How to Speak So People Really Listen by McGee Paul

Author:McGee, Paul [McGee, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780857087249
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published: 2016-09-16T00:00:00+00:00

 Pause for Thought

So, what do you reckon – could you come up with a more engaging title for your presentation than the one you currently use? If so, play around with a few alternatives. Let the ideas marinade in your mind. In my experience the title will come to you when you’re least expecting it.

2. Remember the 90/90 Rule

Let’s be very clear. Aside from your title, creating a strong opening really does start the moment you open your mouth. It’s been suggested that, when you’re giving a talk or presentation, ninety percent of the impact you’re likely to make on your audience is made within the first ninety seconds. Some say it’s even less. Either way, you’ve a golden window where you can begin to either win or quickly lose your audience. Now we already know we judge a book by its cover, and that first impressions are powerful (although clearly not always right. So it’s important that from a mindset point of view, you hit the ground running in terms of your opening remarks.

That doesn’t mean eventually. That means immediately.

Have an attitude that you’re running a sprint race, not a marathon. In a marathon you can afford to make a slow start. In the 100 metres you can’t. Even Usain Bolt is vulnerable to defeat or disqualification if he makes a slow or false start. And those opening ninety seconds of your talk are as much about what you don’t do as about what you do do.

So don’t start with a long rambling pile of platitudes about how honoured you are to be there. It might be polite, but can I be honest with you? It’s also boring (we mentioned this in a previous chapter, if you remember). Don’t start by showing a first slide that’s full of a list of objectives for your session, and then slowly go through them one by one. Is that a safe and standard opening? Absolutely. Will it help you stand out from the crowd? Nope.

Also, avoid starting with a joke unless you’re a comedian or have used it so many times previously that you know you’re guaranteed a laugh. Could it work? Yes. In fact, it could help you get off to a flyer. But if it doesn’t, you’re already fighting an uphill battle that you’ve created. You might recover, but why put yourself in that position in the first place?

Now, as for what you do in the first ninety seconds, there are lots of options. We’ll be exploring them throughout the rest of this book. But simply having an awareness that your opening is important and can make an impact is crucial. When I’m coaching my clients I expect two things at the beginning of their talk. Energy, and for them to be engaging. OK, if you’re talking to a small group of people the energy may be different compared to speaking to a large group, but even so, don’t treat this as a laid back, casual conversation that you’re having at the end of an extremely tiring day.

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