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4 Speaking Lessons YOU Can Master!
Lately, I’ve sat through my share of commencement addresses. The good news? My son graduated! The bad news: most of these speeches were awful, but could have better if only the speaker had avoided a few deadly sins of speaking.
4 Secrets to Speaking Better
Start Strong – You don’t need to be brilliant at the beginning of your talk. In fact, if you start at such a high note, there’s only one way to go: DOWN! But, telling the audience your initial thoughts about thinking of giving your talk (really!) is just tedious and boring. Try instead a relevant story, startling statistic, or an interesting anecdote.
Don’t Assume You’re G-d – Just because you got asked to give a speech doesn’t mean you’re above everyone else or have all of the answers. Adopt a self-deprecating tone as Matt Damon did last week at MIT; he asked the graduates if they thought he was the perfect candidate to hear advice from. After all, he quipped that he has the credential of voicing a cartoon horse. (see Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron)
Don’t Judge Your Own Story – Never say, “here’s a funny story;” you just get to tell it…the audience determines if they laugh.
Stop Concluding – You want your audience so interested in your talk that they lose track of time. “In conclusion” adds no value; it just lets them know that you’re finally coming to an end.
If you’re ready for more speech coaching, I’m here to help! I have 2 options for you:
Monetize your Message Through Speaking – This is the ideal one-on-one program if you are a speaker or wanna-be speaker who wants to create a business that makes money! Set up a call with me to discuss and review all of the info here.
Rapid Fire Speech Preparation: If you’ve got a talk coming up, but are nervous or unclear about how to make it great, this is the program for you! Set up a call with me to discuss and review all of the info here.