My
Top Ten Elements of a Great Speech
Thomas J. Leonard
1. A proper introduction
and/or self-introduction.
Have the person introducing you include several of the following items:
- Your name - Your credentials - Your experience in this area - Why you
were selected to speak vs. someone else - Your personal qualities - Your
success and accomplishments.
2. Acknowledge and
touch the audience.
Convey authentic gratitude and appreciation by reflecting, before the speech,
why you're glad/grateful to be there, specifically. For example: "It is
an honor for me to be with you at this meeting because....." Praise the
work of the organization. Cite examples of key products or services that
work well. Empathize with their "plight" or with the sacrifices they've
made to produce what they have. Thank them for what they are currently
working on that will improve the industry/life/company, etc.
3. A concise statement
of purpose of the speech.
Identify why you are there and what they can expect to hear. Forexample:
"The purpose of this meeting is to give us a chance to report on.....and
to give you a chance to ask questions....." "My objective today is to ask
you to become leaders instead of just managers and to tell you why this
change is so critical...." "In my opening remarks, I am going to
suggest substantial changes in our division's mission and profit objectives...."
"I want each of you to leave here today with a clearer picture of what
your year will look like and a clear sense of what you'll be doing...."
4. Acknowledge and
honor the audience's resistance and doubts about your topic/purpose
or about you.
If your speech is any good, it will probably feel challenging to
some in the audience and cause reactions. You can reduce the negative reactions
and include the "higher-end" of your audience if you stand in everyone's
shoes and speak to what they may be thinking. "Some of you might be thinking
that we are more committed to innovation than to customer service....
Some of you might think that we are not flexible enough in our pricing....
Still others are concerned about delivery times." "You might think that
we've already put too much time and money into......" "I expectthat many
of you will disagree with me; my proposals sound too drastic, go too far
and are too disruptive. I will, in fact, tone them down after hearing your
concerns and learning from your input...."
5. Create a sense of
urgency.
You give a speech in order to motivate others to grow, change,think or
act differently. But most of us won't change quickly enough unless we feel
something, whether it be reward or consequence (both work; use both if
you can). For example: "The reason that increasing our sales by 40% next
year is imperative is that the window of opportunity in this market
segment will only be open for the next 6 months. If we don't get
in, we lose out; you lose out." "Any profession that doesn't keep up with
the demands and changing needs of its customers is likely to be replaced
by a new profession that is. Your livelihood and continued success depends
on continual innovation, not just improvement. Our best customers simply
will not wait for us for more than 90 days. They'll find someone
else who will deliver."
6. Present the solution.
Now that
you've got their attention and have them feeling their wallets, give your
audience the plan, the solution, the strategy for how to both solve the
problem and also to get ahead and stay ahead. For example: "It used to
be that by making more prospecting calls to more potential customers in
the same amount of time, we could increase sales by 15% per year. But this
approach simply will not get us to our 25% sales goal. Instead, I propose
that we...." "We have been listening to our customers very well since 1990,
but now I suggest that we marry them, share resources and work together
as partners, not just their vendors. This would mean that....:"
7. Make your specific
points, the steps needed and the obstacles to reaching the objective. Keep
it to about 3 major points.
8. Share or draw a
conclusion.
You've given them lots of context, content and opinion. Now, summarize
it all into the form of a conclusion so that they'll have a handle to readily
hold your speech basket. "What are we to conclude at this point? That...."
"There are several conclusions that one might draw right now. They are.....The
one that I've chosen is....because....and I will....."
9. Ask for something:
action, willingness, a change, support. This motivates and stretches
the audience and bonds them to you, long term.
10. Q&A or a fresh
statement of the speech.
Don't be afraid to be of service/respond to your audience vs. just being
a "broadcaster."
Thomas J. Leonard,
thomas@thomasleonard.com, Copyright 2000 Coach U
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