Learn how you can prepare a “killer talk” without overkilling it! [Thursday: Speak on the Shoulders of Giants]
There are countless ways to craft a killer talk and most of them have to do with your delivery style.
Think about it: Reaching your audience requires that you deliver your talk in a manner that would capture their hearts and minds.
However, you need to be careful, because there are talk styles that you should avoid at all costs.
Do you want to know what these talk styles are?
If so, let’s dive into the world of public speaking once more in today’s “Speak on the Shoulders of Giants!”
According to Chris Anderson in the book, “TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking,” there are four talk styles that must be avoided at all costs because they are “dangerous to both a speaker’s reputation and an audience’s well-being.”
Photo from TED
| 1.) |
The Sales Pitch. Sometimes, speakers stand on the stage to take, not to give. According to Anderson, several years ago, he encountered a speaker who stood on stage to promote a consultancy service. Instead of speaking about how to think outside the box, the presenter talked about businesses that made a significant leap forward as a result of an action they took. The action? The audience had to book the speaker’s consultancy services to find out. If it weren’t for Anderson’s intervention, the speaker would not have shared any practical and usable insights to his audience. In the world of public speaking, reputation is everything. That’s why it’s important to build your image up as a generous person who brings something wonderful and insightful to audiences. Basically, it is a speaker’s job to give, not take. |
| 2.) |
The Ramble In the first TED Anderson ever organized, the speaker ended up rambling for 15 minutes straight. For the duration of that talk, there were no arguments, no revelations, and no takeaways for the audience. The crowd clapped politely, but none of them learned anything. Anderson says there are many talks similar to the example cited above. The key takeaway here? Prepare for your talk, so you’ll end up with a presentation that’s clear and easy to understand for your audience. |
| 3.) |
The Org Bore Working for an organization is fascinating and enjoyable to those working for it, but deeply boring to almost everyone else. That’s why instead of talking about an organization or business’ history, products, and success, you should focus your talk on the nature of the work that you’re doing. This way, you’ll effectively retain the attention of your audience and give them something they would want to listen to. |
| 4.) |
The Inspiration Performance Whether they admit it or not, many speakers dream of being cheered on as they leave the stage. However, it’s the very same desire that leads some presenters to do bad things such as emulating inspirational talks in form only. This can result in a talk that’s built up to use every trick in the book to manipulate the audience into cheering a speaker on. As Anderson said: “Inspiration can’t be performed. It’s an audience response to authenticity, courage, selfless work, and genuine wisdom. Bring those qualities to your talk, and you may be amazed at what happens.” |
There you have it—the four talk types that you should avoid at all costs.
It’ll be up to you to determine which talk you’ll give to your audience. Just note that your well-constructed presentation must not fall into the talk types that we discussed.
As long as you steer clear of those, you’ll be well on your way to creating a killer talk that will resonate with your audience.
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: Speak on the Shoulders of Giants”
In a meeting with one person…
… a boardroom with five people…
… or a huge venue with hundreds of people…
—whatever the situation or setting, it’s very important to learn and eventually master the art of public speaking.
No matter what, you always need to effectively get your message across.
What good is a presentation with awesome content if you don’t deliver it properly?
Every Thursday, we publish different tips, insights, and secrets on how you can improve your presentation skills to captivate your audience and lead interesting discussions.
The need for great presentation skills applies EVERYWHERE.
(Small meetings with your team, big meetings with your boss, an important marketing pitch, speaking engagements for events with a big audience, etc.)
Learning these skills is not just for the corporate world. Being in other industries such as the Arts, Information Technology, Medicine, and Education while knowing how to communicate and present well will definitely give you an edge.
Have that advantage.
Hope you find this week’s public speaking tip interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s “Speak on the Shoulders of Giants!”
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Special Projects
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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