The 6 secrets to being successful when writing a speech
“If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will.” – Harvey Diamond
Know your message
Before you go on camera, stage or do an Interview, you need to have the message that you want to get out ready to go because you want to make sure it hits the mark.
Recently I was being interviewed and I got asked if I had any big ideas in the future.,this would have been a perfect opportunity for me to hit the ball out the park and talk about all the great ideas for courses we’re working on at Plant Powered Success but instead I closed up and told the interviewer they would have to wait and see. My cynical response was because I hadn’t prepared for that question, I didn’t have my message on point.
Know your audience
Imagine you’re trying to convince kids to eat more healthy: you wouldn’t tell them the heart attack statistics for over 50’s who eat meat. Likewise, imagine you’re talking to senior citizens: you wouldn’t tell them that eating greens makes you big and strong like Bertie the broccoli, they might think you’re mad.
Remember to adapt for the audience in front of you or that matters for your product, idea or brand to survive.
Tip: Try and get into the character of your typical audience member and be critical of your pitch as if in their shoes.
“90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.” – Somers White
Tell stories not facts
Most people don’t like facts and figures as much as stories. Whole industries have been built on this principle; think Hollywood.
Be descriptive with the story so people can use their imagination.
The what, who, why and when are so important.
Get Emotional
Use an Emotive subject, there’s nothing more potent than emotions, in the plant-based world we have lots of emotive stories to tell.
Only talk about the things that people care about, what time you got the bus is going to make people turn off before they hear the punch line.
Start with a punch
Start with a wow, a colossal fact even a controversial statement that grabs the audience’s attention.
Tip: When choosing an emotion make sure it’s one that will inspire, such as love, passion, fear or anger as these encourage the audience to take action. Think Churchill or Gandhi.
If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.
-Dianna Booher
Be authentic
Remember you are a brand, so everything you do is vital from the type of shoes to your hair. What does it say about you and your brand?
Take Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg; they always wore/wear the same outfit when doing their thing. Wearing the same outfit isn’t accidental, it was designed to send out an authentic brand message. (Plus it saves wasting valuable time in front of the mirror every time you go out).
