Flip Your Speech Upside-down
You like to talk about yourself. It’s okay. Everyone love to. We’re just wired that way. Besides, you’re a cool person with cool experiences, so why wouldn’t you?
Think about it. You have a microphone pointed at you with a roomful of people staring at you who have been told that you are the person to listen to. So naturally, you think – either consciously or unconsciously – since you have been given this platform and people have come to hear from you, then they must be interested in learning about you. It’s only natural to brush your shoulders off and let the awesomeness of you waft over. It’s a pretty cool feeling.
by Martin Fisch
And so, you open your speech with information about you – why you’re the person talking about this topic and how you got to be the head honcho on stage.
While I have no doubt that your credentials, background, and experiences are very interesting, this isn’t the best way to open your speech. Don’t worry! You will still be able to talk about yourself. That part has its rightful place…. a little later in your speech.
Too many speakers start their speeches by talking about themselves, not the audience.
I don’t know if it’s a desire to establish credibility and to prove worthiness. I don’t know if it’s being deemed an “expert” that initiates a myopic point of view. I don’t know if it’s just an ego trip that triggers it. I think that for different people each of those could apply.
by Homies in Heaven
Opening a speech with “how I got here” rather than “this is what I can do for you right now,” increases the probability that your audience will tune you out and start tweeting.
When I create a new speech or help my client develop theirs, there are 10 questions I answer….every time….without fail. These questions help me shift my mindset from the speaker’s POV to the audience’s.
While each of the 10 questions are important to the speechwriting process, there are two crucial ones for the opening of the speech:
What are they (the audience) proud of?
What problems do they have (and are aware of) that my presentation solves?
Let’s start with the problems.
Pinpoint the Pain
By pinpointing and drawing out their pain, you set yourself up for a home run speech. Putting the pain near the beginning of the speech demonstrates that you are a true expert. You understand them. You know what they are thinking and feeling. You know what their struggles.
by Alex Abian
This builds your credibility much more than your biography.
Leverage Their Pride
Now, some speakers make the mistake of staying in the “problems section” for too long. After a period of time, your commiserating starts to feel like browbeating. When that happens, you come across as a jerk. Your audience will stop liking you and start turning against you before you’ve reached the meat of your presentation.
You can counteract this potential problem by sprinkling in the answers you gave to the first question, “What are they proud of?”
Flattery goes a long way, especially from the platform.
by Tim Shields
Every audience is proud of something. Entrepreneurs are proud of their independence. Sales teams are proud of their business relationships. CEOs are proud of their companies. IT groups are proud of their knowledge. Speakers‘ are proud of every single thing they’ve ever done. (I kid because I love.)
Make it a point to bring these up. Fluff their feathers. Stroke their ego. Make them feel good about themselves.
You will need to tap into their sense of empowerment in order for them to feel like they can tackle the problem you are addressing.
Remember, these two components should be at the beginning of your speech. Once you establish that you understand their struggles and give them a pat on the back for their success, then you can delve into your story and your content.
This is a subtle and powerful way to win over your audience and make them more receptive to what you have to say.
