatible with what the audience expects? And is that style going to compliment or contradict other speakers at the event? As in, does the audience expect a sales pitch or another type of approach to engagement?
Welcome!
Today’s post was originally submitted as a guest feature to the great community at Women Grow Business. These thoughts are offered in a few ways: (90) seconds of video embedded here or also a written summary follows too, whatever suits your preference.
What is going on?
What am I going to learn?
How is this relevant to me?
These are driving questions an audience immediately wants answered when you or any speaker takes the stage to give a speech. The first question is the biggie and represents the audience’s natural craving for orientation to the speaker’s purpose.
Lead ‘em to clarity
An audience wants a sense of partnership with us, trust that we the speaker will lead them to some level of understanding. This was really crystallized for me when collaborating with a colleague this week on her speech. She was exuberant about her story; her content was great too.
She was in the initial storyboarding and brainstorming phase. And she wanted to inspire specific reactions in her audience. We were writing ideas on a whiteboard together when…
She stopped, looked me in the face, and said:
“But I really love this particular story. I think the real thrust of my message is right here.”
That’s when I asked we stop for a minute and said: “You just answered the driving question for the audience of ‘what is going on with this speech!’ ”
It was the needed gravity and purpose that the audience would seek.
It caught us both off guard.
When we first started storyboarding, both of us assumed other stories and anecdotes would be priority for her content. But the storyboarding process led to a certain memory, a professional experience that was more conducive to her audience’s expectations. She became more alive when focusing on this perspective; and her clarity of mind heightened too.
That was a welcome surprise (pay dirt!) in preparing the rest of her content.
It was the driving momentum for this speech; in light of her expertise and her specific audience, it’s definitely the story her audience needs to hear.
What about you and your approach to speech prep? Does storyboarding ever produce unexpected surprises regarding content?
Hello!
Want today’s post via audio cast instead? Just click the embedded player immediately following or read on for the written post.
When growing up, my Mom and I would get matinee tickets for the movie Moonstruck and see it multiple times in a single afternoon. The personalities, the gritty-sweet family, love of opera, the pent up rage, & Italian heritage: the whole story is addictive. And there was the ever alluring test and triumph of love with Cher’s character Loretta.
Should she pursue the safe marriage? …& marry her fiance who she does not love but likes well enough?
Or should she marry her fiance’s brother? …a raging opera-loving fire ball who she loves somethin’ awful? Can she answer a call from her own sense of integrity and pursue an unconventional choice?
After first seeing the movie, Cher’s character Loretta annoyed me.
There were too many expectations she would have to break in order to be with her real love. She would have to break expectation of being betrothed to another. She would have to break expectations of what is generally accepted as ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ Even with loving the story and the full moons and hilarious romance, it was tough to reconcile Loretta’s crossroads when first seeing Moonstruck play out in my mid teens. When Cher’s Loretta chose to be true to her pining heart and defy expectation in the end, apart of me was happy.
Another part though thought she was too self-entitled. How dare she defy expectations of a commitment like being engaged?
These reflections changed after years of seeing more of the movie (& more of love and loss up close in life). Heck, sometimes love is messy as a hog pen at feed time. Sometimes choosing the unexpected love is the only way to fully live and fully express who we are.
It seems like this is getting into the super-sappy-blog-post-zone. It’s a fun Valentine’s Day reflection…
But Cher and her moonstruck Loretta
…put some recent collaborations in oddly clearer perspective.
In particular, it was with a few different folks preparing for speeches. Each of them (working on separate presentations), wanted to begin their speech by thanking the audience and event hosts. They wanted to be polite and extend gratitude for being invited to present.
They wanted to meet unspoken expectations of being gracious guest speakers. But I invited them to reconsider and show appreciation in other ways.
Life is short (and time with audiences is even shorter).
Thanking the audience is a well meaning gesture; it really is. It also is a familiar if not expected signal to the audience. Countless audiences have heard well meaning speakers launch their talks with ‘thank you.’ So intended or not, when one starts a speech by stating thanks, one immediately wins the perception of being generic. Because the phrase ‘thank you’ and phrases like ‘It’s a privilege to be here’ are what acres and acres of speakers have expressed before.
When opening our next speech, can we all pull a Loretta?
Can we defy expectations? Can we defy those safety phrases of appreciation and begin speeches with authentic expression? Can we show unique appreciation for our audiences by launching immediately into compelling stories and insight with the benefit of our audience at heart? Can we start with our unique purpose, our drive, our expertise, our inspired choices, our clear content arcs, our precise language – and appreciate audiences that way?
Let’s pull a Loretta(!)
Let’s define (plus pursue) our own expectation of what greeting an audience looks like.
Does this sound like a soap box moment?! It’s not meant to; it’s just an exciting thought to imagine all the levels of originality that could draw audiences closer in, beyond “it’s great to be here, thank you.”
What do you think?
What does starting a speech in the spirit of ‘pulling a Loretta’ look like?
Hello!: Want today’s post via audio cast instead? Just click the embedded player immediately following or read on for the written post.
One thing struck hard and lingered on my mind from last week’s IgniteDC event. And that is: few things resonate with an audience like a story that’s difficult to tell.
That’s not to say at all that the easy story lines aren’t effective or don’t appeal with those listening.
Difficult stories provide emotional scope and depth that often forges trust.
For instance, telling an audience about your daughter’s favorite purple dress relates on a lighter level than a more emotionally expanded scope. That may seem so obvious yet at the same time, when it comes to crafting a speech, emotional clarity and honesty can be game changers. As in – a more resonant emotional reach could come from sharing a story of, say, how for seven months last year your family could only afford two new dresses for your 10 year-old because money was that tight.
Certainly selecting stories and anecdotes depends on what the audience craves (and which parts of your experience can meet that craving). Yet achieving the audience’s needs still involves a human exchange.
Emotional honesty is core to our human infrastructure. And within that premise, sharing what’s hard to emotionally disclose often more freely creates allegiance between a speaker and audience.
Facing educational failure, death, and psychological trauma.
That was the range of subjects which made up last week’s IgniteDC lineup; at times the speakers’ vulnerability was palpabile. That emotional openness drew us all in as we identified with the scary ground the speakers had walked. It was the most compelling night as a whole of content for an IgniteDC (there have been five other programs hosted before this one).
3 other byproducts of telling vulnerable or difficult stories:
1. It makes your uniqueness clear as a speaker (especially with a speaker slate where numerous will present).
2. It provides context and contrast to the arc of your speech. That contrast is a natural mechanism for capturing the audience’s attention.
3. It creates common ground between you and the audience (haven’t we all felt emotionally raw or like failures or angst-ridden?).
Not every speaking opportunity is naturally conducive to the stories you may want to impart. What the audience desires to learn is paramount. Delivering to them also means observing their emotional state in general (so certain venues may not be the place to disclose a life threatening illness, as example).
Yet if there’s a chance to authentically increase emotional resonance, an audience will most always appreciate your honest risk.
Two minute video story -transcript follows below-
…of the first democratically elected president of Mexico (…really admired him).
Hey, tell you what…
Have you ever read a story that you could not get enough of? I just did, and it’s about the first democratically elected president of Mexico; his name is Benito Juarez.
Here’s the thing about Benito Juarez.
He was pretty keen about his height and how the crowds reacted to his it; he was not a tall man. He was around 5 foot and he began to observe that when he would address crowds and about to give a speech –they would be distracted and wouldn’t automatically pay attention to him; they were trying to avoid his eye contact.
So, he started something fascinating.
He started to use the mechanism of silence when speaking. He would take the stage, take the podium, and instead of immediately launching into his speech he would for 60 seconds gaze across the crowd…lock eyes for 60 seconds of silence.
His use of silence began to be his presentation signature. He also saw his sense of command from the podium and the stage really increase. I mean, one full minute, it’s a long time from an audience perspective!
What about 10 seconds?
It just makes me think what type of impact could just 10 seconds make in terms of amplifying audience connection or really framing words and their meaning.
It’s been an ongoing meditative exercise since giving the TEDx talk last Tuesday…pondering questions like:
What worked while preparing for this TEDx talk?
…with a more vulnerable follow-up question: what was excruciatingly difficult to prepare (and why?!)?
There was a lot of pure nuts-n-bolts process to this speech; at the same time – it was one of the most fulfilling yet absolutely gut wrenchingly difficult speeches to deliver. Heck, not just deliver but to cull out.
For starters, there was a huge mental wrestling with the TED brand plus internal feuds with my ego; there were so many re-writes that it seemed moving to Alaska to instead cut wood for a living would be the best career move (…vs plugging along in what seemed a sea of obscurity in discerning a story arc); there were many brainstorms with speech coaches; there were unexpected decisions with slide decks.
Whew Nellie!
Some parts of this were expected but so many aspects of preparation I did not foresee.
And it all comes down to an unforeseen mind game where my perceptions of storytelling came head-to-head with the daunting TED brand.
It was all humbling and energizing all at once. Not to mention that through the whole experience, the patience of my husband was crystalized in renewed vibrance.
The recesses of my brain are sorting out core details to this strange, satisfying, wrestle-of-a-process. And I look forward to conveying more (and learning from your thoughts) in the next week.
Based on a true story, this just released film shows King George VI working with a controversial speech therapist to overcome a vicious stutter. The pressure from global WWII events and his unwelcome leadership role create context for this confrontation between a man and his speaking disorder.
I’m barely imagining the strain on this historical figure (…he was Prince Albert before taking the throne as King George VI). I didn’t know about him really until reading more of the film and related history. He wasn’t raised to believe he would be king, as he was the younger royal brother (…who later abdicated the throne, giving way to Prince Albert’s unforeseen opportunity to lead the nation as king).
Wow the gentle grit and resolve in this film look incredible. And I can’t wait to gallop over and see it.
…talk about preparing for the speech of a lifetime.
It was the first time the #wgBiz hashtag trended in the DC region!
“It” is last week’s #wgBiz twitter chat where for one hour many from the Women Grow Business community talked shop on public speaking tips — all at warp twitter chat speed (full transcript here). Thanks to #wgBiz editor Shonali Burke for the fantastic chance to be a guest and guide the chat.
Energy from all the chatters could fuel Chicago for a week!
And below is a handful of questions and ideas that helped drive the discussion (with the full transcript per above link providing a strong road map to the entire conversation too).
Question 1:
What are the top 3 challenges presenters face when preparing for presentations/speaking engagements?
Answer 1: A few things come to mind — misunderstanding the audience; avoiding that nervous speech energy; pursuing perfectionism; and over emphasizing slides (vs really crafting a story for the speech narrative).
Question 2:
What are some favorite ways to help prepare for presentations?
Answer 2: Really hone in on knowing your audience and then construct a clear, brief, purposeful key message that addresses the audience’s need. There’s a favorite way that mobilizes this process: imagine you had just 60 seconds to impart value to an audience. What would that 60 seconds look like? Would you relate immediately with energized, precise content — or spend 45 seconds thanking the audience and expressing how glad you were to be there? Hint: Convey gratitude through valuable content and authentic, natural delivery. A list of thank yous inspires an audience’s brain to disengage.
Quick footnote:
Storyboard on a whiteboard answers to this question: what’s one story that exemplfies your key message and leads into key points?
Question 3:
What really influences a persuasive delivery, especially for women?
Answer 3: Speaking with vocal strength/versatility and good posture increases persuasiveness a lot, especially for female speakers.
Question 4 – from a chat participant: Where do I put my hands while speaking? What are ways to control gestures overall while on stage?
Answer 4: The most authentic suggestion to this I find is to step back briefly and consider your one-on-one conversation style. As example: when explaining a point of emphasis when the audience is just one or a few, how would you naturally underscore the point? Would you naturally clasp hands together? or would you actually use silent pauses to frame the specific point and draw more attention to the statement? Or would your voice slow and deepen, excluding hand gestures completely?
Footnote:
Even though the energy exchange is much more aggressive and accelerated when speaking to a group, re-connecting with natural conversational gestures can be more natural than ‘forcing’ a particular gesture or approach to emphasize key points. Let gesturing unfold along with the story’s build in the speech.
One huge factor brought up in the chat was relating to audiences authentically and with sincerity. Many folks shared great wisdom about audiences and how they can quickly detect an insincere speaker.
Bottom line: If presenters don’t convey authenticity or sense of care, then why should an audience care or be convinced?
Question for you:
What experiences or favorite tips do you have that have shaped your public speaking strength?
Thanks for a fantastic time and brainstorm at last week’s!
And reminder to save the date:
The next @wgbiz chat: Dec. 13, 12-1 pm ET with featured guest and Chief Troublemaker Joanna Pineda with Matrix Group International.
A friend gently poked fun at how much I was rehearsing for a recent speech (…for the wonderful Grow Smart Business Conference) held last Friday.
Honestly there were 3 reasons for the aggressive preparation:
It was a new story for me to tell (about using Twitter and social media to improve public speaking skill). So there was plenty of brainstorming on how to storyboard and organize from this audience’s point of view.
The speech was apart of a lightning talk round where multiple speakers would present in 10 or 20 minutes each. It was a mental wrestling match at times when writing and deciding what should be whittled out.
Many of the lightning round speakers were also immersed on the regional and national speaking circuit. So the good ole law of comparison was in play.
Holy Compelling Feedback Batman
Presenting the speech was a blast. After speaking, I headed for the far side of the conference room to reflect about the audience dynamic (and read the conference’s robust Twitter backchannel aka hashtag #GrowSmartBiz). Then a conference attendee walked up and shared a fascinating and timely perspective.
He said:
“You know, it was a hard situation to be the speaker who followed Shonali Burke. She was awesome and to top it all off she has a beautiful British accent. But your speech did well and was effective even in comparison to her.”
I suppressed the desire to hug the man.
Another audience member in a different conversation shared similar insight. I appreciated the candor and how they underscored that…:
When presenting with a suite of speakers, no matter how conducive one’s content is to the audience, the human mind – will and often starkly – respond to speakers’ unique delivery and personal traits (like in this case, Shonali’s lyrical accent and voice). This isn’t at all to discount the vital influence of content. Yet when presenting in the midst of a boat load of great speakers, it presents an apt time to assess readiness from a specific vantage point.
These 3 questions help to foster a more honest evaluation of my own readiness:
How assured am I when engaging through this content? Is it enough to conversationally relate to the audience with clarity of mind and authenticity? Or would more practice help dissolve any angst about being compared to another speaker’s style?
It was a great, educational, revealing day.
For more video about the GrowSmartBiz Conference, please enjoy here.
Questions on topic and price
Some folks have asked for instructional videos so they can strengthen their speech development on their own time (vs allocate time for Toastmasters or private coaching…). So on that note – what topic draws your interest below for a $19 product?
