How to Give a Great Presentation…
How to give a great presentation every time…
A funny thing happened to me on the way to this presentation. Sorry, in over 28 years of being a full time speaker, NOTHING ‘funny’ ever happened to me on the way to a presentation. Instead of opening up with a trite line and throwing in a joke that chances are, many in your audience have heard, here is a really simple formula we use in our Public Speaking as Easy as ABCD! public seminar to ensure your next presentation is magical.
It’s as easy as ABCD…
A stands for Attention. Get their attention by calling to mind a significant even in their recent past or one they experienced just that day. At a recent speech, I waited and waited for my spot to speak after what seemed like 100 awards were being presented. Also, about 6 people received over half the awards. I threw out my planned opening and started with, Next time you all could save a lot of time by just having (naming those 6 people) sit at a table right on stage. You’d save all that time of coming and going! It got a huge laugh and then applause. Then I added, If you ever need a fund raiser, just start an awards factory. You’d make a fortune just supplying your own awards! Again, a lot of laughter and a second applause…great way to start a talk.
B stands for Blueprint. The Blueprint is the plan or pathway you are leading them through. You have to tell them after you get their Attention, what they will learn, hear, experience. It puts their minds at ease and makes the rest of the talk understandable, even if you digress or get into a long story.
C stands for Coaster, the roller coaster ride of emotional ups and downs you put them through during the talk. A friend and man I really admire never does this. He’s a really good speaker. IF he did it, he would be a FANTASTIC speaker. His methodology is just FAST, LOUD, HARD all the time. He wears people out after 15 minutes. Instead, lift them up and then slow it down. Get them up with laughter and fun and then get serious. The HIGHS are what help the LOWS sink in.
D stands for Destination. Ya gotta bring them to a definite Destination at the conclusion of your talk. This is when they can say, having reached the Destination, THAT’s what it was all about. Your Destination may be a repeat of what you shared earlier, a surprise ending, an incredibly moving or emotional story or a rousing, Let’s all stand and shout together… kind of ending. I remembered at IBM in Malaysia, I concluded with a story about spending a weekend with Steven Seagal, the movie actor and martial artists. It involves a true story of a six-year-old boy with cancer who asked Steven Segal, How can I have the courage not to die? By the time I concluded the story and applied it back to them at work and what we just learned, several people were crying, including the MC. Not tears of sadness necessarily, but tears of hope and realizing, they, like that boy, CAN have the courage to live right and to give it their best.
If you learn and apply your ABCs and D to speaking opportunities, you can always give a quick, easy to understand and deliver talk that will make a profound impact upon your audience!
