Pausing to Reflect

Welcome to the promise of Monday!

It's now been several months since we started our series of articles, My Life is Just Speech Material...And, So is Yours! ?

I will continue the series in my next article, but today I would like to stop and reflect on why reading through these recommendations and ideas about presentations and speech making is an important part of anyone's skill set.

I can't think of a single job where the skill of speaking eloquently, meaningfully, and "off the cuff" isn't an important asset. It doesn't matter if you are just getting started in life and are mowing neighborhood lawns or if you are an experienced corporate executive or a skilled craftsman or in construction ... it just doesn't matter. In all cases, you will encounter situations where you will be asked for information and it will be important that you able to provide it clearly and concisely.

In some cases, your response will be a "mini presentation." In others, it may be a full-blown oration. Either way, the practice you put into understanding the mechanism of creating a good presentation (remember the power of three and using personal examples from things you know and enjoy!) will pay incredible dividends. Equally important, the more you practice, the more adept you will be at discerning WHICH examples and bits of information will best fit the situation -- even if you are speaking off the cuff.

For example, if your neighbor asks you why you charge more than the person down the block and you have practiced thinking about things as our speech material outlines, then you might quickly and eloquently answer: "I have carefully reviewed my prices. I am reliable, I don't leave grass clippings behind but carefully bag them and dispose of them, and I include edging in my costs. In my experience this kind of attention to detail results in a vibrant, healthy lawn and a happy customer. If you use my services, your lawn will always look neat, healthy, and well cared for."

Likewise, if as a CEO, your board of directors unexpectedly asks you to justify the time you have spent on a project, you might quickly and eloquently answer: "As a team, including you as members of the board, we set a goal to improve our outreach to key people in the community. In order to accomplish that goal, my staff and I took the time to carefully research the interest these community members might have in our work, to reach out to them in person, and to follow up on our original discussion. In my experience, taking the time to personally reach out to someone is much more likely to achieve success than using the more time-efficient method of sending a mass email. Mrs. G was so pleased that we cared enough to communicate in person, she has made a three year commitment to the company. The end result was that we recruited 15 new supporters. There is no doubt our personal approach took more time, but you can see from the results that our approach was successful and worth the extra effort."

Do you see that both of the above examples are actually mini presentations? Each provides an opening statement, three examples, at least one reference to personal experience, and a summary statement. If you get in the practice of thinking about your work and responsibilities this way, answering difficult and unexpected questions eloquently and purposefully will become routine.

Without a doubt, the end result will also enhance your formal and planned presentations. The practice will help you to speak naturally and in a personal manner that your audience will find compelling and interesting.

I hope that you will continue checking in on these articles, practice their recommendations, and use the examples we provide as inspiration for your own success.