Make Your Speech Memorable
I once worked with an up-and-coming executive who dazzled folks with his speeches.
He would work in dozens of statistics along with eye-candy charts and graphs to make his point.
He spoke with passion and commitment.
He was very persuasive and, in the moment, he was terrific.
The problem was that the impact of his speech didn’t last beyond the moment.
His audiences would leave and his points would be quickly forgotten.
His audiences were human and nobody could ever remember the blizzard of statistics he liked to use to make his points.
Which brings me to my point – to be truly effective, a speech must be memorable.?
And to be memorable, a speech must incorporate meaningful stories to make your points.
I don’t mean the kind of co-called meaningful stories that speechwriters strip-mine for political stump speeches.
I mean real stories with real people and places that are meaningful to you and to the point you are trying to make.
If you think you can simply delegate the speech-writing process to an aide, you’re wrong.?
These stories – which are absolutely essential to your speech being memorable – need to be memorable to you first.
*To his credit, the up-and-coming executive not named in this story embraced the need to incorporate stories in his speeches.? One of the things that made him up-and-coming in the first place was his willingness to receive and embrace constructive feedback.
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Principal, Powell Coaching, L.L.C.
11 个月You always could sling it with the best of them!
Strategic Communications Counselor
11 个月To your point — people remember stories not statistics. In my years of writing for the CEO/Chairman of a global beauty company he was adamant that speeches needed to be two-thirds anecdotal and one-third factual. Advice I’ve never forgotten.
Founder at Shiller Strategic Communications
11 个月I love and wholeheartedly embrace Tim’s point here. So much so that I want to embellish it just a little. I’ve written many, many remarks, ranging from less formal/ conversational moments to very formal (inaugural and enshrinement ceremonies). I warn my clients up front that before putting a single word to ‘paper,’ I need to get inside their head and heart and unearth memories, anecdotes and stories appropriate to the event and what they want their audience to take away. I usually characterize it as a form of “communication therapy.” It requires a level of trust and vulnerability, and it takes work - but it’s what elevates messages from forgettable to memorable.