Page 58 - Effective communication Skills by Dale King

“I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief, in a country

in mourning, before a world in shock.” – The Earl Spencer, Lady Diana’s
brother.

Each one of these will make you lean in and wonder where the speaker is
going to take you. They will jump right into their presentation and create
curiosity, intrigue, and suspense.

Don’t Stay on Script

It would be a good idea to prepare your presentation beforehand and practice

it to iron out any kinks. When you get on stage, you should try to abandon
your cue cards. You should be so familiar with your subject that you will be
able to talk about it in your sleep naturally. Get off course. People are going
to be able to tell what you have rehearsed and what you haven’t.

Make the Presentation about Them

Once you have their attention, make the presentation about them. Talk about
their anxieties, aspirations, and goals. A Roman statesman and orator, Cicero,

who was the greatest speaker in the world once said, “Tickling and soothing
anxieties is the test of a speaker’s impact and technique.” What he meant was
that you can capture the attention if you remind your audience of a threat to
their wellbeing, a pain point, or a felt need.

During the late 60s and 70s Whisk used an advertising campaign where a
housewife protected her husband’s career and social status when she used
Whisk to clean his shirts. This is called FUD and many companies use it to

sell their products. FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Just a little
bit of FUD will get their attention.

In the Beginning, Keep it Concrete

Show the audience a prop, use language that grabs their senses. Don’t start
boring them right away with academic concepts or abstract reasoning. It

would be better to hide how smart you are than to wear them in the open.
Again, storytelling is a great way to get your topic across because we are
wired to get information that way.

Put Emotional Inflections into Your Voice