Here’s an easy way to give a speech that your audience will love.Â
Start with a blank flip chart. Walk before your audience and say the following. “In preparing for my speech today, I thought about what are the three questions that you would want me to answer.” State the three questions and write them down on the flip chart.
Then say, “Let me answer the first question.” Then answer the question, making sure that you use a story to illustrate your answer. And make sure you speak with the kind of energy you would have during an animated dinner conversation with a friend. Be excited and let the passion show.
Once you’ve answered all three questions, recap the main ideas in less than 15 seconds. Stop.
I came up with this simple approach for the President of a local manufacturing firm who asked for help on a presentation to his sales force. “But I don’t want to use PowerPoint,” he told me. “I’m more of a flip chart kind of guy. And I want to just keep it simple.”
He had just been appointed as the new president and needed to introduce himself to his team. In preparing for the presentation, he sent out an email asking the sellers to submit questions they’d like for him to answer during his presentation. He used those questions as the basis for coming up with the three questions he would focus on during the speech.
Like any good speaker, he spent a lot of time practicing the presentation.
He nailed it and the speech was a big hit.
Great speeches don’t need to be fancy. But they do need to be simple, focused on listener issues, and contain a few stories. Do those things, rehearse, and your audience will love you.
