by Motivational Speaker and Strategic Storytelling Expert, Kelly Swanson
Feeling a disconnect with your audience?
Suspicious that your words might be putting people to sleep?
Not as persuasive as you know you can be?
Feel like they don’t really care what you are talking about?
I get it. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Whether we’re speakers, sales people, executives, or anybody trying to persuade others with our words, we have all learned that telling people what to do is not the same as making them want to do it.
The problem might not be what you’re saying - but HOW you’re saying it.
Audiences Love Structure
After years of coaching people in business on their presentation skills, I have found that most people struggle with structure, whether they've been doing this for a year or twenty. They know what they want to say. They have reams of data to back up their points.But when it comes to putting it down on paper, the task can be overwhelming, and the result can be a speech that feels cobbled together. The audience is hearing you say a lot in the short time they are with you. They need some sort of framework to hold it together and help them compartmentalize. It's easier to remember three main points than fifteen random ones. Give it structure, and you can have three main buckets that each hold five teaching points in them. Now you've taken the same amount of information, but delivered it in a way that the audience can retain the information and visualize the buckets.
One way to get control of your speech and give it a nice solid structure, is to really understand the anatomy of your speech or presentation. This is where you sit down and map out the path that you want to take your audience on - all stories and anecdotes aside. It's the structure of your argument.
We are all being hired to teach our audience something and convince them to believe it's important in their lives. Telling them what to do is not nearly the same as making them want to do it and getting true buy-in from our listener.
There really is no right or wrong when it comes to structure. You get to find the method that works best for you. I'm going to share mine. You can use it, or build from it. It is simply a series of questions that I ask myself and answer before I begin to write a speech. It helps me understand where I am going and why. This is not the speech, it's the information-gathering homework I do before writing the speech. But often, the speech has really written itself once I have answered these questions, and I can just add stories where they apply. You will find as you answer these questions that in addition to having more clarity about your message, you might have more clarity about your brand.
The cool thing about these questions is that they don’t focus purely on the data you want to present, but how to present that data in a way that makes a personal connection with your audience.
Saying the right thing often starts with asking the right questions.
The Anatomy of a Winning Presentation
At this point, you aren’t writing a speech. So put away the cute flowery language. Just focus on what you need them to know. You can make it fancy later.
- Who am I? Quick way to introduce yourself and create rapport with your audience.
- Why am I here? State your intent and what you hope to accomplish in your time together.
- What do we have in common? Let them know how you can relate to them because you’ve been there.
- What is the problem we face? State the struggle that listener has in words they are likely to use.
- What happens if we don't fix it? Tell them how this could problem is only going to get worse.
- What happens if we do? Tell them how cool their life would be if they could have what they want.
- How I experienced this problem in my life. Tell them about a time you went through something similar.
- What shift in perspective did I have to have in order to fix this problem? How did you have to change your thinking and attitude? That one thing that had to happen first.
- What were the three steps I took that helped me resolve this problem? These are your three main talking points. The buckets. Yes, there can be more than three, but be careful. Three is a good number for a keynote or a presentation.There can be other talking points under each point. Here is where you give your lessons.
- Here are some details under each three. (Optional.) Some keynotes will have three main points or messages and that’s fine. Depending on how much time you have, you can explain each bucket further.
- I know what you're thinking. Handle any unspoken objections you know they are going to have to you, your message, or this information.
- Here's how I would encourage you to try it anyway. Address whatever fear you think might be blocking them from acting on this, or whatever road block they will put up to keep them from taking action.
- Here's what action step(s) I recommend that you take on Monday. Tell them what to do next.
- Here is how we can stay in touch. Give them a way to go home with you.
- Here are some resources I have for you. Let them know if you have something that will help them do this.
- Here's why I think you can't ignore this any longer. People avoid pain. Create a sense of urgency.
- Because I believe you deserve....... Give it a motivational ending by telling them they deserve the life they want.
As I said earlier, these questions are just a starting point. Change them, create your own. The point is that you understand the structure before you write the speech. Now that you have figured out what you want to say, you decide how you want to say it. That's a lesson for another day.
When you're ready to add the stories, come to Story Impact Academy and we'll turn you into a master storyteller in just 18 lessons.
Do you need me to come teach your group how to do this? Sure! Check out my website to see what I do. www.MotivationalSpeakerKellySwanson.com
Happy writing!