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Communication Matters Newsletter
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What NOT to Say: Hi! My name is...
In this edition of What NOT To Say, we look at the most mundane of all openings, your name.
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Click here to watch our other short, 2-3 minute videos on What NOT to say.
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The one sentence you HAVE to say in every speech
Your true message is what your audience repeats.
Many years ago when I first started our public classes, one of our Powerful, Persuasive Speaking graduates asked if she could blog about her experience. At the time, exposure was a key desire of our small-time operation, and I was thrilled to get the offer for a review to go out to the masses. When I read the review, I was SHOCKED to see, in print, a direct quote from me that said, "Alan told us that our content doesn't matter." WHAT?! What crazy speech coach would ever say that?
And then I realized that I had said exactly that. I was quick to formulate my defense. The quote was in the context of one of our impromptu exercises where a student had argued that if they only had a prepared speech, they'd be a lot better at what we were trying to do. I smiled - this is a common complaint in class - and said that for the skill we were trying to develop, the content didn't matter.
The problem for me was that quote became the central point to this one student, and that became what she "learned". For years I made fun of the circumstance to anyone who would listen, and to this day use it as an example of how great intent and possibly even great content can be misinterpreted.
But as I've become a better instructor and coach of public speaking, that experience has helped to define one of the central tenets I use to plan my own speeches, as well as those of my clients.
Your true message is what your audience repeats.
Communication is what gets transmitted. If they misunderstand, you can't blame the audience. It's what you communicated. Here are some examples from clients:
- "I was really on during my presentation, and I talked for an hour and had people REALLY laughing. But they never got my serious content and I heard someone later describe me as a really funny guy as he repeated one of my stories". Message: he was a funny guy.
- "I gave our sales pitch and created the problem and pitched the solution. I overheard one of the prospects as we left ask, 'What was the name of their company again?'" Message: blah blah blah, let's hire the next guy.
- In an interview committee meeting, discussing a candidate: "He was the guy who said he wasn't married to his job." Message: he's not committed enough for us. Next.
Your audience CANNOT repeat everything you say (see the forgetting curve). Therefore, our goal and measure of success needs to be to control what our audience REMEMBERS.
The fact that YOU know what you want to say and what it means and how that applies is just about useless. What did the AUDIENCE hear you say? Here are three tips to ensure your audience repeats the message you wanted them to get:
- Make it as simple as possible, (and no simpler!) Get your core message down to a single statement (this is my first coaching question: "What do you want to say in one sentence?")
- Use consistent language every time you repeat your core message. I don't call it 'content', then 'organized prose', then 'speech transcript', then 'words you say', 'presentation draft', etc. It's 'content' every time I talk about it. Every time.
- That which gets repeated gets remembered. It's always fun to ask past graduates of our workshops what they remember. Inevitably, the phrases they use are something we repeat over and over and over (want to see one of them giggle? Just walk up to them and say "NoSoForYou" to them! They'll NEVER forget it, because they heard it 50+ times in our two-day workshop.) I have to make sure I'm repeating and reviewing the things that are key so that they will be repeated and remembered.
One of the hardest things about speaking is to check your good heart and your ego at the front door to the presentation room. It doesn't matter how hard you prepared. The passion of your heart is not the defining element. Your personal comfort couldn't be less of an issue. And, as shocking as I thought it was years ago, your content doesn't even matter.
Your true message is what your audience repeats.
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Speaking Tip of the Month
Spend time honing your message into ONE (1!) sentence. Get the core message before you start to flesh out the rest.
 For weekly tips, follow us on Twitter!
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Quote
"Speech is power: Speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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| Upcoming Workshops | |
2014 Workshop dates
Sep 22-23 Early bird rate still available--only THREE spots left!
Nov 17-18
Two days that will change your life! This highly interactive, hands-on workshop gives you the skills to face an audience and deliver content in a clear, concise, and compelling manner. Close that deal, give that career-changing presentation, or motivate your audience to action. Speak with confidence, power, and ease.
Limited seating.
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Upcoming Speaking Events
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Independent Communicators Alliance
August 20
Raleigh, NC
Join Alan as he presents at ICA on "Public Speaking: How to be heard and remembered."
Sign up to attend!
John Deere Talk Toastmasters Club
"Why Modern Business Communication is Killing Productivity (and what you can do about it)."
NCPMI Annual Conference
September 19
Raleigh Convention Ctr.
"Why Modern Business Communication is Killing Productivity (and what you can do about it)."
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If you need a speaker for your next corporate meeting or professional organization, contact us at info@millswyck.com. Check out our keynotes or have us customize a presentation or workshop for your group.
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| Visit our Website | |
Find out more about our public workshops, corporate training, private coaching, and keynote speaking at www.millswyck.com.
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