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Photo via Carla de Souza Campos on Flickr. [/caption]
Generally, speakers spend too much time on āfillerā material. As a result, audiences often expect a speaker to waste the first five or ten minutes so they stay on their phones or computers. The polite ones, the ones who put away their devices, get annoyed waiting for you to āstart.ā Instead, get on with the show.
This is why shows like The Good Wife, Breaking Bad, etc. donāt start with a title sequence with theme music. Over the years, viewers became programed to tune in late. They knew they wouldnāt miss anything important. However, if the opening of the show sets the stage, revealing the most important elements of the plot line, the audience will show up on time, if not early, and be hooked from the start.
Cut everything from your speech that isnāt absolutely necessary to entertain, teach, show, provoke or move an audience. Just like writing, performing is often about cutting out the fat. If you do streamline, you might start to think about your public speaking as putting on a show, rather than giving a speech. It makes a big difference.
Join me in Heroic Public Speaking and let's perfect your speaking abilities today.
Photo via Carla de Souza Campos on Flickr. [/caption]
If you want to crush your next talk, speech, or even just make more of an impression in the workplace, join meĀ for Heroic Public Speaking.
For audience members, typical is boring. Watching a performer take risks is exciting. The best of the best break the rules. However, they donāt break the rules just to break the rules. They break the rules to make the show better, to advance a story, to raise the stakes, to get you to sit up and take notice. Here are a few rules that you can break, or at least play around with: 1. No need to say, āIām going to tell you a story.ā Instead, just tell the story and get them captivated right away. 2. If youāre hosting an event, no need to say, āIāve got some housekeeping to cover.ā The word housekeeping tells the audience to stop listening. Instead, find a way to make the directions to the restrooms sound like an adventure and the info about that eveningās party sound like a ā¦ well ā¦ party. 3. Definitely no need to say, āIām happy to be here.ā If youāre not happy to be there why would you be there? Instead, show them you are by giving a fantastic performance. If youāre giving a speech to your Alma mater where you earned 1.1 grade point average the first semester of your freshman year, thatās different. If thatās the case, you can say, āIām happy to be here becauseā¦ā and then tell that that story. 4. No need to say, āLetās get started.ā The second you are introduced the presentation starts so by the time youāre on stage, youāve already started.
Generally, speakers spend too much time on āfillerā material. As a result, audiences often expect a speaker to waste the first five or ten minutes so they stay on their phones or computers. The polite ones, the ones who put away their devices, get annoyed waiting for you to āstart.ā Instead, get on with the show.
This is why shows like The Good Wife, Breaking Bad, etc. donāt start with a title sequence with theme music. Over the years, viewers became programed to tune in late. They knew they wouldnāt miss anything important. However, if the opening of the show sets the stage, revealing the most important elements of the plot line, the audience will show up on time, if not early, and be hooked from the start.
Cut everything from your speech that isnāt absolutely necessary to entertain, teach, show, provoke or move an audience. Just like writing, performing is often about cutting out the fat. If you do streamline, you might start to think about your public speaking as putting on a show, rather than giving a speech. It makes a big difference.
Join me in Heroic Public Speaking and let's perfect your speaking abilities today.