How to Freshen Up Your Signature Talk

It is a known fact that speakers have a “signature talk.” A signature talk is the speech they are known for and they give it over and over. They share it so often that if not careful, it could become stale over time. For time to time a speaker needs to look at their signature talk and freshen it up. This will prevent the speech from becoming stale and ineffective. Below are six ways to freshen up your signature talk:

Spring is a great time to renew and refresh, so I will walk you through the six ways to freshen up your signature talk with the word SPRING.

S is for Stories.

First way to keep your speech fresh is to look at your professional story. Remember your professional story earns you the right to be speaking on your topic, builds trust and rapport with your audience, and positions you as an expert in your field. Therefore, this story is an integral part of your speech and often is the first part of your speech that can begin to sound stale. One day, as I was giving my signature talk, a dear friend of mine who has heard me speak many times, came up to me afterwards and he said “I think your story is sounding stale. It sounds like you were on autopilot and not really feeling it.” He was right! I took a close look at my story and re-engaged myself in the power of it. Every time I share it, I act as though it was the first time telling it. Remember to always share your story like you are telling it for the first time. You must tell it that way so your audience can hear it that way…for the first time. Moreover, look at your entire presentation. Are there other stories that need to be spruced up? Do you need to build more character? Are the stories relevant to the audience? If you are speaking to a real estate audience, share a story about a real estate professional that you worked with and use their lingo. Whatever you do, keep it fresh.

P is for Practice Differently.

If you have been following my blogs, you already know that the length of time you need to practice is 1 hour for every 2 minutes of presentation. Now, think about practicing that same amount of time, but differently. Go to a new place to practice. If you always practice inside, go outside. Practice in front of your family or your children. Use props when you practice. You need some way to mix it up especially if you are speaking in the virtual world. Think about how you can practice in a different more creative way and bring that new life into your presentation.

R is for Real.

Take a good look inside and ask yourself if you are being real, vulnerable, honest, and truthful or are you making something up because you want to impress your audience. We have all heard speakers blow things out of proportion and sensationalize their speech. Do not do that. If you have trained 5 people, say you have trained 5 and not 5000. Always be honest, tell the truth, and be real.

I is for Innovation.

Innovation means adding new, hot-off-the-press information to your speech. The current trends in your industry, the latest and greatest news to hit the streets. Consistently be looking for updates regarding your subject matter or topic and be the first speak to share it and keep your speech updated.

N is for New.

Bring something new to your speech, every time you want to freshen it up. It can be a new prop, story, acronym, or new way of saying something. Ask your mind, what else can I do, how can I shake this up and keep it fresh and new? Your mind will have the answer. When you are practicing, yes, still practice even though you already know it, what did you bring new? Make sure it is fun and exciting.

G is for Grabber.

Whatever you say in the beginning --- that is your audience’s attention grabber. You can use enrolling questions, statements of declaration, or statistical statements. Maybe it is time that you changed your opening statement. Changing up your attention grabber could change the direction of your speech or the mood of the audience. Experiment.

To keep your speech fresh does not require you to change all these things. Just change a few at a time. The important lesson here is to continually be looking for improvements to make to your signature talk to keep it fresh and interesting.

To learn more about keeping your signature talk fresh watch this brief video: https://youtu.be/otplloKnPhM

For more public speaking tips, tricks and techniques go to: https://arveerobinson.com/passionately-speaking-blog.