hear, hear
In what many pundits describe as the speech of his presidency, Barrack Obama showed again, with his emotional ‘Arizona’ address, how important it is to deliver a speech in the correct manner. Along with the likes of JFK, Bill Clinton and our own Winston Churchill, Obama has now elevated himself to the lofty ranks of the truly great speakers. Whilst we ourselves may never perhaps have such a platform we all do make speeches and presentations, and have open conversations, were similar attributes, qualities and styles needs to be employed, so what makes a great speech? Here are my tips on making you a Tony Blair of the lectern and not a George IV:
1. The most important point, by a country mile, is that you know your subject and understand your arguments. Keep those arguments simple and easy to understand. Filibustering and b*llsh*tting is the downfall of all speeches and presentations.
2. Tell a story. Every good story has an beginning, a middle and an end and it’s so much easier to hold the interest of the audience if they’re involved in the story and in its development. Where a story is not easily forthcoming revert to the old adage of ‘tell ‘em what you’re going to tell them (intro), tell ‘em (the meat & two veg) and tell ‘em what you’ve told them (summary and close) and you shouldn’t go too far wrong.
3. Ditch the script. Having researched and understood your topic don’t type out the speech in full and repeat it verbatim. If you do it’ll come across as stilted, one-dimensional and most importantly, someone else’s work. Use reminder cards with the key ‘memory’ points and be yourself.
4. Making eye contact with your audience is vital as it encourages the audience to pay attention to you. If it’s possible to engage the audience even further then do so as no one likes to be caught out day-dreaming!
5. As Telly Savalas (aka Kojak) once told us ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ so do keep the PowerPoint slides to a minimum. They typically contain way too much distracting information so go for interesting, yet relevant, pictorial aids. They also serve as memory pointers for you, provide you know your stuff.
6. Humour is the winner and is the most powerful weapon in any speech. Once people have laughed (and hence, relaxed) they’ll listen to what comes next, hoping for more fun. Having said this, don’t overplay the comedy-hand unless the situation warrants it. Remember, knowledge and sincerity and more important and more useful than a cheap shot and a laugh.
7. End with a bang. Well, not quite an explosion but a powerful finish and conclusion can go a long way for making up for any misadventures along the way. As mentioned earlier, every speech needs a destination and the last sentence should deliver a memorable punch, bringing the story to an end in a positive manner. And they all presented happily ever after.
