How To Give A Speech That's Truly Worth Remembering

(From my Forbes article) - Most of us have attended conferences, meetings, speeches or any organization’s get-together and have been presented with a motivational speaker -- someone who will pump us up, get us excited and charge us to go forward and "chase our dreams," "conquer our fears," "achieve our goals."

Thanks for the tips! Wait, how much do we owe you again?

I know it sounds like I have a bone to pick with you as a motivational speaker, but I do believe you provide a great service. I really do.

But you can do more —?much?more. Let me explain.

I work with retired athletes and others in the sports industry, helping them take their careers and businesses to the next level. Often, these clients have written books and/or become public speakers, and they are highly regarded, appreciated and compensated for their presentation. What I help them realize is that they can add tremendous value to what they say.

This is how many of their speeches sound at first:

“I was born into a challenging environment, single parent, rough neighborhood,?and I took up my sport to try to get ahead of all of that. I became a star player, worked my tail off, thought about quitting 100 times, but my coach kept me going. I went to college, faced many hurdles, which I managed to get over with a few stumbles, and was fortunate enough to be seen by the scouts of the big team. I was drafted, made tons of money, had some growing pains, made some mistakes but persevered, all because I never quit. I climbed all the walls, jumped over all the moats and gritted my teeth as I conquered all. Now you can too!”

Much of the time, when you hear a speech like that, you rush back to your cubicle all fired up, and then stop and wonder what you can possibly do with the information you’ve just heard.

It doesn't have to be that way.

I instill in my clients the idea that they can bring so much more to the same audience, leaving the attendees with something they will remember for years to come. As it stands now, they may look back and recall meeting a former professional athlete, hearing them relive some of their great performances and share the motivational speech, but not much else.

If you are a motivational speaker, and especially a current or former athlete, I suggest the following six tips to make your speech stand out from the rest:

1. Invest a few hours of preparation before your speech.?Research?specifics not only about the group or company you're speaking to, but their mission, recent stories (positive, preferably) of them or their firm in the news and a few quotes from your hosts. You will connect with your audience so much more when you tie them into the fabric of your speech.

2. Put yourself in the seats of your audience.?How will they truly benefit from your speech? How can you add more value that will make your words memorable? What ideas, tips and strategies can you offer them that will compel them to sprint back to their desks,?cubicles or offices and run with your guidance?

3. Grab their attention right away.?And hold onto it for dear life! Yes, tell a story from your past, as stories are effective, but please keep it brief. You can even leave them hanging by telling them you’ll reveal how that story turned out at the end of your speech.

4. Look into their eyes. Yes, that's right. Eye contact. Make it with someone in the front right, then the front left, and continue to move around your audience, holding your eye contact with each person for 3 or 4 seconds, long enough to hold their attention, but not too long to make it uncomfortable for them. This is critical!

5. Keep the energy and enthusiasm level up.?But at the same time, take full advantage of the power of silence. Drive a point home by letting it sink in for several seconds. The absence of your voice filling the room will bring back any wanderers.

6. Add value.?Everyone enjoys stories, and your audience will hang on until the end for your big reveal, but be sure to educate them in the meantime. Teach them something they don’t already know that can be useful in their work or life.

And a bonus tip:

7. Don’t ask your audience to do anything cringeworthy.?That includes asking them to hug the person next to them. That may work for others, but if you ask the attendees to be candid, they’ll tell you they really didn’t find any value in it, and in fact, it made them cringe. No calisthenics, pumping up the volume, or other stuff that may seem like a great idea but scares your audience. Stay away from anything that might feel awkward, unless you want to be remembered as the person who made them uncomfortable!

As a speaker, I can admit that I sometimes fall into the trap that many speakers do. We think that our audience is there to watch us speak. That may be true for a small percentage, but audiences remember the content far longer than your face or mine. If you can offer memorable messages filled with value, tips, advice and strategies that will carry them longer than your voice might, the sky is the limit. Just promise me you won't tell them to reach for it.

Reach out to me anytime at [email protected] for more tips and strategies on how to make your speech more memorable, how to make a greater impact with your business or career, and how to boost your brand to make you and your business stand out more in a sea of competition! Let's talk!

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Are you ready to launch a new chapter in life, and need the guidance, tips and strategies to truly catapult you forward?

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WIN AGAIN! - The Job Search Playbook

WIN AGAIN! The Job Search Playbook, is filled with over 150 pages of my proven WIN AGAIN methodology, where you’ll discover how to define your true identity outside of being an athlete, plan your path towards an ideal job and business and work towards it. You’ll turn strangers into allies and grow your network as you position yourself for meetings and interviews, negotiate offers, and anticipate your prospective client's or employer’s needs.

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ABOUT ME

Combining my passion for sports and a desire to help others succeed, I founded Win Again, where current and former athletes can discover their identity beyond sports, develop the structure needed to succeed again, and receive the tips, strategies and actionable advice that allows them to WIN AGAIN and be elite in their next great career. Over the past 20 years as a business advisor and career coach, I have guided athletes and executives, holding them accountable during their transition.

The Win Again Clubroom events, "Make Your Mark" podcasts, and MYM Live webinars highlight athletes who are making a positive impact post-playing career, and my book “Win Again!” is a job search playbook for athletes, equipping them with strategies needed to land their ideal job or boost their entrepreneurial ventures.

As a graduate of Colgate University and a longtime Manhattan resident with my wife, kids, and Duke, I enjoy playing ice hockey, softball and golf, along with the guitar and piano.

Reach out to me anytime and let me know how I can be of service!

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