Speaking Success Articles - How to Be a Better Speaker by TOMORROW morning!

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Media events pop up on short notice, other speakers cancel, a new
sales job requires a critical presentation…I have heard from people
in all of these situations. You’ve been meaning to schedule time with
a speaking coach, take that e-course, or join Toastmaster’s,
because you know how important good public speaking is to your
career. You know you can be a better public speaker, but you put if
off and now you need to be one by tomorrow morning. Does this
sound familiar?

Yes, you CAN do it. Here are three super “Power Tools” to blast you
through your confusion and doubts.

Super Power Tool #1: The Three-Step Opening
1. To start off, ask two questions. The purpose of the first question
is to unite your purpose and energy with the audience and capture
their rapt attention. For example, my real estate agent client starts
with, “How many of you would like to own your own home someday?”
Everyone in the audience raises their hand.
2. The second question addresses their problem. For example,
“How many of you know exactly what you need to be doing TODAY to
make that dream come true?” Not many hands up this time.
Everyone has secret doubts and possibly painful unresolved
financial matters, or doubts about his or her know–how.
3. Now that you have your audience’s attention and engagement,
tell them how you can help them. My real estate agent client then
tells her audience that she can save them money and ensure they
have a good experience when they buy a home.

This opening model is a no-fail hook that gets the audience working
with you right away. Adapt the model to your industry, and you’ll
have a powerful introduction will make your audience really WANT to
listen to what you have to say.

Super Power Tool #2: “Something for Everyone” in the Body
of your Speech
1. Share a vivid personal story about a client and his or her problem,
and describe how you solved it for them. This is the conceptual
section of your speech. The conceptual learners will make
connections to their lives and will long remember your message.
2. Share some numbers. This is the pragmatic section of your
speech. Some of your listeners will actually hear only this. For
example, from the same real estate client: “Every single person in
this room could have saved thousands of dollars by working on their
credit score the year before purchasing their house. 75% of people
overpay by up to 80% because of a high mortgage rate at closing.”
3. Tell your audience how they can improve their future. Tell them
how you can help them. Tell them what to do. This section can be
accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation or a handout. The visual
learners will be more engaged here.

Super Power Tool #3: A Winning Closing
1. Summarize your dominant point. Restate their problem and how
you can help solve it.
2. Ask for their business. Tell them again what you want them to do.
3. If you have time, 30 minutes before the close of your speech, take
questions and answers for 15 minutes. Make sure you give yourself
at least 10 minutes to wrap up, ask for their business, and tell them
again what you want them to do. If you do take questions, be sure
you read my article titled “The Art of Answering Questions Live” at
www.DianneLegro.com. You’ll avoid the common pitfalls many
speakers make during Q & A periods.
4. Make the last sentence you speak a strong memory hook. I always
end with, “Invest in your speaking! You earn more when you put your
money where your mouth is!”

EXTRA - EXTRA – EXTRA: Two Secrets of Preparation
1. Before you speak, have SOMEONE ELSE check the mike. How
many times have you been caught with a difficult and audience-
alienating microphone issue? You wrote a great opening and there
you stand tapping, hemming and hawing and asking some inept
sound person for help. You really don’t want your audience to have
a first impression of you like this. Have someone else do it, and then
watch carefully. Note the quality of the sound and the volume so you
can calibrate your microphone distance properly.
2. Note the length of the cord if it is a handheld. I saw another
famous speaker blow this recently. She wanted to walk and talk near
her audience with the handheld and did not check the cord first. She
was forced to speak from a small area and did not see that the cord
was curled in a pile just at the end of the stage. With one quick
check prior to speaking she could have unraveled the cord and
moved into her audience the way she wanted to. She looked stuck
and felt stuck. I could see the whole problem and the solution and
was powerless to help. Avoid this with a quick check before you go
on.

Use these “Super Power Tools” and you’ll hit the stage with
confidence!

This article is available for publication by permission. Contact Dianne
more information.